206 populus. 



flowing of that river, is adduced by Signor Manetti in 

 favour of such an opinion, basing it on the presumed fact 

 that the seeds had there lain buried for many years ; but, 

 as Loudon justly observes, it is as probable that the 

 plants in question may have sprung from fresh seeds dis- 

 seminated by the winds the same season, and which would 

 naturally vegetate freely and rapidly upon soil thus pre- 

 pared for their reception ; the circumstance also, of a 

 tree so peculiar in its aspect remaining unnoticed by 

 ancient Latin authors, and among the rest by Pliny, who 

 would scarcely have overlooked it had it been known in 

 his day, as well as the additional and singular fact that 

 the Lombardy Poplar was not introduced into Tuscany 

 till 1805, are all against the supposition of its Italian origin, 

 and strongly in favour of that of Bosc and other botanists, 

 who suppose it to have been introduced into Italy from 

 Persia, where it abounds, and of which country, as well 

 as the Himmalayas, it is believed to be a native. 



As a useful and profitable timber-tree, the Lombardy 

 Poplar is greatly inferior to some of the species already 

 described, the twisted and deeply-furrowed trunk, even 

 of the tallest and largest trees, cutting to much waste, 

 and affording boards of only a moderate size when sawn 

 up. The wood is also softer and more spongy than that 

 of the Black, and the Black Italian Poplars, and rapidly 

 decays unless kept perfectly dry. 



In Italy, most of the vessels in which grapes were car- 

 ried home from the vineyards, were formerly made of the 

 wood of the Lombardy Poplar, its lightness rendering 

 them, even when of very large size, easily manageable ; 

 of late years, however, its culture has given way to that 

 of the Pop. nigra, a tree found to be more generally useful, 

 and whose wood is equally light, and therefore as well 



