THE WHITE POPLAR. 459 
conditions of growth will alter the size, and, to a 
certain extent, the character of the leaf in different 
individuals of the same species. The peculiarity of 
Populus alba is that leaves on the same Tree will 
vary in form, being sometimes so deeply lobed 
as to become palmate. The normal form will 
be observed in general in the earliest leaves of 
spring. But as the season advances, and the 
young shoots acquire increased vigour, their 
leaves become developed sometimes to more than 
double the size of the earlier leaves, and this 
development extends naturally to the indentations 
between the blunt-pointed lobes. The snowy 
whiteness of the under sides of the leaves, and of 
the young branches, is another conspicuous 
feature in this species, giving, as it does, an ex- 
tremely white appearance to the whole of the 
foliage when it is stirred by the wind, and con- 
trasting with the dark green hue of the smooth 
and shining surfaces of the upper sides of the 
leaves. Instead of being cylindrical, as in the case 
of the Grey Poplar, the female catkins in this 
species are ovate, and dark brown in colour, 
whilst the stigmas in the male catkins are in 
