Populus 



1823 



The conversion of poplar timber into boards for various purposes requires 

 considerable experience, which English sawmills do not seem to possess. A number 

 of specimens were shown in the Franco- British Exhibition of 1908 which displayed 

 great ingenuity in conversion ; and I am assured by reliable authorities that, when 

 properly cut and seasoned, poplar boards are considered a perfectly suitable wood 

 on which to lay veneers, and are used in France for all but the highest qualities of 

 furniture. The increasing price of mahogany and of white wood {Liriodendron), on 

 which veneers in England are laid, seems to point to an increased demand for poplar. 

 Mr. A. Howard gave me some handsomely figured veneers showing a good deal of 

 satiny lustre, cut from a flitch of poplar wood which he bought in France. These I 

 have used for the front of a large bookcase, made from the burry wood of an old 

 black poplar {P. nigra) grown in Herefordshire. From an ornamental, as well as 

 from a structural point of view, the result is satisfactory. 



M. Breton -Bonnard,^ President of the French Timber Merchants' Society, 

 classifies the timber of the various poplars as follows : — 



White Poplar, Grey Poplar. — Considered the best poplar wood ; wood white, 

 light, tender and soft, capable of taking a good polish. Used by furniture makers, 

 largely by railway companies for wagon-building, by coach-builders for the panels 

 and bodies of carriages and carts, and in mines and for boat-building. It must be 

 thoroughly dry, as it warps when green. 



Aspen. — Used when sound for the same purposes, also for matches, toys, 

 turning, carving, broom handles, and for packing-cases and paper pulp. 



Black Poplar {P. nigra). — This wood, which is very stiff, warps much if cut soon 

 after it is felled, and ought to lie a year in the log before converting. It is valued 

 by trunk makers, and for wagon beds, and other objects subject to rough usage. 



All the Hybrids.— MS. kinds of cheap furniture and painted work, packing-cases, 

 for laying veneers, etc. 



He states^ that poplar sawdust is the best litter for stables and pig-sties, and 

 the cheapest litter used by the Paris Omnibus Company, and gives figures to prove 

 that the manure produced from it was equal or superior in effect, on beetroot and 

 wheat, to that produced by peat-moss litter or straw. He gives ^ the following table, 

 representing the returns oi peupliers rdgdnMs on the assumption that the increase in 

 diameter is 10 millimetres, or f inch per annum :— 



Age. 



5 years. 



10 „ 



15 ., 



20 „ 



25 J. 



30 » 



35 » 



40 )j 



Length of 

 Timber. 



5 m. = 1 6 ft. 



8 m. = 25 ft. 

 lom. = 33ft. 

 12 m. = 39 ft. 

 14 m. = 45 ^'^• 

 16 m. = 54 ft- 

 18 m. = 60 ft. 

 20 m. = 66 ft. 



Cubic Contents, 

 J Girth Measure. 



Cubic Metres. 



0.09 

 0.30 

 0.70 

 1.26 

 2.10 



3-30 

 4.80 



Value at l^ francs 

 per cubic metre = 

 about Sd. per foot. 



Francs. 



1-53 



5-1° 

 12.00 

 21.42 



35-7° 

 56.10 



81.60 



1 LePeuflier, 176, I79. 182 ('902)- 



