THE POPLAR. 325 
near to the ground, and trained to one stem, it furnishes a 
good second or third crop of poles. 
P. monilifera : The Necklace-bearing or Black Italian Poplar. 
—This poplar is generally believed to be the same species as 
P. nigra Canadensis of Micheux, or a variety of that tree. Its 
name “ Necklace-bearing”’ is derived from the structure of the 
female catkins, resembling strings of beads. This tree is re- 
markable for its rapidity of growth. It comes into leaf in Scot- 
land about the 1st of May—rather later than the Lombardy 
poplar. The bark of its young shoots is of a darker hue than 
that of that tree. The yearly lateral shoots take a more wide 
and horizontal range, and instead of being round, as in the 
Lombardy poplar, they are fluted or ribbed, particularly to- 
wards the extremities. Its upward growth under similar cir- 
cumstances is equal to that of the Lombardy poplar; while, on 
account of the strong side branches and larger leaves of the 
black Italian poplar, its girth is greater, at once showing a 
decided superiority even during the second year of growth 
from cuttings, from which both grow readily. 
The tree is a native of the continent of America, and some 
are of opinion that it was introduced into Italy, and from thence 
into Britain. Its first introduction into this country was in 
1772, from Canada; but its second introduction appears to 
have made it better known, and from which it is supposed to 
have taken its popular name. Respecting this tree Loudon 
says,— The rate of growth in the climate of London, in good 
soil, is between thirty and forty feet in seven years; and even 
in Scotland it has attained the height of seventy feet in sixteen 
years.” From strong cuttings, I have often seen plants six 
feet high in two years, and the second year lateral shoots are 
nearly equal in strength to the leader. Nevertheless pruning 
is not necessary ; the vigour of the side-branches increases the 
diameter of the bole, and the strong flow of sap naturally gives 
the top an ascendency. 
I am not aware of any distinguishing mark by which the 
sex of the tree can be ascertained before it comes into flower ; 
but in many situations the female tree of this species is objec- 
