CHAP. CIII. SAUCA S CEM, Po'l'ULUS. 1637 



tinge of their anthers, and from their being produced very early in spring, 

 when the trees are leafless, and when flowers are particularly valuable from 

 their rarity. The catkins are also, in most species, so numerous, that the 

 effect of the mass of red, when the tree is seen from a little distance, and in a 

 strong light, is very striking. The colour of the anthers of some of the 

 species is so deep, and their size is so large, that a correspondent of the 

 Magazine of Natural History compares them, when torn off by a high wind, 

 and lying on the ground, to "great red caterpillars." (See vol. vi. p. 198.) 

 The females of all the species have their seeds enveloped in abundance of 

 cottony down ; which, when ripe, and the seeds are shed, adheres to every 

 object near it ; and is so like cotton wool in appearance and quality, that it 

 has been manufactured into cloth and paper, though it has been found de- 

 ficient in elasticity. The buds of P. balsamffera, and all its allied species, 

 are covered with a viscid matter, which is said to be of use in medicine. P. 

 alba, P. (a.) canescens, and their varieties, are easily distinguishable from all 

 the other species, even at a considerable distance, when their leaves are 

 ruffled by the wind, from the thick white cottony down which covers their 

 under surface. The tremulous motion of the leaves, which is common, 

 in a greater or less degree, to all the poplars, proceeds from the great length 

 of the petioles, in proportion to the size and weight of the leaves to which 

 they are attached. Pliny speaks of three kinds of poplar : the black, the 

 white, and the poplar of Libya. He mentions that the poplar was cultivated 

 as a prop to the vine (Plin., lib. xvi. cap. 23. and cap. 37.) ; and that the 

 trees were planted in quincunx, in order that they might obtain more light 

 and air. He also says that the wood of the poplar, like that of the willow, 

 and of all the aquatic trees, is particularly suitable for making bucklers, 

 from its lightness ; and because, when struck, the blow only indents 

 the soft wood, without piercing or cracking it. The poplar buckler 

 thus acted like a shield of Indian rubber, or any other elastic substance, 

 and repelled the blow. The ancients applied the leaves of the poplar, 

 macerated in vinegar, to parts affected by the gout; and they dried the 

 young shoots with the leaves on during summer, and laid them by, to 

 serve as winter food for cattle. The wood of the poplar is soft, light, 

 and generally white, or of a pale yellow. It is but of little use in the arts, 

 except in some departments of cabinet and toy making, and for boarded floors; 

 for which last purpose it is well adapted, from its whiteness, and the facility 

 with which it is scoured ; and, also, from the difficulty with which it catches 

 fire, and the slowness with which it burns. In these respects, it is the very 

 reverse of deal. Poplar, like other soft woods, is generally considered not 

 durable; but this is only the case when it is exposed to the external atmo- 

 sphere, or to water ; and hence the old distich, said to be inscribed on a poplar 

 plank, — 



" Though heart of oak be e'er so stout, 

 . Keep me dry, and I '11 see him out," 



may be considered as strictly correct. One of the most valuable properties of 

 the poplar is, that it will thrive in towns in the closest situations ; and another 

 is, that, from the rapidity of its growth, it forms a screen for shutting out ob- 

 jects, and affords shelter and shade sooner than any other tree. The females 

 of several of the exotic kinds of poplar have never been introduced into 

 Britain ; and, consequently, little opportunity has been found for raising new 

 varieties from seeds ; but all the kinds, whether indigenous or foreign, are 

 readily propagated by cuttings or layers, and some of them by suckers. They 

 all like a moist soil, particularly when it is near a running stream ; but none 

 of them thrive in marshy or undried soil, as is commonly supposed. On very 

 dry ground, the leaves of the poplar grow yellow, and fall off much sooner than 

 when they are planted in a more congenial situation ; but the timber, in dry 

 soils, is said to be more compact, fine-grained, and durable. P. alba and 

 its varieties produce their leaves much earlier than P. nigra and its varieties. 

 The species and varieties belonging to this genus are in a state of confusion, 



5 o 4 



