chap. in. MAGNOLiA y CErf:. liriode'ndron. 287 



the likeness of its flower ; but it is not, that I find, taken much notice of in 

 any of our herbals. I wish we had more of them ; but they are difficult to 

 elevate at first." {Hunter's Evelyn, \. p. 207.) According to Miller, Mr. 

 Darley, at Hoxton, and Mr. Fairchild, were the first who raised this tree in 

 any quantity from seeds; and from their nurseries it is probable that the 

 numerous old trees which are spread all over the country were procured. 

 The first notice which we have of the tulip tree on the Continent is in the 

 Catalogue of the Ley den Garden, published in 1731. From the number of 

 tulip trees existing in France, the south of Germany, and Italy, there can be 

 little doubt that it spread as rapidly in those countries as it did in Britain. 

 Public avenues are planted of it in Italy, and as far north as Strasburg and 

 Metz. It stands the open air at Vienna, and attains a large size there; but 

 it will not endure the open air north of Warsaw, or at Moscow, without pro- 

 tection. The first tulip tree which flowered in England was one in the gardens 

 of the Earl of Peterborough, at Parson's Green, near Fulham. This is 

 understood to have been the first tree which was planted in the open ground : 

 previously, they had, like most other American trees in those times, been 

 grown in pots, and housed every winter. This tree at Parson's Green, Miller 

 says, convinced gardeners of their mistake, by the great progress which it 

 made ; so that afterwards there were a great many planted in open ground, 

 which, more especially those on a moist soil, speedily attained a large size. 

 Some at Waltham Abbey, and at Wilton, are referred to by him as among the 

 oldest and largest. 



Properties and Uses. The timber of the tulip tree, though classed among 

 light woods, is yet, Michaux observes, much heavier than that of the common 

 poplar ; its grain is equally fine, but more compact ; and the wood is easily 

 wrought, and polishes well. It is found strong and stiff enough for uses that 

 require great solidity. The heart-wood, when separated from the sap, and 

 perfectly seasoned, long resists the influence of the air, and is said to be rarely 

 attacked by insects. Its greatest defect, when employed in wide boards, and 

 exposed to the weather, is, that it is liable to- shrink and warp, by the alter- 

 nations of dryness and moisture : but this defect is, in a great measure, com- 

 pensated for by its other properties, and may be, in part, owing to its not 

 being allowed sufficient time to be properly seasoned. The nature of the 

 soil has so striking an influence upon the colour, and upon the quality of 

 the tulip wood, that the mechanics who employ it have made the remark ; 

 and have distinguished it by the names of the white poplar, and the yellow 

 poplar. The external appearances which mark these varieties are so equivocal, 

 that they can only ascertain to which of them a tree belongs by cutting it. It 

 is known, in general, that the white poplar grows in dry, gravelly, and elevated 

 places ; it is recognised, too, by its branchy summit, and by the small propor- 

 tion which the light yellow heart-wood bears to the sap-wood. The grain, 

 also, is coarser and harder, and the wood decays more speedily ; hence it is 

 always neglected, when the other variety can be obtained. The yellow poplar 

 possesses every quality requisite to fit it for a great variety of uses. At New 

 York and Philadelphia, and in the adjacent country, it is often employed in 

 the construction of houses, for rafters and for the joists of the upper stories, 

 for which purposes it is esteemed on account of its lightness and strength. In 

 the other middle states, in the upper parts of the Carolinas, and, above all, in 

 the western states, it is more generally used in building, and is considered 

 as the best substitute for the pine, the red cedar, and the cypress. Wherever 

 it abounds, it serves for the interior work of houses, and sometimes for the 

 exterior covering. The panels of doors and of wainscots, and the mouldings of 

 chimneypieces, are made of this wood. In the states of Ohio and Kentuckj^ 

 on the banks of the Miami river, and in the upper part of North Carolina, 

 shingles of it, about 15 in. long, are preferred for covering roofs; because they 

 are the most durable, and because they are not liable to split from the effect 

 either of intense frost, or of ardent sunshine. In all the large towns of the 

 United States, tulip tree, or, as they are there called, poplar, boards, which are 



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