132 SYLVA FLORIFERA. 



for boxes and packing cases, as the lightness 

 of the wood saves much expence in carriage, 

 and nails do not split the poplar plank, which 

 is also a recommendation to this wood, and 

 it rather gives way than splits when thrown 

 to the ground. 



The timber of the Po poplar is said to be 

 inferior to the common black poplar, but it is 

 in demand for many purposes where soft 

 wood is required, and vast quantities of 

 wooden shoes are made from it in France 

 and other parts of the continent. It answers 

 tolerably well for floors and other purposes 

 where it is not exposed to the weather. For 

 packing cases we can have no better wood, 

 which will always ensure it a good sale in this 

 mercantile country. 



A correspondent in Young's annals affirms, 

 that this kind of poplar is fit to cut for build- 

 ing purposes in twelve years, and that at 

 eight years' growth, it is forty feet high. For 

 rafters, small beams, studs, boards, &c. he 

 says, they have stood sixteen years without 

 the least decay, having been brushed over 

 with oil, tar, and brickdust laid on hot. 



The growth of this tree, like that of most 

 others, depends upon the soil and situation 

 in which it is planted. Mr. Young, in his 

 Irish tour, mentions some Lombardy poplars 



