VIII. 1. THE RIVER POPLAR. 247 
four to five and a half long, right-angled, hollowed or heart- 
shaped at base, widening suddenly to their extreme width, and 
gradually but roundingly tapering to the point, which is en- 
tire, and often considerably prolonged, with a slender, sharp ter- 
mination; margin undulating, and bordered by large prominent 
rounded serratures, each ending in a large gland turned towards 
the end of the leaf, and separated by deep rounded bays; smooth 
and dark green on both surfaces; with white mid-rib and veins 
which are irregular and much branched, and equally prominent 
on both surfaces. 
Dr. Barratt tells me that when in flower, the tree seems cov- 
ered with aments of a light red color, becoming paler when ex- 
panded, at which time they are from three to five inches long. 
This tree occurs on the banks of the Connecticut, above and 
below Springfield, on the Chicopee, at Chicopee Falls, and in 
various places on the Agawam or Westfield River, in situations 
liable to be overflowed in spring. On the Connecticut and its 
tributaries, it is called the river poplar. 
There is a striking difference in the appearance of those 
branches which are vigorous, and those which are not, the for- 
mer being strongly angled, the latter often not perceptibly so. 
Michaux thinks this tree the same that is called cotton wood 
by Cass, who accompanied Lewis and Clarke to the Pacific, 
and by Pike in his account of the northern part of New Spain ; 
the cotton wood of Carolina being too tender a plant to bear 
the intense cold of the regions in which this tree was found 
srowing. The Mandans, 1500 miles from the mouth of the 
Missouri, feed their horses, during the winter, on its young 
shoots. 
The river poplar deserves to be introduced into cultivation as 
an ornamental tree. It is much the tallest and most graceful 
of those which grow naturally in New England. Its foliage is 
equal to that of the Balm of Gilead in size, and superior to it 
in depth of color; and the abundance of its aments In spring, 
and the rich colors of its leafstalks and young branches, when 
srowing in somewhat dry situations, make it a beautiful object. 
By selecting cuttings from the sterile tree, the evil complained 
of in the cotton of the Balm of Gilead will be avoided, and the 
