368 



THE TREMBLING POPLAR^ 



mere natural plienomenon. " All is miracle " that 

 tends to confirm liis belief in God's superintending 

 Providence, but lie humbly refuses to derive from 

 the visible ^vorld any teaching but that which 

 Revelation confirms. Reason teaches him that 

 the trembling of the Aspen is dependent on the 

 peculiar mechanism of its leaves, and is to be ac- 

 counted for by reference to natural causes : and 

 though he fails to discover the purpose of this 

 peculiarity in structure, he is satisfied vv-ith ob- 

 serving a new instance of creative power, and 

 prefers to confess his ignorance of design rather 

 than be indebted to Xature for evidence which 

 Revelation alone can aff'ord, and which God's 

 HoIt Spirit alone can make efiicacious. 



The Aspen does not generally attain so large a 

 size as the Black Poplar, though there are speci- 

 mens in existence seventy or eighty feet high. 

 Evelyn says, that the Aspen thrusts down a 

 more searching foot'* than that tree, ^* and in this 

 likewise diff'ers, that he takes it ill to have his 

 head cut off';" meaning, that the roots extend to 

 a great distance, and that the branches are impa- 

 tient of pruning. The roots, however, do not de- 

 scend far beneath the surface, and are remarkable 

 for sending up numerous suckers, wliich, if the 

 tree be planted in a lawn or garden, are very trou- 

 blesome, and require to be eaten or mowed down. 

 It is not a long-lived tree, beginning to decay in- 

 ternally when about sixty .or eighty years old. 



The bark of tlie Aspen is said to be a favourite 

 food of the beaver, and its leaves are greedily 

 devoured by many domestic, as well as wild ani- 

 mals. The timber is used for nearly the same 

 purposes as that of the other species. As fii^e- 



