208 A DISCOURSE 



CHAP. XV. 



The POPLAR, ASPEN, and ABELE \ 



BOOK I. 1. PoPULUS, the POPLAR. I begin this second class, according to 

 our former distribution, with the Poplar, of which there are several kinds. 

 White, Black, &c. (which in Candy it is reported bears seed,) besides 

 the Aspen, The White, (famous heretofore for yielding its umbram 



* The Poplar is the most valuable of all the aquatics^ whether we consider the quickness 

 of its growth, or the magnitude to which it will arrive : And although this tree is styled an 

 aquatic, yet it will grow exceedingly well, and attaiii an extraordinar};' bulk in a few 

 years, on ground tolerably dry. 



There are five species of Poplar, though I shall recommend only three to be planted for 

 timber. These are, the White Poplar, known by the name of the Abele-tree ; the Biack 

 Poplar, so called from a black circle perceived at the centre of its trunk when felled ; and 

 the Trembling Poplar, or Aspen-ti'ee. 



1. POPULUS (alba ) foliis subrotundis, dentato-angulatis subtus toijientosis. Lin. Sp. 

 PI. 1463. Poplar-tree with roundish leaves, which are angularly indented, and downy on their 

 under side. Populus alba majoribus foliis. C. B. P. 429. White poplar with larger 

 LEAFES, commonly called the Abele-tree. 



The trunk of the White Poplar is straight, and covered with a smooth whitish bark. The 

 leaves are about three inches long, and stand upon foot-stalks about an inch in length : they 

 are indented at the edges ; are of a dark green on the upper surface, but white and woolly 

 underneath. They are usually quite out by the eighteenth of April. 



2. POPULUS Cnigra ) foliis deltoidibus acuminatis serratis. Lin. Sp. PI. 1464. Poplm 

 with pointed, sawed leaves, shaped like the letter Delta. Populus nigra. C. B. P. 429- The 



BLACK POPLAR. 



The leaves of the Black Poplar are not so large as the former ; their colour is a pleasant green ; 

 they are heart-shaped, and appear about the 22d of April. 



3. POPULUS ( TREMvLA ) foliis subrotundis, dentato-angulatis utrinque glabris. Lin. 

 Sp. PI. 1464. Poplar-tree with roundish leaves, which are angularly indented, and smooth on 

 both sides. Populus tremula. C. B. P. 429. Trembling poplar, or aspen-tree. 



The . leaves of the Aspen are smaller than those of the Black Poplar. These stand upon 

 long slender foot-stalks, which renders it, of all the other sorts, the most tremulous ; they are 

 roundish, and smooth on both sides ; but do not make their appearance before the beginning 

 of May. 



