EUEOPEAN TIMBEE 
59 
Venice, which fell in 1902, some of the piles were found to 
be white poplar, and in such good condition that they were 
allowed to remain. 
G-rey Poplar (P. canescens) is very similar to the white 
variety, but the wood is harder and better and makes good 
flooring, and by some is preferred to pine near fireplaces, as 
it is said to be less liable to take fire. It is used sometimes 
for rough doors, barrows, carts, and packing cases, and is 
much esteemed by turners. It is not liable to split when 
nails are driven through thin boards. 
Black Poplar (P. nigra) is used for much the same pur- 
poses as the white and grey varieties. It grows in England 
and is fairly common in Ireland, but there it is mostly used 
locally for rough cart sheathing, as it is not liable to 
splinter ; sometimes used for flooring and roofing. It 
shrinks a good deal and is not durable. It is largely used 
for sabots in Holland, where it grows plentifully. 
Lombardy Poplar (P. fastigiala), another well-known 
variety, is now largely planted in gardens and public places 
in English towns because of its speedy growth, but the 
wood is of little value. 
In the case of poplar, as of so many of our native timbers, 
the wood used under this name mostly comes from America, 
and much which goes by the name of poplar is not poplar 
at all. The wood of the beautiful Aspen {L\ tremula), which 
is soft, light, white and smooth, is used for turning, and 
made into pails and trays, whilst in France it is used for 
sabots. It was once highly esteemed as a wood for the 
making of arrows, and in Henry V.'s time an Act was 
passed, which was not repealed until the time of James I., 
forbidding the use of the timber for any other purpose 
