318 
The Garden Magazine, July, 1920 
ably early in the eighteenth century. The tree is not mentioned 
bv mediaeval Italian writers nor by travellers in Italy during 
the seventeenth century. But an eighteenth century writer Jean 
Francois Sequier,in his “ PlantaeVeronenses” (II. 267-i745)says 
it was known anciently in Lombardy, and mentions a superb 
avenue which he saw in 1703 at Colorno, the residence of the 
Duke of Parma. 
It was apparently carried by the Genoese to the Levant and 
by 1798 it was known to be abundant on the plains of Damascus. 
It has indeed been widely planted in northern Africa, Egypt, in 
southwestern Asia, and is common in Asia Minor, Persia, 
Afghanistan and Kashmir. In 
Turkestan a fastigiate form of the 
White Poplar (P. alba) has by some 
travellers been mistaken for it. It 
has reached China, but the date 
when it did so is unknown. It is 
often seen to-day as a planted tree 
however. In and around Tsingtao 
it has been much planted, and 
from there taken to southern Man- 
churia and Korea, where it has 
been planted to a ridiculous extent. 
It has reached Japan also, but 
there has failed to find favor. 
To France the Lombardy Poplar 
was introduced in 1749. It is 
usually stated to have been brought 
to England in 1758 by the Earl of 
Rochford. ambassador at that time 
in Turin, and planted at St. 
Osyth’s in Essex, but there is good 
reason for believing that it was in- 
troduced some years earlier by the 
Duke of Argyll and planted at 
Whitton. It was introduced into 
America from England in 1784 
by William Hamilton, and planted 
at his place, Woodlawn, Philadel- 
phia. 
The Lombardy Poplar (Populus 
nigra, var. italica) was first recog- 
nized and described as a variety of 
the Black Poplar by Du Roiin 1772. 
Since then it has received several 
other names, but experts to-day 
agree with Du Roi. Such is the 
history in brief of one of the com- 
monest and best known of planted 
trees. It is of essentially modern 
origin and yet, thanks to its dis- 
tinct appearance which has singled 
it out for favoritism, and the ease 
with which it is propagated, it has 
been spread over a very wide area 
oftheearth’s surface — muchgreater 
than any other European tree. 
T HE story of the Babylon Willow (Salix babylonica) is older. 
Its distribution has been in the reverse order and its early 
history is shrouded in mystery. 
Of course the name Willow of Babylon has so greatly cap- 
tivated the popular mind that Weeping Willows generally are 
considered to be this tree. 
But actually it is a Chinese tree and it is doubtful if it was 
ever known by the waters of Babylon for which it is named, and 
by association with which it is endeared to most people. Thus 
truth often shatters fond delusion and robs us of many pretty 
myths and stories to which we fain would cling! Further — in 
spite of the shock to popular belief — truth necessitates the re- 
cord that the trees in the Psalmists’ lament (Psalm CXXXVII. 
verse 1, 2. “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, 
we wept, when we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps 
upon the willows in the midst thereof”) are not Willows at all 
but a Poplar (P. euphratica)! 
The Willow of Babylon is native of China where it is common 
on alluvial areas, especially those of the lower Yangtsze. It 
has been much planted and it is often difficult to tell the wild 
from the cultivated trees. Around Shanghai it is abundant, but 
it does not grow as far north as Peking where the winters are too 
cold. In the neighborhood of Ichang it is common — but the 
largest trees I have seen are in the western province of Szech- 
uan near the Chino - Thibetan 
borderland. In its typical form 
it is a broad-topped, spreading tree 
often from 60 to 80 feet tall, from 
6 to 10 feet in girth of trunk and 
from 50 to 60 feet through the 
crown. 
The pendent form is really an 
extreme condition, although it is 
common. And in relation to this 
it is worthy of note — for the fact 
has not been properly appreciated 
—that many Tree Willows have 
weeping forms. The typical form 
has a broad crown; one extreme 
inclines to be more or less conical; 
the other extreme is pendent. 
This range of variation — this di- 
versification into three forms— ob- 
tains in the Chinese Salix baby- 
lonica under certain conditions, in 
S. Matsudana, which is common 
around Peking and westward, S. 
Koreensis, abundant in Korea, 
and in S. Warburgii of Liukiu and 
Formosa. It also occurs in other 
Korean and northern Japan Tree 
Willows whose names are less 
familiar, although in these it is not 
quite so marked. 
In China the Babylon Willow 
is a favorite garden tree and is 
also planted by graves and in 
temple grounds. In North China 
and Korea its native confreres are 
used in the same manner. To 
Japan the male form of S. baby- 
lonica was long ago taken, and in 
many cities — Tokyo for example — 
it is a favorite street tree, being 
kept severely pruned; and in gar- 
dens, temples and palace grounds, 
it is common. This male tree has 
been introduced from Japan to 
California where it is also a fav- 
orite, being commonly planted 
around San Francisco. 
How, when and bv what means it reached the near East is 
not known, but in all probability by the old caravan routes 
across central Asia. Or it may have been carried by old voy- 
agers from Canton by sea to India, though this is less likely. 
The first mention of the tree we have is of a specimen collected 
in China by James Cunningham and recorded by James Petiver 
in his quaint work “ Musei Petiveriani centuria” No. 997, pub- 
lished in 1703. He gives its Chinese name and says it is a 1 ree 
Willow with pendulous foliage branches. In the neighborhood 
of Mt. Olympus in Asia Minor, Wheler, in his “Journey in 
Greece and Asia Minor,” p. 217, published in 1682, tells of a tree 
which may have been a Weeping Willow. 
But the first definite mention of this tree in the Levant is by 
UPRIGHT IN GROWTH AND YET WEEPING 
In western China this intermediate form of 
the Babylonian Willow is a familiar tree 
