COMMON WHITE OR GRAY POPLAR. 
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mon White Poplar, which were for a long time confounded, and which 
have been distinguished only within forty years by the characters of their 
leaves. 
In the Species Plant'arum , Willdenow thus designates, the first of these 
trees : Populus alba ; foliis cordato-subrotundis, lobatis, dentatis, subtus 
tomentoso-nivies ; amentis ovatis. In this description, a shorter and more 
oval ament forms the peculiar character of the fructification ; but the prin- 
cipal difference is in the leaves ; those of the Great White Poplar are larger, 
and have the lower surface constantly whitened with thick down. 
To this tree must be referred the allusions of fhe poets to the Poplar of 
Hercules : Populus Alcidse gratissima. It is less common in France and 
in England than the White or Gray Poplar, and is inferior in size and in 
the quality of its wood. 
The Gray Poplar, Peuplier grisaille? is one of the largest trees of the 
Old World : it rises to the height of 90 or 100 feet,, with a diameter of 5 
or 6 feet. On aged trees the bark is thick and deeply furrowed, and, on 
younger stocks it is smooth and greenish. The leaves vary in size, shape 
and color, according to the age of the tree and the nature of the soil : in 
moist grounds they are larger and more downy, and on the summit of old 
trees they are smooth, round and toothed. 
Like other Poplars, this species grows more rapidly in moist grounds, 
but it is proved to accommodate itself the most easily to a variety of soils. 
I remember near the house in which I was born, in the vicinity of Ver- 
sailles, an avenue of these trees which were planted in the reign of Louis 
XIV., and which, in 1792, when they were felled, were from 90 to 1,00 
feet in height, and from 4 to 6 feet in diameter. 
The wood is superior to that of the other species in whiteness, in fineness 
and in strength ; it gives a [firmer hold to nails, and is not liable to warp 
and split. In England and Belgium, it is commonly used by turners for 
bowls, trays, etc. In the south of France it is employed for the floors and 
wainscots of houses, and in Paris for the cases in which goods are packed 
for exportation. 
The Gray Poplar, therefore, should be preferred in our forests, though 
its growth is not the most rapid. It may be multiplied by slips or by suck- 
ers, which are transplanted the fohrth or fifth year, or by branches 6 or 7 
feet long and 3 inches in diameter, which do not require to be removed. 
The larger end of the branch should be cut obliquely, so as to expose the 
bark for the length of 5 or 6 inches, and set in a moist, cool soil, in a hole 
18 inches deep. When the branch is severed from the tree it should be 
placed in water till it is set in the ground. The most favourable season for 
forming the plantation is the autumn or the beginning of spring. When 
slips are sent to a distance they should be enveloped in wet moss. 
The superior size and majestic form of the Common White Poplar, its 
