abeles at once sent over into England from Flanders, and transplanted into many counties; and Mortimer, writing in the beginning of the eighteenth century, says that the best sorts of abele trees come from Holland and Flanders. Evelyn mentions the tree as being raised in abundance from cuttings, truncheons, and suckers; adding, that "there is a finer sort of white poplar, which the Dutch call abeel; and we have of late much of it transported out of Holland." The Dutch, he adds, "look upon a plantation of these trees as an ample portion for a daughter." (Hunter's Evelyn, vol. i. p. 209.) History. The abele was known to the Romans, as we have already noticed when giving the history of the genus. As a road-side tree, it has been much planted, in modern times, in Holland, Flanders, and in some parts of France and Germany. In the forests of France, it is so abundant, in some places, as to form the prevailing tree over extensive tracts of country; and it furnishes. fuel for the adjoining towns; more especially for bakers' ovens, those of Paris being almost entirely heated with the wood of this tree, which is there called le bois blanc. In Britain, the white poplar has been propagated in nurseries since the time of Miller; but it does not appear to have been ever very extensively planted in masses, though there are trees of it to be found here and there throughout the country. In Scotland, it was a popular tree about the beginning of the present century; more especially, as Sang informs us, for moist situations, which it was not thought advisable to drain. In such situations, however, though it will grow, it never attains a large size. Properties and Uses. The wood of the white poplar weighs, when green, 58 lb. 3 oz. per cubic foot; and in a dried state, 38 lb. 7 oz.: it shrinks and cracks considerably in drying, losing one quarter of its bulk. The wood of P. (a.) canéscens is said to be much harder and more durable than that of P. álba; in the same manner as the wood of the Tília europæ`a parvifòlia is finergrained and harder than that of T. e. grandifòlia. The wood is the whitest of any of the species; and it is used, in France and Germany, for a variety of minor purposes, particularly when lightness, either of weight or colour, is thought desirable; or where an artificial colour is to be given by staining. It is excellent for forming packing-cases, because nails may be driven into it without its splitting. It is used by the turner and the cabinet-maker, and a great many toys and small articles are made of it. The boards and rollers around which pieces of silk are wrapped in merchants' warehouses and in shops are made of this wood, which is peculiarly suitable for this purpose, from its lightness, which prevents it much increasing the expense of carriage. The principal use of the wood of the white poplar in Britain is for flooring-boards; but for this purpose it requires to be seasoned for two or three years before using. According to Mitchell, when felled at the point of maturity (see description above), abele wood is good for any kind of building purposes, especially on farms, where it is very suitable for the large folding doors for barns, as it is light, and never warps. It is also used as a substitute for the wood of the lime tree by musical instrument makers, and by carvers in wood. In Scotland, it is sometimes used in mill-work, and by the cabinet-maker and turner; and it is frequently used by the cooper, for making wooden dishes and casks. The leaves are eaten by cattle in Sweden, and are considered wholesome. As an ornamental tree, it is chiefly to be recommended in scenery on a large scale; since its great height and ample head overpower most artificial objects, such as buildings; and most exotic trees, from the comparative slowness of their growth. The fittest trees to plant along with the white poplar are other rapid-growing poplars and willows; and the fittest situations are the margins of broad rivers, or that of a large lake. In many situations in England, specimens of this tree exist, which, though fine in themselves, injure, by their disproportionate size, the effect of all the surrounding objects. Perhaps the most valuable purpose to which the tree can be applied in Britain, next to that of planting it by rivers and lakes, is for planting it in avenues, or by road sides: for the former, it is recommended on account of the rapidity of its growth; and for the latter, because its trunk is generally clear of branches to a considerable height, and, consequently, the light and air are more freely admitted to the road, than when the road sides are planted with trees that branch to the ground, such as oaks, elms, or limes. On the Continent, the nakedness of the trunks of road-side trees is an objection rather than an advantage, on account of the superior dryness of the climate. In the Nouveau Cours d'Agriculture, it is recommended to substitute white poplars, in old elm or oak avenues, for any trees that may have died from accident or disease, on account of the rapidity of its growth, and the short time which will be requisite for it to attain an equal height with the elms or oaks remaining. Poetical, mythological, and legendary Allusions. According to the ancient mythology, the white poplar was consecrated to Hercules, because he destroyed Cacus in a cavern adjoining Mount Aventinus, which was covered with these trees; and, in the moment of his triumph, bound his brows with a branch of white poplar (that being the only tree near him), as a token of his victory. When he descended into the infernal regions, he also returned with a wreath of white poplar round his head. (Stackh. Comm. de Theophrast., p. 217.) It was this, says the fable, that made the abele leaves of the colour they are now. The perspiration from the hero's brow made the inner part of the leaf, which touched his forehead, white; while the thick smoke arising from some parts of the infernal regions turned the upper surface of the leaves almost black. Persons offering sacrifices to Hercules were always crowned with branches of this tree; and all who had gloriously conquered their enemies in battle wore garlands of it, in imitation of Hercules. The poets frequently mention the white poplar. Homer, when describing the shield of Ajax, son of Telamon, states that it was made by Tychius, a skilful currier of Hyle; and it is said that the Tychius thus immortalised was a real person, beneath the poplar tree at whose door Homer had often sat, reciting his poems, while the kindhearted currier gave him food, and relieved his necessities. In another part of the Iliad, Homer compares the fall of Simoisius, when killed by Ajax, to that of a poplar: — "So falls a poplar, that in watery ground Raised high its head, with stately branches crown'd." Ovid mentions that Paris had carved the name of Enone on a poplar. Virgil, in his Georgics, gives directions for the culture of this tree, and mentions it in his Eclogues; and Horace, in his Ode to Dellius (lib. ii.), speaks of the white poplar as a tree which delights to grow on the banks of rivers. Modern poets have also noticed this tree. Cowper sings of "The poplar, that with silver lines his leaf;" and Barry Cornwall says,— "The green woods moved, and the light poplar shook Sterne, in his Sentimental Journey, represents Maria as sitting under a poplar. In the Sentiment of Flowers, it is said that the ancients consecrated this tree to time, because the leaves are in continual agitation; and, being of a blackish green on one side, with a thick white cotton on the other, they were supposed to indicate the alternation of day and night. Soil, Situation, Propagation, and Culture. For the abele to attain a large size, the soil in which it is planted should be loamy, and near water; though on a dry soil, where the tree will grow slower, the timber will be finer-grained, and more durable. In France, it is found to grow, not only in marshy places, but in dry sands; and it is a mistake to suppose that it will thrive in stagnant marshes in any climate. The French writers recommend it strongly for avenues, planted at a distance of 24 ft. tree from tree, on the side of a road from 60 ft. to 100 ft. wide; and, for filling up blanks in grown-up avenues, the white poplar is considered the best tree known. (See above; and Dict, des Eaux et Forêts, art. Avenue.) In British nurseries, it is commonly propagated by layers; which, as they seldom ripen the points of their shoots, or produce ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. PART III, abundance of fibrous roots the first season, ought to be transplanted into nursery lines for at least one year before removal to their final situation. The tree is admirably adapted for thickening or filling up blanks in woods and plantations; and, for this purpose, truncheons may be planted 3 in. or 4 in. in diameter, and 10 ft. or 12 ft. high. These truncheons have the great advantage of not being overshadowed by the adjoining trees, which is almost always the case when young plants are used for filling up vacancies among old trees. The truncheons need not be inserted very deeply in the soil, because the roots which they protrude, like those of all other trees having creeping roots, originate in a part of the trunk near the surface. When the white poplar is planted in masses, with a view to produce timber, the plants ought to be from 15 ft. to 18 ft. apart every way, and they may be most profitably cut down at the end of 30 or 40 years; but, when they are only to produce poles of from 6 in. to 9 in. in diameter, fit for roofing sheds and similar purposes, they need not be planted at a greater distance than from 6 ft. to 9 ft. every way; and, for coppice wood, from 4 ft. to 5 ft. is the proper distance. Owing to the softness of the wood, and its liability to shrink and crack, it is dangerous to cut off very large branches; and, even when branches of moderate size are cut off, the wound ought always to be covered over with grafting clay, or some description of plaster, to exclude the air. The tree is considered, both by French and English authors, as bearing lopping worse than any other species of the genus; and, when transplanted, the head should never be cut off, and not even cut in, unless the tree is to be planted in a hot and dry soil. Accidents and Diseases. When the tree is either carelessly pruned, or when a branch is broken off by accident, or a stump suffered to decay, the water seldom fails to be conducted to the heart of the trunk, and, by bringing on caries, to rot the timber. The leaves, and also the trunk, of the tree are liable to be infested by fungi, of which several species are common to the different species of poplar. (See p. 1638.) The porosity of the trunk, stool, and roots is favourable to the production of fungi of the larger kinds; and the Polyporus igniàrius Fries may frequently be seen on the trunk of the tree, or on the stool of a tree that has been cut down, of gigantic size. Statistics. Recorded Trees. Surrey, Mitchell, writing in 1827, says, there are first-rate trees: at Longleat, he mentions some At Strathfieldsaye, at Chalfont House, Bucks, and at Kingston, 100 ft. high, with trunks from 3 ft. to 4 ft. in diameter, and with 40 ft. to 60 ft. of clear bole. At Knowle, he saw one 9 ft. in circumference, that had been felled and cross cut: the sap-wood was about 4in. thick, and the heart-wood spongy, like the inside of an overgrown turnip. At Wentworth House, Mitchell saw another overgrown abele, felled and sawn'across, which presented the same appearance as the tree at Knowle. In Scotland, a tree at Drumlanrig, in Dumfriesshire, which stood on a dry soil, and was 80 years old, was, in 1773, 80 ft. high, with a trunk 2 ft. 6 in. in diameter. In the year 1769, a row of abeles, at Stevenston, in East Lothian, contained 122 trees, all about 80 ft. high, and having clear trunks of from 20 ft. to 30 ft. The trunks were from 5 ft. to 7 ft. in circumference, and yet the trees stood only 7 ft. distant from each other. They grew in a deep moist soil, were then 80 years old, and afforded a great quantity of timber, though they had begun to decay. (Walker's Essays, p. 50.) In France, in the years 1804 and 1805, several abeles, which were planted at Versailles in the time of Louis XIV., and had long been regarded as magnificent specimens, were cut down; and, though they had begun to decay, they were cut into planks, and sold at a high price, for naval purposes. Populus álba in England. In the environs of London, at Ham House, it is 85 ft. high, with a trunk 3 ft. in diameter. On the banks of the Thames, between Hampton Court and Chertsey, are several specimens upwards of 100 ft. high. In Devonshire, at Killerton, 25 years planted, it is 73 ft. high, diameter of trunk 2 ft. 1 in., and of the head S8 ft. In the Isle of Jersey, 10 years planted, it is 28 ft. high. In Surrey, at Deepdene, 10 years old, it is 27 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 6in., and of the head 10 ft. head 30 ft. In Wiltshire, at Longford Castle, it is 100 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 6 ft., and of the In Sussex, at Kidbrooke, it is 60 ft. high, diameter of the trunk 3ft., and of the head 90 ft. In Berkshire, at Bear Wood, 12 years planted, it is 40 ft. high; at Ditton Park, 90 years planted, it is 80 ft. high. In Denbighshire, at Llanbede Hall, 50 years planted, it is 63 ft. high. In Herefordshire, at Stoke Edith Park, it is 85 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 4 ft., and of the head 60 ft. In Leicestershire, at Belvoir Castle, 26 years planted, it is 60 ft. high. In Northamptonshire, at Clumber Park, 14 years planted, it is 25 ft. high. In Northumberland, at Hartburn, 83 years planted, it is 82 ft. high. In Pembrokeshire, at Stackpole Court, 40 years planted, it is 60 ft. high, diameter of the trunk 24 ft., and of the head 28 ft. In Shropshire, at Willey Park, 16 years planted, it is 30 ft. high. In Staffordshire, at Trentham, 26 years planted, it is 55 ft. high; at Alton Towers, 6 years planted, it is 20 ft. high. In Suffolk, at Finborough Hall, 80 years planted, it is 100 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 6 ft., and of the head 75 ft. In Yorkshire, at Grimston, 14 years planted, it is 70 ft. high. Populus álba in Scotland. In the environs of Edinburgh, at Hopetoun House, it is 30 ft. high; the diameter of the trunk 3 ft. 10 in., and of the head 30 ft. In Haddingtonshire, at Tynningham, it is 58 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 2 ft. 3 in., and of the head 42 ft. In Roxburghshire, 70 years planted, it has a clean trunk 50 ft. in height, averaging for that height 2 ft. in diameter, and containing nearly 120 ft. of timber. In Banffshire, at Gordon Castle, it is 70 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 3 ft. In Clackmannanshire, in the garden of the Dollar Institution, 12 years planted, it is 50 ft. high. In Forfarshire, at Monboddo, 16 years planted, it is 25 ft. high; at Courtachy Castle, 14 years planted, it is 27 ft. high. In Perthshire, at Taymouth, it is 60 ft, high, the diameter of the trunk 3 ft., and of the head 25 ft.; in Messrs. Dickson and Turnbull's Nursery, 28 years planted, it is 54 ft. high. Populus álba in Ireland. In the environs of Dublin, in the Glasnevin Botanic Garden, 35 years planted, it is 60 ft. high. In King's County, at Charleville Forest, 45 years planted, it is 120 ft, high; diameter of the trunk 2 ft. 10 in., and of the head 20 ft. In the County of Down, at Ballyleady, 10 years planted, it is 35 ft. high, diameter of the trunk 14ft., and of the head 33 ft. In Galway, at Coole, 70 years planted, it is 80 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 24 ft. Populus álba in Foreign Countries. In France, at Toulon, in the Botanic Garden, 30 years planted, it is 50 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 2 ft.; at Avranches, in the Botanic Garden, 40 years planted, it is 60 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 24 ft., and of the head 40 ft. In Hanover, at Göttingen, in the Botanic Garden, 40 years planted, it is from 70 ft. to 80 ft, high, the diameter of the trunk.from 2 ft. to 3 ft., and that of the head 50 ft. In Saxony, at Wörlitz, 60 years old, it is 50 ft. high, with a trunk 34 ft. in diameter. In Bavaria, in the Botanic Garden, Munich, 24 years old, it is 30 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 1 ft.; in the English Garden, 30 years planted, it is 50 ft. high. In Austria, at Vienna, at Laxenburg, 80 years old, it is 45 ft. high; at Kopenzel, 18 years planted, it is 20 ft. high; in the garden of Baron Loudon, 30 years planted, it is 36 ft. high; the diameter of the trunk 14in, and of the head 16ft.; at Brück on the Leytha, 60 years old, it is 90 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 14 ft., and of the head 60 ft. In Prussia, at Berlin, at Sans Souci, 50 years old, it is 60 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 24 ft., and of the head 28 ft. In Italy, in Lombardy, at Monza, 30 years old, it is 70 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 2 ft., and of the head 40 ft. Commercial Statistics. Price of plants, in the London nurseries, 25s. per hundred, or, when of large size, ls. each; at Bollwyller, 1 franc each. 3. P. TRE MULA L. The trembling-leaved Poplar, or Aspen. Identification. Lin. Sp. Pl., 1464.; Du Roi Harbk., 2. p. 148.; Willd. Arb., 228.; Sp. Pl., 4. p. 803.; Spreng. Syst. Veg., 2. p. 244.; Dill. Dict., No. 2.; Pall. Fl. Ross., 1. p. 65.; Smith Eng. Bot., t. 1909.; Engl. Fl., 4. p. 244.; Hook. Fl. Scot., 289.; Mackay F1. Hibern., pt. 1. p. 254.; Du Ham. Arb., ed. nov., 2. p. 183.; Höss Anleit., p. 153. Synonymes. P. No. 1633., Hall. Hist., 2. 303.; P. libyca Raii Syn. 456.; P. hybrida Dod. Pempt., 836., Raii Syn., 446.; P. nigra Trag. Hist., 1033., fig.; P. péndula Du Roi; le Tremble, Fr.; la Tremola, Alberalla, Alberetto Ital.; Zitter-Pappel, Espe, Ger. Derivation. The English name of Aspen is evidently derived from the German, espe. The Sexes. Both sexes are described in the English Flora. A male plant was flowering in the London Horticultural Society's arboretum in the spring of 1835. The plant growing in the Cambridge Botanic Garden a few years ago, and perhaps still growing there, was a male one. Engravings. Eng. Bot., t. 1909.; T. Nees ab Esenbeck Gen. Pl. Fl. Germ., fasc. 1., the catkins of the female, the flowers of both sexes, and the fruit; Blackw., t. 248.; Ger. Em., 1487. fig.; Lob. Ic., 2. 194. fig.; Bauh. Hist., 1. 163. fig.; Matth. Valgr., 1. 125. fig.; Cam. Epit., 67. fig.; Dod. Pempt., 836. fig.; Dalech. Hist., 87. fig.; Treg. Hist., 1083. fig.; Hayne Abbild, t. 203.; our fig. 1509.; and the plate in our last Volume. Spec. Char., &c. Young branchlets hairy. Leaves having compressed footstalks, and disks that are roundish-ovate, or nearly orbicular; toothed in a repand manner, downy when young, afterwards glabrous on both surfaces. Stigmas 4, erect, eared at the base. (Smith, Willd., Spreng.) It is a native of rather moist woods, as well as of various other situations throughout Europe. (Smith in Rees's Cyclop.) It flowers in Britain in March and April. Varieties. In our opinion, P. trépida, P. grandidentàta, and P. græ`ca are nothing more than different states of P. trémula; nevertheless, we have followed the authorities, and given them as species, inserting below only what are considered as varieties of P. trémula. Among the specimens sent by Professor Mertens to Sir J. E. Smith, before mentioned (see p.1640.), the following approximate to P. trémula: -- P. t. 1 monticola, P. montícola Mertens.-The professor seems to think this the genuine P. trémula of Linnæus. The specimen is of a male plant. * P. t. 2 parvifòlia Mertens. There are specimens of both sexes of this variety. P. t. 3 grandifolia Mertens. The specimen is of a female plant. P. t. 4 rotundifolia major Mertens. The specimen is of a male plant. * P. t. 5 minor Mertens. - This specimen is of a male plant. P. t. 6 oxyodónta, P. oxyodónta Mertens. - The professor appears to doubt whether this is only a variety of P. trémula. Smith describes the teeth of the leaves of the species as nominally blunt: oxyodónta signifies sharp teeth; and in the specimen the teeth of the leaves are rather pointed. It is of a male plant. P. t. 7 stricta, P. strícta Mertens.— The professor appears doubtful whether this is not also only a variety of P. trémula, though he has made it a species. The specimen is of a female. The above varieties, we suppose, still exist on the ramparts of Bremen; cuttings of them might, no doubt, be procured through the Floetbeck Nursery. P. t. 8 péndula, P. pendula Lodd. Cat., 1836, and the plate of this variety in our last Volume, is the only distinct variety of P. trémula that exists in the neighbourhood of London. The handsomest specimen is at Kenwood, where a male plant, 8 years planted, is 20 ft. high. P. t. 9 supina, P. supina Lodd. Cat., ed. 1836, closely resembles the preceding sort; and the plant in the Hackney arboretum is so very small, that it is difficult to say whether it is really distinct or not. P. t. 10 lævigata; P. lævigàta Ait. Hort. Kew., Lodd. Cat., ed. 1836; has shining leaves, rather larger than the species. The 1509 Description. A rapid-growing tree, rather exceeding the middle size, with a straight clean trunk, tall in proportion to its thickness; and a smooth bark, which becomes grey, and cracks with age. The branches, which extend horizontally, and are not very numerous, become pendulous as the tree advances in age. young shoots are tough, pliant, and of a reddish colour; and both the wood and the leaves vary exceedingly, according to the dryness or moisture of the soil in which the tree is grown. The flowers appear in March, before those of any other poplar. The roots, Sir J. E. Smith observes, creep and emit suckers; and these, as well as the young branchlets, are clothed with brown prominent hairs: they are sometimes hoary, but not cottony. The colour of the upper surface of the leaves is a fine dark glaucous shining green, and that of the under surface of a paler shade. The disk of the leaf has a small point, and 3 ribs; it is somewhat wavy, and often shorter than the footstalk; which, being vertically compressed in its upper part in relation to the plane of the leaf, counteracts the ordinary waving motion of the leaf in the wind, and causes it to quiver with the slightest breeze; whence has arisen the proverbial theme of comparison, the trembling of an aspen leaf. (Smith in Eng. Fl.) The leaves, says Dr. Johnston of Berwick, are of a fine smooth dark green, with a narrow yellowish edge, more or less fringed with soft hairs, and suspended on flattened stalks; so that "When zephyrs wake, The aspen's trembling leaves must shake:" and, by their friction on one another, they make a constant rustling noise. (Flora of Berwick upon Tweed, vol. i. p. 220.) The tree, when in a suitable soil, grows with great rapidity during the first thirty years after being planted, attaining, in that time, the height of from 60 ft. to 80 ft.; afterwards, the trunk increases slowly in thickness, and in 60 or 80 years it begins to decay, and can seldom occupy the ground profitably for a longer period. When cut over by the surface, the stool sends up shoots more freely than the white poplar, but much less so than most other trees that stole. The want of shoots from the stools, however, is amply made up by the abundance of root suckers. Geography, History, &c. The trembling poplar is a native of most parts of Britain, in wet soils. It is found as far north as Sutherland; at above 1600 ft. above the level of the sea, in Braemar, in Aberdeenshire; and, at an elevation of 1500 ft., in the Isle of Mull. It is indigenous to Ireland, in the county of Dublin, and in other places mentioned in Mackay's Flora Hibernica. It is found, according to Mirbel, in the whole of the south of Europe, Asia Minor, and Caucasus, and in Lapland to the Frozen Ocean. It is very abun |