PART III,

1676 ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM.

S 15. P. ca'ndicans Ait. The whitish-feam/ balsam-bearing, or Ontario

Poplar. ’

Identification. Ait. Hort. Kew., ed. 1., 3. p. 406., ed. 2., 5. p. 897.; Willd. Arb., 231., Sp. PI., 806. •Michx. Arb.; North Amer. Sylva, 2. p. 239. t. 98. f. 2.: Pursh FI. Amer. Sept., 2. p. 618.; Suren'e’Syst. Veg., 2. p. 244. * *

Synonymes. P. macroph^lla Lindt, in Encyc. of Plants, p. 840., and Lodd. Cat. , 1836; P. latif&liaMcench Meth., p. 338.; P. ontaritSnsis.Dfs/. Hort. Par., and Lodd. Cat. , 1836 ; P. eord&ta Lodd.Cat.,1836 ; P. canadensis Mcench Weissenst., 81., but not of Michx. which is P. laevigata Willd.-, Balmof Gilead.Tree, Boston, North Amer. ; Peuplier hard, Canada ; Peuplier &. Feuilles verniss^es, Fr.

The Sexes. The male is in the London Horticultural Society’s Garden j the female is in the Dukeof Wellington’s garden at Apsley House, London .

Engravings. Catesb. Car., 1. 1 . 34. j Michx. Arb.; Michx. North Amer. Sylva, 2. t, 98. f. 2. ; and ourfig. 1537.

Spec. Char., %c. Shoot round. Bud very gummy. Stipules gummy. Pe-tiole compressed in its upper part, hairy in many instances. Disk of leafheart-shaped at the base, ovate, acuminate; serrated with blunt, unequalteeth; 3-nerved ; deep green on the upper surface, whitish on the underone, on which the veins appear reticulate. Inflorescence similar to thatof P. balsamifera (Michx. jun., Pursh, Spreng., and obs.) The disk of theleaf is thrice as large as that of P. balsamifera. (Michx. jun.') A tree,attaining the height of 40 ft. or 50 ft., with a trunk 18 in. or 20 in. indiameter, in the states of Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and New Hamp-shire ; flowering, with the balsam poplar, in March. It was introducedinto England in 1772, and is frequent in gardens.

Description, fyc. The Ontario poplar bears a close general resemblance tothe balsam poplar: it has the rigid fastigiate habit of that tree, its fine fra-grance, and its property of throwing up numerous suckers; but it differsfrom it, in having very large heart-shapedleaves, and in attaining a larger size, both ,in its native country, and in British gardens.

The buds are covered with the same balsamicsubstance as those of P. balsamifera; andthe leaves are of the same fine yellow colour _in spring, and, like those of the balsam poplar, 'preserve, at all stages of their growth, thesame shape. The foliage, when mature, istufted, and of a dark green; the dispositionof the branches is somewhat rigid and irregu-lar; which last circumstance prevents thefoliage from massing well together, and givesthe tree rather an inelegant appearance. Thetrunk is covered with a smooth greenishbark, which becomes darker with age; thewood is soft; and, like that of the balsam poplar, is chiefly valuable forproducing potash. Michaux never found the tree in forests in America ,nor was he able to discover where it was indigenous; but he found itgrowing commonly before houses, both in the towns and country. Purshmentions New England as the place where he had seen it in a living state. I 11British gardens, it has very frequently been confounded with the balsampoplar; and the same thing, Bose informs us, often happens in France . Posestrongly recommends this tree for its shade, and the fragrance with whicit perfumes the air in spring. It is readily propagated by cuttings or suckers,but will not attain a large size unless on rich soil near water; though, as theroots creep along the surface, the soil need not be deep.

Statistics. In England, in Buckinghamshire , at Temple House, 40 years planted, it is tOh.the diameter of the trunk 2 ft., and of the head 30 ft.; in Durham , at Southend, 7 y. ear £r£t;,, 2 haVis 20 ft. high ; in Hertfordshire, at Cheshunt , 18 years planted, it is 45 ft. high ; m -Not Ashire, at Clumber Park, 10 years planted, it is 48 ft. high; in Warwickshire , at vvmu y . eN7 years planted, it is 24 ft. high. In Scotland, near Edinburgh , at the Experimental Gar , ^ ^leith, 9 years planted, it is 23 ft. high ; in Fifeshire , at Danibristte Park, 9 years P" ntea > Du biin,high ; in Stirlingshire, at Callender Park, 16 years planted, it is 70 ft. high In Irelana,in the Glasnevin Botanic Garden, 30 years planted, it is 30 ft. high. In Germany , athe garden of Baron Loudon, 30 years old, it is 24 ft. high. Price of plants as in P. baisaw