New-York tribune., 1896-12-29

called black cottonwood or swamp poplar. whch
extends from Connecticut TO Georgia. throus"
the Gulf States, and northward into Tennessee
and Southern Indiana. II reaches It's grea'eSe
size OF ninety or q hundred feet in the swamp
borders Of the Lower Mississippi valley af'ohs
the Texas oaks red NAPLES and sour gums
The balsam poplar or tacmahac' Is tue '"
s,,bArc,ic tree on this continent and II Is
conspicuous and magnificent object as us pri'i-
liant leaves flash in the wind above It's grahd
trunk \ variety Of 1t is largely cultivated as
4 shade tree in our Northeastern States under
the name Of Balm OF Gead. and mashlnce"'
tree It is 1t has more widely spread prahc"rs
than the type. and forms more open heau.
and it's heart-shapod leaves are pioaue' anu
more coarsely serrate or way
A striking popularity Of the basam poplar ana
the ono from which II gets IT'S nam. Is the rae;
that It's leaf buds saturated with yeiio" anu
sticky exudation which has very distinct bal
sainic odor. This is not only true wheh thc! are
broken from the branch Their fragrance while
on the tree is carried by the wind TO great dis
tance The narrow-leaved cottonwood Is
Southwestern tree which is already much plant
ed for shade In the towns OF Utah and Colorado
while th. black cottonwood. Populus tricho-
carpa the tallest Of all the pOplars Is conspcu-
Gus along the streams OF the Northwestern
coast The stately Carolina poplar Popuius DEL
toidea is a magnificent tree. from whose D'ad
top hang long pensle branches covcF"h WIFI
rich green foliage. II Is often huhdrcd iee'
high and It's trunk seven or eight rect through
dividing sometimes into great. widespreadhs
limbs which shade circle n hundreh ieet
across. 1t is one Of the most aDundaht Oh trees
hetwoen the Appalachian and Rocky Mountain
systems where it is found along all the streams
Though it's wood does not make high class TIM
bcr the cottonwood played an important par,
In the settlement Of the prairie states west o'
the Missouri before the railroad joined the i"r-
ests of the East with tn Western piains lur-
,,sbir~ Tho material fo- their first buildings.
from the rough stockadr raised To protect the
strurrling settler against the Indian to the
hotel and schoolhousc OF the infant town. 1he
last tree described is Frcmonts poplar. which
bas lon.- becn plantod as q shade tree in Mexl-
can cities where it forms splendid avenues. In
is native forests. from Western Texas and
Northern Mexico to the valley Of the upper
Sacramento River. it is a tree Of the first size.
In the cities OF the Southw cstern United states
it is now planted very generally along the
streets and is used largely for fuel, which "hen
pollardcd It produces very quickly and abun-
dainty.
There Is no occasion to repeat what has been
said in notices OF previous volumes OF this
work Botanists may hold different opinions
as to the system Of nomenclature adopted. but
there is a cordial unaniniity among competent
Judges as To the thoroughness OF individual re-
search the scholarly way in which the lit
crature OF the subject has been handled the
broad knowled shown in the generic descrip-
tons and tho painstaking study which has been
given TO individual species. The photography.
the careful reference To authority. the bio
graphical sketches. the historical notes. have
all been collected and selected with a sound
ness Of Judgment that has never been cXce!led
In a work of descriptive science. The tenth vol
umc. which is now ready for delivery. treats
Of yuccas. arborcsccnt palms and some Of the
cor ifcrs. The eleventh volume now In prepara
tion. is devoted entirely 10 tho pines. The
spruces. frs. hcmlocks and larrhcs. with II few
species which have been discovered since the
earlier volumes worr published. VIII hc included
in the twelfth and hnal volume