It has large leaves of a
bright, glossy green, which grow loosely on long branches, A peculiarity
of this tree is that before the leaves begin to expand the buds are
covered with a yellow, glutinous balsam that diffuses a penetrating but
very agreeable odor unlike any other. The balsam is gathered as a
healing anodyne, and for many ailments it is a favorite remedy in
domestic medicine. All the poplars produce more or less of this
substance.
"The river poplaris found on the banks of rivers and brooks and in wet
places, and is a noble and graceful tree. The trunk is light gray in
color, and the young trees have a smooth, leather-like bark. The broad
leaves, of a very rich green, grow on stems nearly as long as
themselves, and the flowering aments are of a light-red color. The
leaf-stalks and young branches are also brightly tinted. Another of
these trees has a very singular name: it is called the necklace poplar."
[Illustration: LOMBARDY POPLAR.]
"Do the flowers grow like real necklaces?" asked Clara.
"Not quite," replied her governess, "but the reason given is something
like it. The tree is so called from the resemblance of the long ament,
before opening, to the beads of a necklace. In Europe it is known as the
Swiss poplar and the black Italian poplar. Its timber is much valued
there for building. There are also the black poplar and that queer,
stiff-looking tree the Lombardy poplar. Cannot one of you tell me where
there are some tall, narrow trees that look almost as if they had been
cut out of wood and stuck there?"
"I know where there are some," said Malcolm: "right in front of Mrs.
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