The cottonwood is larger than the other poplars, and in the Mississippi Valley it sometimes grows to be one hundred and fifty feet high. The climate of London must be particularly congenial to this tree, for Emerson alludes to trees there which grew thirty and forty feet in only seven years. In England it is called the black Italian poplar. The name necklace poplar comes from the resemblance of the fruit of the catkins to the beads of a necklace. The wood is light and soft, and is used for pulp, for making packing cases, and for fuel. The specific name, _deltoides_, comes from the Greek, and alludes to the deltoid or triangular shape of the leaves. The cottonwood grows wild in Western New England, south to Florida and westward. Beside these four poplars, the swamp cottonwood (_Populus heterophylla_) is found growing wild at one place in Connecticut, and the Lombardy and white poplars are both planted commonly from Europe. The erect, rigid branches of the Lombardy poplar and its general narrow, spire-like growth make the outline of this tree so distinctive that it is easily recognized, even in winter, at a great distance. The buds are gummy, and the bark of the trunk is deeply fissured. It is a tall tree, often reaching one hundred and twenty feet high. The white poplar may be distinguished by its buds, which are not covered with sticky coating like those of the other members of this genus, and by the recent shoots, which are downy. It is remarkable in summer for the thick, white down on the under sides of the dark green leaves, producing a most pleasing contrast in the foliage when the wind blows. CHAPTER XV THE LARCH [Illustration: AMERICAN LARCH _Larix americana_ Page 187 ] Chapter XV THE LARCH Family Pinaceæ The larch is the only native Northern genus of the pine family which loses its leaves in winter; all the other native genera are evergreens. There is one indigenous species, and one from Europe which is cultivated even more commonly than the American tree. [Sidenote: American Larch; Tamarack or Hackmatack _Larix americana_] _A large tree, 50 to 100 feet high. The bark is rough with small, flat scales. The stems are pliable, and are covered with knobby buds. The cones are small, not more than half an inch long._ In Massachusetts the larch does not attain a great height, but in cold Northern swamps it grows to be a large tree. It is not dependent on a wet situation, but grows well after being transplanted into upland soil. Its growth is rapid, and it is often chosen for “quick effects” in landscape gardening,—a choice which is to be regretted for the most part, as few trees have so little beauty as the larch. During a brief interval in the early spring, when the first young leaves fringe the branches in delicate green, this tree is really lovely, but after that there is little to attract us in its stiff, formal outline and dark foliage, and in winter it is most unprepossessing.