waysides, in front of dwelling-houses, on the borders of public
grounds, and particularly in avenues leading to houses that stand at
some distance from the high-road.

[Illustration: A GROUP OF POPLARS IN CASHMERE]

"The poplar is found in many lands. The Lombardy poplar, as its name
indicates, was brought from Italy, where it grows luxuriantly beside the
orange and the myrtle; but after one of our cold winters many of its
small branches will decay, and this gives it a forlorn appearance. When
fresh and green, the Lombardy poplar is quite handsome. Some one wrote
of it long ago: 'There is no other tree that so pleasantly adorns the
sides of narrow lanes and avenues, and so neatly accommodates itself to
limited enclosures. Its foliage is dense and of the liveliest verdure,
making delicate music to the soft touch of every breeze. Its
terebinthine odors scent the vernal gales that enter our open windows
with the morning sun. Its branches, always turning upward and closely
gathered together, afford a harbor to the singing-birds that make them a
favorite resort, and its long, tapering spire that points to heaven
gives an air of cheerfulness and religious tranquillity to village
scenery.'"

"I wish we had some," said Edith, "with singing-birds in 'em."

"Why, my dear child," replied her governess, "have we not the beautiful
elms, in which the birds build their nests and where they fly in and out
continually? They are the very same birds that build in the
Lombardy poplars."

"I thought that singing-birds always lived in cages," said the little