"It is generally thought not to be durable," was the reply, "but it is
said that if kept dry the wood will last as long as that of any tree.
Says the poplar plank,

"'Though heart of oak be ne'er so stout,
Keep me dry and I'll see him out.'

"The poplar has been highly praised, for every part of this tree answers
some good purpose. The bark, being light, like cork, serves to support
the nets of fishermen; the inner bark is used by the Kamschadales as a
material for bread; brooms are made from the twigs, and paper from the
cottony down of the seeds. Horses, cows and sheep browse upon it.

"And now," said Miss Harson, when the children were wondering if that
were the end, "we have come to the most interesting tree of the whole
species--the aspen, or trembling poplar. It is a small, graceful tree
with rounded leaves having a wavy, toothed border, covered with soft
silk when young, which remains only as a fringe on the edge at maturity,
supported by a very slender footstalk about as long as the leaf, and
compressed laterally from near the base. They are thus agitated by the
slightest breath of wind with that quivering, restless motion
characteristic of all the poplars, but in none so striking as this. 'To
quiver like an aspen-leaf has become a proverb. The foliage appears
lighter than that of most other trees, from continually displaying the
under side of the leaves.

"The aspen has been called a very poetical tree, because it is the only
one whose leaves tremble when the wind is apparently calm. It is said,
however, to suggest fickleness and caprice, levity and irresolution--a
bad character for any tree. The small American aspen, which is quite