POPISH PLOT POPLAR 711 volunteers, May 17, 1861, and placed in com- mand of the district of North Missouri, and subsequently in other portions of the state. He was in command of the army of the Mis- sissippi in the movements which terminated in the occupation of New Madrid, March 14, 1862, and in the capture of Island No. 10, April 8, having been made major general of volun- teers, March 21. In June he was called to the east, and placed in command of what was for a few months styled the army of Virginia, comprising all the troops in that state except the army of the Potomac, under McOlellan. The forces under his command fought the bat- tles of Cedar Mountain, Aug. 9, and Bristoe Station, Aug. 27 ; the second battle of Bull Run, or the battle of Groveton, Aug. 29-30 (see BULL RUN) ; and the skirmish at Chantilly, Sept. 1. He was made brigadier general in the regular army, July 14, 1862. Early in Sep- tember, at his own request, he was relieved from the command of the army of Virginia, which soon became virtually a part of the army of the Potomac, and returned to the command of the department of the Northwest, which he held till January, 1865. He was made brevet major general in the regular army in March, 1865. From January to June, 1865, he was in command of the military division of the Mis- souri. He was mustered out of the volunteer service in September, 1866, and is now (1875) commander of the department of the Missouri, with his headquarters at Fort Leavenworth. He has published "Explorations from the Red River to the Rio Grande," in the "Pacific Railroad Reports," vol. iii., and an account of " The Campaign in Virginia of July and Au- gust, 1862 "(1863). POPISH PLOT. See OATES, TITUS. POPLAR (Fr. peuplier, from Lat. populus), the common name for trees of the genus popu- lus, the classical Latin name, said to have been given because it was much planted in public walks and was regarded as the tree of the peo- ple. The willow family (salicacem) contains but two genera, salix, the willow, and the poplar; both dioecious trees, bearing their flowers in dense, cylindrical catkins, one under each scale or bract ; the male flower consists of two to several stamens ; the female of a one- celled ovary with numerous ovules, which ri- pens into a two-valved pod containing numerous seeds, furnished with long silky down. The poplars differ from the willows in having mostly angular branches, much broader and more or less heart-shaped leaves, and especially in the catkins, the scales of which in the willow are entire, but in the poplar are cut-lobed or fringed at the apex ; the poplar has more nu- merous stamens, the stamens and the ovary in a small oblique cup or involucre; the scaly buds of the poplars are usually covered with a resinous varnish. They are natives of tem- perate countries, and of very rapid growth ; their wood is soft, and of little use where strength is required, though very durable if protected from the weather; as a fuel the wood is exceedingly poor. From their rapid growth and the ease with which they take root from cuttings, poplars of various kinds have been recommended for planting by set- tlers upon the prairies; but there are other trees which grow about as quickly, and pro- duce wood in every respect more valuable. When the capsules are ripe they break open and set free the seeds, which by means of their downy tufts are scattered in multitudes in every direction ; this down is not only exceed- ingly annoying to housekeepers, as it pene- trates everywhere, but the particles floating in the air are breathed and cause much irrita- tion of the air passages ; if planted for shade, cuttings of the male trees should be selected to avoid the discomforts attendant upon the dis- persion of the seeds. The leaves in most spe- cies are stirred by the slightest breath of wind, and may be seen in tremulous motion when the foliage of other trees is scarcely stirred; this motion is said to be due to the fact that the petioles are compressed laterally ; in most leaves the flat surface of the petiole is parallel with the plane of the leaf blade, but in poplars it is at right angles to it. The resinous ma- terial covering the unopened buds, more abun- dant in some species than others, is very use- ful to bees, as it furnishes them with a large share if not all of the propolis or cement with which on taking possession of a new hive they not only seal up every crack and crevice, but coat the whole interior surface. The species all contain a bitter principle, and the bark and leaves of several have been used as a tonic and Cottonwood (Populus monilifera). an antiperiodic ; they contain, besides salicine, an analogous principle, populine. The bark of some is used to dye a yellow. The most widely distributed and best known of our species is the cottonwood, populus monilifera, the necklace- bearing poplar, which is such a characteristic
