4 JUNE 1948, Page 18

LOMBARDY POPLARS

Sta,—If Sir William Beach Thomas will consult the well-known book by W. J. Bean, Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles, he will find full information about the Lombardy poplar. Under Populus nigra (Lin.), var. Italica, he will read: "This well-known and beautiful treat, the most valuable of all fastigiate trees, differs only from the type in its slender tapering form and quite erect branches. Nearly all the Lombardy, poplars in cultivation are male, but a few female ones are known... . The male, which is occasionally 100-125 feet high, is recorded to have been brought to England from Turin by Lord Rochford in 1758."—Yours faithfully, AGNES FRY. Orchard Hill, Brent Knoll, Highbridge, Somerset.