The true Indian Summer was a period of very mild weather, lasting from ten to fifteen days, and accompanied neither by wind nor rain. It has been incorrectly described by certain writers as attended with fog. The sky, though somewhat dim, was not obscured by vapor, but by a sort of ruddy haze, that veiled the prospect, as it often will during a series of warm, still days happening at any season. I draw my inferences from what I have reason to consider the most authentic accounts. The air was dry; and it could not have been otherwise. If it were moist, the increased radiation would soon dissipate the heat and put an end to the Indian Summer, which was never known to survive a copious and extensive fall of rain. The atmosphere was described as being obscured by smoke, rather than vapor, and this was most apparent in the latter part of the day. This smoky atmosphere has led some writers to suppose the whole phenomenon to be caused by fires in the woods.
According to tradition, no part of the year was more delightful than this short period. Those accounts, however, that extended its duration beyond the space of fourteen or fifteen days were undoubtedly exaggerated. The nearest approaches to an Indian Summer which I have witnessed in its proper season have never lasted a week. In our day, when a warm week occurs in the autumn, it comes at no regular or expected time. This irregularity of its occurrence proves that it is not to be identified as the Indian Summer, which was regular in its happening immediately after the entire denudation of the forest. Similar but shorter periods of mild and serene weather may happen, at the present epoch, in winter and spring as well as in autumn. These irregularities of the weather cannot be explained; nor can we make predictions of the time when any of them may happen. But a warm period in October or December or January is not an Indian Summer, which belonged to November, and is only a relic of the past.
The origin of the name is explained by Dr. Lyman Foot, in the third volume of “Silliman’s Journal.” He says: “If you ask an Indian in the fall when he is going to his hunting-ground, he will tell you when the fall summer comes, or when the Great Spirit sends our fall summer; meaning the time in November which we call the Indian Summer. And the Indians actually believe that the Great Spirit sends this mild season in November for their special benefit.”
THE POPLAR.
In the latter part of April, some of the most conspicuous groups in many of the wooded districts of Northern New England are Poplar woods, full of olivegreen aments, and giving the hue of their blossoms and of their pale green spray to large portions of the forest in scattered assemblages. At this period the poplars are an important ingredient in our wood-scenery, especially as their colors vary considerably from those of other trees until all kinds are in full foliage. They have the merit also of preceding a greater part of the forest in the development of their flowers. The aments of a few species are variegated with red and purple stamens; but the generality do not vary from a pure olive. The Poplar has not many of the qualities of a beautiful or picturesque tree. It is marked by a coarse and straggling spray, without any variety in its combination. It is deficient in beauty and density of foliage, which is chiefly remarkable for its fragrance and tremulous habit.
All the poplars are rapid in their growth, and will prosper in almost all situations. They prefer a moist, sandy soil, but shun the peat meadow. Their rapidity of growth renders them valuable where a speedy plantation is wanted. Hence they are very generally planted by the sides of dusty thoroughfares, not being dainty in their choice of soil and situation. The species generally employed for such purposes is the Abele, or Silver Poplar, which possesses these requisite properties in a higher degree than our native trees. It displays also more beauty of foliage, and takes a rounder and handsomer shape than most others. One of the defects which I have frequently observed in the shape of the large poplars is a leaning of the branches rather awkwardly toward the south-east, caused by the prevalent north-west winds acting upon branches of great proportional length, and possessing very little elasticity. This inclination is observed more or less in other soft-wooded deciduous trees.
THE CANADA POPLAR.
The Canada or Balm of Gilead Poplar is more frequent by our waysides than any other species. It is a tree of the first magnitude, attaining a great size in the bole as well as a superior height. It is distinguished by its large leaves, of a bright glossy verdure, and its long branches, always subordinate to the central shaft, which may be traced nearly to the summit of the tree. Before the leaves begin to expand, the buds are covered with a yellow glutinous balsam, that diffuses a peculiar and very penetrating but agreeable odor, unlike any other. Sir John Franklin remarks that this tree constitutes “the greatest part of the drift timber observed on the shores of the Arctic Sea.” It has a very wide geographical range, extending from Canada to the Missouri River, and is in many places called the Ontario Poplar. It is abundant in the northern woods, but is found in the southern parts of New England only by the roadsides and in the enclosures of dwelling-houses. The balsam is gathered in all parts of the country as a healing anodyne, and for many ailments it is a favorite remedy in domestic medicine; but no place has yet been assigned to it in the pharmacopœias. All the poplars produce more or less of this substance. It is very different from turpentine, more agreeable when perceived in the air, but pungent and disagreeable to the taste.
THE BLACK POPLAR.
There are several of the poplars that are not easily distinguished, and the different and various accounts of them by botanists have increased this confusion. Part of the difficulty arises from the diœcious character of the poplar, causing in some instances the male and female trees to be mistaken for different species. This is particularly remarkable in the Balm of Gilead poplar. The female tree is smaller than the male, with larger leaves, and annoys us by the abundance of cottony down that covers the ground for a considerable space around it. The male tree is taller and more spreading, and would hardly be recognized as the same species.