I thought that possibly I should have stated what region I live in or possibly what species I was referring. As Paul mentioned there are lots of different species of poplar (aspen) out there. For the record I live in Northern Michigan and the species I am referring are quaking aspen, big-tooth aspen and balsam poplar. These three species are, I think in the poplar family (could be genus poplar but I don’t think so, though it’s been a long time). There are lots of common names for these trees including aspen and popple and timber cutters have names for all of them that only they know. In one of my reference books it said that an aspen is any poplar tree whose leaves flutter in the wind.

Balsam poplar is the only one that I feel has no potential for much of anything, I have rarely seen one that you couldn’t fit both hands around. It has glossy leaves and at certain times of the year gives off a smell resembling a stink bug if you break off a twig or crush a bud. Once while smelt dipping I unknowingly cut a balsam poplar twig to use for a wiener stick. It only took a few bites to realize that I had made a big mistake. I remember it took several beers to get the nasty taste out of my mouth.

On the other hand big tooth and quaking seem like they might work and also seem very similar to each other. They both seem very weak, most people would have no problem breaking a green limb the size of their wrist. As far as weight, these two seem very light compared to any other species I have been around. One person can move a fresh cut log that two people would struggle with if it were pine. As far as I know these trees are usually used for paper pulp, therefore I have never seen a cut plank. All that I can say is that it is difficult to count rings on a cut tree and core samples come out like a pure white plug.

As Paul mentioned birch and poplar are very similar to each other, both in appearance and the speed with which they decay. I have pondered over the speed that birch decays. Poplar makes sense that it decays so fast, there is just nothing there. Birch on the other hand is quite hard and dense, I believe it is considered a "hard wood".

Please let me say that I’m not trying to come across as a "know it all", or to disprove anyone. I really appreciate the comments left by everyone and I’m sure my statements are only correct (I hope) in my area. I know very little about the flora and fauna in other areas of the country.

Thanks for the comments and sorry for not being more specific in my last message.

Kevin Morlock