1384

ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM.

PART III.

this, it is proved by the practice in Belgium, is only an imaginary evil, pro-vided the superfluous shoots are removed from the upper extremity of thedecapitated tree the second year, and the head formed with common careby future prunings. (See the very instructive article by Poiteau, already re-ferred to, in the Annates, and also the account of the Belgian practice, inthe Gardener’s Magazine, vol. x. p. 8.) In Britain, young elm trees, having beentwo or three times transplanted in the nurseries, are placed in their finalsituations without heading down; and in our moist climate they grow vi-gorously the first year, and require very little pruning. On the Continent,owing to the greater warmth of the summers, and the consequent increasedevaporation from the leaves, plants are liable to be killed when trans-planted with all their branches on; and, hence, the mode of denuding theplants just described is that generally practised. In France and Belgium, thenarrow-leaved elm is the most common tree planted by road sides, and alongthe boulevards and streets of towns and cities ; and, in such cases, a large pitis previously dug, 4 ft. or 5 ft. in diameter, and from 2 ft. to 3 ft. in depth ; and aconsiderable portion of rich fine mould is placed in immediate contact withthe roots of the trees, and the pit filled up with the best part of the soil whichhad been previously dug out of it. During the first summer, water is regularlysupplied; and the trees, or rather stumps, grow freely; very little attention isrequired afterwards, except to encourage the leading shoot, and to shortenin the lateral branches, so as to encourage the plant to assume a tree-likeform. In the neighbourhood of Paris, and in the south of France, U. cam-pestris, and several of its varieties, occasionally bear seeds; and these aresometimes sown by the nurserymen, in order to procure new sorts ; and bythe managers of the national forests, in order to obtain numerous plants at acheap rate. The common English elm very rarely produces seeds in England ;nevertheless it has done so in a few places, and one of these is Lea Park,near Littlebourne, about four miles from Canterbury. Mr. Masters of Can-terbury has only' known seeds twice ripened in this park; and one of thetimes they did not germinate. From those which did he obtained U. c.viminalis, and nearly a score other very distinct varieties, which, however,from the number of varieties already existing, and the little demand for them,he did not consider worth keeping separate, and giving names to. U. c.stricta, and some other varieties of the common elm, as well as the species,flower very profusely every year, but scarcely ever ripen seeds.

It is observed by' Bose, that the more remarkable varieties, such as thetwisted elm, the broad-leaved elm, the lime-tree-leaved elm, &c., cometolerably true from seed, speaking of the mass of young plants; but that amongthese are constantly produced numerous subvarieties. The seeds fall fromthe trees as soon as they are ripe; and,being swept up, are sown immediatelyin beds of light rich soil; the seeds being placed about 1 in. apart every way,and covered to the depth of about an eighth of an inch. The plants comeup the same season, and are fit for transplanting into nursery lines in the au-tumn. Of all the European timber trees, not belonging to the coniferous family,except the Lombardy poplars, the narrow-leaved elm requires the least care orpruning after it is planted; and, at the same time, no tree will bear betterthan it does the knife or the shears. All the branches may be cut from thestem, except a small tuft at the top; and still the tree will grow vigorously,affording, where that mode of feeding cattle is considered profitable, an amplecrop of branches every three or four years. When headed down to the heightof 10 ft. or 12 ft., it is very prolific of branches, as a pollard, and will liveand be productive, in this state, for a great number of years. Whengrown exclusively for the timber of its trunk, however, it requires to beallowed a considerable amplitude of head; perhaps not less than one third ofits whole height. The timber, in this case, is found to be far more compactand durable, though not so curiously veined and variously coloured, as it iswhen the tree is allowed to produce branches from the ground upwards. Thetimber of the elm, not being remarkable for its durability, is, in old trees, very