1374 ?

ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM.

PART HI.

which give a knotted character to the leafless branches, before they are fullydeveloped; but which afterwards, from their colour, and their being supportedon peduncles, look like little tufts of red fringe. The seeds of the elm, also,differ in the different kinds. “ The inner bark of the elm is slightly bitterand astringent; but it does not appear to possess any important quality. Thesubstance which exudes spontaneously from it is called ulmine.” (Lindley’sNat.Syst. of Hot., p. 179.) Small bladders which possess considerable vulnerary pro-perties are found on the leaves of elms, particularly in warm countries. Theelm is a native of Europe and North America , and part of Asia and Africa,extending as far south as the coast of Barbary, and as far north as Russia .The elm has been a well known tree since the time of the Romans; and,of all the European trees, it is that which is the most generally cultivated,and most commonly applied to agricultural purposes. The reasons forthis preference, no doubt, are, that its culture is extremely easy; its growthrapid; and that it will thrive in almost any soil or situation. It may alsobe transplanted, with comparative safety, at almost any age; and the timberwill remain uninjured for a greater length of time than any other, whenexposed to moisture. To counterbalance these advantages, the timber isvery apt to shrink and warp, unless it be constantly moist, or the wood bekept for several years, after it is cut, before it is used. The tree, while in aliving state, is also very often attacked by insects; and the timber is liable tobecome worm-eaten. Trees grown on a dry soil, and singly, make the besttimber ; but they are neither so large nor so long-lived as those grown in amoister soil, which form what is called in France le bois gras. Notwith-standing this, the elm will not thrive in very moist soil, as it is by no meansan aquatic tree, like the alder. The wood of elms that have been frequentlypruned becomes knotted; and this wood, when polished, is very ornamental.To obtain it, the trees in France are sometimes kept lopped, and headed downevery three or four years. The variety called the twisted elm (orme tor-tillard) is also much esteemed for its wood; as are the monstrosities, or knobs,found occasionally on all the species of elm; and which, when cut into thinslices, and polished, are kept by cabinet-makers for the purpose of veneering.

The elm is remarkable for the aptitude of the different species to vary fromseed; so much so that it is extremely difficult to say in this genus which arespecies and which are varieties; or even to what species the varieties belong.Tous it appears, that there are only two sorts which are truly'distinct;viz. U. campestris and U. montana. U. americana, we are assured by Mr.Masters of Canterbury, who has paid great attention to the genus, and raisedmany sorts, both from American and; European seeds, is identical, or apparentlyso, with what is called the Huntingdon elm; a variety raised at Huntingdon,between 80 and 90 years ago, from seeds gathered from trees in that neigh-bourhood. U. glabra and U. major seem intermediate between U. campes-tris and U. montana. U. effitsa appears very distinct; but is probably onlya variety of U. campestris. Of all the numerous varieties which may beprocured in British nurseries, the best kinds for cultivation for their timberappear to be, the Huntingdon elm ( U. m. glabra vegeta), and the wych elm( U. montana); and for ornament, the weeping elm ( U. montana pendula),the subevergreen elm ( U. campestris virens), and the twiggy elm ( U. cam-pestris viminalis). The sucker-bearing elms are chiefly the varieties of U.campestris, and these seldom produce seeds; but U. montana, and U. m.glabra, and their varieties, which never throw up suckers, produce seeds in thegreatest abundance every year. U. campestris does indeed produce seedsoccasionally, though rarely, in England; and the U. c. viminalis is a British seedling. In France , U. campestris ripens seeds much more freely, and thesehave given rise to many varieties.

1 1. U. campb'stris L. The English, field, or common smalUeared, Elm.

Identification. Lin. Sp. PI., 327.; Willd. Sp. PI., p. 1384.; Host FI. Austr., 1. p. 330. ; Sm. E?*j'

FI, 2.p. 20.; Lindl. Synops., p. 226.; Hook. Br. FI., ed. 2., p.141.; Mackay FI. Hibernica, pt. 1. P-