CHAP. CJ.

UlMA'CEAi. U'LM U S.

1375

Sunonymes. tT'lmus Atinia Pliny Nat. lib. 16. cap. 17.» and lib. 17. cap. 11., Cam. Pipit, 70.,C., No. 1586. 5, Halt Hist., 2. 269. j U. minor, folio angusto scabro, Ger. Emac ., 1480. f.,Rail Syn.f 469.

Engravings . Engl. Bot., t. 1886.; N. Du Ham., 2. t. 42.; Dod. Pempt., 837. f. j Ger. Emac., 1480.;Hayne, t. 27 .; Michx. North Amer. Sylva, iii. 1.129. f. 1.; and the plates in our last Volume.

Spec. Char., Sfc. Leaves doubly serrated, rough. Flowers nearly sessile, 4-deft. Samara oblong, deeply cloven, glabrous. ( Smith Eng. Flora.) Atree from 60 ft. to 80 ft. in height; flowering in March and April, andripening its seeds in May.

Varieties. These are very numerous,both in Britain and on the Continent; andmost of them have been selected by nurserymen from their seed-beds. Anyone, Baudrillart remarks, who has ever observed a bed of seedling elms, musthave noticed that some have large leaves, and some small ones ; some areearly, and some late; some have smooth bark, and some rough bark; andsome soft leaves, and others very rough ones. Some varieties are higher thanothers; the branches take now a vertical, and again a horizontal, direction.In short, while botanists describe, and cultivators sow, they will find that na-ture sports with their labours, and seems to delight in setting at fault alike thescience of the one, and the hopes of the other. This is always the case withplants that have been long submitted to the cultivation of man. The caresthat are bestowed upon them, the different situations in which they are placed,and the different kinds of treatment which they receive, appear to changetheir native habits. (See Diet, des Eauos et Forets, ii. p. 460.) The quan-tity of the timber of the several varieties differs as much as the size of theleaves and the habit of growth. In some varieties, such as U. c. vimi-nalis, it is of no value, from the slenderness of the trunk; in others, the treeis subject to decay at the joints of the branches, the bark to split into longthin strips, and the interior of the trunk to rot. The most valuable varietiesfor cultivation as timber trees are, Cf.c.stricta, U. c.acutifdlia, U. c. alba, andU. c. latifolia. We shall first give the names of the principal varieties of thecommon English elm which are to be found in British nurseries; and,next, the names of those which are said to be cultivated in France . We mighthave doubled the number of these varieties; and we should have felt justi-fied in including among them U. suberosa, and perhaps some other kindswhich we have treated as species; for there is, in truth, no certainty asto what are species and what varieties in elms.

A. Timber Trees.

if U. c. 1 vulgaris, U. campestris Hurt. Dur. —Verytwiggy; pale smooth bark;of irregular growth in some plants, with almost horizontal branches,where no others are near to force the shoots upwards. In somesoils, it is very subject to decay at the joints. The bark is leaden-coloured while young, splitting into long thin strips with age. Abad variety to cultivate for timber.

® U. c. 2 latifolia Hort. has broader leaves than the species, and ex-pands them very early in spring. There is a tree of this variety irtthe London Horticultural Society’s Garden, which, in 1824, afterbeing 10 years planted, was 17 ft. high.

^ U. e. 3 alba Masters. Of upright growth. The old bark cracks inirregular long pieces, and becomes very pale with age. Shoots withthe bark tinged with red, and the footstalks of the leaves quite red.Leaves shining, and doubly and deeply serrated, bearing a very nearresemblance to those of 17. effiisa. A valuable timber tree.

“ U.'e. 4 acuiifblia Masters. — Growth, during its early stages, very like thelast, but stronger. The leaves, in old specimens, more tapering, andthe branches more pendulous. The young leaves do not justify itsname. Bark like the last. This appears very common in someparts of Essex, Suffolk, and Norfolk . Also a good timber tree.

I U. c. 5 stricta Hort. Dur. Red English Elm. — One of the most valu-able timber trees of the small-leaved kinds. Growth very rigid.

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