CHAP. Cl.

clma'ceie. c/lmus.

1393

generally known, that one of the elm trees standing near the entrance of thepassage leading to Spring Gardens was planted by the Duke of Gloucester,brother to Charles I. As that unfortunate monarch was walking with hisguards from St. James’s to Whitehall, on the morning of his execution, heturned to one of his attendants, and mentioned the circumstance, at the sametime pointing out the tree.” ( Jesse’s Glean., 2d series, p. 273.)

Piffe’s Elm, in the Vale of Gloucester, between Cheltenham and Tewkesbury ,was, in 1783, the finest tree of the species in the county. It was then mea-sured by Marshall, and found to girt 16 ft. at the smallest part of the trunk.It was between 70 ft. and 80 ft. high, and its head proportionably wide.

The Chipstead Elm, in Kent , figured by Strutt, was 60 ft. high, and contained268 ft. of timber. Its trunk was covered with ivy, and the tree appeared veryluxuriant when Mr. Strutt made his drawing; but, in the spring of 1836, aswe were informed by J. Polhill, Esq., the tree did not put forth its leaves, andit stood throughout the following summer a leafless trunk. The elms atMongewell, in Oxfordshire , a place celebrated by Leland for its “ faire woodes,”are also engraved by Strutt. The largest is 79 ft. high, 14 ft. in circumferenceat 3 ft. from the ground, the diameter of the head 65 ft., and it contains 250 ft.of solid timber. About the centre of a group of these elms stands an urn,inscribed to the memory of two highly valued friends of the possessor in 1830,who was the Bishop of Durham ; and whom, Mr. Strutt observes, “ it was de-lightful to contemplate wandering, in his 90th year, amidst shades with whichlie was almost coeval, and which in freshness and tranquillity afforded mostsuitable emblems of his own green and venerable old age.” In Ireland , thedimensions of several elms are recorded by Hayes, which, though the speciesis not named, we think belong to U. campestris. Near Arklow, at Shelton,an elm had a trunk 5 ft. 4 in. in diameter at the surface of the ground. AtLuttrelstown, an elm by the road side girted 18 ft. 10 in. at the ground, andhad a straight trunk 40 ft. high. In the county of Kildare stood an elm, which,till the year 1762, was, perhaps, the finest tree of the species in the world.The diameter of the head, taken from the extremities of the lower branches,exceeded 34 yards; but in the end of that year the two principal arms fell fromthe trunk in one night, apparently from their own weight, as the weather wasperfectly calm. The timber contained in these branches alone sold for 5 guineas.In this situation the tree continued till the winter of 1776, when a violent stormtore up the whole by the roots, with a great mass of soil and rock adhering tothem. Some time previous to this the trunk had been carefully measured,and was found to be 38 ft. 6 in. in circumference. It had been hollow forsome years; and the value of its timber by no means answered what mighthave been expected from the sale of its two branches in 1762. We havenothing certain as to its age; but tradition supposes it to have been plantedhy the monks of St. Wolstan, some time before the dissolution of that mo-nastery, which happened in the year 15.38. An elm at Carton, the seat of theDuke of Leinster, is 14ft. 8 in. round near the bottom, diminishing like theshaft of a Doric column, and being 13 ft. in circumference at 16 ft. from theground, and containing ] 69 cubic feet of timber.

Statistics. Existing Trees. XJ'lmus campestris in the Environs of London . At Ham House, Essex,lt is 88 ft. high, diameter of the trunk 6 ft., and of the head 73fh In the Fulham Nursery, 70 yearsPanted, it is 60 ft. high. At York House, Twickenham, 120 years planted, it is 90 ft. high, diameter° rif trunk 3* ft > and of the head 60 ft.

u-u campestris South of London . In Devonshire, at Killerton, 200 years planted, it is 100 ft.ni f>h, diameter of the trunk 7 ft. 3 in., and of the head 62 ft. j at Muswell Hill, it is 77 ft. high, with!wfu nk * ft- diameter. In Dorsetshire , at Melbury Park, 200 years old, it is 125 ft. high, diametertrunk 6ft. 9in., and of the head 80ft. In Hampshire , at Alresford, 81 years planted, it is(. *-• high, diameter of the trunk 4 ft. 4 in., and of the head 48 ft.; at Strathfieldsaye, 130 ft high, theQ'ameter of the trunk 5£ft., and of the head 72 ft In the Isle of Wight, in Wilkins’s Nursery, 35y^ars old, it is 50 ft high. In Somersetshire , at Leigh Court, it is 90ft high, diameter of the trunki»; •’ an( l°f the head 60 ft.; another, 14 years planted, is 50 ft. high : at Nettlecombe, 210 years old,if; high, diameter of the trunk 5 ft. 8 in., and of the head 57 ft. In Surrey , at Farnham Castle,

hi!! j- high, diameter of the trunk 7 ft 9 in., and of the head 85 ft ; at St. Anne’s Hill, it is 82 ft.nf diaineter the trunk 4 ft. 8 in., and of the head 64 ft.; at Claremont, it is 100 ft. high, diametertr u v dV Unk ® ft-’ and °f the head 85ft. In Sussex, at Cowdry, it is 45ft high, diameter of theCain Min. j and at Parham Park, there are some fine specimens. In Wiltshire , at Wardourtie, 50 years planted, it is 70 ft. high, diameter of the trunk 5 ft, and of the head 42 ft.

• campestris North of London. In Bedfordshire , at Flitwick House, it is 60 ft. high, with a trunk

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