1404

ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM.

PART III.

Varieties. In consequence of XJ. glabra ripening seeds in different parts ofEngland, many varieties have been raised from it, most of which are distin-guished by great rapidity of growth. From the specimens that have beensent to us from the Canterbury , Huntingdon, and other nurseries, and alsofrom the trees in the Horticultural Society’s Garden, it is difficult to de-termine, in every case, whether the varieties of XJ. (in.) glabra are not nearerto XJ. montana or XJ. americana, than to that sub-species; and, in some in-stances, they appear to partake of the character of XJ. campestris and XJ.(c.) suberdsa. T. A. Knight, Esq., informs us that from seeds of one varietyof XJ. (in.) glabra, viz. the Downton elm, which were ripened in the coldclimate of that part of Shropshire , he “ raised plants which are so perfectlysimilar to the XJ. suberdsa, and which approximate so nearly to the characterof the U. glabra, that ” he does “ not doubt but that the XJ. campestris, U.suberdsa, XJ. glabra, and three or four other varieties which” he has “seenin different parts of England, are all varieties only of the same species.”

A. Timber Trees.

¥ U. (ml) g. 1 vulgaris. The common smooth-leaved Elm.

If U. (to.) g. 2 vegeta; XJ. montana vegeta in the Horticultural Society’sGarden; U. americana Masters. The Huntingdon Elm, the ChichesterElm, the American Elm in some places, and, perhaps, the ScampstonElm. — This is by far the most vigorous-growing kind of elm propa-gated in British nurseries, often making shoots from 6 ft. to 10 ft. inlength in one season; and the tree attaining the height of upwards of30 ft. in 10 years from the graft. Having written to Huntingdon, Chi-chester, York, Newcastle, and various other places, respecting thiselm, we have received the following information from Mr. JohnWood, nurseryman, near Huntingdon, dated November, 1836.—“TheHuntingdon elm,” he says, “ was raised here about 80 or 90 yearsago, by an uncle of mine, from seed collected in this neighbourhood.I have sent many plants of it all over the country; and it has beengiven out from Norwich, Bristol, and other places, under the nameof the Chichester elm ; but you may rely on my word that the Chi-chester elm and the Huntingdon elm are one and the same thing.The tree is the fastest grower, and produces the best timber, of allthe elms. I have lately cut down some trees planted about 40 yearsago, and have used the planks in various ways in house-building.The young shoots of this elm sent to us by Mr. Wood were 9ft.long; and those sent to us by Mr. Masters, under the name of theAmerican elm, which he considers as a synonyme to the Hunting-don elm, were about the same length. We also observed that theshoots of XJ. campestris dlba Masters , and of U. c. acutifolia Mas-ters, strongly resemble those of the Huntingdon elm. The treemarked as the Huntingdon elm in the Horticultural Society’s Gar-den was, in 1834, 35 ft. high, after being 10 years planted.

A U. (to.) g. 3 car. The Scampston Elm. — The earliest notice whichwe can find of this tree is in the Agricultural Report for the Count'yof Durham , published in 1810; and in which it is said that theScampston elm comes from a place of that name in Yorkshire , butis supposed to be originally from America . It is said to be a plantof wonderfully quick growth, having made shoots from grafts, in oneyear, of 5 ft. or 6 ft. in length. From the tree bearing this name inthe Horticultural Society’s Garden, which, in 1834, was 18ft. high)after being 8 years planted, it is clearly some variety of XJ. glabra,and very little different from the species.

¥ U. (m.)g. 4 major, XJ. glabra major Hort.Dur., the Canterbury Seedling,is of more vigorous growth than the species, and, indeed, is a rivalto XJ. americana and the Huntingdon elm, in quickness of growth.