STFlAY NOTICS ON THE ELM. G3 



fifty to sixty years; but this of course cannot be adopted as a general 

 scale, so much depending on soil and situation, for we find the Sheepscar 

 Elms, which must have been at the very least two hundred years old, perfectly 

 sound,- and making capital timber; while others at no great distance, planted 

 probably not more than eighty years ago, were fast decaying, a fact which 

 may be attributed to a damper soil and situation. One of these last was 

 quite hollow^ yet still continued to flourish, but at last several fungi made 

 their appearance about the roots, and then it soon perished. I remember a 

 pair of Starlings building in it for many successive years; the nest was in a 

 crevice of one of the larger branches, and somewhat difficult to reach; the 

 entrance was too small to admit the hand, and the lads were continually 

 hacking away to get at the young, but they were too deep in the trunk, and 

 could never be got at, a fact which the poor birds seemed aware of, for they 

 built in it for years after. Another branch was at one time occupied by a 

 colony of Humble Bees, but these fell victims to sufibcation. 



The Elms at Kirkstall Abbey, one of which is fourteen feet in circumference, 

 must also be more than two hundred years old, and still they seem in perfect 

 vigour. The roots have forced their way through an almost impenetrable 

 accumulation of stones and rubbish, and present a curious contorted appearance, 

 being also inosculated in many parts, that is, one root or branch intersecting 

 another, a feature, it is said, that first suggested grafting. A remarkable 

 example of this kind may be seen in a little copse opposite Bishopton Bar, 

 on the left hand side of the road leading from Ripon to Studley. It is a young 

 Maple, with the iipper branches intersecting each other in every direction, present- 

 ing one of the most curious specimens of inosculation it is possible to conceive. 



While adverting to the powers of vegetation, it may not be out of place 

 to mention an example at Walton Hall, in the shape of a Hazel tree growing 

 out of the centre of a large millstone, which it has raised several inches from 

 the ground; some very interesting particulars connected with it may be found 

 in Waterton's delightful Essays on Natural History. A friend of mine once 

 had a flag in his stable misplaced by a species of fungus growing under it; 

 and I have heard of Ivy penetrating through a strong stone roof, much to the 

 discomfort of the inmates of the house. In two or three old churches I have 

 visited in my rambles, the Ivy has forced its way, and continues to flourish 

 in the sacred interior, not without a most beautiful efiect, from which a pious 

 moral may be read. 



We have many Elms in this district ranging from eight to fourteen feet 

 in circumference. This tree seems to have been a great favourite in the olden 

 time, for we have scarcely any antiquated mansion that cannot boast its noble 

 Elms; there are isolated specimens, too, remarkable, for their size, or celebrated 

 on account of their historical or legendary associations. About Leeds they 

 are generally a little later in budding than those in the country, yet it is 

 one of the first trees to remind us of returning spring, for early in the season 

 it puts forth its purple flowers, which are closely followed by leaves of cheerful 



VOL. IV. K 



