ULMUS 441 



The great tree at Fyfield belongs to this species. Matthew Arnold 

 refers to it in the well-known lines, 



' Maidens, who fi'om the distant hamlets come 

 To dance around the Fyfield Elm in May.' 



Several varieties of the Wych Elm have been described as species. 



Var. MAJOR (Smith, E. B. t. 2542, as a species). (The figure of ont^ 

 of the samaras is incorrect, as the seed is represented too near the apex 

 of the w^ing.) Has large rough leaves and corky excrescences on the 

 branf;hes, and appears to be always a planted tree in Berkshire. The 

 leaves are often marked with whitish patches on the upper surface. 

 I have seen it at Wytham, near Maidenhead, near Wokingham, &c. 



Var. NITIDA=Z7. montana, var. nitida, Syme, 1. c, occurs at Besils- 

 leigh, &c. The leaves are shining, and the branches free from corky 

 excrescences. 



U. campestris occurs in all the bordering counties. 



*U. sativa, Miller, Gard. Diet. ed. 8, n. 3 (1768). The Elm. 



U. suherosa, Ehrh. Beitr. vi. 87, Moench, Verz. Ausl. Baeume, 136. 

 U. surculosa, Stokes, Bot. Mat. Med. ii. 35 (1812). U. campestris, 

 Huds. Fl. Angl. 94 (1762), and of English authors, not of Linn. 



Top. Bot. 368. Syme, E. B. viii. 137, t. 1285. Nyman, 659. Fl. Oxf. 264. 

 Denizen. Hedges, woods, fields, parks, &c. Abundant, and one of the 

 conspicuous features in our valley scenery. Generally distributed, 

 except on the Chalk uplands and the sandy heaths and commons. 

 Tree. March-April. 

 First record. XJ. campestris, The Common Elm. In the hedgerows of 

 the Vales of the White Horse and the Kennet and round villages, 

 Maiors Agr. Berks, 1809. TJ. suherosa, common in hedges in both 

 hill and vale, Lousley in Russell's Cat. 1839. With very corky bark 

 near Cumnor Hurst, W. T. Dyer, 1865. 

 The avenue of tine Elms at White Knights' is alluded to in The 

 Beauties of England, 108, 1801. 



' Bound Newbury they flourish very much. On the estate of the late 

 Sir John Andrews, a few years ago, elms were cut that measured from 

 17 to 20 feet in circumference, at one foot from the ground. . . . They 

 appear to have been planted about 130 years,' Mavor's Agr. Berks, 1809. 



There is a fine specimen of 17. sativa near Childswell Farm on the 

 way to Boar's Hill, but the trunk is quite hollow, and there are some 

 handsome trees in Coleshill Park. A large specimen stands in the 

 private portion of Windsor Park. The Broad Walk at Windsor 

 consists chiefly of this tree. • 



A tree, 130 feet high, is mentioned by Loudon in the Arhoretum 

 as occurring in Strathfieldsaye Park (just outside our county). 



Matthew Arnold alludes in Thyrsis to a tree which grows nearly on 



