FOREST TREES 221 
Monocotyledons figure very largely. The Palms, from 
various members of which class we get dates, oil, sago, 
vegetable ivory, and other useful products, form a very 
respectable contribution to forestry, and our tiny grasses 
have most opulent relatives. The Bamboo in Asia, and 
the many grass trees of the Australian Bush are all 
botanically in the same great division as wheat, barley, 
and oats. 
The first of the dicotyledonous trees to be mentioned is 
the Elm, or rather the two Elms, which are to be found 
abundantly in England. They are the Common Elm, and 
the Wych, or Mountain, Elm. The former is much the 
handsomer of the two, growing to a very considerable 
height, and, in good soil, attaining a very regular outline. 
It is an easy tree to recognise at any time. In early 
spring, before the leaves appear, the whole tree is marked 
by a reddish hue from its flowers, covering the tops of 
the shoots, and these are soon followed by the clusters 
of seed-vessels, each seed inserted upon a flattened dise, 
greenish in colour, and almost giving the appearance of 
foliage at a distance. When these 
have fallen, the leaves are unmistak- 
able for those of any other species. 
They have a curious eccentricity, for 
the two sides do not start from the 
same point in the leaf-stalk, but one zi ‘ 
leaves it a little higher than the ! 
other, though both terminate together {, 
\ 
at the point. The edge is serrated, : \\ 
that is, toothed like a saw, all along \\ ee 
the margin. Finally, in the winter, ee 
one may recognise it by its rough, 7 
grooved bark, and by the tall curve ELM LEAF. 
