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The budding of the elm tree was noted warily in days gone by, when garden 



calendars were less plcntifuL The old rhymes tell iis — 



" When the elmen leaf is as big as a fardinjr, 

 'Tis time to sow kidney-beans in the garding. 

 ■WTien the elmen leaf is as big as a penny. 

 You must sow kidney-beans if you aim to have any." 



And so too the fanner took it as a sign of the season : — 



" When the elmen leaf is as big as a mouse's ear, 

 Then to sow barley, never fear. 

 ^^"hen the elmen leaf is as big as an ox's eye. 

 Then say I, high boys, high : " 



The Small-leaved, or English elm, is only able to ripen its leeds in England 



in unusually favourable seasons. It is propagated therefore by layers, or by 



grafts, or by suckers, which it throws up very readily from the roots, and hence 



it is that its individual character has everywhere been so completely maintained. 



Pliny says that it rarely produced seeds in Italy, and we know from Virgil 



that it was chiefly propagated there by suckers. 



[ Pullulat ab radice aliis densissima sylva, 

 Ut cerasis ulmisque. — Geo. 2. ] 



Some from the root a rising wood disclose : 

 Thus elms, and thus the savage cherry grows. 



It is a hardy tree, that bears transplanting well at any age or size, and may be 



pruned at all seasons to any extent. It grows quickly, though not nearly so 



quickly as the Wych elm. According to Evelyn "it will yield a load of timber 



in little more than 40 years. It does not, however, cease growing until it is 100 



or 150 years old, if planted in a favourable situation, neither too moist nor too 



dry, and it will live for centuries." 



The Elm is one of the first trees to show the influence of spring, and is 

 amongst the last to shed its leaves in winter. Early in March, and often in 

 February, whilst other trees are still in the depth of their winter's sleep, the elm 

 gladdens the eye with the reddish purple tint from the numerous little tufts 

 of blossom buds that adorn every spray. In April and May the leaves begin 

 to appear, and their light and cheerful green colour soon makes an agreeable 

 contrast with the olive tint of the oak foliage. As the summer advances, the 

 leaves gradually deepen in colour until they become of a dark and glossy green, 

 harmonising well with the sombre hue of the Scotch fir, or even the Yew-tree, 

 which are often planted near it, and in autumn they fade away to a fine clear 

 yellow in successive patches, often making the individual trees very beautiful 

 objects in the oblique light of a sun low in the horizon, and always mixing 

 kindly with the orange and red of the beech tree, the duller yellow of the oak, 

 and the many other hues of the fading woods. 



The autumn tints of forest trees have been well noticed by Buchanan — 



" The woods how beautiful ! The oaks yet green. 



Blent with the pale ash and willow hoar. 



The ptupling beech and yellow sycamore, 

 The blood red rowan and brown birch between, 

 And mottled elm : no royal robe, I ween, 



Not flowery Spring nor rosy Summer wore." 



Tragic Dramas and other Poems. 



