90 



"Beneath those rugged Elms." 



Gray's Elegy. 



The English Elm is not so fastidious and delicate as the "Wych Elm. It 

 will thrive and grow well on very varied and inferior soils, light or heavy, and 

 frequently attains its largest size on strong clay loam, much too stiff and 

 adhesive for the Ulmus montana. The size of the trees now recorded proves 

 that it will grow to its full size in Herefordshire, but at the same time it must 

 be stated that on our strong land it quickly decays at the heart, and it is rare 

 that a tree of any size is felled without its being found more or less hollow. 

 Here, therefore, it gives way to the oak, and is' only grown as a timber tree on 

 lighter soils. The English Elm in ordinary Herefordshire soil will grow more 

 rapidly than that most vigorous growing of all the v.arieties of the Wych Elm — 

 the Chichester Elm, — a tree that in suitable soil will often make shoots of from 

 six to ten feet long in a single year. The actual experiment has been made. 

 Planted side by side, the English Elm grows most quicldy, and general observa- 

 tion here seems to confirm it. I wish to lay stress upon this point, because 

 it seems to explain the complaint that has met me from several quarters, that 

 the English Elms you buy now are " such poor elms that they wont grow well, 

 and no dependance is to be placed upon them." The fact is, the English Elms 

 are now sent out grafted on the Blountain or Wych Elm ; they make wood 

 much moie rapidly, and have not the disadvantage of sending up suckers from 

 the roots. "I think I may say, sir, that 'grafted English' is universal in the 

 trade," was the result of my inquiries of a nurseryman. So long as the tree is 

 planted in the rich loamy soil, so prevalent in nurseries, the advantage is 

 undeniable — a larger tree is gi-own in a shorter time and equally good — but 

 remove it to the ordinary stiff clay loam of the county, and the roots of the 

 Wych Ebn rebel, the tree may grow but will not thrive. The conclusion is 

 evident. If you wish to plant English Elms in common soil, you must get them 

 on their own hardy root stocks ; and to do this you must make a home nursery 

 and grow them from suckers yourself. 



The value of Elm timber has become much depreciated of late years. The 

 cheap introduction of foreign timber ; the manufacture of improved pipes ; the 

 extensive use of cast iron and galvanised iron, for all the under-ground and 

 under-water purposes for which Elm was especially adapted, have rendered it 

 much less in request than formerly. It is not, therefore, likely to be planted 

 as an article of commerce where a better kind of timber will grow. 



Elm leaves were formerly dritd in the sun and kept for feeding animals 

 "In some parts of Herefordshire," says Evelyn, in his " Sylva," "they gather 

 them in sacks for their swine and other catteL . . . ... 



When hay and fodder is scarce. They will eat them before oates, and thrive 

 exceeding well with them; remember only to lay your boughs up in some dry 

 and sweet corner of your barn." In dry seasons on the Continent this practicg 

 is not unfrequently adopted. The leaves are said to contain a mucilage which 

 is very abundant and nutritious, and the animals feed quickly upon them. 



