ELM TEIBE 139 



adulterating tea, and silkworms have iDeen fed upon tliem. Though the bark 

 of this tree is very similar to that of the cork-tree, yet it is not adapted 

 either in quantity or quality for being used instead of that material. The 

 ashes of the Elm are rich in alkaline salts ; and the knobs which grow on 

 old trees are used by the cabinet-maker for ornamental furniture. The Elm- 

 timber, being durable in water, is particularly suited for making water-pipes 

 and piles for piers and bridges. This species is the Ulrims campestris of 

 Smith, and the U. carpinifolia of Lindley. 



2. Broad-leaved Elm, Wych Hazel, or Wych Elm {U. campMris). 

 — Leaves tapering much at the point, doubly serrated, usually rough above, 

 and downy beneath ; flowers 5 — 7-cleft ; lobes fringed ; fruit oblong or 

 roundish, notched; seed-cavity chiefly below the middle of the fruit, and 

 distant from the notch ; perennial. This species is by some writers called 

 U. montana, but is the U. campesfris of Linnaeus, and is distinguished by 

 the relative position of the seed-cavity and the notch of the fruit ; it has also 

 very spreading branches ; its leaves, which are broad and somewhat like 

 those of the hazel, appear just as the hop-like fruit is matured. The tree is 

 not so upright as the Common Elm; and there is a variety, called the 

 Weeping Elm, in which the branches are pendulous. The flowers of this 

 species appear in March and April. They are larger and paler in tint than 

 those of the Common Elm, are arranged in looser tufts, and cut into five or 

 six oblong acute segments of a purplish colour, with dark purple anthers. 



The Wych Elm is common in woods and hedges, and is undoubtedly wild ; 



and being the only species indigenous to Scotland, is often called Scotch Elm. 



It is a native of the northern and temperate parts of Europe, and grows to 



a great age, the " century -living crow" often building among its boughs. As 



Thomson wrote — 



" Should I my steps turn to the rural seat 

 Where lofty Elms aud venerable oaks 

 Invite the rook, Avho high amid their boughs 

 In early spring his airy city builds, 

 And ceaseless caws anuisive." 



Gerarde says that it was in his day commonly called Witch Hazel, and 

 he adds : " Old men affirm, that when long bows were in use, many were 

 made of this tree, for which purpose it is mentioned in the English Statutes."' 

 Roger Ascham, however, did not recommend the wood for this purpose. 

 The timber of this tree is very valuable, and is by some writers on naval 

 architecture considered as scarcely inferior to that of the oak. 



The lovers of picturesque scenery may welcome this Elm on the land- 

 scape, with its loosely-hanging boughs, clad with masses of foliage, full 

 enough for richness, but not so crowded as to form a heavy outline. It has 

 a bold and sturdy trunk, often covered with excrescences ; and there is an 

 ease and grace in its boughs, and a beautiful greenness or autumnal brown 

 in its tint, which render it truly picturesque. Its bark is of a lighter hue than 

 that of the Common Elm, and the tree rather resembles the oak in form. It 

 grows more rapidly than the Common Elm ; hence its timber is somewhat 

 less valuable. Its seeds ripen in June. It flourishes in Scotlanrl, not only 

 in the plains and valleys of the Lowlands, but is hardy enough to brave the 



J8- 2 



