1384 ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. PART III. 
this, it is proved by the practice in Belgium, is only an imaginary evil, pro- 
vided the superfluous shoots are removed from the upper extremity of the 
decapitated tree the second year, and the head formed with common care 
by future prunings. (See the very instructive article by Poiteau, already re- 
ferred to, in the Annales, and also the account of the Belgian practice, in 
the Gardener’s Magazine, vol. x. p.8.) In Britain, young elm trees, having been 
two or three times transplanted in the nurseries, are placed in their final 
situations without heading down; and in our moist climate they grow vi- 
gorously the first year, and require very little pruning. On the Continent, 
owing to the greater warmth of the summers, and the consequent increased 
evaporation from the leaves, plants are liable to be killed when trans- 
planted with all their branches on; and, hence, the mode of denuding the 
plants just described is that generally practised. In France and Belgium, the 
narrow-leaved elm is the most common tree planted by road sides, and along 
the boulevards and streets of towns and cities; and, in such cases, a large pit 
is previously dug, 4 ft. or 5 ft. in diameter, and from 2 ft. to 3 ft. in depth ; anda 
considerable portion of rich fine mould is placed in immediate contact with 
the roots of the trees, and the pit filled up with the best part of the soil which 
had been previously dug out of it. During the first summer, water is regularly 
supplied; and the trees, or rather stumps, grow freely; very little attention is 
required afterwards, except to encourage the leading shoot, and to shorten 
in the lateral branches, so as to encourage the plant to assume a tree-like 
form. In the neighbourhood of Paris, and in the south of France, U. cam- 
péstris, and several of its varieties, occasionally bear seeds; and these are 
sometimes sown by the nurserymen, in order to procure new sorts; and by 
the managers of the national forests, in order to obtain numerous plants at a 
cheap rate. The common English elm very rarely produces seeds in England ; 
nevertheless it has done so in a few places, and one of these is Lea Park, 
near Littlebourne, about four miles from Canterbury. Mr. Masters of Can- 
terbury has only known seeds twice ripened in this park; and one of the 
times they did not germinate. From those which did he obtained U. e. 
viminalis, and nearly a score other very distinct varieties, which, however, 
from the number of varieties already existing, and the little demand for them, 
he did not consider worth keeping separate, and giving names to. U.c, 
stricta, and some other varieties of the common elm, as well as the species, 
flower very profusely every year, but scarcely ever ripen seeds. 
It is observed by Bosc, that the more remarkable varieties, such as the 
twisted elm, the broad-leaved elm, the lime-tree-leaved elm, &c., come 
tolerably true from seed, speaking of the mass of young plants ; but that among 
these are constantly produced numerous subvarieties. The seeds fall from 
the trees as soon as they are ripe; and, being swept up, are sown immediately 
in beds of light rich soil; the seeds being placed about 1 in. apart every way, 
and covered to the depth of about an eighth of an inch. The plants come 
up the same season, and are fit for transplanting into nursery lines in the au- 
tumn. Ofallthe European timber trees, not belonging to the coniferous family, 
except the Lombardy poplars, the narrow-leaved elm requires the least care or 
pruning after it is planted; and, at the same time, no tree will bear better 
than it does the knife or the shears. All the branches may be cut from the 
stem, except a small tuft at the top; and still the tree will grow vigorously, 
affording, where that mode of feeding cattle is considered profitable, an ample 
crop of branches every three or four years. When headed down to the height 
of 10 ft. or 12 ft., it is very prolific of branches, as a pollard, and will live 
and be productive, in this state, for a great number of years. When 
grown exclusively for the timber of its trunk, however, it requires to be 
allowed a considerable amplitude of head; perhaps not less than one third of 
its whole height. The timber, in this case, is found to be far more compact 
and durable, though not so curiously veined and variously coloured, as it is 
when the tree is allowed to produce branches from the ground upwards. The 
timber of the elm, not being remarkable for its durability, is, in old trees, very 
~<a. 
