CHAP. Cl. ULMA’CEA. PLA’NERA. 1411 
Geography, History, §c. The zelkoua is a native of the country lying 
between the Black and the Caspian Seas, between Jat. 35° and 47°, par- 
ticularly of Imiretta and Mingrelia; of the north of Persia, and of Georgia. 
It was first described by Pallas, in his Flora Rossica (published in 1784), under 
the name of Rhamnus carpinifolius. In 1782, the elder Michaux under- 
took “a journey into Persia, under the auspices of Monsieur (afterwards 
Louis X VIIL.), in order to make botanical researches. Having left Ispahan, 
in order to explore the province of Ghilan, he found this tree in the forests 
which he traversed before arriving at Recht, a town situated on the Caspian 
Sea. In this town he had opportunities of remarking the use made of the 
wood, and of judging how highly it was appreciated by the inhabitants.” 
( Michx. sur le Zelkoua, p. 3.) The first tree introduced into Europe appears 
to have been planted by M. Lemonnier, professor of botany in the Jardin 
des Plantes, &c., (see p. 140.) in his garden at Montreuil, near Versailles. 
This garden was destroyed in 1820; and the dimensions of the tree, when it 
was cut down, will be found in p. 1410. The oldest tree now existing in 
France is inthe Jardin des Plantes, where, in 1831, it was about 60 ft. high. 
It was planted in 1786 (when a sucker of four years old), about the same 
time as the lime trees which form the grand avenue called the Allée de Buffon. 
There is, however, a much larger zelkoua on an estate of M. le Comte de Dijon, 
an enthusiastic planter of exotic trees, at Podenas, near Nérac, in the depart- 
ment of the Lot et Garonne. This fine tree was planted in 1789; and, on the 
20th of January, 1831, it measured nearly 80 ft. high, and the trunk was nearly 
3 ft. in diameter at 3 ft. fromthe ground. A drawing of this tree, made by the 
count in the autumn of that year, has been kindly lent to us by M. Michaux ; 
from which jig. 1250.is an engraving, to a scale of 1 in. to 12 ft. There are 
several other trees of the zelkoua, at Podenas, nearly as large; and some elms 
planted thirty years before the zelkouas, and measured at the same time, were 
only a few inches more in size. In England, the zelkoua appears to have been 
planted at Kew, and at Syon, probably about the year 1760, when it was first 
introduced. A tree in the former garden is upwards of 50 ft. high ; and, in the 
latter, the tree of this species figured in our last Volume was, in 1835, when 
the drawing was made, upwards of 54 ft. high. 
Properties and Uses. Both the sap-wood and the heart-wood of the zel- 
koua are used as timber. The sap-wood is white, and very elastic, resembling, 
in many respects, the wood of the ash. The heart-wood, which comprises at 
least two thirds of the whole, is reddish, and sometimes of a russet brown. 
This wood, when cut obliquely, resembles that of the robinia, and presents, 
like it, numerous interlacements of fibres. It is very heavy, and, when dry, 
becomes so extremely hard, that it is difficult to drive nails into it with a 
hammer. In the countries where it is abundant, it is employed for the same 
purposes as oak; and it is found to be even superior to that wood for furni- 
ture. Its colour is agreeable; it is finely veined; and its texture is so compact, 
and its grain so fine, as to render it susceptible of the highest polish. It has, 
also, the great advantage of never becoming wormeaten, however old it may 
be. It is remarkably durable as posts, to stand either in water or in the 
earth. (Michx. Mém. sur le Zelkoua, p. 9. 17.) 
Propagation and Culture, §c. The zelkoua is generally propagated by 
grafting on the common elm; but we are told by M. Michaux that M. le 
Chevalier Gauba, the French consul at Teflis, who is the proprietor of large 
forests in Imiretta, has had a great quantity of seeds collected, and sent to 
France, from which young plants have been raised. When grafted, M. Michaux 
observes that the operation should be performed as near the collar of the stock 
as possible; when, if the stocks are in a deep fresh soil, the grafts will push 
shoots of from 6 ft. to 9 ft. long the first season. 
Statistics. In the environs of London, the largest tree is at Syon, where, in 1834, it was 54 ft. high, 
the diameter of the trunk 2 ft. Sin., and of the head 34 ft. ; at Kew, it is upwards of 50 ft. high; in 
the Horticultural Society's Garden, 10 years planted, it is 20 ft, high. (See the plate of this tree in 
our last Volume.) In Rutlandshire, at Belvoir Castle, 4 years planted, it is 10 ft. high. In France, 
in the Jardin des Plantes, 55 years planted, it is 58 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 21 in., and of 
the head 30 ft. ; at Scéaux, 30 years planted, it is 50 ft. high; in the Botanic Garden at Rouen, it is, 
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