988 



PRACTICE OF GARDENING. 



Part III. 



7075. Insects. The egger moth (Phalcena Quercus, L. ; Lasiocampa, Leach) {fig. 672.) inhabits all the 



species, and its larvas sometimes denude entire branches. The small gnat ( Cynips Quercus q-c- 



folii, L. Diplalepis, Leach) (fig. 673.) pierces the leaves with its sting, and deposits its v\ ^ ' 



eggs in the wound; the extravasated juices rise round it, and form a gall, which be- ^"^^fe/L^ 



comes hard, and in this the larva lives and feeds, and changes to a pupa. The oak- > ^5m5-V-^ 5 



galls of commerce are so formed : the best are imported from Turkey and Greece. sW>! ^^ 



7076. The ash is the Fraxinus, L. Polygam. Dicec* L. and Oleince, ' ^ 



B. P. Frene, Fr. ; Asche, Ger. ; and Frassino, Ital. There are two species which may 

 be considered as forest trees. 



7077. The common ash (F. excelsior, L.) {Ens. Bot. 1692.) is a native of Britain, and grows from sixty to 

 eighty feet in height, with a straight stem. It has pinnate leaves, which come out late in spring, generally 

 from April 22d to May the 15th, and fall early in autumn ; it flowers in April and May, and the female and 

 hermaphrodite plants ripen their seeds or keys in November. Of this there is a variety, the simple-leaved 

 (simplicifolia), possessing no advantages as a timber-tree, and rather to be avoided by the profitable planter, 

 as generally propagated in the nurseries by layers. Raised from seeds it produces pinnate leaves. 



7078. The white or American ash, F. Americana, W. (Mich. Arb.) This is a lofty tree like the other, 

 distinguished by the whiteness of its bark, narrow leaves, and smaller seeds. It is found in Jersey and 

 Pennsylvania, where it attains the height of eighty feet, with about three feet in diameter at the' base. 

 It is patient of cold, thrives in deep fresh soil, by the banks of rivers, and unites all the good properties 

 of the common ash. There are two varieties, the red and blue : by some accounted distinct species. They 

 are smaller trees, and present no advantages to the profitable planter over the two species mentioned. 



7079. Use. The ash is unquestionably the most valuable indigenous timber next to the oak ; and in 

 some places, as copse, is more valuable than that tree. It is more especially used by the coachmaker and 

 agricultural carpenter. The wood is useful when the stem is only three inches in diameter. Toughness 

 and elasticity seems to be its characteristics, and for this purpose, the faster the tree grows the better. 

 Timber from a tree of slow growth, and considerable age, is uniformly found to be more or less brittle, and 

 therefore more or less unfitted for the purposes to which this tree is applied, especially shafts or poles of 

 carriages. As underwood, it is fit to cut every seven years for crate- ware for the potteries, hoops, and hop- 

 poles, requiring for those products little or no thinning or culture, but merely periodical cutting. It forms 

 excellent fuel, burning when green or new better than any other tree. " A few ash-pollards," Professor 

 Martyn observes, " will produce many loads of lop, which" makes the sweetest of all fires." The ashes af- 

 ford more potash than those of most trees ; and the bark is used occasionally for tanning, and will dye 

 yellow, 



7080. Soil and site. It will not thrive on thin soils, where the bottom is wet, nor in mossy earth or 

 gravel ; but in most others it will do well : and above all, in a hollow, where a friable loam has accumu- 

 lated from the debris of surrounding rocky heights, and is drained by a rivulet. Such rocky dells and 

 dingles abound in Perthshire and Fifeshire, and in them the ash is to be found in great perfection. It will 

 not thrive at a great height above the sea, nor in bleak situations anywhere. 



7081. The elm is the Ulmus, L. Pentand. Dig. L. and Ameutacece, J. Orme, Fr. ; 

 Ulmebaum, Ger. ; and Olmo, Ital. There are two species which may be regarded as tim- 

 ber-trees. 

 < 



7082. The English or narrow leaved elm, U. Campestris. 

 (Eng. Bot. 1886.) (fig. 674. a) It is considered a native, or 

 naturalised in England, by Sir J. E. Smith and others; but Dr. 

 Walker considers it as brought originally from the Holy Land. 

 It would be difficult to point out any situation where it has the 

 appearance of having sprung up from seeds ; though it is said 

 to be common in the woods of the north-west of England. It is 

 certainly the loftiest of the deciduous trees of this country, be- 

 ing often found upwards of eighty feet high It flowers in 

 April and May, and ripens its seed in a fortnight or three 

 weeks after the decay of the flower. This species requires 

 a dry soil, rather good than indifferent, and also a good cli- ^X, 

 mate. It does not thrive in the north of England or in Scot- \^ 

 land, unless in good soils and moderately sheltered places. *< 

 Professor Martyn says, it is not found north of Newark on 

 Trent. It grows to a great size in a short time. Evelyn 

 says, in little more than forty years it will arrive to a load 

 of timber. Marshall says, the largest narrow-leaved elms 

 he has seen, are in the Vale of Gloucester, and of these, the 

 best is Piffe's elm, near the Baddington oak. At five feet 

 high it girts sixteen feet ; at ten feet it throws out large 

 arms, which rise seventy or eighty feet. Some of the elms 

 in the mall of St. James's Park are upwards of 200 years 

 old. Boutcher says, that he sold a line of English elms, 

 above sixty in number, which at twenty-four year's growth 

 were about eighteen inches in diameter, a foot above ground, and forty feet high. 



7083. The Dutch elm (introduced with King William), U. major (E. B. 2161.), U. suberosa, W. It is chiefly 

 remarkable for its fungous rough bark, large rugose leaves, and rapid growth. The timber is of little use. 



7084. The Scotch or smooth-harked elm (U. glabra) (K B. 2248) .(fig. 67-k 6) is readily distinguished 

 by its smooth dark lead-colored bark, and by its leaves, which are nearly smooth on the upper surface. It 

 is the most useful timber-tree of the genus, and is almost the only tree of the elm kind planted in Scotland, 

 where it also forms stocks for grafting the Dutch and English elm. A new variety of this species has at- 

 tracted notice at Downton, which Sabine (Hori. Trans, vi. 146.) proposes calling the Downton elm. A 

 very rapid-growing variety, called the Scampston elm, is in vogue in Durham and Northumberland. 

 (Agr. Surv. of Durham, ch. x.) 



7085. Other species. The genus ulmus, like salix, is one of those whose species are so nearly related as 

 to be often confounded. Linnaeus considered all the European elms as forming only one species. At 

 present botanists make five British species, besides an equal number from America. The U. campestris 

 and glabra, however, are the only sorts worth cultivating for their timber. (Don, in Hort. Tour, 539.) 



7086. Use. Elm-timber is used in all works where it may be continually dry or wet ; as, for water-pipes, 

 pumps, water-wheels, &C. It is also very generally used for weather-boarding, and for common cabinet- 

 work. The knotty parts like those of the ash, are used for naves and hubs. The lop and top make good 

 fuel and charcoal. 



7087. Soil and site. The narrow-leaved elm requires a light dry soil and warm situation, and will do 

 little good in sand or gravel, in exposed places ; but the smooth-barked sort is a very hardy tree, and will 

 grow in thin clayey soil on retentive substrata better than most others. It will also thrive in situations 

 elevated and exposed on all sides. 



