82 THE ELM. 



individuals have, nevertheless, a beauty which is not 

 to be ignored. The leaves are many times larger 

 than those of its loftier relative, and are disposed 

 in so elegant a manner as to give the branches 

 the appearance of enormous " pinnate leaves," or such 

 as are formed after the manner of those of the 

 Eobinia. The long and curving lines produced by 

 these, and the amplitude of surface, constitute attri- 

 butes such as few other trees present, and redeem 

 the wych-elm from any charge of absolute inferiority. 

 The name, which is a singular one, and is often 

 misspelled " witch/' from some confusion of ideas 

 as to the wych-elm and the mountain-ash, a tree 

 from time immemorial associated with witchcraft, 

 signifies a box or chest, and refers to the ancient use 

 of the wood for the purposes of the rough cabinet- 

 maker. Chaucer spells it "wiche," and by Sir 

 John Mandeville the name is applied to the Ark of 

 the Covenant, which, as he says ' ' Titus ledde with 

 him to Borne." It was also used in the sense of 

 coffin : and coffins, to this day, are largely made of 

 the wood of the elm. For this purpose, however, 

 the wood of the campestris is preferred, seeing 

 that the fibre possesses greater lateral adhesion 

 and less longitudinal toughness, and consequently 

 does not crack so much in drying. It is from the 

 same species (the campestris) that the elm-wood used 

 in ship-biilding is derived. From its hard and 

 adhesive nature, and indisposition to crack or split 



