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Europe introduced to Britain at the time of the Romans. It is now fairly 

 certain that it is genuinely wild nowhere but in southern England, the elm 

 called campestris on the Continent being a distinct tree. (See var. australis.) 

 The English elm produces fertile seed extremely rarely. I have not myself 

 seen a genuine seedling, but Henry states that he raised four plants out of 

 twenty batches of seed sown in 1909. In many parts of southern England the 

 elm is the dominant tree, especially in hedgerows; all these trees, however, 

 have sprung from root suckers, which the elm produces freely, and which 

 afford the best means of propagation. 



The origin of the English elm still remains a mystery. It occurs in some 

 parks and gardens of Spain, but apparently always planted, and there is no 

 evidence that it was ever introduced to England from Spain. On the other 

 hand, there is a tradition that the Spanish trees originally were sent from 

 England. Against its being a genuine native of Britain, there is the curious 

 fact that it is almost invariably infertile. I am inclined nevertheless to 

 think that this last may be accounted for by its extreme facility in producing 

 suckers from the roots. There are plenty of instances of trees that propa- 

 gate themselves easily by parts of the old plant, losing much of their fertility 

 of seed our native willows and poplars are instances, as is also the North 

 American Robinia hispida. In the tropics, too, there is the banana, which 

 has wholly, and the sugar cane, which has largely, lost its power of repro- 

 duction by seed after long-continued increase by offsets or cuttings. There 

 is always the possibility that it originated as a hybrid from the other 

 British elms. 



As a tree in the English landscape the elm impresses one by its noble 

 stature and bulk, its rich leafmess, and its singular beauty in winter when 

 the finely fretted outline of its naked branches shows in delicate tracery 

 against the sky. In the autumn the foliage dies off rich yellow, and lingers 

 on the branches longer perhaps than that of any of our native trees. This 

 elm has an unfortunate propensity in age of dropping its limbs, which snap 

 off without any warning. This usually happens on still evenings in late 

 summer and early autumn when the trees are still in full leaf. It is also 

 liable to occur during a heavy rain following a period of heat and drought. 

 The breaking is supposed to be due to a rush of sap to the extremities of 

 the branches, causing cell-tension and a sudden increase in weight. This 

 habit makes 'the elm a very unsuitable tree to plant in crowded thoroughfares. 



The timber of elm is valuable for its toughness and the absence of any 

 tendency to split. It has also considerable beauty of graining and colour. 

 Kept permanently dry or permanently wet, it is very durable. At one time, 

 before the introduction of iron pipes, hollowed-out trunks of elm were used 

 as water-pipes. Although many varieties of elm have been placed under 

 campestris by nurserymen and others, it seems to me there are but two 

 genuine garden varieties of English elm, both no doubt branch sports : 



Var. Louis VAN HOUTTE. Leaves entirely yellow, retaining their colour 

 throughout the summer. The best yellow-leaved elm. 



Var. VARIEGATA. For those who admire variegated trees this may be 

 recommended as one of the best. The leaves are conspicuously blotched, 

 striped, and margined with creamy white. Some years ago I saw a fine 

 specimen of this form on the main road between Warwick and Coventry, 

 whose suckers were as variegated as the parent. 



Var. AUSTRALIS, Henry. This is the tree referred to above as the 

 continental form of U. campestris. Henry (Trees of Great Britain and 

 Ireland, p. 1904) distinguishes it as a tree often pyramidal in habit, with 

 short branches. Leaves thick and firm in texture, oval, 2 to 3 ins. long, 

 i \ to if ins. wide, with a longer, more cuspidate and tapered apex than in 

 the type, and with the tufts of down in the vein-axils beneath not so well 

 developed. Fruit not so round, but more obovate. The tree is best 



