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THE UNIVERSAL HERBAL, 



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of its efficacy also in lpra vulgaris, affecting the whole body, 

 is related by Banau, who proposes its use in various other 

 diseases, as fluor albus, rheumatism, old ulcers, cancerous 

 and scrofulous affections, scald head, and scurvy. In very 

 obstinate cases it is necessary to persevere in the use of the 

 decoction for some months. Propagation and Culture. All 

 the sorts of this tree may be propagated by seeds, layers, or 

 suckers taken from the roots of the old trees, the latter of 

 which is generally practised ; but as they are frequently cut 

 up with indifferent roots, they often miscarry, and render 

 the success doubtful ; whereas those propagated by layers 

 are in no danger, and always root better and come on 

 faster than the others ; hence this method should be more 

 generally practised, especially as they are not so liable to 

 send out suckers from the roots. A small piece of ground 

 filled with stools of these plants will be sufficient to furnish 

 a nursery of considerable extent annually, with layers for 

 transplantation. The best soil for such a nursery is a fresh 

 hazel loam, neither too light and dry, nor even inoist and 

 heavy. The ground should be well trenched ; and if a little 

 rotten dung be buried in it, that will be serviceable. Care 

 should be taken to pick out all the pernicious weed-roots, 

 which, if left, would be very mischievous to the layers, and 

 cannot be afterwards so easily removed. When the ground 

 is weeded and levelled, plant them about eight feet asunder 

 each way. The best season for this is in autumn, as soon 

 as the leaves begin to decay, that they may take root before 

 the dry weather in the spring comes on, by which a great 

 expense in watering them may be avoided ; for if well settled 

 in the ground before dry weather, they will afterwards require 

 little more than to mulch their roots to keep the earth from 

 drying. These plants should be permitted to grow rude 

 for two years, during which time the ground between should 

 be dug and trenched every spring, by which time they will 

 be well rooted, and have made pretty strong shoots, which 

 may then be laid in the ground. The manner of doing this, 

 the reader will find fully explained under the article Laying. 

 When these layers are well rooted, which will be in one year, 

 they should betaken off, and transplanted out into a nursery, 

 which should be upon a good soil. The plants should be 

 placed in rows about four feet asunder, and two feet apart 

 in the rows. This should be performed in autumn as soon 

 as the leaves begin to decay, and if there be some mulch laid 

 upon the surface of the ground about their roots, it will 

 preserve them from being hurt by frost in winter, and from 

 drying winds in spring. In the following summer the 

 ground between them should be constantly kept clean from 

 weeds, and in autumn they should be pruned off, cutting 

 away all strong lateral branches, which would impede their 

 upright growth ; but there must be some of trie smaller shoots 

 left on to detain the sap, in order to augment the stems of 

 the trees; for where they are pruned up too naked, they are 

 liable to become too slender to support themselves, whence 

 their heads recline to the ground, and cause their stems to 

 become crooked. Tn this nursery they may remain for four 

 or five years, observing constantly to dig the ground between 

 them every spring, and to trim them as before directed, 

 which will promote their growth, and render them strong 

 enough to transplant out where they are to remain, in the 

 time already stated. All sorts of this tree, the Wych excepted, 

 on account of the large arms which they throw out, are very 

 proper to plant in hedge-rows, upon the borders of fields, 

 where they will thrive much better, than in a wood or close 

 plantation, and their shade will not be particularly injurious 

 to whatever grows under them ; but when they are trans- 

 planted out upon banks, the banks should be well wrought, 



and cleared from all other roots, otherwise the plants being 

 taken from a better soil, will not make much progress in such 

 places. Michaelmas is the proper time for this work; but 

 when they are planted, there should be some stakes fixed in 

 beside them, to which they should be fastened, to prevent 

 their being displaced by high winds. Part of their heads 

 should be taken off before they are planted, which will also 

 be of use in preventing their being easily overturned. The 

 leading shoot, however, should by no means be stopped, nor 

 the branches too closely cut off, which would probably cause 

 them to miscarry. These are very proper trees to plant at a 

 distance from a garden or building, to break the violence of 

 winds, for which purpose there is not any tree more useful, 

 as they may be trained up in the form of an hedge, keeping 

 them cut every year, which will cause them to grow very 

 close and handsome, to the height of 'forty or fifty feet, and 

 be a great protection against the fury of winds : but they 

 should not be planted very near fruit-trees, because the roots 

 of this tree would deprive the others of nourishment. The 

 roots are also very prejudicial to gravel walks, on account of 

 their sending forth abundance of suckers. In large gardens, 

 where shade is required, there is scarcely any tree so proper, 

 as it is easily removed, even when grown to a considerable 

 size ; so that a person who is desirous to have his plantation 

 afford shade in a short time, may procure trees of nearly one 

 foot in circumference in the trunk, which will be in little 

 danger of failing, if removed with care: and these will take 

 root, and grow very well, though not so well as young plants, 

 which is what few other trees will do ; but then they should be 

 such trees as have been thus regularly trained up in a nursery, 

 and have good roots, and not such as are taken out of hedge- 

 rows, which seldom rise with any tolerable roots, and often 

 miscarry. In fact, this has been the real cause of so many 

 plantations of Elm failing ; for although some of them may 

 live a few years, yet few of them are of long duration, and 

 they rarely increase much in their stems, but frequently grow 

 hollow, their heart decaying first, so that they are supported 

 only by their bark or shell for a few years, and in tlie very 

 first severe winter, or veVy dry summer, they are generally 

 destroyed. But though Elms trained up in a nursery may 

 be removed with safety at a larger size than most other trees, 

 still it is not the best method to transplant them when large, 

 for if people would have a little patience when they plant, 

 and never plant any which are more than four or five inches 

 in the girth of their stems, they will in a few years become 

 better trees than any of those which are transplanted of a 

 much larger growth, and grow to a much larger size ; besides, 

 they are more easily removed, and do not require to be 

 strongly supported, nor is there much danger of the young 

 trees mwcarrying; therefore it is much more eligible to make 

 choice of young thriving trees, yet not from a better soil 

 than that in which you design to plant them, and never to 

 plant any large trees, unless where a small number may be 

 wanted for an immediate shade ; and in such cases it is always 

 proper to plant some young trees among the large ones, to 

 succeed them when they fail. In planting of these trees, 

 great care must be taken not to bury their roots too deep, 

 especially in a moist loam or clay; and if clay be near the 

 surface of the soil, it will be the best way to raise the ground 

 into a hill where each tree is to be planted, which will advance 

 their roots above the surface of the ground, so that they will 

 not be in danger of rotting in the winter with moisture. 

 When these trees are propagated by suckers taken from the 

 foot of old trees, they are commonly laid into the ground in 

 rows pretty close together in beds, where in dry weather 

 they may be frequently watered, to prevent their putting out 



