TIMBER TREES. 



2 3 



of the willow into the earth. There receiving an 

 additional sustenance it began to thrive, and expand 

 itself to such a size that it burst the willow in pieces, 

 which fell away from it on every side ; and what was 

 before the root of the ash being now exposed to the 

 air became the solid trunk of a vigorous tree. 



The ELM 1 is a large timber tree, seen to perfection 

 in the valley of the Severn. It is generally admitted 

 to be one of the finest of our trees for park scenery. 

 It grows tall and erect, without any great tendency to 

 spread, and attains a height 

 of eighty 'feet in as many 

 years. The leaves are dark 

 green, ovate, with a doubly- 

 toothed margin and a rough 

 surface. At the base, where 

 the lamina joins the short 

 petiole, it is unsymmetrical, 

 one side extending lower 

 down, and being more 

 rounded than the other. 

 The seeds are bordered by 

 an oblong membraneous 

 wing, which is deeply cleft at the apex, but they 

 seldom ripen in England. 



This tree is rarely cultivated in Scotland, where 

 the wych elm is preferred, but in England it forms 

 a prominent object in every landscape. 



The elm was a funereal tree with the ancients, and 

 it is a curious fact that the wood is still in much 

 repute for coffins. The imperial city of Ulm (Ger- 

 1 Ulmus campestris. 



ELM LEAF. 



