24 THE WOODLANDS. 



many) derives its name from the number of elms 

 which grow in its vicinity. 



The large dimensions to which the elm will attain 

 may be judged from one mentioned by Ray, which 

 was felled in Staffordshire, one hundred and twenty 

 feet in length, and seventeen feet in diameter. When 

 sold its head produced forty-eight waggon loads of 

 firewood ; and its trunk, besides sixteen blocks, fur- 

 nished eight thousand six hundred and sixty feet of 

 planks, the whole mass being estimated at ninety- 

 seven tons. 



The use which the Romans made of the elm as a 

 support to the vine has given rise to numerous allu- 

 sions by poets, ancient and modern ; from Ovid, 



" Or, if that vine without her elm should grow 

 'T would creep, a poor neglected shrub, below," 



to Milton, describing the occupations of Adam and 

 Eve, 



" They led the vine 

 To wed her elm." 



The WVCH ELM 1 is a native of Scotland, where It 

 supplies the place of the English elm. It is a much 

 more spreading tree, with strong divergent limbs. 

 The leaves are larger than in the English species, 

 with a longer point, but like them are rough, and 

 unequal-sided at the base. 



In many parts of the country the wych elm, or 



witch hazel, is considered a preservative against 



witches. In some of the midland counties Loudon 



says that a little cavity is made in the churn to receive 



1 Ulnius montana. 



