1920 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland 



Wiltshire, like the adjoining counties, is full of elms, which attain a large size 

 where the soil is deep. The best that I have measured is at Corsham Court, close 

 to the house, and was 123 ft. by 20 ft. in 1905. 



In Yorkshire I have seen no remarkable English elms, even at Castle Howard 

 or Studley, where the wych elm grows to perfection ; but in the finer soils of this 

 great county there are no doubt many good trees which we have not heard of. 



In Wales the best place for English elms that I know is at Maeslwych, near 

 the borders of Herefordshire, in the rich valley of the Wye, where there is an 

 avenue containing many fine trees, which attain no to 120 ft. in height. In south 

 Wales, where the demand for elm timber is probably greater than anywhere in 

 England, I have seen none worthy of special notice ; and in central and north 

 Wales the wych elm is the prevalent species. 



In Scotland we know- few English elms 1 of importance; but Mr. Renwick 

 measured two trees at Loudon Castle, Ayrshire, 107 ft. by 15 ft. 4 in., and 105 ft. 

 by 16 ft. 4 in., in 1908 ; and at Milton Lockhart, Lanarkshire, a tree 90 ft. by 15 ft. 

 1 in. in 191 1. Most of the elms in Scotland are U. montana. 



In Ireland I find no records in my journals of true English elms, except at 

 Adare, the seat of the Earl of Dunraven, where, on the river bank, the finest English 

 elm I have seen in Ireland, was about 120 ft. by 1 3^ ft. in 1909. There is a 

 beautiful tree at Riverview, Ferrybank, Waterford, of which Mr. T. A. Penrose 

 sent us a photograph. It is growing in deep loamy soil, and measured 91 ft. in 

 height and 14 ft. in girth in 191 2. Mr. R. A. Phillips records an English elm at 

 Loughrea, 100 ft. by 12 ft. Most of the hedgerow elms in the east are scrubby 

 and corky twigged. In the south of Ireland the glabrous and Cornish varieties 

 are more generally grown, but only in the demesnes of large landowners, and the 

 timber is here so little valued that when required for large works it is sometimes 

 imported from England. 



Timber 



After the oak and ash, elm is the most important of the non-coniferous timbers 

 grown in England, but its value per foot is inferior to either of them. It varies 

 immensely in different districts, and according to the distance from a sawmill ; but 

 it may be put at about is. per foot for the best quality of trees, containing from 

 50 to 200 cubic feet, and 8d. to iod. for old, faulty, and ill-shaped trees. 



Large old elms are often defective in some part of their trunk on account of 

 their liability to lose large limbs from wind ; and where limbs have been blown off, 

 or cut off, the stump generally decays, and its decay extends into the body of the 

 tree, unless the wound has been dressed with tar, creosote, or some preservative, 

 and covered with lead or cement. 



The removal of elm trees, often weighing many tons, is expensive and difficult ; 

 and though engines are now used for the purpose, it is often found economical, 

 where a number are to be felled, to erect a sawmill close by, and cut them up 



1 Walker, Essays Not. Hist. 70 (1 812), says: "We have no English elms in Scotland of an old date or of a large 



sue." 



