ANCIENT WYCH ELM. 55 



conferred upon inanimate things. Attica consi- 

 dered the olive as the gift of her tutelary goddess, 

 and some benevolent saint would have been lauded 

 and hymned, for having endowed the oak of 

 Britain with^ such extensive virtues for the good 

 of mankind. 



The ether tree that I mentioned above as one 

 of our boasts, is a wych or broad-leaved elm 

 (ulmus montand), standing near the turnpike-road. 

 This very fine and stately tree was saved, when 

 the merciless axe levelled all its companions, at the 

 solicitation of a lady now no more, and remains 

 a testimony of her good taste, the civility of the 

 agent, and the ornament of our village. When in 

 youth, this species presents a character decidedly 

 different from the common elm (ulmus campestris). 

 Its branches at times are so strong as to be nearly 

 equal in size with the main stem that supports 

 them, and loaded with such a profusion of foliage, 

 that the sprays become pendent, and give the idea 

 of luxuriance with weakness, of a growth beyond 

 strength : advancing in age, its arms and sprays 

 become less pensile, as the leaves are smaller and 

 less burdensome; yet they hang commonly in large 

 heavy masses, like what we formerly were accus- 

 tomed to see in the aquatintas of Jukes, and the 

 prints of that period. It can, however, occasionally 

 assume the appearance of elegance and lightness, 

 and is usually less aspiring and more branching 

 than the common elm ; its dense foliage yields a 

 fine shade for cattle, and it deserves, even on this 



