THE ELM. 59 



No tree bears transplanting better than the Elm. 

 It will suffer removal even at twenty years of age ; 

 which renders it very desirable for those who may 

 wish to impart to new-built mansions the respect- 

 ability which leafy shades, of apparently long 

 standing, always confer on a habitation. The Elm 

 is, indeed, peculiarly fitted for " the length of 

 colonnade," with which our forefathers loved to 

 make graceful and gradual entry to their hospitable 

 halls. Loving society, yet averse from a crowd, 

 delighting in fresh air, and in room to expand its 

 roots, and affording its aid to all the weaker plants 

 in its vicinity that may seek its support, it presents 

 a pleasing emblem of the class of country gentlemen, 

 whose abodes it is oftenest found to adorn and pro- 

 tect. Gilpin justly observes, that no tree is better 

 adapted to receive grand masses of light than the 

 Elm. In this respect it is superior, not only to the 

 Oak and the Ash, but perhaps to every other tree ; 

 nor is its foliage, shadowing as it is, of the heavy 

 kind : its leaves are small, and this gives it a natural 

 lightness; it commonly hangs loosely and is in 

 general very picturesque. It is likewise the first 

 tree that salutes the early spring with its light and 

 cheerful green, a tint which contrasts agreeably with 

 the Oak, whose early leaf has generally more of the 

 olive cast. They may be seen in fine harmony 

 together in the beginning of May. 



