ELM. 179 



and discharging it by means of another, is well known, 

 though rarely obvious, except in the case of water plants, 

 as shown in the white arum. The wych-elm, however, 

 offers an exception ; and when the leaves or bark have 

 imbibed a full supply of moisture, the superabundant 

 quantity becomes gradually exuded on the leaves, till it 

 forms drops, which distil on the passer-by. 



Possessing, therefore, the twofold power of attracting 

 and rejecting water, this tree occasionally exhibits that 

 curious phenomenon which is fully developed in the 

 raining-tree of the Canaries. On the same principle, 

 currents of air are often felt beneath trees in summer, 

 when little perhaps is stirring elsewhere. The air, being 

 arrested in its progress among the foliage, rapidly descends, 

 and escapes around the trunk, where there are neither 

 branches nor yet leaves. Hence people often say, How 

 pleasant is this breeze, how refreshing, how softly it 

 whispers among the folia,ge, causing it to quiver and cast 

 dancing lights and shadows on the grass ! 



N2 



