NOTES ON PARTICULAR TREES 69 



Wych elm seeds and has no suckers. There is 

 a bewildering number of sub-varieties. Every 

 kind of elm is better adapted for hedgerows 

 than for planting in woods. In most years elm 

 has a very poor sale, if offered in large quantities. 

 However, in some localities there is a good sale 

 of limited quantities for local use, if the haulage 

 is easy. As a remunerative sale of elm is 

 generally strictly local, that kind should be 

 planted which the local wheelwrights prefer. 



The main point of interest about larch for 

 a planter is the difficulty of growing it free from 

 disease. In the early part of the last century 

 millions of larch were planted, particularly in 

 Scotland and in the counties of Cumberland 

 and Westmoreland. If these woods had grown 

 to maturity in a healthy condition, or if it had 

 been found profitable to grow successive crops 

 of larch on the same soil, it would have been 

 proved that timber-growing in England could 

 be highly successful. Even now, after taking 

 into consideration the grave risk of disease, it 

 is probable that in most districts larch is the 

 only kind of tree which can be grown to a profit 

 in large plantations. So that in most cases, if 

 financial considerations are important, the alter- 

 native is either to plant larch or not plant at all. 



