218 THE ELM. 



very valuable, even when of a small size, for cutting up 

 into herring-band staves. Old trees which are fuU of 

 knots may be made into tables and chairs, which, if 

 protected from insects by French polish, are both beautiful 

 and durable. The charcoal is highly valued in the manu- 

 facture of gunpowder, for which purpose it is in some 

 places largely planted. The colour of the wood when first 

 cut is white : it soon, however, becomes of a bright red, 

 which afterwards fades into pink, which is its permanent 

 hue. Few river-side wanderers have failed to notice the 

 bright tints of the chips and newly-hacked trunks which 

 have here and there marked the recent labours of the 

 woodsman. The bark and young shoots are used for 

 tanning as well as for dyeing several tints : combined with 

 iron it produces a very good black. The Alder is in- 

 creased either by seeds or by truncheons, the latter method 

 being preferred in jjlaces which are liable to be overflowed, 

 and where consequently a firm hold in the ground is 

 desirable. Several varieties are cultivated with leaves 

 cut like those of the Hawthorn and Oak, and these 

 frequently attain a large size. 



THE ELM. 



Ulmus. 

 Natural Order — Ulmace^. 

 Class — Pentandria. Order — Digynia. 

 Of this tree, to which the cultivated parts of England are 

 so much indebted for the richness of their landscape, there 

 are many varieties. !N"o less than eighteen are described 

 by Loudon, which are all referred to the commonest species, 

 Ulmus campestris. It is not necessary here to supply 

 even a catalogue of these, and it would be impossible 

 to point out the distinctive characters of each without 

 entering into a tedious and unprofitable description, which 

 the reader, if he wishes to study the Elms botanically, 



