191 2 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland 



is probably greater than that of all other English writers on the subject, seem worth 

 quoting. He says:^ " I do not remember having seen 2. felled &\m trunk that S. 

 destructor had not attacked, frequently whilst still trying to throw out shoots ; yet 

 I have never seen a trace of it in healthy growing trees ; these are supposed to 

 resent and repel the attacks of the Hylesinidce by pouring out sap into their burrows ; 

 and, in the case of S. pruni, I have observed burrows less than an inch long, some 

 of which, containing a few eggs already laid, had been abandoned uncompleted by 

 the beetles, apparently on account of the presence of a fluid which must have been 

 sap, as no rain had fallen to account for it ; these burrows had been formed in bark 

 that was still nearly healthy, though near some dying bark which had doubtless 

 attracted the beetles." The following is an account of Mr. J. Edwards' experience. 

 Some years ago a large and apparently sound limb of a big elm at Colesborne was 

 broken off, and it was allowed to remain where it fell. This fallen limb in due 

 course showed traces of attack by Scolytus, of which, judging from the number of 

 holes in the bark, there must have been some thousands. Up to the present no 

 signs of Scolytus can be seen on the tree, which could not have been the case if any 

 of the beetles bred in the bark of the fallen limb had established themselves either 

 in the trunk or the main branches. As a preventive measure it has been recom- 

 mended ^ that the bark be smeared with a fermenting mixture of cow-dung, slaked 

 lime, bullock's blood, and tobacco ; but I am inclined to think that steps calculated 

 to maintain or increase the vigour of the tree would be more likely to succeed than 

 any bark-dressing whatever. With the view of lessening the numbers of this pest, 

 sickly trees and felled timber, as well as fallen limbs, should be got rid of without 

 delay. 



The branches of old elm trees are liable to falP without warning in calm 

 weather, especially after heavy rains. Though in some cases the branches have 

 been weakened by fungoid attacks, there is no doubt that in other cases the tree was 

 quite sound when the branches fell. Many fatal accidents have been reported from 

 this cause, as at Powis Castle* in 1899, and in Kensington Gardens a few years 

 ago. The English elm seems to be more liable to drop its branches than any of the 

 other kinds. 



Elm as a Woodland Tree 



The elm has seldom been considered by writers on forestry as a woodland 

 tree in this country, and is rarely found in plantations ** except scattered among other 

 trees. I have seen, however, at several places in the Midlands small areas of 



hv W f "<^^'^''! Monthly Magazine, vi. 127 (1869-1870). An interesting account of the ravages of this beetle was given 

 byW.S. Macleay, m an ar^c.e entitled "Abstract of a Report on the State of the Elm Trees in St. James's and Syde 

 Parks," which appeared m Edin. Phil. Journ. xi. 123 (1S24). ^ 



2 W. R. Fisher, Schlich's Manual of Forestry, iv. 278 (1907). 



\ ^r "•"7°"'^^°"^" ^«'-'^- Chron. xxxviii. 119, 134, 252, 268, 33, (1905). and xxxix. M (1906). 

 ^ Gard. Chron. xxv. 340 (1899). 



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