Ulmui 



1921 



into such sizes as they are fit for on the spot ; and sometimes large trees are sawn on 

 the ground lengthways into halves so as to make them more portable. 



Laslett ^ says that if used where it is constantly under water, or in situations 

 where it is always kept dry, elm is one of the most durable of timbers, but it decays 

 rapidly under any other circumstances. I have seen, however, many old barns and 

 sheds in Hants, Wilts, and Essex covered with elm weather-boards, which, when 

 tarred, have remained sound for a very long period, perhaps over a century. 



Elm timber should not be left lying long after it is cut ; and when converted 

 into boards must be carefully stacked to dry under cover, as, though it does not crack 

 so much as oak or ash, it twists and warps much more. 



Until iron water-pipes were introduced, elm was the favourite wood for this 

 purpose, and old water-pipes are often dug up in London and elsewhere which 

 have remained sound for 200 years or more. I saw one of these at Chirk Castle, 

 which was found at Clerkenwell in 1898, by the new River Water Company, of 

 which Sir Hugh Myddleton, ancestor of the present owner, R. Myddleton, Esq., was 

 the founder. This is said to have been laid down in 1613, and measures 8 ft. long 

 by 14 in. in diameter at the big end. The bore, which is much encrusted by a limy 

 deposit, is 9 in. in diameter at one end and 6 in. at the other. Similar water-pipes 

 are preserved in the museum at Kew and in the Surveyors' Institution in London. 



Elm was also formerly much used for the blocks and keels of ships ; and most 

 of the large elms cut in Essex are used, I believe, for piles, groynes, wharves, and 

 for the timbering of the sluices, which carry off the flood-water of the Essex 

 marshes, as well as for weather and coffin boards. 



In all the counties nearest to south Wales the greater part of the elms which are 

 blown down or felled, are used for making boxes for tin-plates, as it has been found 

 that this wood does not discolour the plates, and there is less waste in converting for 

 this purpose than for any other, the boards being small and thin. The price in these 

 counties therefore depends very much on the prosperity of the tin-plate trade. 



A very large quantity of elm is also used for coffin-boards though, according to 

 " Acorn," whose account of this timber is well worth consulting, this branch of trade 

 has lately suffered like all our home industries from foreign competition. The sizes 

 required for this purpose, he says, are 6|- to 7 ft. long by 11 to 14 in. wide, and 

 I to I in. thick, and cost about half as much as oak, though the figure is in some 

 cases very handsome when polished. 



For the seats of Windsor chairs, elm is also largely used. The greater part 

 of the tip-waggons used by railway and harbour contractors were formerly made of 

 elm, though now in many cases iron and imported timber are preferred. Barge- 

 builders, box-makers, and wheelwrights also consume a large quantity of elm, the 

 latter preferring it to oak for the stocks or hubs of wheels, as well as for felloes of 

 large size ; and here again Canadian rock elm ( Ulmus racemosa) is now a formidable 

 competitor, which tends to keep down the price of home-grown timber. 



With regard to the best quality of elm for wheelwrights I have made many 

 inquiries among country tradesmen, whose opinions differ according to the locality. 



1 Timber and Timber Trees, 218 (1875). 



