xviii.] ELM. 159 



except the spire. No tops will be received at the yards 

 detached from the log ; all the timber to be of fair 

 growth, free from sudden bends and knots, and suitable 

 for conversion into plank and board. 



7. All the timber to have the bark on the wanes, to 

 be good, sound, merchantable, well conditioned, such as 

 shall be approved of by the officers of the respective 

 yards, and in every respect fit for the service of Her 

 Majesty's navy. 



WYCH ELM {Ulinus montand) 



is most abundant in the North of England and in 

 Scotland, and is only sparingly scattered over the 

 southern counties. 



Ordinarily this description of Elm is of very moderate 

 dimensions, although instances are by no means rare of 

 its attaining a great size. In Evelyn's "■ Sylva," we are 

 informed that a Wych Elm, which grew in the park of 

 Sir Walter Bagot, in Staffordshire, measured 17 feet in 

 diameter at the base, and was estimated to contain the 

 large quantity of 97 tons of timber. 



The Wych is readily distinguished from the common 

 Elm by its smoother and thinner bark, by the absence 

 of heavy branches low down on the stem, and by the 

 larger size of the leaves. 



The wood is of a light-brownish colour, rather more 

 porous than the common Elm, tough, and moderately 

 hard when seasoned. Being generally clean and 

 straight in the grain, and very flexible when steamed, it 

 is in great request for boat-building ; in other respects 

 its uses are as varied and numerous as those of the 

 common Elm. 



The so-called Dutch Elm closely resembles the 



