CHAP. CI. ULMA X CEJR. U*LMVS. 1379 



L'Orme a petites Feuilles, rOrme male, VOrme pyramidal, the small-leaved Elm, which 



always grows erect, with the branches close to the trunk. 

 L'Orme d iris-gremdes Feuilles, VOrme femelie, VOrme <le Trianon, the large-leaved Elm, 



the branches of which spread horizontally. This elm, says l)u Ilamel, branches much, 

 and furnishes kneed timber, which is very useful to the wheelwright. Its wood, how- 

 ever, is not so strong as that of the twisted elm. 



L'Orme de Hollands a gtandes Feuilles paitachees, the variegated Dutch Elm, has broad 

 variegated leaves. 



L'Orme tortil/ard, ? U. tortubsa Lodd. Cat. (see p. 1376.), the twisted Elm. — This is a very dis- 

 tinct variety; audit is one which very frequently comes true from seed. Its leaves 

 are of a very deep green, and about the middle size ; its trunk is marked with alternate 

 knots and hollows ; and the fibres of its wood are all twisted and interlaced together. 

 This kind of elm presents a very singular appearance when it becomes old, as a number 

 of knots, or bosses, appear to surround its trunk. It produces but few seeds, and some 

 years none at all. Its seeds are, also, much smaller than those of the common elm. It is 

 the best of all the varieties for the use of wheelwrights ; and particularly for the spokes 

 of wheels. This elm is very much cultivated in France, at Varennes, in the nurseries 

 near Meaux, and at Amiens. On the road from Meaux to Paris, there is a great 

 number of these trees. Michaux mentions the twisted elm in his North American 

 Sylua, 3. p 96., and strongly recommends it to both English and American planters. 



Description, fyc. The common English elm is, perhaps, more frequently to 

 be found in the parks and pleasure-grounds of the English nobility and gentry, 

 than any other tree, except the oak. It is of a tall upright habit of growth, 

 with a straight trunk, 4 ft. or 5 ft. in diameter when fully grown, and attaining 

 the height of 60 ft. or 70 ft. or upwards. It has rather slender branches, 

 which are densely clothed with small deep green leaves, somewhat shining on 

 the upper surface, though rough to the touch. These leaves are broad in the 

 middle, and contracted towards each end ; being, like those of all the other 

 species of elms, unequal at the base, and doubly dentated ; and having a 

 strongly marked midrib, with other equally prominent lateral ribs proceeding 

 from it on each side. The colour of the flowers, which appear before the 

 leaves, varies from a dark red to a dull purple. According to Evelyn, the 

 common elm will produce a load of timber in about 40 years : it does not, 

 however, cease growing, if planted in a favourable situation, neither too dry 

 nor too moist, till it is 100 or 150 years old ; and it will live several centuries. 

 Young trees, in the climate of London, will attain the height of 25 ft. or 

 30 ft. in ten years, of which there are living proofs in the London Horti- 

 cultural Society's Garden. According to Dr. Walker {Nat. Hist., p. 72.), the 

 English elm, when planted beside the Scotch elm, grows much faster, and 

 produces a greater quantity of timber in the same space of time ; though that 

 timber is inferior in colour, hardness, and durability. 



Geography. The small-leaved elm is a native of the middle and south of 

 Europe, the west of Asia, and Barbary. In France and Spain, it is found in 

 great abundance ; and many botanists consider it a native of England. If not 

 truly indigenous, it appears to have been introduced at a very early period, 

 probably by the Romans, and to have been propagated by art; for, as Pliny 

 observes, it seldom bears seeds to any considerable extent. According to 

 Sir J. E. Smith, it is found wild in woods and hedges in the southern parts 

 of England, particularly in the New Forest, Hampshire, and in Sussex and 

 Norfolk. (See Eng. FL, ii. p. 20.) 



History. The common field elm was known to the ancient Greeks, as it 

 appears evident from Pliny mentioning that the Greeks had two distinct kinds, 

 one inhabiting the mountains, and the other the plains. The Romans, Pliny 

 adds, had four kinds; the mountain, or tall, elm ( LHmus ^4tfnia, our U. 

 campestris) ; the Gaulic elm ; the elm of Italy, which had its leaves in tufts ; and 

 the wild elm. The elm was scarcely known, as an ornamental tree, in France, 

 till the time of Francis I. ; and it appears to have been first planted there to 

 adorn public walks, about 1540. (See Diet, des Eaux et Forets, ii. p. 453.) It 

 was afterwards planted largely, particularly in churchyards, by Sully, in the 

 reign of Henry IV. ; and, by desire of that king, who, according to Evelyn, 

 expressed a wish to have all the highways in France planted with it, it soon 

 became the tree most generally used for promenades and hedgerows. Many 

 old trees existed at the period of the first French revolution, which were 

 called Sully or Rosni, and Henri Quatre ; names that had been given to them 

 apparently to commemorate their illustrious planters. Bosc states that he 



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