CHAP. C J, /'LMaYi .1'. l'l.A'NEKJ. 1411 



Geography, History, fyc. The zelkoua is a native of the country lying 

 between the Black and the Caspian Seas, between hit. 35° and 4-7°, par- 

 ticularly of Imiretta and Mingrelia; of the north of Persia, and of Georgia. 

 It was first described by Pallas, in his Flora Rossica (published in 1784), under 

 the name of JZhamuus carpinifolius. In 1782, the elder Michaux under- 

 took "a journey into Persia, under the auspices of Monsieur (afterwards 

 Louis XVI II.), in order to make botanical researches. Having left Ispahan, 

 in order to explore the province of Ghilan, he found this tree in the forests 

 which he traversed before arriving at llecht, a town situated on the Caspian 

 Sea. In this town he had opportunities of remarking the use made of the 

 wood, and of judging how highly it was appreciated by the inhabitants." 

 (Michx. sur le Zelkoua, p. 3.) The first tree introduced into Europe appears 

 to have been planted by M. Lemonnier, professor of botany in the Jardin 

 des Plantes, &c,, (see p. 140.) in his garden at Montreuil, near Versailles. 

 This garden was destroyed in 1820; and the dimensions of the tree, when it 

 was cut down, will be found in p. 1410. The oldest tree now existing in 

 France is in the Jardin des Plantes, where, in 1831, it was about 60 ft. high. 

 It was planted in 1786 (when a sucker of four years old), about the same 

 time as the lime trees which form the grand avenue called the Alice de Buffon. 

 There is, however, a much larger zelkoua on an estate of M. le Comte de Dijon, 

 an enthusiastic planter of exotic trees, at Podenas, near Nerae, in the depart- 

 ment of the Lot et Garonne. This fine tree was planted in 1789; and, on the 

 20th of January, 1831, it measured nearly 80 ft. high, and the trunk was nearly 

 3 ft. in diameter at 3 ft. from the ground. A drawing of this tree, made by the 

 count in the autumn of that year, has been kindly lent to us by M. Michaux ; 

 from which Jig. 1250. is an engraving, to a scale of 1 in. to 12 ft. There are 

 several other trees of the zelkoua, at Podenas, nearly as large; and some elms 

 planted thirty years before the zelkouas, and measured at the same time, were 

 only a few inches more in size. In England, the zelkoua appears to have been 

 planted at Kew, and at Syon, probably about the year 1760, when it was first 

 introduced. A tree in the former garden is upwards of 50 ft. high ; and, in the 

 latter, the tree of this species figured in our last Volume was, in 1835, when 

 the drawing was made, upwards of 54 ft. high. 



Properties and Uses. Both the sap-wood and the heart-wood of the zel- 

 koua are used as timber. The sap-wood is white, and very elastic, resembling, 

 in many respects, the wood of the ash. The heart-wood, which comprises at 

 least two thirds of the whole, is reddish, and sometimes of a russet brown. 

 This wood, when cut obliquely, resembles that of the robinia, and presents, 

 like it, numerous interlacements of fibres. It is very heavy, and, when dry, 

 becomes so extremely hard, that it is difficult to drive nails into it with a 

 hammer. In the countries where it is abundant, it is employed for the same 

 purposes as oak ; and it is found to be even superior to that wood for furni- 

 ture. Its colour is agreeable; it is finely veined; and its texture is so compact, 

 and its grain so fine, as to render it susceptible of the highest polish. It has, 

 also, the great advantage of never becoming wormeaten, however old it may 

 be. It is remarkably durable as posts, to stand either in water or in the 

 earth. (Mic/ix. Mem. stir le Zelkoua, p. 9. 17.) 



Propagation and Culture, fyc. The zelkoua is generally propagated by 

 grafting on the common elm; but we are told by M. Michaux that M. le 

 Chevalier Gauba, the French consul at Teflis, who is the proprietor of large 

 forests in Imiretta, has had a great quantity of seeds collected, and sent to 

 France, from which young plants have been raised. When grafted, M. Michaux 

 observes that the operation should be performed as near the collar of the stock 

 as possible; when, if the stocks are in a deep fresh soil, the grafts will push 

 shoots of from 6 ft. to 9 ft. long the first season. 



Statistics. In the environs of London, the largest tree is at Syon, where, in 1834, it was 54 ft. high, 

 the diameter of the trunk 2 ft. 3 in., and of the head 34 ft. ; at Kew, it is upwards of 50 ft. high ; in 

 the Horticultural Society's Garden, 10 years planted, it is 20 ft. high. (See the plate of this tree in 

 our last Volume.) In Rutlandshire, at Belvoir Castle, 4 years planted, it is 10 ft. high. In France, 

 in the Jardin des Plantes, 55 years planted, it is 58 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 21 in., and of 

 the head 30 ft. ; at Sceaux, 30 years planted, it is 50 ft. high ; in the Botanic Garden at Rouen, it is, 



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