THE ELM. 



107 



mountains and the plains. Pliny enumerates four 

 species which were knowai to the Romans, the 

 Atinian (the same as our common small-leaved 

 Elm), the Gallic, the Italian, which had tufted 

 foliage, and the Wild Elm. These appear to 

 have been equally valued for their leaves, which 

 were given as fodder to cattle. The Gallic and 

 Italian kinds were preferred to every other tree 

 as a support to vines, for which purpose they were 

 planted in regular rows at set distances, such plan- 

 tations being called "arbusta." The rearing of 

 the trees was considered of such importance, that 

 Pliny gives specific directions for the formation of 

 an Ulmarium, or plantation of Elms, directing that 

 the seeds should be gathered in March, sown in 

 beds, and the young trees planted out in nursing 

 beds before they took their station in the vineyard. 

 He directs also, that when transplanted, it should 

 always be to a similar or better soil, and even 

 recommends that the bark should be marked while 

 they stood in the nursery, in order that when 

 transplanted where they were to remain, their 

 northern sides might retain the same aspect. If 

 reared from suckers, he directs that they should 

 be planted out in autumn. The Atinian Elm was 

 never used as a vine-prop, on account of its too 

 luxuriant foliage, which kept off the sun from the 

 ripening grapes. An important part of the vine- 

 dresser's occupation was to prune the Elms, which, 

 when the vine was trained to them, were said to 

 be married." The minuteness of these direc- 

 tions, which are also alluded to by the Roman 

 poet Virgil, proves the estimation in w^hich the 

 tree was held ; and the name of the fourth spe- 

 cies, wild," would seem to shew that that species 



