ELM THEE. 



135 



that when it is rough and old, it may easily, at a little 

 distance, be mistaken for the oak. In full foliage its 

 character is better marked ; and no tree is better adapted 

 to receive grand masses of light ; nor is its foliage, sha- 

 dowing as it is, of the heavy kind : its leaves are small, 

 and this gives it a natural lightness ; it commonly hangs 

 loosely, and is in general very picturesque." 



There is a variety of the common Elm, called the Nar- 

 row-leaved Elm, which is altogether cf smaller growth : 

 this is called in the nurseries the English Elm, an appel- 

 lation of which Miller and some others dispute the pro- 

 priety. 



The Cork-barked Elm, Vlmus sziherosa, or, as it is 

 commonly called, the Dutch Elm, because introduced 

 here from Holland, is chiefly remarkable for its fungous 

 rough bark, and its quick growth. The wood is of very 

 inferior quality. 



The Broad-leaved Elm, Uhnus niontana^ is also called 

 the Wych Elm, or Wych Hazel. The trunk soon di- 

 vides into long wide-spreading branches ; and when at 

 full growth, is not above a third of the height of the 

 common Elm. It blossoms before it is thirty feet high, 

 whereas the common Elm seldom flowers till it has at- 

 tained a much greater height and age. The bark is so 

 tough, that the boughs may be peeled from one end to 

 the other, without its breaking : and this is often made 

 into ropes. The leaves are twice the size of those of the 

 common Elm, and resemble those of the hazel. This 

 tree grows plentifully in most parts of Hampshire, where 

 it is commonly called Witch Hazel. It will prosper in a 

 moist or a dry soil, on high hills, or in low valleys. 



The wood of this tree was used for long-bows when 



