DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 
131 
on account of the very large ta'p roots of this genus of trees, 
which are either entirely destroyed or greatly injured by 
removal. Transplanting this genus of trees should be per- 
formed, either early in autumn, as soon as the leaves fall or 
become brown, or in spring before the abundant rains 
commence. 
The Elm, Ulmus . 
Nat. Ord. Ulmaceae. Lin. Syst. Pentandria, Digynia. 
We have ascribed to the oak the character of pre-eminent 
dignity and majesty among the trees of the forest. Let us 
now claim for the elm the epithets graceful and elegant. 
This tree is one of the noblest in the size of its trunk, while 
the branches are comparatively tapering and slender, forming 
themselves, in most of the species, into long and graceful 
curves. The flowers are of a chocolate or purple colour, and 
appear in the month of April, before the leaves. The latter 
are light and airy, of a pleasing light green in the spring, 
growing darker, however, as the season advances. The elm 
is one of the most common trees in both continents, and has 
been well known for its beauty and usefulness since a remote 
period. In the south of Europe, particularly in Lombardy, 
elm trees are planted in vineyards, and the vines are trained 
in festoons from tree to tree, in the most picturesque manner. 
Tasso alludes to this in the following stanzas : 
“ Come olmo, a cui la pampinosa pianta 
Cupida s’avviticchi e si marite ; 
Se ferro il tronca, o fulmine lo schianta 
Trae seco a terra la compagna vite.” 
Gerusalemme Liberate , 2. 326. 
It is one of the most common trees for public walks and 
