224 
TIMBER AND TIMBER TREES. [chap. 
free from sudden bends and knots, and suitable for con¬ 
version into plank and board. 
7. All the timber to have the bark on the wanes, to 
be good, sound, merchantable, well conditioned, such as 
shall be approved of by the officers of the respective 
yards, and in every respect fit for the service of her 
Majesty’s navy. 
THE WYCH ELM TREE ( Ulmus montana) 
is most abundant in the North of England and in Scot¬ 
land, and is only sparingly scattered over the southern 
counties. 
Ordinarily this description of Elm is of very moderate 
dimensions, although instances are by no means rare of 
its attaining a great size. In Evelyn’s “ Sylvia,” we are 
informed that a Wych Elm, which grew in the park of 
Sir Walter Bagot, in Staffordshire, measured 17 feet in 
diameter at the base, and was estimated to contain the 
large quantity of 97 tons of timber. 
The Wych is readily distinguished from the common 
Elm by its smoother and thinner bark, by the absence of 
heavy branches low down on the stem, and by the larger 
size of the leaves. 
The wood is of a light-brownish colour, rather more 
porous than the common Elm, tough, and moderately 
hard when seasoned. Being generally clean and straight 
in the grain, and very flexible when steamed, it is in 
great request for boat-building ; in other respects its uses 
are as varied and numerous as those of the common 
Elm. 
THE DUTCH ELM TREE 
closely resembles the Wych Elm, and is found growing 
in this country under the same conditions of soil, 
aspect, &c. 
