202 
THE COTTAGE -GARDENER. 
December 12. 
aud some decayed, turfy loam and vegetable-mould; 
mix these in equal parts, but do not sift them—only 
picking out the large roots, stones, &c., that may bo 
amongst them Add a liberal proportion of silver sand, 
and use the compost when neither wot, dry, nor cold; 
then break a quantity of potsherds into small pieces, 
reserving one large enough to cover the hole at the 
bottom of the pot. Lastly, choose a clean, handsome- 
shaped, not-too-hard-burnt, pot, three inches wider than 
that the plant is in when you recoive it; drain it well, 
covering the drainage compactly with some small, fibry 
lumps, picked out of the compost; then place some ol 
the soil upon that, just enough to raise up the old ball 
nearly level with the rim of the pot. Turn out the ball 
from the old pot, and pick out the old drainage, and 
rub off gently the surface-soil down to the roots; then 
place the ball in the new pot, and fill in the compost 
around it, pressing it down, as the filling-in goes on, 
very firmly; finally finishing by covering the old ball. 
Then give a smart stroke or two on the bench, and the 
operation of potting is finished. Observe the appear¬ 
ance of the young plant. If it looks as if it had come 
out of a stove, then place it in a stove again, till the 
warmth of the season will warrant you placing it in the 
greenhouse. As it advances in growth, nip off the 
young tops to make it bushy. About the end of June, 
place it out-of-doors in a warm, sheltered nook, supply¬ 
ing it liberally with water in dry weather. In the early 
part of autumn return it into the greenhouse, and keep 
it there through the winter, giving only a moderate 
quantity of water. Repot it again in the spring; but 
still keep it in the greenhouse, and place it in its former 
situation in the open-air. This will ripen the wood, 
and, I have no doubt, will cause it to flower. Who¬ 
ever achieves that first will add another leaf to his 
laurels. 
Propagation. —Young shoots, putinto sand, and placed 
under a hand-light, upon a heated surface, will soon 
strike root, and should be potted off immediately, for 
the young roots are apt to perish if kept too long in the 
cutting-pot. T. Appleby 
WOODS AND FORESTS. 
THE ELM. 
Next to the Oak and the Ash, the Elm is the most 
valuable of our native timber trees. In most of our 
woodland counties the Elm prevails to a great extent; 
and it is a most remarkable fact, that the Upright 
Elms, Ulmus glabra and Ulmus campestris, produce 
more timber on a given quantity of ground, providing 
the soil suits them, than any other, and in less time, too. 
Hence, in forming new plantations, these two kinds of 
timber should be freely planted. They are the most 
suitable of all trees for hedgerow timber, because of 
their upright habit, and the fact that they will boar 
l pruning to any extent, to keep their branches from 
spreading and overshadowing grass or arable land 
Their roots, it is true, impoverish the land more than 
the Oak, but less than the Ash. 1 know no deciduous tree 
that better shelters land from the cold winds of winter, or 
the heavy blasts that sometimes blow in summer; and 
for this reason, if the branches are shortened-in, they 
produce almost an infinite number of small, twiggy 
branches, that temper and moderate the mighty blast 
that would rush by, with almost undiminished force, 
the naked boles of the Oak or the Ash. As an 
ornamental tree, remarkable for height aud majestic 
grandeur, there is only the Oak that surpasses the Elm. 
I saw, only yesterday, in the park, at a place called 
j “ Swakeleys,” belonging to T. T. Clarke, Esq., many 
j noble specimens of this fine tree; several of them 
towered up in majesty to upwards of eighty feet high, 
with trunks from twelve to sixteen feet in circumference. 
These are supposed to be nearly two hundred years old, 
yet they were in perfect health, and evidently adding 
annually an increase both in thickness and height. 
The species of Elm the most valuable as timber and 
other qualities, is, undoubtedly, the smooth Elm, Ulmus 
glabra , which may be readily distinguished by its smooth, 
dark-coloured bark, and with its leaves quite smooth 
also, at least on the upper surface. The next is the j 
narrow-leaved Elm, Ulmus campestris, which may be 
known from its compeer by its rough, corrugated, when 
old, stem, and its narrow, rough leaves. The next best 
is the Mountain Elm, Ulmus montana, better known bv 
its vulgar name, the Wycli Elm. The top of this species 
spreads much iu what is .called the frondose branches; 
hence, it should always be planted in woods of some 
extent, and kept closely pruned; its spreading branches 
render it unfit for hedgerows, or narrow belts, or the 
open park, though I have seen some fine picturesque 
trees of it bounding church-yards, in the neighbourhood 
of Huddersfield, in Yorkshire. When I was a lad, I 
spent some years in working in Messrs. Pontey’s 
Nursery, near that town, and 1 well remember climbing 
the trees of Wych Elms that bounded the burial-ground 
of Ivirkheaton church, to gather the hop-like seeds of 
this tree, iu the pleasant month of June. When this 
tree becomes old, it loses, iu a great measure, the one¬ 
sided branching form, and then it becomes, as I said 
before, a picturesque object. These three species are the 
most profitable for him who plants with a view of gain 
only. 
The Elm timber is used for various purposes; perhaps 
there is no wood known that will keep sound so long, 
where it is constantly wet. For this quality it is used 
for pumps aud water-pipes, being far more healthy than 
leaden ones. I, for one, always fear to drink water that 
has stood any time in a leaden pump, or ran through 
a long distance of leaden pipe. The wooden ones, 
I am certain, are sweeter and more wholesome. It is 
also used largely in the formation of water-wheels. 
Before the application of steam-power to propelling 
machinery, Elm-timber was in great demand, wherever 
there was a fall of water, to make the mighty wheel that 
made all the work turn round ; and even now, where coal 
is dear and scarce, and water flows plentifully, water¬ 
wheels may be seen in use. In the Vale of Wycombe, 
about sixteen miles from where I now write, there are a 
great number of paper-mills, and almost the whole of 
them have immense water-wheels, which are turned 
round by a quick flowing stream that runs through the 
beautiful valley. They (the wheels) work day and night, 
if required, without any cost of fuel, requiring very 
slight repairs for many years. It is this antiseptic 
quality, combined with its cheapness, I suppose, that 
recommends the Elm for the last abode of the poor— 
the coffin. I believe 1 may say, for this purpose, almost 
every poor cottager prefers the Elm—the narrow recep¬ 
tacle that, sooner or later, we must all inhabit. The 
coffins for the workhouse paupers are now made of the 
still cheaper wood, common deal. Little, indeed, does 
it matter whether wo are buried iu Mahogany, Oak, 
Elm, or Deal, only let us die in the faith of a Christian, 
that we may rise again in the sure and certain hope of 
a blessed resurrection. Little will it then signify what 
sort of a coffin have we been laid in the earth in 
Elm enters largely also into the manufacture of arti¬ 
cles of furniture. It has the two opposite qualities of 
wearing well, either in water, the earth, or in perfect 
dryness. Sometimes, wheelbarrows and carts are made 
of it; but there should always be a building to put them 
iu, when not iu use, for this wood rots as soon as any 
other, if exposed to wet and dry weather alternately. 
It should be always wet, or, as much as possible, always j 
