15. U. EFFU`SA Willd. The spreading-branched Elm. Identification. Willd. Arb., 593.; Sp. Pl., 1. p. 1325.; Spreng. Syst. Veg., 1. p. 930.; Rom. et Schult. Spec. Char., &c. Leaves mostly resembling those of the U. montàna, but quite smooth on the upper side; unequal at the base, doubly serrated. Flowers on drooping stalks. Stamens in a flower 6-8. Samara elliptic, deeply cloven, strongly fringed with coarse dense hairs. (Smith in Rees's Cycl., and in Eng. Fl.) A native of Europe, chiefly in the south of France, and in the Caucasus; flowering in April and May. When it was introduced is uncertain. Description, &c. This species is very distinct, even when the tree is bare of leaves, as will be seen by comparing the winter tree of it, in our last Volume, with that of U. montàna major depicted at the same season. In spring and summer, it is equally marked by the long droop 1242 ing peduncles of its flowers, and its hairy samaras. It expands its leaves, according to M. De Foucault, at least three weeks sooner than any other kind of elm, and a month sooner than some of the varieties. Its leaves are large, and of a beautiful light shining green. The trunk resembles that of U. montàna more than that of U. campéstris; forming numerous branches, and a spreading head. The buds are long, sharply pointed, and greenish; while in the U. campestris they are short, obtuse, and covered with greyish hairs. (Annales Forestières for 1811.) It is a native of Russia, where it becomes a large tree; and has a much wider geographical range than, U. campestris, being, it would appear, one of the hardiest of European elms; and it has been found in the forests near Soissons, and in some other parts of France. The first botanist who mentioned this tree was Pallas; and, about the same time, it was described, at length, by M. Fougeroux de Bondaroy, in the Mémoires de l'Académie des Sciences for 1784. Pallas states that the wood is very hard and durable, and that it is used in Russia for all the purposes that the common elm is employed for in Europe. Bondaroy says that this sort of elm is very common by the road side, between Villars Cotterets and Paris; and also between that city and Cressy. It comes into leaf 15 or 20 days before the common elm, and it grows much faster. The head is more spreading than that of the common elm; and its bark, instead of being furrowed, is smooth. On the whole, he says, the trees are so different in their general appearance, that they may be readily distinguished from each other, even without their leaves. The colour of the young wood, the buds, and the size, colour, and serrature of the leaves, are remarkably like those of the Huntingdon elm; from which circumstance this species is probably more nearly allied to U. montàna than to U. campestris. As a tree of ornament, it is well worth cultivating for the beauty of its leaves, for the distinct character of its spray in winter, and, indeed, for its general appearance at all seasons.. In British nurseries, it is propagated by grafting on U. montàna. There are handsome young trees of it in the London Horticultural Society's Garden; and there is a tree of it at White Knights, in front of the mansion, which is 63 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 22 in., and of the head 70 ft. This tree, we are informed by the gardener, Mr. Ward, flowers, but does not ripen seeds, on which account it would appear to be allied to U. campéstris; but, though its roots run very near the surface, it never throws up a single sucker, and hence it would seem to belong rather to U. montàna. There are plants at Messrs. Loddiges's. 1836. 6. U. MONTANA Bauh. The mountain, Scotch, or Wych, Elm. Identification. Bauh. Pin., 427.; With. Bot., 279.; Sm. Engl. Bot., t. 1827.; Engl. Fl., 2. p. 22.; Hook. Brit. Fl., p. 142.; Lindl. Synop., p. 227.; Mackay's Fl. Hibern. Pl., 1. p. 241.; Lodd. Ćat., ed. Synonymes. U. glabra Huds., ed. 1., 95.; U. effùsa Sibth., 87., Abbot, 55.; U. scabra Mill. Dict., No. 2. ; U. nùda Ehrh.; U. campestre Willd. Sp. Pl., p. 1324., Fl. Dan., t. 632., Huds., 109., Lightfoot, 1094.; Wych Hazel of old authors. Engravings. Engl. Bot., t. 1887.; Fl. Dan., t. 632.; and the plates of some of the varieties in our last Volume. Spec. Char., &c. Leaves pointed, rough, broad, and doubly serrated. Flowers on longish peduncles loosely tufted, 5-6-cleft. Samara somewhat orbicular, slightly cloven, naked. Branches drooping at their extremities; their bark smooth and even. (Smith, adapted.) A tree, a native of Britain, and of various parts of Europe; flowering in April and May, and ripening its seeds in June. Varieties. The varieties of the Scotch elm are extremely distinct, and very handsome trees, some well worth cultivating in a useful, and others in an ornamental, point of view. A. Timber Trees. * U. m. 1 vulgaris. —Tree spreading; seldom exceeding 40 ft. or 50 ft. in 1 U. m. 2 rugosa Masters, U. rugosa Lodd. Cat., ed. 1836.-Bark reddish U. m. 4 minor Masters, as compared with U. m. màjor, is of a more U. m. 5 cebennénsis Hort. The Cevennes Elm.-There is a tree of this variety in the Horticultural Society's Garden, which, in 1834, was 12 ft. high, after being 10 years planted. Its habit is spreading, like that of U. m. vulgàris ; but it appears of much less vigorous growth. * U. m. 6 nigra, U. nigra Lodd. Cat., the black Irish Elm, is a spreading tree, with the habit of U. montàna vulgàris, but with much smaller leaves. It is by some considered as a variety of U. campéstris; but, as it ripens seeds in Ireland, we are inclined to think it belongs to what may be called the seed-bearing section of the genus, and, consequently, to U. montàna. U. m. 7 australis Hort.- The tree of this variety in the Horticultural Society's Garden has rather smaller leaves, and a more pendulous habit of growth, than the species; but it does not appear to be different in any other respect. B. Ornamental or curious Varieties. U. m. 8 péndula; U. péndula Lodd. Cat., ed. 1836; U. glabra decúmbens Hort. Dur.; U. horizontàlis Hort.; U.rùbra in the Horticultural Society's Garden; and the plate of this tree in our last Volume. This is a beautiful highly characteristic tree, generally growing to one side, spreading its branches in a fan-like manner, and stretching them out sometimes horizontally, and at other times almost perpendicularly downwards, so that the head of the tree exhibits great variety of shape. By some, this variety is considered to belong to an American species of elm; but from its large rough leaves, its vigorous young wood and large buds, and, above all, from its flowering at the same time as U. montàna, and, like it, ripening abundance of seeds, which no American elm whatever does in Europe, we have not a doubt that it is a variety of U. montàna. For particular situations in artificial scenery it is admirably adapted: for example, for attracting the eye, and fixing it, in order to draw it away from some object which cannot be concealed, but which it is not desirable should attract notice. There is a handsome tree of this variety in the Hammersmith Nursery, where, after being 12 years planted, it is 30 ft. high. One in the Horticultural Society's Garden was, in 1834, after being 10 years planted, 26 ft. high. U. m. 9 fastigiata Hort., U. glabra replicata Hort. Dur., U. Fórdü Hort., U. exoniensis Hort., and the plate in our last Volume. The Exeter Elm, Ford's Elm.-A very remarkable variety, with peculiarly twisted leaves, and a very fastigiate habit of growth. The leaves, which are very harsh, feather-nerved, and retain their deep green till they fall off, enfold one side of the shoots. The whole habit of growth of of U. m. fastigiata is remarkable; and it forms a singular cupshaped tree, that cannot be mistaken for any other. Its foliage is darker than that of any other elm, save that of U. c. vìrens. (See p. 1376.) This variety was raised at Exeter, by Mr. Ford, nurseryman there, about 1826. It is of less vigorous growth than the preceding varieties; but, being of a very marked character, it well deserves a place in collections. There is a handsome tree of this variety, 16 ft. high, in the Horticultural Society's Garden, and plants in most English nurseries. † U. m. 10 crispa,? U. crispa Willd. The curled-leaved Elm.—The tree of this variety in the Horticultural Society's Garden is 8 ft. or 10 ft. high, and rather of a slender and stunted habit of growth. Other Varieties. Several might be taken from catalogues, both timber trees and curious plants; but the former, such as U. montàna vegèta Lindl., we think may be best classed under U. m. glàbra, and the latter are of so little merit, that we hardly think them worth recording in this work. (See Lodd. Cat., ed. 1836.) Description, &c. The Scotch elm has not so upright a trunk as the English elm; and it soon divides into long, widely spreading, somewhat drooping branches, forming a large spreading tree. It is "of quicker growth than U. campestris; and the wood is, consequently, far inferior in hardness and compactness, and more liable to split. The branches are, in some individuals, quite pendulous, like the weeping willow. Their bark is even; downy in a young state. Leaves larger than any of the foregoing; broadly elliptical, with a longer copiously serrated point; rough on the upper surface, with minute, callous, bristly tubercles, but less harsh than most of the preceding; the under surface downy and paler, with straight, parallel, transverse ribs, copiously hairy at their origins and subdivisions. Flowers rather larger and paler, in looser tufts than most of the species; each in 5, 6, or 7 oblong-acute segments, and as many broad, rather heart-shaped, dark purple anthers. Capsule broadly obovate or elliptical, and almost orbicular, with a shallow notch at the end, not extending half way to the seed." A native of the northern and temperate parts of Europe. (Watson.) It is found in numerous places in Britain; and is the most common elm in Scotland and Ireland. From the leaves somewhat resembling those of the hazel, Gerard tells us that, in Hampshire, "it is commonly called the witch hasell. Old men affirm," he adds, "that, when long bows were in use, there were very many made of the wood of this tree; for which purpose, it is mentioned in the English statutes by this name of witch hasell." (Ger. Emac., p. 1480.) It is only within the present century that this tree has been much planted in England, though in Scotland and Ireland its timber has long been considered as next in value to that of the oak; and it has, accordingly, been extensively introduced into artificial plantations. It is very remarkable that this species seems to be altogether unknown in France and Germany; neither being mentioned in the Nouveau Du Hamel,the Nouveau Cours d'Agriculture, the Dictionnaire des Eaux et Forêts, the Flore Française, nor even in Willdenow's Baumzucht, as far as we have seen in the Continental nurserymen's catalogues, and with the exception of that of Booth of Hamburgh; though, by the American catalogues, it appears to have been introduced into that country. It may possibly, however, be known on the Continent as a variety of U. campestris, that species being given as synonymous with it in Smith's English Flora, on the authority of several authors. Indeed some botanists are of opinion that the U. campéstris of Linnæus is the U. montàna of modern botanists. Among the trees of France Ulmus montàna Bauh. is included, but this, Mirbel, in his Nouveau Du Hamel, makes synonymous with the Dutch elm (U. major), and with U. effùsa Willd. Sir J. E. Smith, however, considers Bauhin's figure as representing U. montàna, and as the U. montàna cebennénsis is a native of the south of France, we may safely assume the species as being indigenous throughout Europe generally, though not under our name of U. montana. Properties and Uses. The wych elm, according to Gerard, was applied to various uses in ancient times. It was not only made into bows, but its bark, which is so tough that it will strip or peel off from the wood from one end of a bough to the other without breaking, was made into ropes. The wood was not considered so good for naves as the wood of the common elm, which then, as now, was esteemed superior in toughness and strength, though the wood of the wych elm cleaved better. In Scotland, where the tree abounds, both naturally and in artificial plantations, it weighs less than the wood of the English elm, and is more coarse-grained. Nevertheless, Sang observes, "it is always prized next to the wood of the oak." "It is used," he adds, "by the ship-builder, the boat-builder, the block and pump maker, the cartwright, the cabinetmaker, and the coachmaker." The timber, Matthews observes, has much sap-wood, and great longitudinal toughness; but, from the great quantity of sap-wood, and want of lateral adhesion, it splits considerably when dry. The tree has a peculiar fan-like spread of the branches, often tending to one side, and most perceptible in young trees. Hence the tree, when grown up, "has generally a slight bending in the stem, which renders it very fitting for floortimbers of vessels; the only part of a ship, except the bottom plank, to which it is applicable, as it soon decays above water. Its great toughness and strength, however, render it fit for floors." (On Naval Timber, &c., p. 52.) "The tree," Matthews continues, "when come to some size, on the primary branches being lopped off, like the common elm and the oak, often throws out a brush of twigs from the stem; and these twigs impeding the transit of the sap, the brush increases, and the stem thickens considerably, in consequence of a warty-like deposit of wood forming at the root of the twigs. This excrescence, when of size, after being seasoned in some cool moist place, such as the north reentering angle of a building exposed to the dripping from the roof, forms a richer veneer for cabinet-work than any other timber." (Ibid., p. 53.) But, even without this process, the wood has often a curious laced appearance, which renders it fit for beautiful cabinet-work. A writer in the Gardener's Magazine (Mr. Ashworth of Prestwich, near Manchester,) states the timber of the Scotch elm to be nearly equal in value to that of the ash. "It is good," he says, "for the naves, poles, and shafts of gigs and other carriages; and, from its not splintering, as the oak and the ash do, in time of battle, for swingle-trees of great gun carriages. It is also used for dyers' and printers' rollers; the wood, by constant use, wearing smooth. Cartwrights employ it for shafts, naves, beds, rails, and standards for wheelbarrows; and the handles of spades, forks, and other agricultural implements." The price of the wood of U. campéstris is from Is. to Is. 4d. per cubic foot, and that of U. montàna is from 1s. 8d. to 2s. Young plants of the former, 6 ft. high, are 6d. each; but of the latter, only 12s. per hundred. (Vol. xii. p. 409.) As an ornamental tree, Sang observes, "the Scotch elm cannot be termed beautiful; but, certainly, an aged elm, when standing singly, is a very capital object. In the form of its branches, and its general outline, it much resembles the oak. Hence, in many of the recently improved places in Scotland (where this tree chiefly abounds), it has been reserved as an ornamental tree, and, in this particular, is an excellent substitute for the oak. Even where the oak and the chestnut abound (as at Alva), the Scotch elm maintains its place, with excellent effect, as a park tree." (Sang's Pl. Cal., p. 86.) Gilpin says of the wych elm, that it "is, perhaps, generally more picturesque than the common sort, as it hangs more negligently, though, at the same time, with this negligence, it loses in a good degree that happy surface for catching masses of light which we admire in the common elm. We observe, also, when we see this tree in company with the common elm, that its bark is somewhat of a lighter hue. The wych elm is a native of Scotland, where it is found, not only in the plains and valleys of the Lowlands, but is hardy enough to climb the steeps, and flourish in the remotest Highlands; though it does not attain, in those climates, the size which it attains in England. Naturalists suppose the wych elm to be the only species of this tree which is indigenous to our island." (Gilpin's Forest Scenery, vol. i. p. 44.) On this passage, Sir Thomas Dick Lauder observes, "We are disposed to think that Mr. Gilpin hardly does justice to this elm. For our parts, we consider the wych, or Scottish, elm as one of the most beautiful trees in our British sylva. The trunk is so bold and picturesque in form, covered, as it frequently is, with huge excrescences; the limbs and branches are so free and graceful in their growth; and the foliage is so rich, without being leafy or clumpy as a whole; and the head is, generally, so finely massed, and yet so well broken, as to render it one of the noblest of park trees; and, when it grows wildly amid the rocky scenery of its native Scotland, there is no tree which assumes so great or so pleasing a variety of character." (Lauder's Gilpin, i. p. 91.) One of the most common uses of this tree, in British nurseries, is as a stock for the different sorts of English and American elms. Popular Superstitions. In many parts of the country, the wych elm, or witch hazel, as it is still occasionally called, is considered a preservative against witches; probably from the coincidence between the words wych and witch. In some of the midland counties, even to the present day, a little cavity is made in the churn, to receive a small portion of witch hazel, without which the dairy-maids imagine that they would not be able to get the butter to come. Soil and Situation. "The Scotch elm," Sang observes, "accommodates itself, both in a natural state and when planted, to many different soils and situations. The soil in which it most luxuriates is a deep rich loam ; but that in which it becomes most valuable, is a sandy loam, lying on rubble stone, or on dry rock. It is frequently found flourishing by the sides of rivers or streams, which sometimes wash part of its roots; yet it will not endure stagnant moisture. In wet tilly clays, as at Panmure in Forfarshire, it soon sickens. On bleak hills, among rocks, and where soil is hardly perceptible, its roots will often find nourishment, and the tree will arrive at a considerable size. In a mixture of loam and clay schistus, incumbent on whinstone rock, as at Alva, it arrives at a large size within a century." (Plant. Cal., p. 56.) Propagation and Culture. The Scotch elm does not produce suckers like the English elm; but, according to Boutcher, it roots more readily from layers than that species. The most ready mode of propagating it, however, is by seeds, which are produced in great abundance, and are ripe about the middle |