Trees: A Woodland Notebook: Containing Observations on Certain British and Exotic TreesMaxwell, Herbert, Sir
Science
Trees: A Woodland Notebook: Containing Observations on Certain British and Exotic Trees
Maxwell, Herbert, Sir
Trees
Perhaps the most striking display of the true English elm to be found
anywhere is the magnificent quadruple avenue known as the Long Walk, at
Windsor. Many of these are 120 feet high and 15 feet in girth. The
avenue leads from the Castle gates to the statue in the park, a distance
of two miles and three-quarters. Taller individual elms may be seen
elsewhere, as in the grounds of King's College, Cambridge (130 feet),
Boreham House, in Essex (132 feet), and Northampton Court,
Gloucestershire (150 feet by 20 feet in girth). The last-named tree, by
the way, may no longer be seen, for it was blown down in 1895, but there
can be no doubt about its dimensions, which were accurately ascertained
as it lay on the ground. It was probably the champion of that
particular species in England; but it was inferior in bulk to the great
elm which stood in the grounds of Magdalen College, Oxford, until it was
blown down in April, 1911, pronounced by Mr. Elwes to be "the largest
elm I have ever seen and the largest tree of any kind in Great
Britain."[10] Mr. Elwes carefully measured the fallen giant, finding it
to be 142 feet high, 27 feet in girth, and containing 2787 cubic feet of
timber. He and Dr. Henry pronounce it to have belonged to the variety or
sub-species classed as the smooth-leaved Huntingdon or Chichester elm
(_U. vegeta_, Lindley), although in this case no suckers had been
produced, which the Huntingdon elm usually sends up in profusion.
It is usually stated in forestry manuals that the English elm is not
suited for Scottish conditions. My own experience is directly opposed to
that view, for, having some score or so of these trees now about 110
years old to compare with wych elms planted at the same time, the
English species exceeds the other in height and equals it in bulk. Two
English elms at Loudon Castle, in Ayrshire, were measured in 1908, and
were found respectively to be 107 feet by 15 feet 4 inches and 105 feet
by 16 feet 4 inches.
[Illustration: THE GREAT ELM AT MAGDALEN COLLEGE, OXFORD]
I have found, however, that by far the shapeliest and best elm for
Scottish planting is the smooth-leaved elm, formerly, and probably
correctly, considered to be merely a permanent variety of the English
elm (_U. campestris_), but now distinguished as a species under the
title of _Ulmus nitens_. It certainly resists violent winds better
than the English elm, being therefore preferable for sea exposure.
Moreover, its timber is esteemed more highly than that of other elms,
being remarkably tough. Dr. Henry has distinguished a variety of this
elm as _Italica_--the Mediterranean elm--which is the kind used by
Tuscan vine-dressers to train their vines on.
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