The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1882-07-29
Our 0lio.
Facts About Trees.

: The elm was first introduced into Eng
land either by the Romans, or not Ion,
4 after their time 1t has certainly beeI
:, known there since the time of the Saxons
e 1t is one of the few trees which will bea
i transplanting when full grown, and thi
$ fact has often been taken advantage of IL
: England to change barren spots to wood
I lands. 1t is taller than the average of for
: est trees, and the masses of light and shad,
D caused by its luxuriant foliage add mucl
/ to the attractiyeness of a woodland scene
q The elm lives TO great age, and manl
!, trees are known which date back severa
: centuries There is an elm in the south Of
, England sixty-one feet in circumference
whose trunk is hollow, having door, fas-
/ tened by lock and key. Festal parties
t have sometimes gathered in this tree, andit
/ is said that child was once born there
Another great elm has winding staircase
t cut within it and turTet at the top which
| will accommodate twenty persons at once,
The wych or witch elm was formerly be-
lieved to be an unfailing safeguard against
witches; and even now among some ignor-
; ant and superstitious persons q little Of the
same belief fingers. The elm is avery Wig
orous grower, 50 much so as to often run
out other trees This is due ep the strength
, and rapidity of growth of the roots, which
spread Just below the surface Of the ground.
1t is especially noticeable for the great CO.
herency of its wood, which is said never to
splinter The knots are much used for We
neering. In Northern Europe during
times of scarcity the inner bark of the elm
is sometimes ground to powder and mixed
with meal to aid in supporting life. Both
leaves and bark are very astringent and the
leaves have been employed to sdulterate tea.
The elm is particularly unfortunate in Its
liability to the attacks Of disease and inju-
rious insects Some of these insects con-
tent themselves with feeding on the leaves,
but Others burrow long galleries in the
trunk itself and eventually kin the tree, If
present in considerable numbers,
Among the most beautiful Of the forest
trees is the ash--indeed, it has been called
.sThe Venus Of the Forest, and aThe
Queen of the Forest Its curves are easy
and graceful, and the hghtness and loose
ness Of its foliage impart a peculiar airy
grace. As the tree grows old Il loses naeh
of It's beauty The wood Is less durable
than that OF some other trees, but It's elas-
tic lightness makes It's much in demand for
some purposes. It has been called the
~Husbandman's tree, because the timber
was much used for agricultural implements
The bark Is sometimes employed in tanning,
and the seed and sap are used in medicine.
A decocfion Of the bark and leaves wss for
merly givea - tonic. The berries of the
mountain ash, in some parts Of Europe, are
dried and ground into -four TO be used a.
food The ash was formerly accredited
with possessing MAGICAL pOwcrS to some de-
gree Il was supposed that children
troablcd with certain congential defects
might be healed BY passiag them, entirely
naked, between the parts Of a young ash
tree, which had been cleft for that purposE.
The tree was then czrrfully reunited and
plastered over With mud. IL the parts
joined, and the wound healed. il was be-
hesed that the child would certainly be
healed, while If tbs tree refused to join, the
child would not be beneatci. Another
superstition rela-vc 10 this tree was cen
necsed With the Itslo animal called the 4
shrew. If horse 0r COW was Afflicted with /
pains in Is limbs, the trouble was believed /
10 be caused by shFew running over ii, I
and the unfailing remedy was provided b. 1
the s,shrrH-aah. This wss nothiag nore
than ash, and into the trunk 1T which
hole had been horcd. Into this, with much 4
ceremony and many ineanta,ions, hvc .
shrrw was put and the hole plugged up. i
In France the ash Is subject 70 the a.
tacks of the beetle called t.aAtkaris, better
knowe as the Spanish Hy. This insect 1
Is Of golden greea hue, and very heanti-
fal 10 the sight, but il. utterly ruins the
beauty Of she tire. BESIDES giving out very
Offensive odor n Is, however, valuable a.
a medie;4al agent. A species Of ash which
grows in Sicily Yields substance known a.
mama. formerly much employed in maeii-
cines. Nov, however. il Is Il little use
The ash fraIuently attains a considerable
size. During the lasf century there was a
hollow trunk Of an ash trce, forty-two fees
IN eircumfereaoe, Il Donirey. Ireland
The village sehool MAS keps IN this tree for
a time. An ash in Loehabcr church yard,
Scotland, Is said to have been ifffy-eight
feet in cirramferenee, measured hye feet
from the ground. At Carnock, Scotland,
is one planted in 1888, which Is ninety feet
high and nineteen feet in circumference,
Eve feet from the ground.
The cypress was highly esteerned among
the Greeks and Romans for the extreme
durability Of lis WOOD, which Is hard, fra
grant and ef beautiful red color. The
Athenians used II for eol9ins, in which 10
preserve the bodies Of their great men.
Most Of the saroophagi, in which the Egyp-
tian mnmmies have been found, were also
Of cypress wood. Plato had code Of laws
carved upon tablets Of cypress, considering
il more durable than bras. The renowned
statue Of Jupiter. al Rome, was made Of
cypress, a. were also the doors of the tem-
pie Of Diana, at Ephesus. The doors Of
ST. Peters, at Rome, were made of cypress
wood, in the time Of Constantine. When
they were replaced by brazen doors, eleven
centuries later, they were found entirely
BY the tooth off time. The wood
was much used BIZ the Romans aud grove
Of cypress was considered handsome dowry
for Roman lady. Il was also esteemed
as a shade tree, and was often trimmed into
grotesque shapes Of animals,
ships, birds, or whatever form fancy might
dictate. Its peculiar odor was considered
Of much medicinal value and Eastern ply
sieians not infrequently sent weak hinged |
patients to Crete, where the cypress grew |
in great abundance, solely for the sake Of ,
inhaling It's oder. Owing, probably, to its /
peculiar shape and the subdued color of !
It's foliage, the cypress has always been /
thought specially suited to be planted in
graveyards and the 'smournful cypress" has
passed for a symbol of grief. In Turkeys ,
cypress IS almost invariably planted at each
end of grave so that some of the eeniete-
ries, from little distance, resemble grove
IF expresses. Itreaches an extremely great
lge. The Oldest tree in Europe Is supposed I
70 be cypress, in Lombardy, which, ac-
sording to some authorities, was planted in j
she year of the Christian era, while, accord !
ng to others, it existed in the time of Ju- I
ius Caesar. This ancient tree is one hun |
ired and twenty feet high and twenty three
FEET in circumference. When NapoleOn /. 7