r great elm, near London, has a winding staircase cut within it,
and a turret at the top where at least twenty persons can stand. One
species of this tree, called the _wych-_, or _witch-_, elm, was believed
by ignorant people to possess magical powers and to defend from the
malice of witches the place on which it grew. Even now it is said that
in remote parts of England the dairymaid flies to it as a resource on
the days when she churns her butter. She gathers a twig from the tree
and puts it into a little hole in the churn. If this practice were
neglected, she confidently believes that she might go on churning all
day without getting any butter."

"Isn't that silly?" exclaimed Clara.

"Very silly indeed," replied her governess; "but we must remember that
the poor ignorant girl knows no better. The wood of the European elm is
stronger than ours; it is hard and fine-grained, and brownish in color,
and is much used in the building of ships, for hubs of wheels, axletrees
and many other purposes. In France the leaves and shoots are used to
feed cattle. In Russia the leaves of one variety are made into tea. The
inner bark is in some places made into mats, and in Norway they
kiln-dry it and grind it with corn as an ingredient in bread. So that
the elm tree is almost as useful as it is beautiful."

[Illustration]

CHAPTER IV.

_MAJESTY AND STRENGTH: THE OAK_.

"Here," said Miss Harson, "is a small branch from an oak tree containing
the young leaves and the catkins, which come out together; for the oak
belongs, like the willow and the maple, to the division of
_amentaceous_ plants."

"Oh dear!" sighed Clara at the hard name.

But Malcolm repeated:

"_Amentaceous_--_ament_. I know, Miss Harson: it's _catkins_"

"Yes, it means trees which produce their flowers in catkins, or looking
as if strung on long drooping stems; and the oak is the monarch of this
family, and in Great Britain of all the forest-trees. It is especially
an English tree, although our woods contain several varieties. But they
do not hold the pre-eminence in our forests that the oaks do in those
of England. The oak ordinarily runs more to breadth than to height, and
spreads itself out to a vast distance with an air of strength and
grandeur. This is its striking character and what gives it its peculiar
appearance. Oaks do not always go straight out, but crook and bend to
right and left, upward and downward, abruptly or with a gentle sweep.

[Illu