ABNORMAL FRUITING OF THE COMMON ELM. 73
Pl. x., Figure 9. ground Plan; figure 10, cross-section; and figure 11, longi-
tudinal section of the hut; all drawn to scale, from diagrams and detailed
measurements made on the spot. These drawings show : the shallow excavations
made for obtaining the turf, both around and within the site of the structure;
the door, which is a modern innovation in these huts; the position of the char-
coal fire near the entrance (there being no chimney, nor even a hole in the roof);
the rude beds on either side of the central gangway, each of these being formed
of three heavy logs of wood, with light cross-bars over them; and other details
of the structure.
ON THE ABNORMAL FRUITING OF THE
COMMON ELM IN 1909.
By MILLER CHRISTY, F.L.S.
Read 30th October 1909.
I HAVE seen surprisingly little in print in reference to this
phenomenon, which has certainly been the most striking
botanical feature of the year—at all events in Essex, to which
my remarks apply mainly.
Early in the spring (towards the end of April, that is) every-
one was surprised to see the truly prodigious quantity of "seed"
(many times greater than usual) which had set upon the elm
trees—especially, I think, on those in North Essex. At the same
time, the trees produced little or no foliage, it having been, no
doubt, beyond their power to produce, at the same time, both
this enormous quantity of fruit and the normal amount of
leafage.
As the spring advanced, about the middle of May, the trees
became so thickly covered with the dry brown winged fruits, or
samarae, that they looked, at a little distance, as though they had
been killed suddenly, by some means, when in full leaf, and, in
dying, had retained their leaves, which had withered on the tree
and turned brown, as the leaves of the oak often do, instead of
falling off. All the elms in Essex were affected in this way to a
greater or less extent. Some exhibited the phenomenon to a
slight degree only, but the vast majority showed it to the truly
extraordinary extent described.
Still later, towards the end of May, the ripe fruit (now com-
pletely brown and dry) began to fall off. At this time, those trees
which were most affected showed, at a little distance, no trace