\. i. THE ENGLISH ELM. 299 



so rare. The inner bark is one of the best applications known 

 for affections of the throat and lungs. Flour prepared from the 

 bark by drying perfectly and grinding, and mixed with milk, 

 like arrow-root, is a wholesome and nutritious food for infants 

 and invalids. 



Dr. Darlington says that, in the last war with Great Britain, 

 the soldiers on the Canada frontier, found this, in times of scar- 

 city of forage, a grateful and nutritious food for their horses. 



Michaux considers the wood of the slippery elm as] superior 

 to that of the white. He says, ' : The heart is coarser-grained, 

 and less compact than that of the white elm, and of a dull red 

 tinge. I have remarked that the wood, even in branches of one 

 or two inches in diameter, consists principally of perfect wood. 

 This species is stronger, and more durable when exposed to the 

 weather, and of a better quality than the white elm ; hence, in 

 the Western States, it is employed with greater advantage in the 

 construction of houses, and sometimes of vessels, on the banks 

 of the Ohio. It is the best wood of the United States for 

 blocks, and its scarceness in the Atlantic States is the only cause 

 of its limited consumption in the ports. It makes excellent 

 rails, which are of long duration, and are formed with little 

 labor, as the trunk divides itself easily and regularly : this is 

 probably the reason that it is never employed for the naves of 

 wheels."— Michaux, Vol. Ill, p. 90. 



I find, however, that it is used for the purpose of making 

 hubs in some places in the western part of the State, and is 

 preferred to the white elm. It is so rare in the eastern part of 

 the State, that I have not been able to find any one in this 

 quarter acquainted with its properties. 



Michaux found this elm in all parts of Canada and of the 

 United States, except the maritime parts of Carolina and Georgia. 



Sp. 3 The English Elm. Common European Elm. Ulmus 

 campestris. Linn. Introduced. 



In Boston, and some towns in the immediate vicinity, many 

 of the finest elms are of this species. They are said to have 

 been first imported and planted by a wheelwright, for his own 



