62 Forest Trees and Shrubs of Meriden, Conn. 



58. ULMUS FULVA. (Michaux.) 



Slippery Elm. Red Elm. Moose Elm. 



Grows from thirty to fifty feet high, and twelve to eighteen 

 inches in diameter. Wood, heavy, hard, strong, very close- 

 grained, compact, splitting readily when green. Used for wheel 

 stock, fence posts, sills, railway ties, etc. Tlie inner bark is muci- 

 laginous, nutritious, and extensively used in various medicinal 

 preparations. Specific gravity, 0.6956 ; ash, 0.83. 



Some of the introduced Elms which have been identified in Mer- 

 iden, but which are not common, are U. campestre, common Euro- 

 pean Elm ; U. montana, Scotch Elm ; Celtis occidentalis. Nettle 

 Tree, and C. cranifolia, Hackberry. 



XI. LAURACE^. The Laurel Family. 



59. SASSAFRAS OFFICINALE. (Nees.) 



Sassafrass. 



Grows from fifteen to forty and fifty feet high, and six to twelve 

 inches in diameter. Wood, light, soft, not strong, brittle, cross- 

 grained, slightly aromatic. The root, and especially its bark, 

 enters into commerce, affording a powerful aromatic stimulant; the 

 oil is distilled from the root. The pith of the young branches, 

 infused with water, furnishes a mucilage used as a demulcent in 

 febrile and inflammatory affections. 



60. BENZOIN ODORIFERUM. 



Fence Bush. Spice Bush. Wild Allspice. 



A shrub, four to ten feet high, and strongly aromatic. Flowers 

 in April. 



XII. OLEACE^. The Olin Family. 



61. LIGUSTRUM VULGARE. (Linn.) 

 Common Privet. 



This is an introduced tree, and not common. It grows from six 

 to eight or ten feet high. Many branches; branches opposite. 

 Berries, black. Flowers in June, and fruit ripens in October. 



