178 



VERMONT AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 



strict and upright ; others which are straggling and strongly weeping. The 

 bark characters also vary much in different trees. Numerous clusters of 

 slender, drooping flowers open before the leaves in early May, giving the 

 tree a delicate feathery appearance. The seeds mature and fall before the 

 leaves are f ulty grown. 



The wood is very tough and fibrous, making it useful for ox yokes, 

 wagon bolsters, hubs of wheels and similar purposes where there is special 

 cross-strain. 



slippery elm (red elm). Ulmus pubescens Walt. , U. fulva Michx. 



The slippery elm is not uncommon in Vermont. The scattering trees of 



this species are, however, usually passed un- 

 noticed because it so closely resembles the 

 American elm that it is not easy to distinguish 

 the two by general appearance. The stringy 

 mucilaginous bark of the slippery elm is 

 always a sure means of recognition. 



Other means of distinguishing it are found 

 in its circular fruits, which appear in May ; 

 these" have smooth margins, whereas those 

 of both the other species are fringed with deli- 

 cate hairs. The leaves are larger, rougher above 

 and soft-downy beneath. But the surest and 

 simplest test is the "slippery" bark. This 

 has well known medicinal properties which 



give it a recognized value in the drug trade. The slippery elm prefers rocky 



ridges and hillsides. 



SLIPPERY ELM 

 Leaves and fruit, X %. 



cork elm (rock elm). Ulmus racemosa Thomas. 



The cork elm is a more valuable timber tree but it is found only in 

 western Vermont and there but rarely. Its peculiarity is a growth of 

 corky ridges which sometimes project for half an inch or more from all 

 sides of the younger branches. The leaves resemble those of the white 

 elm but are more conspicuously downy upon the under side along the mid- 

 ribs. The bud scales are also downy and the young branchlets somewhat 

 so whereas those of the white elm are smooth. The flowers are borne in 

 open branching clusters, or racemes, and this characteristic gives the Latin 

 name to the species. The fruit, which matures when the leaves are half 

 grown, is somewhat larger than that of the other elms. 



