I2l6 



Rural School Leaflet 



short-lived. Unless they fall on soil that makes a good seed bed and 

 germinate immediately, they will die. They cannot wait, as do the seeds 

 of the hickory, pine, and many other familiar trees. (Can you think 

 of another familiar tree that ripens its seeds in early summer? See the 

 Rural School Leaflet for September, 1912, page 163.) Besides plenty 

 of moisture, which is one thing that the little elm seedling must have 

 at the start, the quality of the soil and the amount of light that comes 

 to the seedling have great influence on its growth. The soil must be 

 rich and mellow, so that the rootlets can penetrate easily and find plenty 

 of food material, and there must be plenty of light, so that the seedling 

 can grow rapidly and become able to take care of itself before the autumn 



frosts arrive. This demand for 

 light is one reason why we do 

 not find elm trees in the deep, 

 dark woods. When we do find 

 an elm in the forest, it is be- 

 cause there was an opening in 

 which the little seedling could 

 get a start. Elms will not do 

 well when they are overtopped 

 by their neighbors. 



When standing where there 

 is plenty of room and light, 

 the elm tree grows rather 

 rapidly. Many men who do 

 not consider themselves old can 

 remember the time when, as 

 boys, they watched their fathers set out elm trees along the roads or 

 on the lawn, and those trees have now grown to be of large size. But 

 the largest elms — those that are one hundred feet high and six to ten 

 feet in diameter, with the large, spreading crowns — are probably two 

 hundred years old or even older. 



Whether the elm is more beautiful in summer or in winter it is difficult 

 to say. In summer its dense foliage hangs in graceful sprays from the 

 drooping branchlcts at the ends of the long limbs, swaying in the breeze 

 and making a delightful shade. The upper side of the leaf is dark green; 

 the under side is grayish green, reflecting a soft light which is very 

 pleasant. Stripped of its foliage the elm presents an appearance in 

 winter which shows its strength — not the rugged strength of the oak, 

 with its gnarled, irregular branches, but a supple strength suggestive 

 of self-contained reserve force. It is in the winter, too, that the delicacy 

 of the smaller branches is seen to best advantage. Every wind sways 



Leaf and fruit of American elm 



