i6 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



AMERICAN FOREST TREES. 



Red or Slippery Elm. 



CliiiKx /H/r«— Mlflix. 



liod or slipporv elm raiigos in growtli from 

 the lower St. Lawrence river tlirontjli (in 

 tario westward ami south to Nortli Dalinta 

 and Nebraska; tlirough western I'Morida. 

 eentral .Vl.nliama. .Mississippi and Te.xas— in 

 tlie latter state aloug the San Antonio river. 



The tree is known as slippery 

 elm in Vermont, Js'cw Hampshire, 

 Massachusetts. Khode Island, New 

 York. New .lerscy, Pennsylvania, 

 Delaware. Virjciuia, West Virginia, 

 North (.'arolina. South Carolina, 

 Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Missis- 

 sippi, Louisiana, Texas, Kentucky, 

 Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Ohio, 

 Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michi- 

 gan. Iowa. Minnesota and Ontario; 

 red elm in Vermont, Massacliu- 

 setts, New York, Delaware, Penn- 

 sylvania. West Virginia, South 

 (■arolina. Alabama. Mississipiii. 

 Louisiana, Te.xas, Arkansas, Ken- 

 tucky, Missouri, Illinois, Kansas, 

 Nebraska, Iowa, Ohio, tJntario, 

 Wisconsin, Michigan and Miunc 

 sota; rock elm and red-wooded elm 

 in Tennessee; ormo gras in Louisi- 

 ,na; to the aborigines of New 

 York the tree was known as oo- 

 hoosk-ah— literally, "it slips." 



In shape the head of slippery 

 elm is broad and fiat, with spread- 

 ing branches. It grows tC) a height 

 of from sixty to seventy feet, the 

 trunk having a diameter of about 

 two feet. The stout branchlets are 

 bright green and pubescent when 

 first appearing, becoming lighter 

 in summer, and gray or brown by 

 their first winter. The inner bark 

 of the tree is white and mucilagi- 

 nous, while the outer is thick and 

 divided by shallow fissures, cov- 

 ered by scales. The former is sold 

 in various forms by chemists, and 

 its properties are nu^licinal and de- 

 mulcent, liaving special value in 

 certain acute febrile ami iiilliinima- 

 tury .-ilVections. 



In her usual fancifid way Lipuiis- 

 lierry says: "There is sunii'tliing 

 intensely liinnan in tin- di'sire tti 

 chew — to chew the cud of medita- 

 tion; and wlun in the ojien ccnintry 

 one meets a boy witli a certain felicitous ex- 

 ]u-ession and wagging jaws it is good evi- 

 denee lliat sojnewhere in liis r;unl)les lie Inis 

 met with the slippery ehn tree. Slnndd his 

 pockets be turned inside out there would also 

 be a chance of finding a quantity of its 

 fragrant inner bark stored away for fuluri' 

 dis])OSill. To chew this gummy, slipiiery sub- 

 stance is not, perhaps, the smallest item in 

 his enjoyment as ho carelessly breathes the 



SIXTY-THIRD PAl'liR. 



summer air or gazes at a cloudless sky. I'n 

 fortunately this innate desire of the boy is 

 often gratified at the tree's expense. Tn 

 fact it is almost imjiossible to protect it from 

 him when it is cultivated as an ornament in 

 jiarks ami its identity is known.'' 



The leaf-buds of slippery elm are large 

 and round, while the leaf itself is much 



pears cov(;red with numljerless rust-colored 

 hairs. 



The flowers grow on short pedicels m 

 ronndeil clusters, and w'hen dried emit ;i 

 delicate fragrance. The stamens have slen- 

 der yellow filaments and ilark rod anthers, 

 while the stigmas are purplish red, with 

 soft white hairs. The fruit ri|>ens when 

 the leaves are about half-growu; it 

 is rounded or wedge-shaped at the 

 base, and contained between united 

 wings. 



The wood ut slijipery elm is 

 heav}', strong and hard, durable and 

 rlose-grained ; the heartwood is 

 :dinndant and is dark reddish- 

 livown, the thin sapwood being 

 lighter in color. It is used for fence 

 P<^ posts, and lasts a long time in con- 



tact with the soil. Kailway ties, 

 sills, hubs and parts of agriculture 

 implenu'uts are tdso constructed 

 from it. A cubic foot of seasoned 

 wood weighs ajiproximately forty- 

 three pounds. 



The illustration accompanying 

 this article shows u fine specimen of 

 slippery elm, and was made from a 

 photograph loaned the Hardwoou 

 Kecori) by William H. Freeman, 

 secretary of the Indiana State 

 Board of Forestry. Very often 

 when standing by itself the tree 

 spreads out irregularly, presenting 

 an unsymnietrical and ungainly ap- 

 ]iearance; when in a stand with 

 other trees, however, it is influenced 

 by them to form a straighter, more 

 evenly lira aching trunk. 



I'VPHAi, I'liiiios i- i;i;(i\\ I'll si.ii'1m:i;v i:i.\i. imhana 



larger than that of the common elm, dftiMi 

 nn'asuring six or seven inches in length. In 

 sliajie it is ovate-oblong, terminating in .a 

 slender ]iiiint, rounded at the base on one 

 side, but often slanting sharply away from 

 till' petiole on tlii> other. The leaf is sharply 

 senate, tin- tcrtli pointing towards the apex. 

 It is exceedingly rough and harsh on the 

 upper surface, lint pubescent and soft below. 

 Till' surf; under .-i m.'ignifving glass ap- 



Errors in Tree Planting. 



The following jiaragr.'iphs cit'-d 

 liy Forestry and Irrigation as I" 

 ing the most frequent errors niao' 

 by amateurs in nursery work, con- 

 tain good logical points and are 

 worthy of consideration by ■■''' 

 interested in this subject. 



.Setting a tree in hard ground, 

 without sufficiently jiulverizing the 

 soil. 



Planting a tree in a hole of in 



sufficient size, whereby the young 



roots, not able to penetrate the 



hard earth, turn back and coil 



about the tree as in a flower pot 



Planting trees and failing to cultivaii- 



them so that the rain can not penetrate tlio 



soil but runs otf. 



Allowing grass and weeds to grow, tli'^i- 

 surface feeders absorbing all moisture. 



Too close planting, which causes supjiii - 

 sion of growth, is the most prevalent can-i- 

 of failure. 



Any of these practices will stunt ilo- 

 growth of trees by preventing proper exti u 

 sion of roots. 



