id 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



AMERICAN FOREST TREES. 



Slippery Elm. 



limits fulva — Michx. 

 I I runs pabescens — Wall. 



The range of growth of slippery elm is 

 from the lower St. Lawrence river district 

 through Ontario to North Dakota and eastern 

 Nebraska ; thence southward to parts of Flor- 

 ida, through Central Alabama and Missis- 

 sippi, and the district around the San An- 

 tonio river in Texas. 



The common name slippery elm is 

 given to the tree in Vermont, New 

 Hampshire. Massachusetts, Ehode 

 Island, New York, New Jersey, 

 Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, 

 West Virginia, North Carolina, 

 South Carolina, Florida, Alabama, 

 Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, 

 Texas, Kentucky, Missouri, Kansas, 

 Nebraska, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, 

 Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa, Minne- 

 sota and Ontario. It is often known 

 as red elm in Vermont, Massachu- 

 setts, New York, Delaware, Penn- 

 sylvania, West Virginia, South Car- 

 olina, Alabama, Mississippi, Louis- 

 iana, Texas, Arkansas, Kentucky, 

 Missouri, Illinois, Kansas, Ne- 

 braska, Iowa, Ohio, Ontario, Wis- 

 consin, Michigan and Minnesota. 

 The name red-wooded ebn is some- 

 times applied to the tree in Tennes- 

 see, as is also the term (incorrect- 

 ly) rock elm! Orrm gras is the 

 French term used in Louisiana, 

 while the Indians knew the tree by 

 the term oo-hoosk-ah, meaning " it • 

 slips. ' ' 



The slippery elm has a somewhat 

 ragged outline, often being quite 

 one-sided in shape, with broad, flat 

 head and spreading branches. It is 

 a rapid grower and reaches a height 

 of from thirty to seventy feet. 



Its flowers grow on short pedicels 

 in clusters, and are very fragrant 

 when dried. The tree blooms in 

 March or April and fruits in May, 

 the samaras being dull yellow and 

 containing a round, flat seed. 



The leaves are simple and alter- 

 nate; "they are exceedingly coarse 

 and rough, perhaps rougher than 

 those of any other tree. The up- 

 per side of the leaf is very hairy 

 and the lower covered with a dense 

 down. The teeth are coarse and 

 double; the ribs very prominent and 

 hairy at ' the angles. The leaf of slippery 

 elm is much larger than that of other elms, 

 occasionally measuring seven inches in length. 



The outer bark is reddish brown ami 

 rough, even on the small branchlets, and the 

 tree may be identified by the gummy, aro- 

 matic taste of the small twigs. The inner 

 bark is white and mucilaginous — hence the 

 term ' ' slippery. ' ' 



FORTY-FIFTH PAPER. 



Lounsberry says: "There is something 

 intensely human in the desire to chew — 

 to chew the cud of meditation; and 

 when in the open country one meets a boy 

 with a certain felicitious expression and 

 wagging jaws, it is good evidence that some- 

 where in his rambles he has met with the 

 slippery elm tree. Should his pockets be 

 turned inside out there would also be a 



him, when it is cultivated as an ornament 

 in parks, and its identity is known. In a 

 more conventionalized form the inner bark 

 is sold by chemists, and its properties are 

 medicinal and nutritious. ' ' For the treat- 

 ment of acute febrile and inflammatory af- 

 fections the bark of slippery elm is highly, 

 valued by the medical profession; when 

 ground and mixed with milk it forms a 

 desirable food for invalids; when 

 made into poultices it will relieve 

 many throat and chest disorders. 



The wood is heavy, hard, strong 

 and very durable when in contact 

 with the earth. Its interlacing fibers 

 make it difficult to split. The 

 weight of a cubic foot of seasoned 

 wood is forty-three pounds. The 

 heartwood is greatly in prepon- 

 derance, and is dark brown or red- 

 dish in color; the sapwood is 

 much lighter, very compact, 

 and has the annual layers 

 marked by rows of large open 

 pores. Slippery elm timber is 

 very generally used for making 

 fence posts, railway ties, sills, the 

 hubs of wheels and agricultural 

 implements. 



The illustration accompanying this 

 article is from a photograph fur- 

 nished by William H. Freeman, 

 ;i i retary of the State Board of For- 

 estry of Indiana. 



TYPICAL FOREST GROWTH Sl.irrERY ELM. INDIANA 



chance of finding a quantity of its fragrant, 

 inner bark stored away for future disposal. 

 To chew this gummy, slippery substance is 

 not, perhaps, the smallest item in his en- 

 joyment, as he carelessly breathes the sum- 

 mer air or gazes at a cloudless sky. Unfor- 

 tunately this innate desire of the boy is 

 often gratified at the tree's expense. In fact, 

 it is almost impossible to protect it from 



An Extinct Tree. 

 In the region about Tonkin, 

 China, are found peculiar deposits 

 apparently constituting "wood 

 mines," the origin of which cannot 

 be satisfactorily explained. The 

 Celestials have legends that in very 

 remote ages dense forests existed 

 over the whole region and that the 

 buried wood is the result of some 

 great disturbance of the earth 's 

 surface whereby these forests were 

 uprooted and precipitated into can- 

 yons between mountains, becoming 

 gradually buried as the centuries 

 rolled by. Be this as it may, the 

 wood today brings considerable 

 wealth to those who are fortunate 

 enough to unearth any quantity of 

 it. It is of a peculiar resinous 

 quality and possesses remarkable 

 preservative power, which is rec- 

 ognized by the Chinese, who value 

 it highly as casket material. The natives 

 exhibit great care in the choice and orna- 

 mentation of coffins, and often a man pur- 

 chases his own, and it frequently occupies a 

 conspicuous place in his home. Three hun- 

 dred dollars is not thought exorbitant for a 

 box of this wood. No living specimen of the 

 tree is known to be in existence at the pres- 

 ent time. 



