128 Bulletin 194 



THE ELMS 



We are fortunate in having in Vermont all of the elms of the east- 

 ern United States except one small southern species. The tiny green- 

 ish flowers have no petals, but gracefully fringe the bare trees with 

 their long slender stamens in early spring before the appearance of the 

 leaves. The fruits are supplied with a disk-like membranous wing. 

 The leaves of all the elms have a peculiar oblique base, full and 

 rounded upon one side, sharply wedge-shaped on the other. 



Introduced species. — The English elm occasionally has been 

 planted as a shade tree, although for such purposes it is less stately than 

 our common white elm. Two European varieties have been more used 

 for ornamental plantings, though each of them is curious rather than 

 ornamental. These are the corky variety of the English elm, and the 

 Camperdown or weeping elm, which is a variety of the Scotch elm. 

 The young branches of the former are covered with conspicuous corky 

 outgrowths, similar to those of the native cork elm, but more strongly 

 developed. The American cork elm is distinguished from the English 

 elm by its more' downy bud-scales and by the production of flowers in 

 elongated clusters (racemes), whereas those of the English elm are in 

 close clusters. Other differences will be detected readily by those 

 having occasion to compare the two trees. The weeping elm usually is 

 reverse-grafted on an upriglit stock, k>ading to a peculiar umbrella-like 

 development. 



