EL CANEY 



1976 



EL DORADO 



shore of the Caspian Sea for a distance of 650 

 miles into Khorasan. The western portion 

 runs almost parallel with the seashore, which 

 at some places is only twelve miles distant. 

 Numerous streams drain the northern slopes, 

 which are covered with forests containing mag- 

 nificent hardwood trees. The range contains 

 many peaks over 10,000 feet in height, Dema- 

 vend being the loftiest, with an altitude of 

 19,400 feet. The nomadic tribes of the sur- 

 rounding plains take their flocks and herds to 

 the slopes of Elburz in summer, finding there 

 excellent grazing and plentiful supplies of water. 

 See NOMAD LIFE. , 



EL CANEY, elkah'nae, BATTLE OF, a battle 

 of the Spanish-American War, fought in Cuba, 

 four miles northeast of Santiago de Cuba, July 

 1, 1898, between 4,500 United States troops 

 commanded by General Lawton, and Spaniards, 

 led by General Vara del Rey. The Spanish 

 troops were well entrenched, and although 

 numbering only 500, offered stubborn resistance. 

 The Americans won the day, the casualties on 

 each side numbering more than 400. 



EL'DER, a genus of graceful, quick-growing, 

 stout-branched trees and shrubs common along 

 roadsides and fences throughout the United 

 States, Southern Canada and Europe. There 

 are about twenty species, all having opposite 



LEAVES AND FLOWERS OF THE ELDER 



leaves, usually with finely-cut edges, and large 

 flat-topped clusters of small white flowers. 

 The juicy fruit is either black or red, with 

 from three to five seeds, or nutlets. 



Elder shoots, which are full of pith, are used 

 by boys for making whistles and ''pop-guns." 

 The Greeks used to make a musical wind in- 

 strument, the sambuke, from hollow elder 

 stems. Elders are valued chiefly for shade and 

 ornament, although the wood of one European 

 species is tough and hard and takes a good 

 polish. 



Uses of Berries and Flowers. Elder berries 

 make excellent pies and wine, and are some- 

 times eaten off the trees by Indians and Mex- 

 icans. Occasional efforts have been made to 

 improve the fruit, and work along those lines 

 has already repaid experimenters. The flowers, 

 too, are used for making wine, and also for a 

 perfume and a "water" used in candies. The 

 dry flowers are employed in medicine for their 

 stimulating and carminative properties. 



Box-Elder, or Ash-Leaved Maple, is a small 

 but beautiful tree. It grows rapidly almost 



SUGGESTIONS FOR BOOKLET 

 Small designs may serve as initial letters : at 

 the bottom is a tail-piece ornament. The illus- 

 tration at the top, with the border and central 

 figure, makes an attractive cover design. 



anywhere, and it is therefore a favorite shade 

 tree. As windbreaks, or for planting timber 

 claims, these trees are ideal; they also make 

 good nurse trees for other species. The wood 

 is soft and brittle and of little value, but is 

 used for making bowls, pails and wood pulp, 

 and as a fuel. 



EL DORADO, el doh rah ' doh, a Spanish word 

 meaning the gilded. It was applied first to the 

 chief priest of a South American tribe who is 

 said to have covered himself with gold dust at 

 a yearly religious festival; next, to a fabled 

 city in South America called Manoa; and, 

 finally, to a mythical country in which gold and 

 precious stones were to be found in abundance. 



