FOREST TREES. 19 



CHAPTER II. 



The Elm. — English Elm. — Scotch Elm. — Slippery Elm. — American Elm. — 

 Superiority of latter. — Different Shapes, how accounted for. — Great Elm 

 on Boston Common — Rapidity of Growth. — The Riding Stick. — Remark- 

 able Dimensions of noted Trees. — Boston Elm again — Its Age — By whom 

 set out. — Washington Elm, why so named. — " Trees of Peace," a Tribute 

 of Respect. — English Elm in England and America. — Uses in France — 

 In Russia. — Birch Family — Its Variety and Uses. — The Maple Family. — 

 Number of Species. — Red Maple. — Unrivaled Beauty of American For- 

 ests. — Rock Maple — Amount of Wood cut from one in Blanford. — Curious 

 method of distinguishing it from the River Maple. — Amount and Value of 

 the Sugar in Massachusetts. — Great Product from one Tree. — Sugar Maple 

 in the State of Maine. — Dr. Jackson's Reports, &c. 



THE ELM-TREE. 



Of this family there are several varieties. The American, the 

 English, the Scotch, and Slippery Elm. Of this enumeration, the 

 American Elm stands first in point of ornament, while the tim- 

 ber of the English Elm is esteemed more highly on account of 

 the toughness of the wood. 



It has been well said that the Elm is a tree deservedly esteem- 

 ed for its ornament and shade. " The American Elm assumes 

 many different shapes, and all of them beautiful. Of these, three 

 are most striking and distinct. The tall Etruscan va>- 

 by four or five limbs separating at twenty ok thirtj >m the 



ground, going up with a gradual divergency to sixty 01 

 and then bending rapidly outward, forming a flat top with a pend- 

 ent border." " Transplanting the Elm, it is said, often produce! 

 in it a character akin to that of the Oak. It if then a I ; 

 round-headed tree." "Of this kind is the 'Great Elm' en Bol- 

 ton Common." 



