THE ELMS AND THE HACKBERRY 



ities throughout the Atlantic States, it is not 

 common in Eastern Massachusetts. 



Cork or Rock A lar S e tree ^ 8o to 1QO f eet hi S h ^ 

 Elm known by the peculiar corky ridges 



Ulmus racemosa ^^ ^ l, ranc / leSm Alternate 



leaf-scars. The recent twigs and the scales of 

 the bud are fringed with downy hair. 



In New England the cork elm is found in 

 the northwestern part of New Hampshire and 

 in Southern Vermont. It is rare in Massa- 

 chusetts, and would probably be found only 

 in the western part of the State growing wild. 

 Neither Michaux nor Emerson has described 

 the cork elm. Nuttall says that it was discovered 

 in the State of New York by a Mr. Thomas, 

 and he gives the tree the name " Thomas's 

 elm," which has fortunately not been retained. 



The wood is tougher and of somewhat finer 

 grain than that of the white elm, and in the 

 " Silva of North America," Professor Sargent 

 says : " The value of the wood of the rock elm 

 threatens its extinction ; and most of the large 

 trees have already been cut in the forests of 

 Canada, New England, New York, and Michigan. 

 The rock elm is sometimes planted as a shade 

 tree in the region which it inhabits naturally, 

 and although it grows rather more slowly than 



the white elm, it is a handsome and distinct 



107 



