Providence, Newport and New York. The Providence elm was dedicated to 



the "Sons of Liberty" on July 25, 1 768, in words which were in part as follows : 



"We do, in the name and behalf of all true sons of liberty in 



America, Great Britain, Ireland, Corsica, or wheresoever they may be 



dispersed throughout the world dedicate this tree of liberty * * *. 



When they look toward this sacred elm may they be penetrated with a 



sense of their duty to themselves and their posterity, and may they, 



like the house of David, grow stronger, while their enemies, like the 



house of Saul, shall grow weaker and weaker." 



A few years later on July 3, 1775, George Washington assumed com- 

 mand of the Continental Army under an elm at Cambridge, Massachusetts. 



The "Treaty Tree," under which William Penn concluded a treaty with 

 the Indians, was an elm. This tree, which was destroyed by a storm a century 

 ago, has been immortalized in the famous painting by Benjamin West. 



AMERICAN ELM 



American elm ( Ulmus americana) is a striking tree at all seasons of the 

 year. In the winter its graceful limbs stand out against the sky. In the spring 

 it is one of the first trees to blossom. Tiny reddish-brown blossoms appear, 

 shortly followed by the fruit, which is surrounded by flat, oval-shaped wings 

 which later help to scatter it from the parent tree. The fruit matures about 

 the time the leaves begin to unfold and when summer comes the tree rises 

 like a great fountain of brilliant green. 



New England is noted for its magnificent elms which were planted by the 

 early settlers. New Haven is known as the Elm City because of the many 

 stately elms that line its streets. Connecticut is noted for its elms, the largest 

 being the Wethersfield Elm in Hartford County. This tree, which is 250 

 years old, is ninety-seven feet high and has a circumference of twenty-eight 

 feet and a branch spread of 147 feet. On the White House grounds at Wash- 

 ington stands a noble elm planted by John Quincy Adams when he was 

 President. 



New Englanders brought the elm with them to the Middle West, where 

 many of the towns and cities have their streets lined with this beautiful 



tree. 



Indiana's most famous tree is the Constitutional Elm, located at Corydon. 

 On June 10, 1816, members of the Constitutional Convention met beneath 



(66) 



