THE TIMBERS OF COMMERCE 



Tangential Section. As the Radial, but the rays are extremely 

 fine lines about 0*25 mm. high, rather coarse-celled (need micro.). 

 Type specimen see above (Uses, etc). 



No. 172. COMMON ELM. Ulmus campestris. Linn. 

 PLATE XII. FIG. 107. 



Natural Order. Urticaceae. 



Synonyms. Ulmus suberosa. Sm : U. glabra. Mill. 



Alternative Names. Cork Elm (a variety) : Orme rouge (69). 

 Ipreau : Orme champetre in France. European Elm in the 

 U.S.A. Steinlinde in Germany, also Feldulme, Rothriister 

 and Glattriister (131). 



Physical Characters, etc. Recorded dry-weight 35-52^ Ibs. 

 per cu. ft. Hardness Grade 5, compare Ash or Holly. Smell 

 none, taste astringent. Burns weD, embers glow in still air. 

 Solution with water faint brown. 



Grain. Very coarse and open. Surface somewhat lustrous, 

 the rays, however, dull. 



Bark. Greyish-brown, dark, fissured but not deeply : corky : 

 resembles that of Oak but is softer and of a lighter colour. The 

 branches, especially of second-growth wood, are frequently 

 winged with corky ridges. 



Uses, etc. " Wheelwrights' -work especially naves, submerged- 

 work, piles, pipes, pumps, keels and planking of ships below 

 water and many other purposes. It is difficult to split, most 

 durable under water and in dry places, but decays rapidly if 

 exposed to the weather" (87). " Better than Ulmus montana 

 (Wych Elm) or U. effusus : extraordinarily tenacious : as durable 

 as Oak especially in wet places . . . dries slowly . . . shrinks 

 12% of its bulk, twists and warps" (69). It is employed by the 

 makers of tin plates for packing as it does not discolour the 

 goods. It is easily confused with the Wych and other Elms. 



Authorities. Nordlinger (87), p. 543. Ditto (86), vol. iii. 

 p. 103. Hartig (42), pp. 18, 39. Schwartz (106), p. 484. Steven- 

 son (113), p. 33. Laslett (60), p. 153. De Mornay (70), p. 50. 

 Boppe (n), p. 75. Westermeier (129).. Mathieu (69), p. 29. 

 Wiesner (130), p. 135. Ditto (131), L. 12, p. 901. 



Colour. Dark brown or brownish-red heart-wood. Sap-wood 

 white or yellow, " abundant, the more so in slowly-grown trees " 

 (69) : 10-20 rings (131). 



Anatomical Characters. Transverse section : 



Pores. Clear from their size and also from their masses, size 2 ; 

 great variation : a conspicuous pore-ring of two or more rows of 

 large roundish-oval pores. The remainder of the ring occupied 

 by small pores arranged in wavy lines or festoons but not closely 



196 



