50 lluL'<;iiV AMKRICAN WUODS. 



or soft downy beneath, large, 4-8 in. long, and rugose., fragrant \vlnlf drying; 

 lrat'-l>ud> large and. before expanding, roverrrl with a soft, rust-colored down; 

 branchlets downy. Fdnrtrx uMarch, April) nearly sessile; calyx downy, of 7-9 

 lobes; stamens 7-J), short, reddish. Fruit (.May, June) nearly orbicular, about 8 lines 

 (1.9 cm.) wide, slightly if at all ciliatc and with pubescent cell. 



(The specific. 1 name, f>tlc<i, is a Latin word meaning reddish-yellow, fulvous.) 



A tret 1 <>t' medium size, rarely of greater height that ?0 ft. (2\ m.) or 

 of greater thickness of trunk than 2 ft. (0.01 in.), and with very muci- 

 laginous inner bark. 



HAUITAT. Southern Canada and north-eastern United Stales, west- 

 ward as far as Dakota, and southward nearly or quite to the Gulf States 

 growing particularly in rich and rather low grounds. 



PHYSICAL PROPERTIES. Wood heavy, strong, compact and tough; 

 heart-wood very largo, of brownish-red color; sap-wood thin and whitish. 

 S/nrtfic Gravity, 0.0050; Percentage of A $li, 0.83; Rch/tiw Approximate 

 Fuel Value, 0.0808; Coefficient of Elasticity, 95^74; Modulus of Rupture, 

 809; Resistance to Longitudinal Prex*un\ 530; Remittance to Indenta- 

 tion, 150; Wei <j lit of a Cubic Foot in Pound*, 43.35. 



USES. This timber makes excellent fence rails. It is used extensively 

 in some localities in the manufacture of the running-gear of wagons, for 

 sleigh-runners etc. Its toughness and great ilexibility when boiled or 

 >st earned makes it one of the very best of timbers for the ribs of canoes 

 and skiifs. 



A great item of value in this tree lies in its inner bark, which bears a 

 copious mucilage. Aside from its important uses in medicine it is put 

 occasionally to other uses as the following: It is in a measure nutritious, 

 and has been known to .support life in cases of scarcity of rood. We are 

 told by Mr. Cl. B. Hmerson,* that during the War of 1812, the troops 

 ;ilong the Canadian frontier used it as food for their horses when forage 

 was scarce. It is reported on the, authority of Dr. C. W. Wright.! of 

 Cincinnati, that "Slippery-Elm bark has the property of preserving fatty 

 substances from rancidit v, a fact derived originally from the Indians, 

 who prepared bears' fat by melting it with the bark, in the proportion of 

 a drachm of the latter to a pound of the former, keeping them heated 

 together for a few minutes, and then straining olf the fat." Or. Wright 

 tried tin- same process with butter and lard, and found them to remain 

 perfect Iv sweet for a long time. 



MEDICINAL PROI-ERTI ES. The inner bark is used extensively as a. 

 demulcent drink in the form of an infusion, especially recommended in 

 dvspepsia. diarrlnea and diseases of the urinary passages. It lias also 

 been employed in cases of cutaneous eruptions, and cases are reported of 

 the riddance of tapeworms by chewing and swallowing the bark of this 



