AMERICAN FOREST TREES 



The range of slippery elm extends from the lower St. Lawrence 

 river through Canada to North Dakota. It is found in Texas as far west 

 as the San Antonio river, and its western limit is generally from 200 

 to 300 miles west of the Mississippi river. Its range extends south 

 nearly to the Gulf of Mexico. It is not this tree's habit to grow in thick 

 stands, but it occurs singly or in Small groups on the banks of streams 

 or on rich hillsides. 



The average size is scarcely half that of white elm. Few trees 

 exceed a height of seventy feet and a diameter of two. It grows rapidly 

 at first, but does not live to old age. The crown lacks the symmetry 

 and beauty so conspicuous in white elm. The limbs follow no law 

 of regularity, but leave the trunk at haphazard. The fruit is mature 

 before the leaves are half grown. The seeds have more wing area than 

 those of white elm; and, like those of white elm, the wing surrounds the 

 flat seed on all its edges. The leaves are rough to the touch, and when 

 crumpled in the hand, the crunching sensation is unpleasant. 



Next to white elm, slippery elm appears to be more abundant than 

 any other member of the group; but statistics do not give the basis for 

 close estimates. The factories of Michigan use 3,700,000 feet of slippery 

 elm a year, and 44,000,000 of white elm. The proportion of slippery 

 to white is larger in the factories of Illinois. 



The uses are the same as for other elms. The wood is rated more 

 durable than the others, but it is not in much demand for outdoor work 

 where resistance to decay is an important consideration. It is some- 

 times set for fence posts, but the results are scarcely satisfactory, 

 particularly for round posts which are largely sap wood. Posts sawed 

 from the heartwood of large trees would do better. The deeper red of 

 the heartwood gives it an advantage over the other elms for furniture 

 and finish where natural colors are shown; but this is not important 

 because no elm's natural color stands for much in the estimation of users 

 of fine woods. The more common use of slippery elm is for boxes and 

 cooperage. Next to red gum, it is employed in larger quantities for 

 cooperage in Illinois than any other wood. 



The supply is rapidly decreasing. The cut for lumber is the 

 chief drain, but a not inconsiderable one is the peeling of trees for bark. 

 This goes on all over the species' range and much of it is done by boys 

 with knives and hatchets. It is often hard to find slippery elms within 

 miles of a town, because all have succumbed to bark hunters. 



CEDAR ELM (Ulmus crassifolia) appears to l>ear this name because it is oftrn 

 found associated with red cedars on the dry limestone hills of Texas. There is little 

 in the form and appearance of the tree to suggest the tall, tapering conical crown of 

 cedar. There is still less in the wood. In some parts of Texas the species is called 

 red elm, on account of the color of the wood, while in Arkansas, which is near ilu 



