AMERICAN FOREST TREES 399 



The tallest trees seldom exceed a height of forty feet and a diameter 

 of two. It is evident that a tree of that size and form does not tempt the 

 lumberman to much exertion to procure it. An examination of reports 

 of sawmill operations and of the utilization of woods by shops and 

 factories in the southern states has failed to find a single instance where 

 the planertree has been reported in use for any purpose whatever. 

 Doubtless, trees are sometimes cut and the lumber gets into the market, 

 but not under its own name. The species is interesting for reasons other 

 than that it ever has had or ever can have a place in the country's 

 lumber industry. 



WING ELM (Ulmus alaia), which is the smallest of the elms, is plentifully 

 supplied with names, but in most parts of its range it is known as wing or winged elm. 

 It is also called wahoo or wahoo elm, and the West Vriginians have named it witch 

 elm; the North Carolinans refer to it often as simply elm; from Florida to Texas some 

 call it cork elm; in Alabama it is water elm; in Arkansas mountain elm; while in 

 other regions it is corky elm, small-leaf elm, and red elm. Some of these names 

 are self-explanatory. Wing elm does not relate to a winged seed, but to winged 

 twigs. That characteristic of the tree is very prominent. The wings consist of 

 flattened keels along opposite sides of the branches. A twig no more than a 

 quarter of an inch in diameter may be decorated with wings half an inch or 

 more wide, making the twig four or five times as wide as it is thick. As the twig 

 enlarges, the wings do not broaden in proportion. The lowest branches and those 

 nearest the trunk are most generously furnished with wings. They appear to be 

 entirely ornamental, for it is not known that they serve any useful purpose. The 

 growth is different from those which give cork elm its name. The latter occur on 

 the large branches, often in the form of isolated protuberances, but the wings are 

 fairly continuous for a foot or more, except that they terminate abruptly at the 

 nodes, but recommence immediately after. Branches less than a year old seldom 

 have wings. The name wahoo appears to have lost its etymology if it ever 

 had any. Dictionaries tell what it means, but they shy at its origin. It is a 

 southern word which is applied to this elm, and also to other trees, and occasionally it 

 means a fish instead of a tree. Some would trace it to the cry of an owl, others to a 

 name in Gulliver's Travels, with a slight change in spelling. 



Wing elm at its best is about fifty feet high and two in diameter ; but much of 

 the stand is small. The best occurs west of the Mississippi river. The range extends 

 from Texas to Virginia, south to Florida, and north to Illinois. In Texas it is a fairly 

 important wood in furniture factories, the annual supply being about a million feet. 

 It is used by turners for table legs. In an investigation of the uses of the wood, the 

 same difficulty is encountered that makes difficult a study of the uses of all the elms 

 conflict and uncertainty of names. There are few regions in the hardwood areas of 

 this country which produce one elm and no more; and after all practical means of 

 identification are resorted to, there is often doubt and uncertainty concerning the 

 exact species of elm lumber found in use. Fortunately, it generally makes little 

 difference, because anyone of them is good enough for ordinary use. Wing elm is 

 extensively planted for shade along the streets of towns in the lower Mississippi 

 valley, but more frequently on the west side of the valley. When the trees grow in 

 the open they develop broad crowns, and the branches, even of comparatively small 

 trees, are long enough to reach well over the sidewalks, and cast satisfactory shade. 



