404 AMERICAN FOREST TREES 



as the planertree. The leaves resemble those of the elm, but are more 

 sharply pointed. The fruit is usually classed as a berry. It ripens in 

 September and October, but remains on the tree several months, becom- 

 ing dry. It is about one-fourth inch long, dark purple, with a tough, 

 thick skin, and with flesh dark orange. Most of the pale brown seeds are 

 eaten by birds. 



The tree varies greatly in size. In some remote corners of its 

 immense range it is little more than a shrub, while at its best it may 

 attain a height of 100 feet and a diameter of three or four. Its average 

 size is about that of slippery elm. The bark varies as much in appear- 

 ance as the tree in size. Sometimes it has the smooth surface and pale 

 bluish-green appearance that suggest the bark of beech; again it is 

 darker and rougher, like the elm. It frequently exhibits the harsh 

 warty bark which is peculiar to the hackberry, and when present it is a 

 pretty safe means of identification. The warts may be conical, oblong, 

 or sharp-pointed, and probably an inch hi height. When closely 

 examined, most of them are found to consist of parallel strata of bark 

 which may usually be pulled off without much difficulty. The warts 

 are a decided disadvantage to the tree in some of the low swampy 

 districts of Louisiana where Spanish moss is a pest. This moss (which is 

 not a true moss), is propagated principally by tufts and strands which 

 are carried by wind until they find anchorage among the branches of 

 trees where they increase and multiply at a rapid rate until they finally 

 smother or break down the unfortunate tree which supplied a lodging 

 place. The hackberry's warts catch and hold every flying strand of 

 moss that touches them, and hundreds, perhaps thousands of pounds of 

 it may accumulate on a single tree. The grayish-green color of the moss 

 often exactly matches the hue of the tree's bark. 



The reported annual cut of hackberry lumber in the United States 

 is less than 5,000,000 feet. That can be only a fraction of the total out- 

 put. Few mills report it separately, but list it as ash. The wood 

 looks more like ash than elm. It is heavy, but only moderately hard 

 and strong. Its color is more yellowish than ash, but the annual rings 

 of growth resemble that wood. The sapwood is thick, and growth is 

 rapid where conditions are favorable. 



It is doubltess used by industries in thirty states or more, but 

 comparatively few factories report it. In Texas it is listed in the box 

 and crate industry. In Louisiana it rises to more importance, for that 

 is the region where the tree attains its best. Slack coopers make kegs, 

 tubs, and barrels of it; vehicle manufacturers convert it into parts of 

 buggy tops and the running gears of wagons; it serves for furniture and 

 interior finish; and it takes the place of ash for hoe handles and parts of 



