I 26 ARBOR DA Y MANUAL. 



TULIP TREE. 



This tree, which surpasses most others of North America in height and beauty 

 of its foliage and flower, is one of the most interesting from the numerous and 

 useful applications of its wood. It is a native of the United States, though the 

 western States appear to be its natural soil, and it is there it displays its most 

 powerful vegetation. 



It has a stem, sometimes from 100 to 140 feet in height and three feet thick, 

 with a grayish-brown cracked bark, and many gnarled and easily broken 

 branches. The leaves are roundish, ovate and three-lobed. The flowers are 

 solitary at the extremities of the branchlets, are large, brilliant, variegated with 

 different colors, have an agreeable odor, and are very numerous on detached 

 trees, producing a fine effect. The flowers bloom in June or July. 



The fruit is composed of a great number of thin narrow scales attached to a 

 common axis, and forming a cone two or three inches in length. Each cone 

 consists of sixty or seventy seeds, of which never more than a third are produc- 

 tive. For three years before the tree begins to yield fruit, almost all the seeds 

 are unproductive, and in large trees those from the highest branches are best. 



The bark of the tree has a bitter aromatic taste, and has been used as a sub- 

 stitute for Peruvian bark in intermittent fevers, and is a good tonic. 



The tulip tree is one of the most beautiful ornaments of pleasure grounds 

 whereon it grows and flowers well. The timber is easily wrought and is much 

 used for many purposes. MADGE VAIL. 



THE ELM. 



The elm belongs to the order of ulmaceae or elmworts. There are several 

 kinds of elms, some native of North America, some of Europe and some of 

 Asia; such as the cork elm, the slippery elrn, the American or white elm, etc., 

 the last mentioned being the one we are to consider. This elm, namely the 

 American elm, is one of the largest and most beautiful of its species It is a 

 native of the forests of North America, being most common in the northern, 

 middle and western States. It grows from seventy to eighty feet high, attaining 

 its greatest size between latitude 42 and 46 degrees, where it sometimes reaches 

 one hundred feet. The roots of the elm are very long and numerous, often ex- 

 tending from one to two hundred feet ; thus it is generally pretty secure from 

 cyclones and heavy gales of wind. It has a fine straight trunk from three to 

 five feet in diameter, covered with a rough dark-gray bark, and reaching from 

 thirty to sixty feet before separating into branches. Its branches are large, 

 wide-spreading, graceful and overhanging, and in the summer thickly covered 

 with foliage. The flower of the American elm opens in April before the tree 

 comes into leaf. It is very small, of a purplish color, and collected in little ter- 

 minal clusters. The leaves which appear in the month of May are from four to 

 five inches long, and oval in shape. Its wood is white in color, flexible and 

 very tough, and is used for a variety of purposes by wheelwrights. The Ameri- 

 can elm is a great favorite as a shade tree. It is perfectly hardy, will grow in 

 nearly any soil, and on the seacoast equally as well as in the interior. It is tall 

 and stately in appearance, thus adding beauty and picturesqueness to the sur- 



