THE ELMS 



THERE are four species of Elms indigenous to the 

 United States that have a commercial value. They are 

 commonly known as White Elm (Ulmus americana), 

 Red Elm ( Ulmus pubescens), Cork Elm ( Ulmus race- 

 mosa), and Cedar Elm (Ulmus crass if olid) ; but their 

 names are woefully mixed in some localities. There is little 

 economic difference in the value of the wood, and few con- 

 sumers are able to distinguish the lumber cut from them, 

 and it is doubtful if many dealers can distinguish them. 

 For many purposes there is little choice ; none are suited 

 for general, but all are admirably adapted for special uses. 



WHITE ELM : GKAY ELM : Ulmus americana 



BEYOND question this is the most common and wide- 

 spread of all the Elms. It is of extended range, reaching 

 from the foothills of the Rocky Mountains eastward over 

 every state and more or less scattered throughout the en- 

 tire area. It is the largest of the Elms and probably pro- 

 duces more lumber than all the rest, at least, it has 

 done that heretofore, and for most purposes the lumber is 

 as good as that of the other species. The tree grows to an 

 enormous size and lives to a good old age. Professor C. S. 

 Sargent, 1 in speaking of it, says : " A tree, sometimes one 

 hundred to one hundred and twenty feet high, with a tall 

 trunk six to eleven feet in diameter, frequently enlarged 

 at the base by great buttresses, occasionally rising with a 

 straight undivided shaft to the height of sixty to eighty 

 feet and separating into short spreading branches." This 

 is an excellent description of many a forest-grown Elm. 



The trunk of a White Elm that grew in Jefferson County, 

 1 Manual of the Trees of North America, page 289. 



