WHITE ELM 297 



Pennsylvania, and which inexcusable vandalism destroyed, 

 was five feet iu diameter above the buttressed base and 

 thirty-six feet to the first limb, where it was a trifle over four 

 feet in diameter. From the stump to the topmost part of 

 the crown was one hundred and forty feet, and it spread 

 its branches seventy-six feet. The stump showed three hun- 

 dred and twenty-eight annual rings, and it was sound to 

 the pith. The logs cut from the tree scaled 8820 feet, board 

 measure. Until the last twenty-five or thirty years the tree 

 had stood in a dense forest of mainly Beech and Sugar 

 Maple, and had towered fully fifty feet above its neighbors. 



The best development of the White Elm was found in the 

 New England States. Doctor Holmes in The Professor at 

 the Breakfast- Table, tells of many large ones which gave 

 him great pleasure in determining their dimensions. To 

 the southward it is less common and of smaller size. It 

 flourishes best'on moist, rich bottom lands and along 

 streams, but does well on low foothills and in well-drained 

 " swales," or valleys. It is not as vigorous if planted on 

 high, exposed, or dry places. It is a rapid grower in favora- 

 ble situations. It has been recently attacked by a species 

 of beetle which may prove a serious obstacle to its culti- 

 vation ; it has already lessened its use as a shade tree. 

 There are several quite distinct forms. Some assume a 

 weeping habit ; others form a compact crown ; while still 

 others show a plume-shaped crown. 



The wood is heavy, hard, tough, difficult to split, coarse- 

 grained, strong, with light, reddish brown heartwood and 

 rather thick, lighter-colored sapwood. The annual rings 

 are very distinct, as is also the difference between spring 

 and summer wood. The medullary rays are small and in- 

 conspicuous. It is commonly credited with being durable 

 when in contact with the soil or where it is alternately wet 

 and dry. This is an error, for it decays quickly in such 

 situations. Both Red and Cork Elm are more durable 

 when exposed. It is used in the construction of agricul- 

 tural implements, and in other places where toughness and 



