300 THE ELMS 



CORK ELM : Ulmus racemosa 



UNTIL within the last few years this tree has been gen- 

 erally known by the name here given it, but for some rea- 

 son the lumber trade has seen fit to call it Rock Elm, and 

 Hard Elm, according to location. The name Cork Elm is 

 eminently p"roper and should be retained, for it is significant 

 of a distinctive characteristic of the dead bark on the trunk 

 and limbs. The tree's range is from New Hampshire west- 

 ward along the Canadian line to Nebraska, southward to 

 central Tennessee, and eastward to the coast. It is not 

 common west of the Mississippi River or east of central 

 Pennsylvania. The region of its best development is in the 

 Lake States, especially Michigan and Minnesota, where it 

 grows to a height of one hundred feet, with a diameter of 

 four to four and one half feet, with a slightly tapering 

 stem, sometimes free from limbs for more than one half its 

 height. While it will grow in rather dry, gravelly soil, it 

 thrives best in moist, rich valleys and along alluvial stream 

 banks. It is more tolerant of shade than the other Elms, 

 notwithstanding the fact that, like the others, it throws out 

 large limbs low down when grown in the open. In some 

 cases the interior of the crown is filled with twigs and 

 leaves, which would not occur if it were very exacting of 

 light. One variety of the Cork Elm has a drooping habit 

 and consequently is called "Weeping Elm." 



The wood closely resembles that of the Red Elm, is 

 hard, heavy, tough, and strong; heartwood light brown, 

 with thick, lighter-colored sapwood. It is more durable than 

 the White, but less so than the Red Elm, and its general 

 uses are about the same as are that of the latter. It is 

 largely used for agricultural implements, and sometimes 

 for railroad ties, and is said to serve fairly well for that 

 purpose. 



Its flowers appear in early spring and before the leaves 

 do. The seed ripens when the leaves are about half grown 



