76 TIMBER TREES OF NORTH CAROLINA. 



The wood is light, soft, weak, brittle and coarse-grained, very 

 durable in contact with the soil, and apt to check in drying. It 

 is slightly aromatic. The heartwood is dull orange-brown in color; 

 the tl'iin sapwood light yellow. It is used in boat building, fenc- 

 ing, cooperage, and for ox yokes. An aromatic stimulant is 

 derived from the bark of the r<»ot. 



Ulmus americana, Linnaeus. 



(AMERICAN ELM.) 



A large tree, with short spreading or long pendulous branches 

 and scaly dark brown trunk, reaching a height of 120 and a diam- 

 eter of 11 feet. 



It occurs in rich moist soil from southern Newfonndland to 

 the northern shores of Lake Superior and the eastern slope of the 

 Rocky mountains, south to Florida, and west to Dakota, central 

 Nebraska, Indian Territory, and Texas ; reaching its best develop- 

 ment in the northeastern United States. 



In this State, where it reaches an average height of 60 to 70 and 

 diameter of 4 to 5 feet, it occurs abundantly in most of the swamps 



LEGEND 



j Distribution of the AMERICAN ELM 

 j (Ulmus americana. Z..) 



of the coastal plain and extends westward as far as Guilford 

 and Mecklenburg counties. (Fig. 13.) It is smaller and much 

 less common toward its western limit. 



