244 The Elms. 



tough, strong, and flexible. It is much used for hoops, carriage 

 and wagon making, cheese boxes, and bent-work generally, and is 

 an excellent timber in carpentry, but very apt to shrink and warp 

 when sawn into boards. 



971. The "Rock Elm," as a variety of this species is called, is 

 particularly prized for wagon hubs, and although this tree occurs 

 from the Carolinas to Canada, and westward to the Mississippi, the 

 best qualities for this use are found in New England and New York. 

 A fine quality is also found in some parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio, 

 and Indiana. In the rock elm, about five feet of the butt is all that 

 can be used for hubs, and the best qualities are found in trees 

 grown in an open space and freely exposed to the sun and air. For 

 this use the trees should be cut in December or January. The inner 

 bark should be left on, and the sticks should not be left long on the 

 ground. After remaining in cross-piles for two mouths, they should 

 be cut into blocks for further curing, and the ends dipped in melted 

 lard and rosin, to prevent them from checking. In this condition 

 they should be left under shelter till dry. 



133. Leaves of the Red Elm. 



972. THE SLIPPERY OR RED ELM (Ulmns fulva). This tree, 

 is scattered over most of the Northern and Western States. It 

 grows to a large size, but has not the graceful form of the common 

 American elm. The wood is very durable, when not in contact 

 with the ground, and is of a reddish tinge, that gives it the common 

 name. The leaves are coarser and more corrugated than the kind 

 above mentioned, and the inner bark is highly mucilaginous when 



