THE ELMS AND THE HACKBERRY 



home was made a sapling elm taken from the 

 borders of a neighboring swamp was often set 

 to guard the rooftree. These elm trees, rem- 

 nants of the forest which covered New Eng- 

 land when it was first- inhabited by white men, 

 or planted during the first century of their 

 occupation, are now dead or rapidly dis- 

 appearing; they long remained the noblest 

 and most imposing trees of the Northern States, 

 and no others planted by man in North 

 America have equalled the largest of them in 

 beauty and size." 



The wood is heavy, tough, and difficult to 

 split It is used for making the hubs of wheels 

 and for flooring, cooperage, and boat-building. 



The generic name, Ulmus, comes from ulm 

 or elm, the Saxon name of the tree, the specific 

 name explains itself. The American elm is 

 found from Newfoundland to Florida and as 

 far west as the eastern base of the Rocky 

 Mountains. 

 Slippery or A medium- sized tree, 45 to 60 



Red Elm feet high. The twigs are gray 



uimusfuiva ana > fo^ i e ^ un iik e the smooth 



twigs of the white elm. Alternate leaf-scars, 

 which are more conspicuous than those of the 

 white elm. The buds are larger and rounder 

 than those of the white elm ; they are soft and 



