THE ELM AND THE TULIP 



found that China, too, had the same tree, in 

 a limited way. We will still claim it as an 

 American native, and tell the Chinamen they 

 are fortunate to have such a superb tree in 

 their little -known forests. They have undoubt- 

 edly taken advantage, in their art forms, of 

 its peculiarly shaped leaves, if not of the 

 flowers and the curious "candlesticks" that 

 succeed them. 



Let us consider this liriodendron first as a 

 forest tree, as an inhabitant of the "great 

 woods" that awed the first intelligent observers 

 from Europe, many generations back. Few of 

 our native trees reach such a majestic height, 

 here on the eastern side of the continent, its 

 habitat. Ordinarily it builds its harmonious 

 structure to a height of seventy or a hundred 

 feet; but occasional individuals double this alti- 

 tude, and reach a trunk diameter of ten feet. 

 While in the close forest it towers up with a 

 smooth, clean bole, in open places it assumes 

 its naturally somewhat conical form very 

 promptly. Utterly dissimilar in form from the 

 American elm, it seems to stand for dignity, 

 solidity and vigor, and yet to yield nothing in 



H7 



