UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



1 BULLETIN No. 683 ,„,^^,„ 



sbllLr^lg Contribution from the Forest Service ^^jr^i^^ 



^3^^^^ HENRY S. GRAVES, Forester ^??*^^^ 



Washington, D. C. 



July 29, 1918 



UTILIZATION OF ELM. 



By W. D. Brush, Scientific Assistant. 



CONTENTS. 



Importance 1 



Commercial species 1 



Characteristics of the wood 2 



Structure of the wood 6 



Supply and demand 7 



Utilization by industries 14 



Grading rules for elm 28 



Page. 



Lumber and stumpage values 29 



Markets 35 



Elm in the woodlot 37 



Summary and conclusions 38 



Classified uses of elm in different wood-using 



industries 39 



IMPORTANCE. 



Elm is one of the important commercial woods of the United States. 

 It is' important, however, not so much because of the amount con- 

 sumed annually, for 8 or 10 hardwoods and an even greater number 

 of softwoods are used in larger quantities, as because it has quahties 

 which make it especially desirable for bent work and for uses in which 

 it is subjected to shock or impact and rough usage in general. It is 

 particularly suited for slack-cooperage stock, certain parts of vehicles, 

 baskets, and crating. 



COMMEECIAL SPECIES. 



The following five species produce the supply of elm wood in the 

 United States: White elm {Ulmus americana), shppery ehn (Ulmus 

 fulva), cork elm {Ulmus racemosa), wing elm (Ulmus alata), and 

 cedar elm (Ulmus crassifolia). The proportion which each con- 

 tributes to the lumber industry is not known, since they are often 

 mixed together and are all generally hsted as "elm" in reports of 

 manufacturers of elm lumber and elm products. 



White ehn is by far the most important species in the production 

 \>i ehn wood. It often goes under the name ''gray ehn" in the Lake 

 States, and in foreign countries is called "American elm" and "Cana- 

 dian elm." 



50425°— 18— Bull. 683 1 



