146 



Red or Slippery Elm. 



spire, in a direction perpendicular to their axes. In old shells, 

 several of the first turns of the spire will be found completely fill- 

 ed up with testaceous matter, so that the tip of the shell has be- 

 come quite solid, or at least it will appear to have been long un- 

 occupied by any part of the body of the animal. But in trans- 

 parent shells, as in some species of helix, it is seen that this at- 

 tachment does not exist; and the H. planorbis can be preserv^ed 

 alive, although the tip of the spire is broken off, 



RED OR SLIPPERY ELM. 



Ulmus rubra. 



Except the maritime dis- 

 tricts of the Carolinas and 

 Georgia, this species of elm 

 is found in all parts of the 

 United States and of Canada. 

 It bears the names of Red 

 Elm, Slippery Elm and 

 Moose Elm, of which the 

 first two are the most com- 

 mon. The French of Can- 

 ada and Upper Louisiana, 

 call it Orme gras. This 

 tree is less multiphed than 

 the white elm, and the two 

 species are rarely found 

 together, as the red elm 

 requires a substantial soil, free 

 Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2. The seed. from moisture, and even de- 

 lights in elevated and open situations, such as the steep banks of 

 the Hudson, and the Susquehannah. In Ohio, Kentucky and 

 Tennessee it is more multiplied than east of the mountains, and 

 grows on the richest lands of an uneaven surface. 



This tree is .50 or 60 feet high, and one or two feet in diame- 

 ter. In the winter it is distinguished from the white elm, by its 

 buds, which are larger and rounder, and which a fortnight before 

 their developement, are covered with a russet down. The leaves 

 are oval-acuminate, doubly denticulated and larger, thicker and 



