about five acres. This elm Is showing the 

 ravages of time, for some of its upper 

 branches are dead and the time will come 

 when it is laid low. It is to be hoped 

 that its site will be marked by a suitable 

 memorial as was that of the "Treaty 

 Tree." 



"Tell me about the 'Treaty Tree.' Was 

 it an Elm?" 



*'Yes. On the banks of the Delaware 

 stood this tree under which William Penn 

 made his famous treaty with the Indians. 

 Not for lands, nor for gold, was this 

 treaty made, but for peace and friendship. 

 It was prostrated by a storm in March, 

 1810, when it proved to be two hundred 

 and eighty-three years old. On its site 

 the Penn Society erected a monument 

 with a suitable inscription." 



Mabel pondered awhile on these bits 

 of history as she looked up at the great 

 swaying branches. 



"You are such a pretty tree," she said, 

 "that I wonder why you are not more 

 universally planted in the cities as shade 

 trees." 



A gust of wind shook the tree and set 

 all its myriads of leaves stirring, some 

 loosened their hold on the parent stem 

 and fell around the maiden like a shower 

 of sunbeams tumbling against one an- 

 other in mad confusion. Some scurried 

 here and there like birds, others fell on 

 her hair or brushed against her cheek, 

 and her voice rang out merrily on the 

 autumn air as she noticed how the wind 

 played with them. Picking up a leaf she 

 exclaimed : 



"Why, how rough you are ; you are 

 just covered with little short hairs." 



"That is just the reason. why we are 

 not planted to a greater extent in the 

 cities. We do not thrive there ; the dust 

 and dirt gather on our leaves, which are 

 our lungs, and chokes us, therefore we 

 smother and die. We love the open fields, 

 the water side, where we can have plenty 

 of moisture and abundant room to de- 

 velop. 



"iExamine that leaf closely and you 

 will see that it has an unequal base, which 

 is a characteristic of the Elm family. 

 Our young leaves are crimped like frills 

 in beautiful regular plaits, with a point 

 at the end of each, then folded in two 

 halves, thus they take up less room in 

 their winter beds." 



"Oh, that's what makes those little 

 notches all around the outside of the 

 leaf." 



"In some parts of England Elm leaves 

 are gathered in sacks and kept as food 

 for cattle, which are said to like them 

 better than oats. Some dishonest people 

 dry them, and then roll and mix them 

 with the tea which they sell. 



"There is a large-leaved elm in Eng- 

 land which bears the name of Wych Elm, 

 for the reason that the dairy maids, in 

 some parts, will not begin to churn until 

 they have gathered a branch of it, which 

 they push through a hole in the churn. 

 They claim that the butter will not come 

 unless they do; for this reason it has 

 earned its name. 



"The tall small-leaved elm which is 

 usually called English Elm is used 

 in Italy as a support for vines. This 

 tree has not the graceful drooping habit 

 of other elms but has the appearance 

 of an oalc. Some claim it was brought to 

 England by the Romans when they con- 

 quered it and subjected it to Roman rule ; 

 others again claim that it was introduced 

 at a much later date by the Crusaders." 



"Richard the Lion-hearted was a Cru- 

 sader." 



"Yes, and left his kingdom to be ruled 

 by another. Well, this particular variety 

 of Elm is barren and therefore devoted 

 by the ancient poets to the infernal gods. 

 Greeks and Romans alike considered all 

 such trees funereal trees." 



"Why," said Mabel in amazement, "I 

 did not know that one of you either blos- 

 somed or bore fruit." 



"Well that is not so much to be won- 

 dered at, as we bear our blossoms on the 

 topmost branches, and as we grow to the 

 height of eighty or one hundred feet a 

 little mite like you cannot see them. 

 When March comes with its winds and 

 lengthening days, when the warm wind 

 comes up from the south, and the 

 sun pours his life-giving beams 

 down on us, we feel the sap quick- 

 ening within us and know that 

 spring is here. We therefore seal this 

 knowledge with flowers, not leaves, 

 for it is the law of the wildwood that 

 blossoms come first. The reason of this 

 is that we depend upon the wind to carry 

 our pollen and fertilize our flowers. Our 

 blossoms are tiny and reddish brown in 



151 



