ON ORNAMENTAL TREES 
the preéminence of this tree. Nothing could more 
admirably meet the purposes of a shade and 
avenue tree. 
The English elm, which is a more compact 
grower than the American species, has been widely 
planted in California. But the American elm 
thrives here also, although not native to the coast, 
and it is much less subject to insect pests than is 
the European species; also the English elm is stiff, 
and quite lacking in the graceful lines that the 
American elms so naturally assume. 
There is a considerable range of variation 
among American elms, notably in the size of the 
leaves, and the openness or compactness of 
growth. 
Indeed the variation is so great that it is 
never wise to plant a row of seedling elms along a 
street or roadside. It is much better in the interest 
of uniformity to secure good roots and then graft 
them with cions of a single variety. 
The slippery elm, which grows in the same 
regions with the common American species, is a 
tree of more compact growth, but on the whole 
not to be compared with the other species. There 
are natural hybrids, however, between the Ameri- 
can elm and the slippery elm that exceed either 
parent in size, and sometimes are of surpassing 
beauty. 
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