ELM FAMILY 



iiig closel)' to the twig as the}' do they have Httle independent 

 motion but move with the branch. An elm leaf can be easily 

 recognized by its unequal base, the part of the leaf on one 

 side of the midrib is considerably larger than that upon the 



other. Although a fa- 

 vorite city shade tree 

 the elm does not thrive 

 where soft coal is habit- 

 ually burnetl. The rough 

 leaves catch the soot 

 which sticks fast, seems 

 to smother the trees, and 

 in time destroys them. 



One who recognizes it 

 only in leaf does not 

 I'eally know a deciduous 

 tree, for it is when stripped like an athlete for its contest 

 with the winds and storms of winter, that it discloses the 

 secret of its grace, its weakness, or its strength. No tree 

 endures this test better than the elm and its typical form is 

 so marked that it can be easily recognized even at night 

 wdien outlined against the sky. 



A peculiar characteristic of the wood is the wonderful 

 twisting and interlacing of its fibres which give itan exceed- 

 ing toughness. A characteristic immortalized by Oliver 

 Wendell Holmes in "The Wonderful One-Hoss Shay." 



Unfoldin!^ Leave'; of White Elm, Uhiiu^ amriicaiia 



The hubs of loi,'s from the '' Settlor's cnum," 

 Last of Its tiinlicr, — they couldn't sell em. 

 Ne\'er an axe had seen their chips, 

 And the wedges ffew from between their lips, 

 Their blunt ends frizzled like celery-tips. 



The Elms are an ancient race ; traces of them exist in 

 the tertiary rocks of Cireenland, and in the miocene pe- 

 riod they flourished in Europe, western Asia and North 

 America. 



A few elm trees have become historic, either because of 



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