GETTING AC^AINTED H^ITH THE TREES 



chewing-gum which had not then become so 

 common, to a certain ever -hungry boy who 

 used to think as much of what a tree would 

 furnish that was eatable as he now does of its 

 beauty. Later, the other uses of the bark of 

 this tree became known to the same boy, but 

 it was many years before he came really to 

 know the slippery elm. One day a tree 

 branch overhead showed what seemed to be 

 remarkable little green flowers, which on 

 examination proved to be, instead, the very 

 interesting fruit of this elm, each little seed 

 securely held inside a very neat and small flat 

 bag. Looking at it earlier the next spring, 

 the conspicuous reddish brown color of the 

 bud -scales was noted. 



I have never seen the "wahoo," or winged 

 elm of the South, and there are several other 

 native elms, as well as a number of introduc- 

 tions from the Eastern Hemisphere, with 

 which acquaintance is yet to be made. All 

 of them together, I will maintain with the 

 quixotic enthusiasm of lack of knowledge, are 

 not worth as much as one - half hour spent 

 in looking up under the leafy canopy of our 



144 



