THE ELMS AND THE HACKBERRY 



the group from which I took the following 

 photograph. 



The American elm is more graceful than 

 the English elm, which, on the other hand, is 

 more stately ; both trees are unusually beautiful, 

 although representing such different types of 

 beauty. In the " Autocrat of the Breakfast- 

 Table," Dr. Holmes contrasts the English and 

 American elms growing on Boston Common. 

 " Go out with me into that walk which we call 

 the Mall," he says, " and look at the English 

 and American elms. The American elm is 

 tall, graceful, slender-sprayed, and drooping as 

 if from languor. The English elm is compact, 

 robust, holds its branches up, and carries its 

 leaves for weeks longer than our own native 

 tree. Is this typical of the creative force on 

 the two sides of the ocean or not .? " 



In England the elm has been planted from 

 the time of the Romans, though Dr. Walker 

 thinks that it was brought over at the time of 

 the Crusades. The elm was planted by the 

 Romans as a prop for grape vines, and in the 

 South of Italy it is still used for that purpose. 

 In " Paradise Lost " Milton refers to this when 

 he describes how Adam and Eve spent their 

 time in the Garden of Eden. Among various 

 other occupations, 



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