324 ANALYSES 



wavy light bands mark (lie direction of the pores through which the sap ascends, and the 

 circular zone of pores shows the commencement of a new annual layer. The last are 

 always formed in the spring, when the first growth of wood begins ; the former belong 

 to successive periods during its summer growth. The Elm, together with trfc allied 

 genus, the Celtis, exhibits this peculiar wavy arrangement of its summer pores. There 

 are variations, in the different species, in the arrangement of these pores; yet the plan, 

 as a whole, is the same. 



For magnificent specimens of the Elm, the vallies of the Genesee, and the Black river 

 in Jefferson county, are surpassed by no other parts of the world. Hundreds of elms may 

 be seen in either of these sections of country, exceeding by far the famous Pittsfield Elm 

 in Berkshire, Mass. The elms of the Mohawk valley belong generally to the pendulous 

 variety, and do not excel in size, but many may be seen profusely decked with slender 

 brandies, and give great beauty to the landscape. This variety is figured in the first 

 volume of Agriculture, PI. ii. The elm has been sacrificed in all parts of the State, 

 during its first settlement, for the sake or" its ash. It furnishes not only a large percentage, 

 but it is also rich in alkalies. 



The elm is a favorite on both continents. It is highly ornamental, and the wood is 

 useful for many purposes. Like domesticated animals, it seems to have been designed for 

 man in his more civilized state; and, like them too, it breaks out into numerous varieties, 

 in some of which we have the majestic trunk adorned with a towering, upright or spreading 

 head ; or a trunk profusely decked with slender limbs, as if covered with twining ivy, and 

 a head profuse in long pendant and waving plumes. 



In some parts of New-York, especially where meadows skirt a sluggish stream, the 

 White Elm stands unrivalled in height and girth. Its hundred feet to a branch, a girth 

 numbering a score feet or more, mark but a common size. The rich alluvial bottoms are 

 best adapted to the wants of this tree : it there finds an abundance of food and water ; and 

 as it continues to grow for centuries, it here attains its maximum strength and size, and 

 well deserves the name of the forest monarch. For transplanting, it is recommended by 

 its easy culture and rapid growth, and its ability to adapt itself to any soil or location. 



The Elm has a wide range of growth. The Saskatchewan, or in Canada at 48° 20' 

 north, to Georgia south, constitute its extreme limits, and so it extends itself from the 

 Atlantic far west. The north and south boundaries of New-York embrace probably the 

 most favorable zone for this tree. 



The wood of the elm rarely if ever splits very free; its fibres being too much twisted or 

 interwove with each other, to admit of an easy separation. In consequence, however, of 

 ibis very fault, it is better adapted to planks for stabling, for ox yokes, and all purposes 

 where lightness and strength are required, and where an easy separation of its fibres would 

 be a damage, as wagon hubs, and large ship blocks. 



