1. The common typical American or white e-m 
(Ulmus Americana) 
2. The willow type, good for shade. More spreading. Also 
common 
3. Vase type, feathered. Excellent for street 
planting 
The Types of the American Elm-—By C. C. Laney, “3 
THE VASE, PITCHER, UMBRELLA, WILLOW AND OAK TYPES OF ELMS CAN BE DETECTED EVEN AMONG FIVE- 
YEAR-OLD TREES IN NURSERY ROWS—WHICH FORMS ARE BEST FOR STREETS AND WHICH FOR LAWNS AND PARKS 
Hee you ever noticed that the elms 
which you see all around you show 
several well-marked differences of form? 
If not, look at the accompanying pictures, 
which will prove the point. 
The white or American elm (Ulmus 
Americana) as seen standing in an open 
space where it has grown for years undis- 
turbed by man is surely one of the most 
interesting of our native trees. Certain 
forms are so frequently repeated that we can 
divide them into types, each of which is as 
distinct as the breeds of certain domestic 
4. The feather character though most common in 
the vase form is seen also in all others 
animals. Some nurserymen by grafting 
have produced types that they recommend 
for street tree planting so that all the trees 
on a street are of the same type. Imagine 
a street planted with elm trees each one of 
which was of the vase type as shown in the 
illustration (Fig. 3) of the very beautiful 
elm which grows on the Latta Road near 
Charlotte, N. Y. This tree is known by 
the residents in the vicinity as the “Golden 
Rod” and the “Bouquet.” 
A feathered elm is one on which small 
branches grow on the stem covering the 
trunk nearly to the ground. Frequently 
a vase type of elm is feathered as in this 
case, but elms of other forms are also often 
beautifully feathered, and the effect produced 
by the green mantle of foliage is very pleasing. 
The pitcher type (Fig. 5) reminds one of 
a water pitcher by the peculiar shape’of the 
branches on one side of the tree. In a ride 
of a few miles in western New York several 
handsome specimens of this interesting type 
may be seen. ‘They are generally tall with a 
long bare trunk. 
Occasionally one sees a two-storied elm 
(Fig. 11) which is too rare to be classed as 
a general type, but which so greatly resem- 
bles a sturdy oak that it might be classed 
with the oak tree type which is met with 
often enough to be called a type. (Fig. 12). 
At a distance of several hundred feet from 
some elms one is reminded of a palm-leaf 
fan, but the photograph reproduced in 
figure 8 fails to adequately convey the 
illusion. The palm-leaf variety must be 
seen in the field to be fully appreciated. 
In some elms the branches are as lithe 
and graceful and drooping as those of 
weeping willows; and, therefore, trees of 
154 
that habit we class as the willow type (Figs. 
6 and 7). On Norton Street, Rochester, 
N. Y., near where it intersects Goodman 
Street,.is one of the most graceful of all 
the trees I have seen of this type. 
The Gothic arch type is one of the most 
beautiful of all the white elms. Some of 
the finest specimens of this magnificent 
type are so situated among buildings or 
where wires and poles surround, that it is 
difficult to get photographs of them. The 
most beautiful specimen that I know is on 
Brunswick Street, Rochester, N. Y., where, 
unfortunately, it cannot be photographed. 
The most famous elm tree in western 
New York, however, is the grand umbrella 
elm (Fig. 10) growing near East Avon on 
the main road from Buffalo to Albany. 
Thousands of persons have admired this 
tree, and in these days of automobile travel 
it has become known to tourists, being 
regarded as one of the landmarks of the 
section. This tree is, indeed, an ideal 
specimen of that rare type. 
Various other forms, many of which are 
rarely beautiful are not reproduced fre- 
quently enough to be classed as types. A 
very beautiful low-growing and spreading 
elm is the pride of tree lovers of Le Roy, 
N. Y. It is about forty feet high, and the 
spread of its branches is 120 feet, and it 
is about ten feet from the ground to the 
lowest branches. 
We cannot too highly cherish our Amer- 
ican elm which Michaux commended to 
European cultivators as “the most magni- 
ficent vegetable of the temperate zone,” 
and every encouragement should be given 
to owners of fine elm trees to preserve them 
for future generations. In every village 
| 
