xX. A. THE AMERICAN ELM. 293 
throws up a prodigious weight of branches, twelve, each equal 
to a tree,—forming a broad, one-sided head. At five feet from 
the ground, which is the smallest place, its girth is twenty-two 
feet two inches; at seven, it is twenty-two feet nine inches; 
at one and a half on one side, three on the other, twenty- 
nine feet nine inches; at three, twenty-four feet nine inches. 
Below, one and a half or three, the roots bulge out. The first 
large branch, which has a girth of eleven feet two inches, divides 
into two. ‘The second, thirteen feet ten inches in girth, divides 
into five branches. The horizontal extent of the southeast 
branch, is sixty-nine feet one inch. It is a very old tree and 
falling into decay, but still vigorous and clothed with a rich, 
dark colored foliage. Its uncommon growth is, doubtless, owing 
to its peculiar situation. A small perennial stream flows near 
it, and its most vigorous limbs are stretched so as to overshadow, 
for many feet, the little fertile glade through which it flows. 
It is also near a farmer’s yard, the animals belonging to which 
are often standing by day or lying by night, under the covert of 
its branches. It has, to visiters, the additional recommendation 
of being on the farm of a worthy magistrate, who knows how 
to respect the curiosity of those who visit it. 
Some of these trees are still in apparent vigor, though nearly 
two hundred years old. It is found, however, on cutting down 
old elms, that they are, almost universally, hollow at base. 
Whether this is the case in the rich, deep soils of the western 
valleys, 1 know not. In the scanty soils of Massachusetts, it 
may proceed from the fact, that all the nutriment near the bot- 
tom of the tree, where the roots are fed that nourish the heart, 
is exhausted. 
Besides its use as a shade and ornamental tree, its timber is 
employed for several important purposes in the arts. Its wood 
is preferred to any native wood for hubs of wheels. In Boston 
and the vicinity, the hubs for the very superior gigs, light 
wagons, and other pleasure carriages, which are manufactured 
there, are almost universally made of it. For this purpose, it 
is obtained from the towns within a few miles in the neighbor- 
hood. The same use is made of it in the centre and western 
parts of the State. Yokes are made of it. In the sea-port 
