xX. IL. THE ENGLISH ELM. 299 
so rare. ‘I'he ner bark is one of the best applications known 
for affections of the throat and lungs. Flour prepared from the 
bark by drying perfectly and grinding, and mixed with milk, 
like arrow-root, is a wholesome and nutritious food for infants 
and invalids. 
Dr. Darlington says that, in the last war with Great Britain, 
the soldiers on the Canada. frontier, found this, in times of scar- 
city of forage, a grateful and nutritious food for their horses. 
Michaux considers the wood of the slippery elm asi superior 
to that of the white. He says, ‘The heart is coarser-grained, 
and less compact than that of the white elm, and of a dull red 
tinge. I have remarked that the wood, even in branches of one 
or two inches in diameter, consists principally of perfect wood. 
This species is stronger, and more durable when exposed to the 
weather, and of a better quality than the white elm; hence, in 
the Western States, it isemployed with greater advantage in the 
construction of houses, and sometimes of vessels, on the banks 
of the Ohio. It is the best wood of the United States for 
blocks, and its scarceness in the Atlantic States is the only cause 
of its limited consumption in the ports. It makes excellent 
rails, which are of long duration, and are formed with little 
labor, as the trunk divides itself easily and regularly: this is 
probably the reason that it is never employed for the naves of 
wheels.’’—Michauz, Vol. III, p. 90. 
I find, however, that it is used for the purpose of making 
hubs in some places in the western part of the State, and is 
preferred to the white elm. It isso rare in the eastern part of 
the State, that I have not been able to find any one in this 
quarter acquainted with its properties. 
Michaux found this elm in all parts of Canada and of the 
United States, except the maritime parts of Carolina and Georgia. 
Sp. 3 Tae Enexish Eim. Common European Exim. Ulmus 
campestris. Linn. Introduced. 
In Boston, and some towns in the immediate vicinity, many 
of the finest elms are of this species. They are said to have 
been first imported and planted by a‘ wheelwright, for his own 
