4-4- Bulletin of Wisconslx Natural History Society. Vol. 1. Xo. 1. 
ference of 12 feet 6 inches at 3^ feet from the ground. In 1889 
Prof. Sargent found its circumference increased to 17 feet 4 
inches. It was then hollow and much decayed. (Silva, 4, 104, n.j. 
This tree does not divide till a considerable height, which perhaps 
makes its size more impressive than that of the Milwaukee tree. 
This mighty tree is surrounded by a number of soft maples also 
far above the common size. The next largest is 10 feet 7 inches 
in circumference, breast high, just below the fork. There is also 
in this group of giants an American elm of 11 feet 6 inches in cir- 
cumference at 3 teet from the ground, just below where it divides- 
into three main branches. There are no young trees in the neigh- 
borhood, a fact which is not surprising as the group stands in a 
meadow where the thick sward of grass makes it difficult for seed- 
lings to sprout. If any did come up, they would soon fall victims 
to the haymaker or browsing cattle. The only soft maple seedling 
I have found in this vicinity stands on the opposite bank of the 
creek in the midst of the dense willow thicket. It is a vigorous 
youngster about four years old. There is another pretty large 
soft maple tree in the ]\Ienomonee \'alley, near Grand Avenue., 
which may or may not be of spontaneous growth. Outside of 
these I know of no specimen of Acer dasycarpum growing spon- 
taneously in the vicinity of Milwaukee at present. Undoubtedly 
this species was formerly common in the [Nlenomonee A'alley, but 
very few of the original forest trees still survive in that locality. 
Xext to the individual mentioned above, the finest elm I know 
of in this neighborhood, stands at the west end of a bridge over a 
small creek on the town line between Wauwatosa and Granville. 
Two main stems, diverging but very little from each other, and 
grown as straight as two masts, divide at two feet from the 
ground. At breast-height the diameters of these divisions are 26 
and 28 inches. The two divisions do not branch again until a 
height of about sixty feet is reached, when they form one of those 
globular crowns, characteristic of individuals that have grown in 
crowded condition during- youth, and have afterwards been set 
free. 
This form of the elm is rather more common among the older 
elms of spontaneous growth in this vicinity, than is the vase-like 
form usually seen among planted trees along city streets. This is 
not surprising, as all our older elms during youth must have 
grown in close forests. Some very fine specimens of this form 
can be seen in the Soldiers' Home grounds. The celebrated large 
elms of Xew England mostly have a third form, in which the stem 
forks very close to the ground and the divisions diverge at a more 
or less obtuse angle, similarlv to the growth of the soft maple 
above described. The large elm standing near the latter is excep- 
