UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
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BULLETIN No. 683 
Contribution from the Forest Service 
HENRY S. GRAVES, Forester 
Washington, D. C. 
July 29, 1918 
UTILIZATION OF ELM. 
By W. D. Brush, Scientific Assistant. 
CONTENTS. 
Page. 
Importance 1 
Commercial species 1 
Characteristics of the wood 2 
Structure of the wood 6 
Supply and demand 7 
Utilization hy industries 14 
Grading rules for elm 28 
Page. 
Lumber and stumpage values 29 
Markets 35 
Elm in the woodlot 37 
Summary and conclusions 38 
Classified uses of elm in different wood-using 
industries 39 
IMPORTANCE. 
Elm is one of the important commercial woods of the United States. 
It is important, however, not so much because of the amount con- 
sumed annually, for 8 or 10 hardwoods and an even greater number 
of softwoods are used in larger quantities, as because it has qualities 
which make it especially desirable for bent work and for uses in which 
it is subjected to shock or impact and rough usage in general. It is 
particularly suited for slack-cooperage stock, certain parts of vehicles, 
baskets, and crating. 
COMMERCIAL SPECIES. 
The following five species produce the supply of elm wood in the 
United States: White elm (Ulmus americana), slippery elm (Ulmus 
fulva), cork elm (Ulmus racemosa), wing elm (Ulmus alata), and 
cedar elm (Ulmus crassifolia). The proportion which each con- 
tributes to the lumber industry is not known, since they are often 
mixed together and are all generally listed as "elm" in reports of 
manufacturers of elm lumber and elm products. 
White elm is by far the most important species in the production 
t)f elm wood. It often goes under the name "gray elm" in the Lake 
States, and in foreign countries is called "American elm" and " Cana- 
dian elm." 
50425°— 18— Bull. 683 1 
