Properties and Uses. The wood of the Ulmus campestris is of a brownist colour, and is hard and fine-grained. When green, it weighs nearly seventy pounds to a cubic foot, and when dry, not more than forty-eight and a half pounds. It possesses greater lateral adhesion, but less longitudinal toughness than that of the Scotch elm, (Ulmus c. montana,) and, consequently, does not crack so much as that variety in drying. In ship-building, it is valuable for forming the blocks and dead-eyes, and other wooden fixtures of rigging, being particularly suitable for these purposes, from its hard and adhesive nature, and indisposition to crack or split, when exposed to the vicissitudes of moisture and dryness. One of the principal uses of the English elm, however, in ship-building, is for keels. In Norfolk, the timber of this tree is generally used for naves to wheels; and in many parts of England, and particularly about London, it is also employed for coffins. Elm timber is also remarkably durable in water, and is particularly adapted for piles, pumps, water-pipes, and for any other similar purpose. It has been used in Europe, from time immemorial, for water-pipes, or gutters, for conveying the water of salt springs to the large boxes or pans, where the watery particles are evaporated by the heat of the sun, or by fire; and it is well known that the Anglo-Saxons called all the places where there were salt. springs, "wich" or "wych" (as Droitwich, Nantwich, &c.); hence, probably, originated the name "wych elm," which was formerly applied to all British elms, including the Ulmus c. montana. The knobs, which grow upon old elms, are sawn into thin plates by cabinet-makers, particularly in France and Germany; and, when polished, they exhibit very curious and beautiful arrangements of fibre, which render their wood exceedingly ornamental, for articles of fancy. As fuel, the wood of the elm, according to Hartig, is to that of beech as twelve hundred and fifty-nine is to fifteen hundred and forty; and, as charcoal, as fourteen nundred and seven is to sixteen hundred. The ashes of this tree are rich in alkaline salts; and among seventy-three kinds of trees, M. Werneck found that it occupied the tenth place in productiveness of potash. The inner bark, like that of the European lime-tree, is sometimes employed for making bast-mats and ropes. Young deer are very fond of this bark; and in Norway the inhabitants kiln-dry it, and grind it with corn to make flour for bread. The leaves and young shoots of the elm were used by the Romans to feed cattle, and they are still employed, in may parts of France, for the same purpose; and both in France and Norway, they are boiled to serve as food for pigs. In Russia, the leaves of the Ulmus c. parvifolia are used for tea. The bark is highly astringent, and both the leaves and bark, it is said, contain a considerable proportion of glue. From the bark there has been extracted a principle called ulmine, which is regarded by some as a constituent of every vegetable. A decoction of the bark imparts a yellow colour to wool. In Norway, the bark is employed in tanning skins. The fruit, in a green state, is sometimes eaten as a salad.

As a picturesque tree, "the elm," observes Gilpin, "has not so distinct a character as either the oak or the ash. It partakes so much of the oak, that, when it is rough and old, it may easily, at a little distance, be mistaken for one; though the oak, (I mean such an oak as is strongly marked with its peculiar character,) can never be mistaken for the elm. This is certainly a defect in the elm; for strong characters are a great source of picturesque beauty. This defect, however, appears chiefly in the skeleton of the elm; in full foliage, its character is more marked. No tree is better adapted to receive grand masses of light. this respect, it is superior both to the oak and the ash. Nor is its foliage, shadowing as it is, of the heavy kind. Its leaves are small, and this gives it a natural lightness; it commonly hangs loosely, and is, in general, very picturesque. The elm naturally grows upright, and, when it meets with a soil it loves, rises higher than the generality of trees; and, after it has assumed the dignity and hoary

In

roughness of age, few of its forest brethren, (though, properly speaking, it is not a forester,) excel it in grandeur and beauty. The elm is the first tree that salutes the early spring, with its light and cheerful green; a tint which contrasts agreeably with the oak, whose early leaf has generally more of the olive cast. We see them sometimes in fine harmony together, about the end of April and the beginning of May. We often, also, see the elm planted with the Scotch pine. In the spring, its light-green is very discordant with the gloomy hue of its companion; but, as the year advances, the elm leaf takes a darker tint, and unites in harmony with the pine. In autumn, also, the yellow leaf of the elm mixes as kindly with the orange of the beech, the ochre of the oak, and many of the other fading hues of the wood. * * * The elm throws out a beautiful bloom, in the form of a spicated ball, about the bigness of a nutmeg, of a darkcrimson colour. This bloom sometimes appears in such profusion as to thicken and enrich the spray exceedingly, even to the fulness almost of foliage. * * * * * The branch of the elm has neither the strength nor the various abrupt twistings of the oak; nor does it shoot so much in horizontal directions. Such, also, is the spray. It has a more regular appearance, not starting off at rightangles, but forming its shoots more acutely with the parent branch; neither does the spray of the elm shoot, like the ash, in regular pairs from the same knot, but in a kind of alternacy. It has, generally, at first, a flat appearance; but, as one year's shoot is added to another, it has not strength to support itself; and, as the tree grows old, it often becomes pendent also, like the ash; whereas the toughness and strength of the oak enable it to stretch out its branches horizontally to the very last twig."*

As an ornamental tree, the Ulmus campestris is employed both in Britain and on the continent, more especially in France and Holland, for lining avenues, and particular for public walks. For this purpose it is well adapted, from the comparative rapidity of its growth, the straightness of its trunk, the facility with which it bears lopping, the denseness of its foliage, its hardiness, and its great longevity.

* Forest Scenery.

Engravings. Michaux, North American Sylva, pl. 126; Loudon, Arboretum Britannicum, iii., fig. 1246, and vii. pl. 243 et 244; and the figures below.

Specific Characters. Leaves with their disks unequal at the base, 4-5 inches long, inclusive of a long, acuminate point, from 2-24 inches broad, serrate, and mostly doubly so; the axils of the veins underneath joined by a membrane; petioles from 1-1 inches in length, and clothed with short hairs. Flowers effuse, with the peduncles short and glabrous. Stamens 5-8. Samaræ fringed at the edges with hairs, ovate, acute. Young branches brown, and covered with fine, short hairs.-Adapted, from Willdenow's Enum. Plant.

ten or twenty feet above its base, usually ramifies into three or more primary limbs, that continue gradually spreading outward and upwards to a great length, dividing and sub-dividing into many smaller ramifications, and diffusing, on all sides, numerous long, flexible, and pendulous branchlets, bending into regular festoons, and giving to the tree a broad and somewhat flat-topped summit, of regular proportions and admirable beauty. When growing in the last-named situation, this tree is often marked by two or more small branches, four or five feet in length, proceeding from near the first ramification, and descending along the trunk; and the larger branches or limbs are sometimes covered with little ragged twigs, as if clothed with tufts of hair. The bark of the trunk is tender, deeplyfurrowed, and almost white. The leaves, which are four or five inches long, are alternate, unequal at the base, oval-acuminate, generally doubly denticulated, with regular and prominent ribs, rough, and of an almost glossy deep-green above, and pale and downy beneath. The flowers, which appear in March, April, or May, before the leaves, are very small, of a purplish colour, supported by short, slen

der foot-stalks, and are united in bunches at the extremity of the branches. The seeds, which are contained in flat oval, fringed capsules, notched at the base, arrive at maturity, in the northern parts of the United States, from the middle of May to the first of June.

Varieties. The Ulmus americana, like its European congener, has comparatively, the same aptitude to vary from seeds, and has already given rise to several varieties; but, as such a state of confusion exists in botanical works, not only as relates to the American elms, but to all others of the genus, and as the observations and experiments as regards their culture and growth, have been somewhat limited, it is difficult to determine whether they all belong to one race, or consist of several distinct species, a problem which can never be satisfactorily solved before they are studied and cultivated under the most varied circumstances, during a period of several years. As with the European elms, we have classified them all under one head, giving, as usual, among our synonymes, the names under which they are described as species, by one or more authors.

1. U. A. SUBSESSILIFOLIA. Subsessile-leaved American Elm; Ulmus americana, of authors; a large tree, with divergent branches, indigenous chiefly to the Alleghany Mountains, sometimes attaining a height of seventy or eighty feet. The leaves, which are three or four inches long, are subsessile, ovate-acuminate, doubly serrate, oblique, and sub-cordate at the base, rough above, and slightly pubescent beneath.

2. U. A. ALBA, Loudon. Whitish-branched American Elm; a tree native of Louisiana and other states, growing to a height of fifty or sixty feet, having long, flexible, hanging branches, with whitish bark. The leaves are oblong, obliquelyacute at the base, doubly-denticulate, rough and lucid above, and villous beneath. 3. U. A. PENDULA, Loudon. Pendulous-branched American Elm.

4. U. A. RUBRA, Loudon. Reddish-branched American Elm, with the branches red, and the leaves ovate, rugose, and rough.

5. U. A. FOLIIS VARIEGATIS, Loudon. Variegated-leaved American Elm.

6. U. A. RACEMOSA. Racemose-flowered American Elm; Ulmus racemosa, of Nuttall, Gray and Torrey, and others; Orme à grappe, of the French; TraubenUlme, of the Germans; Thomas' Elm, Norhern Cork-barked Elm, of the AngloAmericans. This variety was first described

and figured by Mr. David Thomas, of Cayuga county, in the state of New York, in the nineteenth volume of Silliman's "American Journal of Science and Art." It abounds throughout western New York, and is also found in Canada and Vermont. The large primary branches produce corky excrescences, somewhat like those of the wahoo elm (Ulmus a. alata.) The leaves are broadly-ovate, acuminate, doublyserrated, glabrous, and somewhat shining above, with the under surface and ribs slightly pubescent. The flowers, which are yellow, and appear in April or May, are small, distinctly pedicellate, and, unlike those of any other elm, are disposed in racemes, composed of several clusters of two to four together, and extending from the length of from one inch to two inches and a half, often furnished with one or two small, but perfect leaves, before the opening of the termi

nal buds. The samaræ are large, of an elliptic form, very pubescent, thickly fringed on the margin, with their membranes more extended on one side, as indi

cative of a second, though abortive cell. The seeds ripen in May or June, at which time they may be collected and sown; and, if properly treated, they will immediately come up, and make strong shoots the first season.

7. U. A. FULva. Tawny-budded American Elm; Ulmus rubra, of Michaux: Ulmus fulva, of Pursh, Loudon, and others; Orme rouge, Orme gras, of the French; Gelbliche Ulme, of the Germans; Slippery Elm, Red Elm, Red-woodea Elm, Moose Elm, of the British and Anglo-Americans. This tree bears a strong resemblance to the Dutch cork-barked elm, (Ul

mus campestris major,) of Europe. It often attains a height of fifty or sixty feet, with a trunk fifteen or twenty inches in diameter. The bark of its trunk is brown, and deeply-furrowed; and that of the branches rough, and lighter coloured. The leaves are ovate-oblong, acuminate, nearly equal, and more or less cordate at the base, serrated, with unequal teeth, rugose, very rough, and hairy on both surfaces; being larger, thicker, and rougher than those of the Ulmus americana. The leaf-buds, which are also larger and rounder than those of that tree, are covered, a fortnight before their developement, with a tawny, or russetty down, by which this tree can readily be distinguished from any other variety. The flowers, which appear in April and May, are produced in tufts at the extremity of the young shoots; and

the scales which surround the branches, like the buds, are covered with down; the calyx is downy and sessile; the stamens short, and of a pale-rose colour. The seeds, which usually ripen from the middle to the last of May, are large, destitute of fringe, orbicular or obovate in shape, and strongly resemble those of the English elm. With the exception of the maritime districts of Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, this tree is found in almost every part of the United States, and of Canada; but, in Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee, it is more multiplied than east of the Alleghanies, where it grows on the richest lands of an uneven surface. It is less abundant, however, than the Ulmus americana, with which it rarely associates, as it requires a more substantial soil, somewhat free from mois ture, and even delights in elevated and open situations, such as the steep banks of the Hudson and of the Susquehannah. The heart-wood is coarse-grained, and less compact than that of the Ulmus americana, and is of a dull-red tinge; whence the name "Red Elm." Even in the branches of one or two inches in diameter, the perfect wood forms the principal part. From its durability, the timber of this tree is employed with advantage in the regions where it abounds, in the construction of houses, and sometimes of ships. It is said to be the best of the American woods for making blocks employed in the rigging of vessels, and its scarcity in the Atlantic states is the only cause of its limited consumption for that purpose. It also makes excellent rails, which are of long duration, and are formed with little labour, as the trunk may be easily and regularly split. The bark, which is very mucilaginous, contains certain proportions of sugar, galic acid, and supertartrate of potash. Medicinally, it is said to be alternative, tonic, and diuretic, and is employed for the cure of herpetic, and leprous eruptions. The leaves, which emit an agreeable smell, have been employed as food for the larvæ of the silk-moth. The bark and small branches, with the leaves, macerated in water, yield a thick and abundant mucilage, which is used in forming a refreshing and soothing drink, in coughs and rheums. This mucilage is also substituted for the roots of the marsh mallow, (Althæa officinalis,) in making emollient suppurative cataplasms.