=Horticultural Value.=--Hardy in New England; grows well in dry, gravelly, ledgy, or sandy soil, where few other trees thrive; useful in such situations where a low growth is required; but as it is not procurable in quantity from nurseries, it must be grown from the seed. The leaves are at times stripped off by caterpillars, but otherwise it is not seriously affected by insects or fungous diseases. [Illustration: PLATE XLVII.--Quercus ilicifolia.] 1. Flowering branch. 2. Sterile flower, side view. 3. Fertile flowers, side view. 4. Fruiting branch. 5. Variant leaves. ULMACEAE. ELM FAMILY. =Ulmus Americana, L.= ELM. AMERICAN ELM. WHITE ELM. =Habitat and Range.=--Low, moist ground; thrives especially on rich intervales. From Cape Breton to Saskatchewan, as far north as 54 deg. 30'. Maine,--common, most abundant in central and southern portions; New Hampshire,--common from the southern base of the White mountains to the sea; in the remaining New England states very common, attaining its highest development in the rich alluvium of the Connecticut river valley. South to Florida; west to Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, and Texas. =Habit.=--In the fullness of its vigor the American elm is the most stately and graceful of the New England trees, 50-110 feet high and 1-8 feet in diameter above the swell of the roots; characterized by an erect, more or less feathered or naked trunk, which loses itself completely in the branches, by arching limbs, drooping branchlets set at a wide angle, and by a spreading head widest near the top. Modifications of these elements give rise to various well-marked forms which have received popular names. 1. In the vase-shaped tree, which is usually regarded as the type, the trunk separates into several large branches which rise, slowly diverging, 40-50 feet, and then sweep outward in wide arches, the smaller branches and spray becoming pendent. 2. In the umbrella form the trunk remains entire nearly to the top of the tree, when the branches spread out abruptly, forming a broad, shallow arch, fringed at the circumference with long, drooping branchlets. 3. The slender trunk of the plume elm rises, usually undivided, a considerable height, begins to curve midway, and is capped with a one-sided tuft of branches and delicate, elongated branchlets. 4. The drooping elm differs from the type in the height of the arch and greater droop of the branches, which sometimes sweep the ground. 5. In the oak form the limbs are more or less tortuous and less arching, forming a wide-spreading, rounded head.