The elms are remarkable for the massive strength of their trunk and limbs and for the light delicacy of their small branches and twigs as we see them against the sky in winter. The American and English elms particularly are really more beautiful in winter than in summer, when the contrast between the little twigs and the little branches is hidden by the leaves. The elms are all long-lived trees and grow rapidly. They bear transplanting and pruning better than any other tree, and grow on almost any kind of soil. If it were not for the attacks of insects, to which the elms seem peculiarly liable, no trees would be more deserving of cultivation. Perhaps no other tree is so strongly associated in our minds with the beautiful old valley towns and hillside villages of New England, and to the elms they largely owe their beauty. Three indigenous elms are found in the Northeastern States, the American, slippery, and cork elms, and two from Europe, the English and the Scotch or Dutch elms, are planted commonly in our gardens and parks. [Sidenote: American or White Elm _Ulmus americana_] _A large spreading tree, with graceful, drooping branches. Smooth brown twigs; alternate leaf-scars. The terminal and lateral buds are the same size; the flower buds are larger. The flowers come before the leaves in the early spring, and the fruit, a small round samara, ripens later in the spring._ The American elm stands absolutely alone among trees for its especial kind of beauty. No other tree combines such strength and lofty stateliness with so much fine work and delicacy. Its trunk divides a short distance from the ground into many large, spreading branches, which stretch up high into the air and support the waving, drooping, curving twigs and small branches. [Illustration: AMERICAN ELM, LANCASTER, MASS. _Ulmus americana_ (From a photograph by Mr. Eli Forbes) Page 102 ]