“The elm trees which greeted the English colonists as they landed on the shores of New England seemed like old friends from their general resemblance to the elm trees that had stood by their cottages at home; and as the forest gave way to cornfields many elm trees were allowed to escape the axe, and when a home was made a sapling elm taken from the borders of a neighboring swamp was often set to guard the rooftree. These elm trees, remnants of the forest which covered New England when it was first inhabited by white men, or planted during the first century of their occupation, are now dead or rapidly disappearing; they long remained the noblest and most imposing trees of the Northern States, and no others planted by man in North America have equalled the largest of them in beauty and size.” The wood is heavy, tough, and difficult to split. It is used for making the hubs of wheels and for flooring, cooperage, and boat-building. The generic name, _Ulmus_, comes from ulm or elm, the Saxon name of the tree, the specific name explains itself. The American elm is found from Newfoundland to Florida and as far west as the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains. [Sidenote: Slippery or Red Elm _Ulmus pubescens_] _A medium-sized tree, 45 to 60 feet high. The twigs are gray and bristled, unlike the smooth twigs of the white elm. Alternate leaf-scars, which are more conspicuous than those of the white elm. The buds are larger and rounder than those of the white elm; they are soft and downy, and are covered with reddish brown hairs. The inner bark is very mucilaginous._ Country boys know the slippery elm for its sweet mucilage, just as they know the shagbark for its nuts, the sassafras for its aromatic roots, and the spruce for its gum; and this mucilaginous characteristic is a certain means of determining the tree. In form it is less drooping than the white elm and it is also much smaller. The hairy buds give the whole tree a reddish color in spring, and from this it probably takes the name of red elm; the slippery elm is a more characteristic name however, as few trees have such a slippery inner bark. These hairy brown buds are among the prettiest to be found on any trees in winter. Compared with the smooth, hard buds on many trees, they are what soft, long-haired Angoras are to ordinary cats. The wood is strong, hard, and close-grained and is used for making posts, railroad ties, and agricultural implements. The inner bark is used for inflammatory diseases and externally for poultices. The specific name, _pubescens_ (down or soft hair), refers to the pubescence on the buds and leaves and along the recent shoots. [Illustration: YOUNG CORK ELM _Ulmus racemosa_ Page 107 ] The slippery elm is found in certain localities throughout the Atlantic States, it is not common in Eastern Massachusetts. [Sidenote: Cork or Rock Elm _Ulmus racemosa_]