_A large tree, 80 to 100 feet high, known by the peculiar corky ridges along the branches. Alternate leaf-scars. The recent twigs and the scales of the bud are fringed with downy hair._ In New England the cork elm is found in the northwestern part of New Hampshire and in Southern Vermont. It is rare in Massachusetts, and would probably be found only in the western part of the State growing wild. Neither Michaux nor Emerson has described the cork elm. Nuttall says that it was discovered in the State of New York by a Mr. Thomas, and he gives the tree the name “Thomas’s elm,” which has fortunately not been retained. The wood is tougher and of somewhat finer grain than that of the white elm, and in the “Silva of North America,” Professor Sargent says: “The value of the wood of the rock elm threatens its extinction; and most of the large trees have already been cut in the forests of Canada, New England, New York, and Michigan. The rock elm is sometimes planted as a shade tree in the region which it inhabits naturally, and although it grows rather more slowly than the white elm, it is a handsome and distinct ornamental tree which planters have too generally neglected.” The specific name, _racemosa_ (cluster-flowered), refers to the flowers which grow in a raceme. It is found in New England, its range extending southward and westward. [Sidenote: English Elm _Ulmus campestris_] _A tall tree, more upright in growth than the American elm. The branches are less spreading and more erect than those of the American species. In this climate it is often distinguished by the little tufts of dead twigs on the tree. The bark is darker and coarser than that of the American elm; the buds and twigs differ very little from those of our species._ [Illustration: ENGLISH ELMS _Ulmus campestris_ Page 108 ] The English elm is found planted frequently throughout New England, and there are many fine specimens in Massachusetts, especially in the country about Boston. According to Emerson, they were originally said to be imported and planted by a wheelwright for his own use in making the hubs of wheels, for which purpose the wood of the English elm is superior to any other. At all events, there are many beautiful specimens growing near old colonial houses, and sometimes they are found growing by stone walls at some distance from the house, back of farm buildings and barns, as was the group from which I took the following photograph.