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ELM , the popular name for the trees and shrubs constituting the genus Ulmus, of the natural See also:order Ulmaceae. The genus contains fifteen or sixteen See also:species widely distributed throughout the See also:north temperate See also:zone, with the exception of western North See also:America, and extending southwards as far as See also:Mexico in the New and the See also:Sikkim Himalayas in the Old See also:World.
The See also:common elm, U. campestris, a doubtful native of See also:England, is found throughout a See also:great See also:part of See also:Europe, in North See also:Africa and in See also:Asia See also:Minor, whence it ranges as far See also:east as north Asia and See also:Japan. It grows in See also:woods and hedge-rows, especially in the See also:southern portion of See also:Britain, and on almost all soils, but thrives best on a See also:rich See also:loam, in open, See also:low-lying, moderately moist situations, attaining a height of 6o to See also:loo, and in some few cases as much as 130 or 150 ft. The branches are numerous and spreading, and often pendulous at the extremities; the bark is rugged; the leaves are alternate, ovate, rough, doubly serrate, and, as in other species of Ulmus, unequal at the See also:base. The See also:flowers are small, hermaphrodite, numerous, in purplish-See also: All parts of the See also:trunk, including the sapwood, are available in See also:carpentry. By drying, the wood loses over 6o% of its See also:weight, and has then a specific gravity of o•588. It has considerable transverse strength, does not crack when once seasoned, and is remarkably durable under See also:water, or if kept quite dry; though it decays rapidly on exposure to the See also:weather, which in ten to eighteen months causes the bark to fall off, and gives to the wood a yellowish colour—a sign of deterioration in quality. To prevent shrinking and warping it may be preserved in water or mud, but it is best worked up soon after See also:felling. Analyses of the ash of the wood have given a percentage of 47.8% of See also:lime, 21.9% of potash, and 13.7% of soda. In summer, elm trees often exude an alkaline gummy substance, which by the See also:action of the See also:air becomes the brown insoluble See also:body termed ulmin. ' Elm wood is used for keels and See also:bilge-planks, the blocks and dead-eyes of See also:rigging, and See also:ships' pumps, for coffins, wheels, See also:furniture, carved and turned articles, and for See also:general carpenters' See also:work; and previous to the common employment of See also:cast See also:iron was much in See also:request for waterpipes. The inner bark of the elm is made into bast mats and See also:ropes. It contains See also:mucilage, with a little tannic See also:acid, and was formerly much employed for the preparation of an antiscorbutic decoction, now obsolete. The bark of Ulmus fulva, the slippery or red elm of the See also:United States and See also:Canada, serves the North See also:American See also:Indians for the same purpose, and also as a vulnerary. The leaves as well as the See also:young shoots of elms have been found a suitable See also:food for live stock. For ornamental purposes elm trees are frequently planted, and in avenues, as at the See also:park of Stratfieldsaye, in See also:Hampshire, are highly effective. They were first used in See also:France for the adornment of public walks in the reign of See also:Francis I. In See also:Italy, as in See also:ancient times, it is still customary to See also:train the See also:vine upon the elm—a practice to which frequent allusion has been made by the poets. The See also:cork-barked elm, U. campestris, See also:var. suberosa, is distinguished chiefly by the thick deeply fissured bark with which its branches are covered. There are numerous cultivated forms differing in See also:size and shape of See also:leaf, and manner of growth. The Scotch or wych elm, U. See also:montana, is indigenous to Britain and is the common elm of the See also:northern portion of the See also:island; it usually attains a height of about 50 ft., but among tall-growing trees may reach 120 ft. It has drooping branches and a smoother and thinner bark, larger and more tapering leaves, and a far less deeply notched seed-See also:vessel than U. campestris. The wood,though more porous than in that species, is a tough and hard material when properly seasoned, and, being very flexible when steamed, is well adapted for See also:boat-See also:building. Branches of the wych elm were formerly manufactured into bows, and if forked were employed as See also:divining-rods. The weeping elm, the most ornamental member of the genus, is a variety of this species. The Dutch or See also:sand elm is a See also:tree very similar to the wych elm, but produces inferior See also:timber. The American or white elm, U. americana, is a See also:hardy and very handsome species, of which the old tree on See also:Boston (See also:Mass.) Common was a representative. This tree is supposed to have been in existence before the See also:settlement of Boston, and at the See also:time of its destruction by the See also:storm of the 15th of See also:February 1876 measured 22 ft. in circumference. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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