metimes entire, oftenest obovate with 5 bristle-tipped
angular lobes, the two lower much smaller; base unequal, wedge-shaped,
tip obtuse or rounded; leafstalk short; stipules linear, soon falling.

=Inflorescence.=--Early in May. Appearing when the leaves are half
grown; sterile catkins 2-4 inches long; calyx pubescent, lobes oftenest
2-3, rounded; stamens 3-5; anthers red or yellow: pistillate flowers
numerous; calyx lobes ovate, pointed, reddish, pubescent; stigmas 3,
reddish, recurved, spreading.

=Fruit.=--Abundant, maturing in the autumn of the second year, clustered
along the branchlets on stout, short stems: cup top-shaped or
hemispherical: acorn about 1/2 inch long, varying greatly in shape,
mostly ovoid or spherical, brown, often striped lengthwise.

=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 popula