can be told at a glance by its
general branching habit. The limbs arch out into a wide-spreading
*fan or vase-like crown* which loses itself in numerous fine
drooping branchlets. See Fig. 37.

[Illustration: FIG. 37.--American Elm.]

Leaf: The leaves are simple, alternate, and from 2 to 5 inches long.

[Illustration: FIG. 38.--English Elm in Winter.]

Form and size: It is a tall tree with a trunk that divides a short
distance above ground. Its general contour, together with the
numerous branches that interlace its massive crown, give the elm an
interesting and stately appearance which is unequaled by any other
tree.

[Illustration: FIG. 39.--Lombardy Poplar.]

Range: Eastern North America.

Soil and location: The elm prefers a deep, rich and moist soil, but will
adapt itself even to the poor soil of the city street.

Enemies: _The leopard moth_, a wood-boring insect, and the _elm leaf
beetle_, a leaf-eating insect, are the two most important enemies of
the tree. Their ravages are very extensive.

Value for planting: The tree has a character of its own which cannot be
duplicated for avenue or lawn planting.

Commercial value: The wood is strong and tough and therefore has a
special value for cooperage, agricultural implements, carriages, and
shipbuilding.

Other characters: The _buds_ are small, brown, and smooth, while those
of the European elms are covered with down. The _small side twigs_
come out at almost right angles to the larger terminal twigs, which
is not the case in other species of elm.

[Illustration: FIG. 40.--Leaf of Carolina Poplar.]

Other common names: _White elm_.

Comparisons: The _English elm_ (_Ulmus campestris_) is also a tall,
dignified tree commonly seen under cultivation in America, but may
be told from the American species by the difference in their general
contour. The branches of the English species spread out but do not
arch like those of the American elm, and the bark of the English elm
is darker and coarser, Fig. 38. Little tufts of dead twigs along the
main branches and trunk of the tree are characteristic of the
English elm and will frequently help to distinguish it from the
American elm.

The _Camperdown elm_ may be recognized readily by its dwarf size and
its low drooping umbrella-shaped crown.

LOMBARDY OR ITALIAN POPLAR (_Populus nigra, var. italica_)

Disti