Repository: UIHistories Project: Board of Trustees Minutes - 1886 [PAGE 277]

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269 were badly gnawed by the white grub which existed that year in ;great numbers in the soil, and this was kept clear from other vegetation upon which the worms might feed. As the trees were first set two by four feet apart, an attempt was made to make the distribution uniform by transplanting, but the growth continued feeble, and all the trees ultimately died. The land was high and dry adjoining that upon which the Larch has so abundantly prospered. A few trees, however, which were set in nursery survived, and after becoming well established have grown rapidly and continue healthy. It having been asserted that these trees succeeded better if grown from seed without transplanting, the experiment was tried by planting, in the area first occupied by them, fresh nuts in the fall of 1879. These were badly destroyed by rats and other vermin, but such as were left grew very satisfactorily the following year, During the first winter rabbits cut off many of the young stems, and some died. Growth continued poor, and the number of trees gradually became less. Those remaining were transplanted into one row7, and now this remnant of the lot are bushy, poor looking, shrubby specimens of little promise. On the other hand some three or four year old trees received from Mr. C. H. Dennis, of Hamilton, 111., in 1830, and planted in the arboretum, have done remarkably well. They are exceedingly thrifty, finely proportioned, and gaining as last as the neighboring ash and elms. No explanation is attempted of the difference. The soil in the latter place is richer. The cultivation was altogether better with those first described. (TJlmus Americana.) Only one-eighth of an acre is planted with this common White, or American Elm. There are four species of Elms native to Illinois. The largest and most abundant is the subject of this report. The next largest, and also next in usual numbers, is the Eed, or Slippery Elm, well known for its thick and mucilaginous inner bark. The Hickory Elm is only found in special localities, a medium or small sized tree, known, as the common name suggests, for its though wood and the peculiar wing-like expansion of bark along the branchlets. The fourth species is found only in the southern part of the State, and from the growth of bark on the branchlets, surpassing the latter in prominence, is called the Winged Elm. It is scarcely more than a tall shrub. Among these it ought not to be difficult to identify the species with which we are now concerned. Yet such are its variations, so different the appearance of trunk, branches, and foliage, so diverse the characteristics of wood, and withal so many the woodman's names, that many hesitate to put all forms and kinds together as one species. Of the specific unity, however, there can be no question. Many of the observed differences are solely due to the surrounding conditions, as of very wet and of dry soil, of the chemical or physical characteristics of the latter, of the sweep of winds, etc. There is, however, a good deal of variation in the seedlings when grown in the same bed, so he who plants forests should carefully select his stock, the "strain," as florists say of his seed. The seedlings were tw7o years old when, in 1871, they were placed two by four feet apart in the plantation. All lived and grew rapAMERICAN ELM,