This section is from the book "Trees And Tree-Planting", by James S. Brisbin. Also available from Amazon: Trees and Tree Planting.
The red elm is the brother of the white elm, but it inhabits higher and dryer ground. As a shade-tree it is splendid, and grows rapidly. The wood is used for carriages, and also makes excellent fuel. Trees of this kind, planted in 1861, grew to be twelve inches in diameter in ten years. They are often, however, attacked by insects, which burrow under the bark for sap.
It will thrive in low, wet soil, is a medium-sized tree, about fifty or sixty feet in height, and from two to three feet in diameter; it also thrives on dryer ground and higher up than the rest of the native species. The red elm does not compare with the white elm in grace and beauty, but its wood is much more durable and tougher when exposed to atmospheric changes. The small specimens are used as wagon-hubs, carriage-hubs, etc., not being so very liable to crack in seasoning. In some sections of the country it is used for rails ; the only objection to it for this purpose is its hability to rot on contact with the ground. The sap-wood in the red elm is very small.
 
Continue to: