The most singular of the forms assumed by the Elm, and which cannot be
regarded as of a normal character, is the plume, caused by some peculiar
conditions attending its early growth. The shaft is sometimes double,
but usually not divided at all, except into two or three small branches
at its very summit. It is perpendicular to near three fourths of its
height, and then bends over, like one of the outer branches of a
normal-shaped Elm. This whole tree, whether double or single, is covered
from the ground to its summit with a dense embroidery of vine-like twigs
that cluster round it in all ways, often inverted, as if it were covered
with a woody vine. The cause of this form seems to be the removal of the
tree into an uncongenial soil, that is too scanty and innutritious to
sustain a healthy growth. Yet I have seen some trees of this shape in
clearings. They do not seem to be diseased, yet they are evidently in a
stunted condition. One of the most remarkable of the plume elms which I
have seen stands in the northern part of Danvers, near the point where
the Essex Railroad crosses the Ipswich River. I have observed a similar
habit of growth in some English elms, but their shaft is always
perpendicular.