The Elm I have available to me is on some of my aunt and uncle’s ground.(Part of an old army air base) 3-4 years ago a bunch trees were taken down and piled in large pits. I have been using log chains and the Dodge to pull the trunks out and cut it up. We burned this last season strait from the pits, but I plan on cutting and splitting most, if not all, of next season’s wood this spring. I know that the elm will be ready for sure I have some questions about the truly green stuff at the local tree dump.
My biggest problem there is trying to figure out what it is. The brush is piled up, and the trunk and large branches are spread out for wood cutters to cut and take. The only way to ID the wood is by the bark, and the wood itself. I am just not that good at identifying trees just by the bark yet. Example, how do you tell the difference between say elm, cottonwood, hack-berry, and linden by only seeing the bark? Ash is easy, and the honey locust was a snap, but as I look around at local trees I know the trees are different, by looking at the leaves and structure, but the bark looks the same, or so similar that I can’t tell by just using the bark. I have also noticed that the bark of a “young” tree is often very different the that of an 80 year old tree. Any suggestions?
