Editorial comment for this plate:

THE AMERICAN ELM.

OUR picture of the American elm is from a negative by Chas. M. Knight, an amateur of Akron, O., and President of the College Camera Club of that city. The subject is one of the many magnificent trees that adorn the Connecticut River Valley, this particular one standing in southern Vermont. “I have always called the picture ‘A Field Corner,’ ” writes Mr. Knight, “because the tree stands in the corner of a large hay field, near the outlet where the loads of hay pass. It was taken several years ago, and developed in a farmer’s kitchen after dark with very meager conveniences.” Mr. Knight has certainly given us a beautiful picture.

Dr. Charles Mellen Knight: 1848-1941

Excerpt Biography, courtesy The University of Akron Archives and Special Collections:

Dr. Charles M. Knight was born in Dummerston, Vermont on February 1, 1848.  He graduated from Westbrook Seminary in Deering, Maine in 1868 and received an A.B. and M.A. from Tufts College in 1873 and 1878, respectively.  In 1874, Knight took post graduate work at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  In 1897, Buchtel College conferred upon him the honorary degree of doctor of science.

Knight left college temporarily during 1869-1870 to assist his brother-in-law, Col. Hal Greenwood, in the construction of the Kansas-Pacific Railroad.  He came to Akron in 1875 to serve as Professor of Natural Sciences at Buchtel College.  In 1883 he was placed in charge of the Department of Physical Science and remained in that position until 1907.  He then became Professor of Chemistry until 1913 when he retired after 38 years of teaching and was named Professor Emeritus of The University of Akron. (continues)