John is examining the stump. After the crew cut up the trunk into sections, we had to split the wood for the fireplace.
If you don't know, elm was a prized wood for old wooden sailing warships because the wood is tough and does not split easily.
It has a fibrous structure that makes splitting wood very difficult. We would have several metal wedges in the trunk
and then would have to take a small hatchet and chop all the fibers apart. It was a real struggle turning it into firewood.