MOUNTAIN ASH. 329 



Winds; but, wherever it is wanted to attain a large size, it ought to be planted ni 

 a free soil in a moist climate, or near water, and in a situation that is open and 

 dry. Few trees suffer more from extreme heat and drought than the mountain 

 ash. 



Propagation and Culture. This species, and most of its varieties may be 

 propagated from seeds, which should be gathered as soon as ripe, to prevent their 

 being eaten by birds. When gathered, the fruit should be macerated in water 

 till the seeds are separated from the pulp, after which, they may be immediately 

 sown ; but, as they will remain, in that case, eighteen months in the ground, 

 before coming up, the common mode adopted by nurserymen is, to mix the ber- 

 ries with light sandy soil, and spread them out in the rotting-ground, in a layer 

 ten or twelve inches in thickness ; then to cover this layer with ashes or sand to 

 a depth of two or three inches, and allow them to remain in that stale for a year. 

 They are then separated from the soil by sifting, and sown in beds of light, rich 

 soil, being covered to the depth of a quarter of an inch. The seeds should not 

 be dropped nearer together than two inches, which will allow the plants to come 

 up with sufficient strength, and without the interference of their leaves. They 

 may be sown late in autumn or very early in spring, which will cause them to 

 come up in the June or July following ; and, by the end of the season, the strong- 

 est plants will be eighteen inches high, and fit to separate from the others, and to 

 plant out in nursery lines. They will grow rapidly for the first three or four 

 years, and in five years will acquire a height of eight or nine feet. At this period 

 they will be ready to plant out in the situations where they are permanently to 

 remain, after which, they will begin to form their heads, and in ten years more 

 will attain the height of twenty feet. Each head will continue to increase slowly, 

 though the tree seldom grows higher than twenty-five or thirty feet in a hundred 

 years. This tree will not bear lopping, but grass and herbage will grow well 

 under its shade.* 



Insects. The trunk and roots of the mountain ash are perforated by several 

 species of borers, among which are the larvae of the beetles called Saperda bivit- 

 tata and Saperda vesiita, both of which are described in our articles on the com- 

 mon apple, and the European lime-tree, under the head of "Insects," and need 

 no further notice here. 



Propei'ties and Uses. The wood of the mountain ash, when dry, weighs fifty- 

 one pounds to a cubic foot, is homogeneous, fine-grained, hard, capable of being 

 stained any colour, and is susceptible of taking a high polish. It is much used 

 in Europe in the small manufactures, such as the handles of knives and forks, 

 wooden spoons, &c. ; and for musical instruments, and various articles of turnery. 

 When of sufficient dimensions, it is also used for axle-trees, naves, and felloes to 

 wheels, carpenter and husbandman's tools, cogs to the wheels of machinery, and 

 for a variety of other purposes. In Britain, the tree forms excellent coppice-wood, 

 the shoots being well adapted for poles, and for making excellent hoops ; and the 

 bark is used in tanning. In Livonia, Sweden, and Kamtschatka, the berries of 

 this tree are eaten, when ripe, as a fruit, and a very good spirit is distilled from 

 them; and in various other parts of northern Europe, these berries are dried and 

 ground into flour, and used as a substitute for the flour made of wheat, in times 

 of great scarcity. Infused in water, the berries make an acid drink, somcwhai 

 resembling perry, which is much used in Wales by the poor, who call it diod-<j^ra- 

 viole. In the island of Java, the juice of these berries is used as an acid for 

 punch. In Germany, the fowlers bait springes, or nooses of hair with the berries 

 of this tree, which they hang in the woods to entice the red-wings and field-fares. 



As an ornamental tree, the mountain ash is well adapted for small gardens, and 



* See Loudon's Arboretum, pp. 916 et 920. 



42 



