DENDROLOGY. 155 



undulated surface. Early in the spring they are covered with a 

 light down, which gradually disappears, and at the approach of 

 summer they are perfectly smooth, of a light green color above 

 and whitish beneath. It puts forth white or greenish flowers in 

 the month of May, which are succeeded by seeds that are 18 

 lines long, cylindrical near the base, and gradually flattened 

 into a wing, the extremity of which is slightly notched. They 

 are united in bunches four or five inches long, and are ripe in 

 the beginning of autumn. The shoots of the two preceding 

 years are of a bluish gray color and perfectly smooth : the 

 distance between their buds sufficiently proves the vigor of their 

 growth. 



In large trees the perfect wood is reddish and the sap is white. 

 This wood is highly esteemed for its strength, suppleness and 

 elasticity, and is employed with advantage for a great variety of 

 uses, of which we shall mention only the most common. It is 

 always selected by coach makers for shafts, for the felloes of 

 wheels, and for the frames of carriage bodies ; it is also used for 

 chairs, scythe and rake handles, the hoops of pails, the circular 

 pieces of boxes and seives ; for wooden bowls and other domestic 

 w T ares. In the state of Maine it is extensively used for staves, 

 which are of a quality between those of white and those of red 

 oak, and are esteemed best for containing salted provisions. It 

 is admitted also into the lower frame of vessels, but is considered 

 inferior to the yellow birch, and to the heart of the red beech. 

 In all the Atlantic States the blocks used in ships and the pins 

 for attaching the cordage are made of ash, for which purpose 

 the white ash is employed in the northern and the red ash in 

 the southern ports. On account of its strength and elasticity, 

 the white ash is esteemed superior to every other wood for oars, 



Carolinian Ash. Fraxinus platy'carpa. 



This species of ash is confined to . the Southern States. It 

 abounds particularly on the river Cape Fear in North Carolina, 

 and upon the Ashley and the Cooper in South Carolina. The 

 marshy borders of creeks and rivers, and all places exposed to 



