222 WISCONSIN AGRICULTUEE. 



etc., for chairs, wooden bowls, hoops, staves, sap-troughs, blocks, 

 pins, pump-boxes, hand-spikes, etc, for ship building, and es- 

 pecially for oars. No other wood is so valuable for oars, large 

 numbers of which are annually made and sent down to the sea 

 from the forests in the interior. The wood is quite soft when 

 jfirst cut, and easily worked, but becomes hard when dry and 

 seasoned. It takes its name of White Ash from the light color 

 of the wood. From the rapidity of its growth the annual rings or 

 layers of wood arc of unusual thickness. The tree grows straight 

 and tall, the grain even, so as to split readily into straight rails. 



It is reported that an Ash leaf rubbed upon swellings caused 

 by the bite of mosquitoes, removes the itching and soreness im- 

 mediately. The same effect is produced on the poison occasioned 

 by the sting of the honey bee. It is also stated that the rattle- 

 snake will not approach the place where the White Ash grows; 

 that a branch, with its leaves, is a sure protection against that 

 poisonous reptile; and that weeds and grain will scarcely grow 

 in its shade. But these assertions require confirmation. 



The flowers of the White Ash come out in May, and the cu- 

 rious-looking fruit is ripe in July. For ornamental purposes the 

 Ash is not a favorite ; for though when young it assumes a beau- 

 tiful form, age will soon break its charms; and one writer rec- 

 ommends that it be planted only in some inconspicuous corner 

 among other trees. 



Downing considered the highest and most characteristic beauty 

 of the W hite Ash to be the coloring which its leaves put on in 

 autumn, when it can often be distinguished from the surround- 

 ing trees for four or five miles, by the peculiar and beautiful 

 deep brownish purple of its fine mass of foliage. The color, 

 though not lively, is so full and rich as to produce the most 

 pleasing harmony with the bright yellows and reds of the other 

 deciduous trees, and the deep green of the pines and cedars. 



The figure represents a leaf of one-fourth the size of nature, 

 and the fruit of the full size. 



20. Fraxinus samhucifolia, of Lamarck. — Black Ash. 



The Black Ash usually grows in swamps or very wet places. 

 It may be distinguished from the White Ash by the greater 



