12 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



AMERICAN FOREST TREES. 



White Ash. 



■ ia. — Linn. 



The i - this valuable com- 



mercial tree is from Nova Scotia and New- 

 foundland south to Florida; westward to 

 Ontario and northern Minnesota: through 

 eastern Nebraska. Kansas and Indian Terri- 

 tory, to the Trinity River in Texas. Through- 

 out most of this region it is known 

 as white ash ; but merely as ash in 

 Arkansas. Cowa, Illinois, Wisconsin. 

 Missouri and Minnesota; in Iowa it 

 is often .ailed American ash; cane 

 ash in Alabama. Mississippi and 

 Louisiana; mountain ash in 

 foundland ; f rane-f rone in Quebec ; 

 ish and Quebec ash 

 in England. 



White ash is of the olive family. 

 It thrives best in low, moist soil, 

 but also grows to large size in the 

 deep coves of the southern Appa- 

 lachian range, at an altitude of well 

 toward 3,000 feet. It does not grow 

 in forests but is usually found in 

 clumps intermingled with other va- 

 - of hardwoods. It grows rap- 

 idly, often reaching its maximum 

 development within thirty years 

 after the seed has been planted. 

 - to a height of from 

 forty to one hundred ami twenty 

 feet, witli a diameter of three to 

 four feet. In shape it is rounded, 

 the lower branches slightly drooping, 

 the remainder straight and slim, ex- 

 tending upward, giving the tree a 

 trim and stately aspect. 



The bark of the tall, heavy trunk 

 is a light brownish grey, furrowed, 

 but becoming smoother toward and 

 on the branches: young shoots ap- 

 peai glossy and marked with light 

 dots. The leaf buds are rust-col- 

 ored, glabrous and grow in elon- 

 gated panicles. The leaf is com- 

 pound, being composed of from five 

 to nine leaflets, usually seven. The 

 whole leaf is about ten inches long; 

 deep green and smooth above ; pale, 

 silvery green below and pubescent, 

 becoming glabrous at maturity ex- 

 cept on the whitish under ribs. The 

 flowers are dioecious and appear be- 

 fore the leaves ; staminate ones 

 contain three stamens with short 

 filaments and conspicuous anthers; 

 pistillate ones have their ovaries extended 

 into a slender style, and have a purple, two- 

 lobed, spreading stigma. The fruit is dry, 

 compound, winged, hanging on slender ped- 

 icels in loose clusters; wings lanceolate and 

 tapering to a point. 



The foliage of the ash is abundant and 

 ; it is remarkably free from the depre- 

 dations of worms and insects. The leaves 



TWELFTH PAPER. 



unfold early in the spring, ami at tin first 

 approach of autumn turn a soft yellow, 

 •1 with green, soon blackening and fall- 

 ing to the ground; while the dainty little 

 wing. ' remain on the nude 



branches until midw I 



The entire ash family, of which whiti 

 is the higl is widely distributed ovei 



TYPICAL WHITE ash GROWTH, MOUNTAINS OF 



1 i:\ T! NNESSBB. 



the temperate regions of the northern hem- 

 isphere and occurs in the tropics on the 

 island, of Cuba in occasional specimens. In 

 uercial regard the tree has occupied a 

 ion second only to that of oak. Our 

 Teutonic forefathers relied upon its wood 

 for boats and weapons. The tree is often 

 associated with oak in country proverbs. 

 In European countries the ashes are utilized 



chieffj for ornamental purposes, but in the 

 n garded, aud espe- 

 cially white ash, as among the highest types 

 of wood used for commercial purposes. 



Ish and oak wood e each other in 



that there are bands of open pores in both 



woods, but the pith rays of the ash are thin- 



oer ami 1. >s discernible. Ash is a coarser 



wood and less attractive save in 



color ; easier to work ; is tough, 



• •l:i -t io and considerably lighter than 

 oak. It seasons easily and well, 

 but is not a lasting wood when ex- 



d to the weather. 

 White ash trees growing after 

 the cutting of the virgin forest, 

 known as second growth ash, are 

 tougher and more pliable, but not 

 necessarily stronger. Although not 

 relied upon for out-of-door con- 

 struction, ash is one of the most 

 important of the cheaper cabinet 

 woods, and is used in house finish- 

 furnitnre, wagon and carriage 

 making, boat building, for oars and 

 similar work. Of late it has been 

 used very extensively by house join- 



ind cabinet makers in place of 



• ak, and clever finishers, by the use 

 of camel-hair brushes and white 

 stains, can produce such a remark- 

 able resemblance to oak wainscot 

 that even the connoisseur is some- 

 times puzzled to tell the genuine 

 from the imitation, while the un- 

 suspecting purchaser of furniture is 

 often completely deceived. 



There are thirty known species 

 of the genus FrAiinus of which one- 

 half inhabit North America. The 

 chief sources of supply of white ash 

 at the present time are West Vir- 

 ginia, Kentucky. Tennessee, western 

 North Carolina, northern Alabama, 

 Mississippi and Louisiana, and to 

 some extent that territory imme- 

 diately west of the area named. 



The recorded dry weight of white 

 nsh is from thirty-seven to fifty- 

 two pounds per cubic foot. It has 

 neither taste nor smell. The grain 

 of the wood is very coarse and open 

 in regular bands. The surface is 

 bright and often lustrous, with a 

 sort of flinty, natural polish on the 

 denser bands when dressed. The 

 color of the heart wood is brown- 

 ish or light reddish, and is well defined 

 from the nearly white sap wood, which 

 predominates in the growth, and with which 

 the average user is more familiar than with 

 the heart wood. The rings of growth are 

 very prominent, the boundary being a nar- 

 row line of dense autumn wood, accompanied 

 by the conspicuous ring of pores. The bark 

 corky, about a half inch in thickness in 



EAST 



