107 



Careful sfun-h should he uiiuU- for these exceplioual forms iii various loiali- 

 ties, and in any vase whert' they are noted prompt report, aeeomjianied l)v verined 

 specimens, sliould be jna<le. 



Thk K.W'ciK OK THK Hi. IK Asii, Fhaxints QiAi)RAX(U'LATA. By W p. 

 Shannon. 



In dray's Manual of Hotany, edition of 1857, we have jj^iveu as the rauyt of 

 the blue ash, Ohio and Michigan to Illinois and Kentucky. This is nearly equiv- 

 alent to saying that Indiana is the <*enter of the blue ash region. Let us look 

 farther. In the 1S(!8 edition of (iray's Manual we find the range given as Ohio 

 to Wisconsin, Illinois and Kentucky. Again, in the edition of 1887, it is, Ohio to 

 Michigan and Minnesota, south to Tennessee. In Wood's Botany, 1868, we tind, 

 Ohio to Tennessee and Iowa. In Sargent's Forest Trees of North America we 

 find, Michigan and Wisconsin, south to northeiii Alabama. In Apgai's Tix > - of 

 the Northern United States we tind, Wisconsin to Ohio and Kentucky. 



Putting together all of these definitions of the range of the blue ash wl ■ nr.- 

 cluile that in going east from Indiana the tree disappears liefore we get tlircnigli 

 <.)hio ; in going north it disappears before we gel through Michigan; in g'Ung 

 northwest we Hnd it beyond Illinois in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa, and that 

 it is v-ery rare in Iowa and ^linnesota ; in going southwest it disappeai's sunu- 

 where in Illinois; in going south it beciomes rare in Tennessee and disappears in 

 northern Alabama. When we take into consideration the great prairie> of 

 Illinois, we see that Indiana is yet the center nf the rangi' of the lihie ash. There 

 is a northwestern extension around the prairie region througli Michigan and 

 Wisconsin to Minnesota and Iowa, and a southern extension through Kentucky 

 and Tennessee to Alabama. 



It would be difficult to work out the barriers that hold this tree clo~e to 

 Indiana. The purpose of this paper is this, to call attention to the fact that if 

 any forest tree deserves to l)e called the ''Indiana tree" it is tlie blue ash. Its 

 range, when compai'ed with that of other trees, is a small spot, and Indiana i- the 

 center of this spot. If this is an Indiana tree we would like to know its character 

 when compared with other trees. It is always characterizetl as growing in rit;h 

 soil. When a boy I hearil my father say that he thought the blue ash the most 

 beautiful tree of the forest. Fre([ueutly on looking at a large blue ash, I have 

 thought of the truth of his judgment. From its light colored bark, with, some- 

 times, an imaginary blue tinge, and long straight stem, it contrastetl strongly 

 with «)ther trees, so that the lilne ash trees were bright streaks in the foiist. 



