140 THE REPORT OF THE No. 19 



once covered the land : sucli as may be seen on the rougher portions of 

 farms, in parts of the Eastern Townships and the New England States. 



The aristocracy, so to speak, among the trees of such wood-lots are the 

 lordly pine, the sturdy hemlock, the stately yellow birch, and the bass- 

 wood beloved of bees. These rise, straight and tall, amid the numerous 

 spruces, balsams, tamaracks, elms, maples, beeches, poplars and balm-of- 

 Gileads, 



Among all these fine and useful trees are others of smaller growth : 

 thorns, hornbeams, amelanchiers, moosemissies, etc. 



Stand with me in such a wood, and see the tall pines, with their spread- 

 ing layers of foliage rising tier above tier; the graceful balsams, like church- 

 spires pointing heavenward; the vase-like contour of the elms. 



Time would fail us to consider the peculiarities and uses of many of 

 the trees — let us observe those of one genus, that of Fraxinus, the Ash. 



Of the six kinds of Ash accredited by Grey to North America, three 

 are found commonly in Canada : 



The White Ash, Fraxinus Americana; 



The Red Ash, Fraxinus pubescens; 



The Black Ash, Fraxinus saTnhucifolia. 



The fruit of each of these is a Samara, or winged seed, and the leaves 

 are compound leaves, and these afford distinguishing features for the three 

 kinds I have mentioned. 



In the White Ash the stalks of the leaflets are smooth and glabrous. 



In the Red, they are softly pubescent. 



In the Black, the leaflets have no stalks — ^they are sessile. 



Again, : — 



iThe seed of the White Ash is winged from the apex only. 



In the Red, the seed is edged on either side; and the edges gradually 

 expand into the wing. 



In the Black, the seed is winged all round. 



These seeds hang in clusters. The children in England call them locks 

 and keys. 



The White Ash is a valuable shade tree. Its symmetrical stem, its 

 graceful contour, and its elegant foliage render it a favorite for the lawn 

 or park. 



Then it is remarkably free from insects. In North America some 500 

 kinds of insects feed upon the oak ; but about 50 onlv feed upon the ash ; 

 and of these very few can be said to be injurious or offensive. 



The wood of the White Ash, on account of its toughness, its close grain, 

 and its freedom from flaws, is valuable for the construction of carriages, 

 farm vehicles and implements. 



The wood of the Black Ash is usefiil for other purposes. Bars of it 

 are well soaked, and pounded with mallets. They can then be rent into fine 

 strips for basket work and bottoming of chairs. 



Let us now turn our thoughts for a few moments to the sentient things 

 around us. 



I dare say you noticed when we entered the wood-lot that n sentinel- 

 crow sounded an alarm — and now a dead silence seems to have fallen on the 

 woodland. Let us sit on this log till the inhabitants of the wood have 

 regained confidence. Meanwhile, I will say a few words about the crows. 



The crows build frequentlv in spruce trees. The dense foliage of these 

 trees hides their nest. T had the curiosity to climb to a nest some years 

 ago; and I was rewarded for my pains, for a strange nest I found it. The 



