JASMINACE^. 57 



on petioles shorter than the lamina, ovate or sub-rhomboidal, 

 coarsely serrate or laciniate. The samara is rather shorter than in 

 the ordinary form, and appears to have the seed generally abortive. 



Taller or Common Ash. 



French, Frene eleve. German, Hohe Esche. 



If the Oak be regarded as the king of forest trees, the Ash may fairly be called 

 their queen, and Gilpin terms it the "Venus of the Woods." In his "Forest 

 Scenery " he says " the Ash cai-ries its principal stem higher than the Oak, and rises 

 in an easy flowing line. But its chief beauty consists in the lightness of its whole 

 appearance. Its branches at first keep close to the trunk and form acute angles with 

 it; but as they begin to lengthen, they generally take an easy sweep, and the looseness 

 of the leaves corresponding with the lightness of the spray, the whole forms an 

 elegant depending foliage. Nothing can have a better effect than an old Ash hanging 

 from the corner of a wood and bringing off the heaviness of the other foliage with its 

 loose pendent branches. And yet in some soils I have seen the Ash lose much of its 

 beauty in the decline of age ; its foliage becomes rare and meagre, and its branches, 

 instead of hanging loosely, often start away in disagreeable forms. In short, the Ash 

 often loses that grandeur and beauty in old age, which the generality of trees, and 

 particularly the Oak, preserve till a late period of their existence. The Ash grows 

 best in a moderately rich soil, where there is good drainage. In wet land it is liable 

 to become decayed in the inner part of the trunk, and though it will grow fast for 

 some years, soon ceases to flourish. On poor land its progress is slow, but it will 

 often form timber of considerable size in such situations, especially where the subsoil 

 is calcareous." It is in mountain scenery that the Ash appears to peculiar advantage, 

 waving its slender branches over some precipice, which just affords it soil enough for 

 its footing, or springing between the crevices of rocks, a happy emblem of the hardy 

 spirit that will not be subdued by fortune's scantiness. It is likewise a lovely object 

 by the side of some crystal stream, bending. Narcissus like, over the reflection of 

 its own charms. The largest Ash-tree in this country stands in Woburn Park, 

 the seat of the Duke of Bedford. It is 90 feet high from the ground to the 

 top of its branches, and the stem alone is 28 feet. It is 23 feet 6 inches in cir- 

 cumference on the ground, 20 feet at 1 foot, and 15 feet 3 inches at 3 feet from the 

 ground. The circumference" of its branches is 113 feet, and the measurable timber in 

 the body of the tree is 343 feet, making altogether 872 feet of timber. Mr. Loudon, 

 in his interesting statistics as to the size and age of trees in his " Arboretum," gives 

 several higher Ash-trees than this one, but none that contain so great a bulk of 

 timber. An Ash-tree, we believe, still stands in the parish of Horton, in Dorsetshire, 

 known as the " Monmouth Ash," at the foot of which the Duke of Monmouth took 

 refuge when flying from his enemies after the disastrous battle of Sedgemoor. It is 

 propped up on all sides now, to preserve the trunk from falling. The Ash was long 

 held in reverence for the cure of disease. It was regarded with superstitious awe by 

 most of the early European races. In the Scandinavian mythology, the Ash Ydrasil 

 formed the canopy under which the ^sir met daily to deliberate and administer 

 justice to the universe. Its branches are there said to extend themselves beyond the 

 remotest corners of the heavens, they overshadow the surface of the earth, and 

 penetrate to the infernal regions. An eagle rests on its summit to observe everything 

 that passes ; to whom a squirrel constantly ascends and descends to report those 



VOL. VI. I 



