TREES OF AMERICA. 196 



He has provided for our comforts and necessi- 

 ties. I can tell you of another tree that is 

 of use onlv in its leaves. It is called the 

 sweet-leafj and is common in the Southern 

 and Western States, particularly in those 

 parts where the soil is very poor and sandy, 

 and produces no grass : the leaves of the 

 sweet-leaf supply its place. They have a 

 sugary taste, and the horses and cattle devour 

 them very eagerly. Besides this, when they 

 are dry, they make a beautiful yellow die, 

 and the country people are glad to get them 

 to colour their cotton and wool. But now I 

 will tell you about some trees that are far 

 more useful. The ashes. 



" Except the oak, there is probably no tree 

 either in Europe or America more extensively 

 useful than the ash. The principal qualities 

 of the wood are strength and toughness. 

 There are a great many varieties, but the 

 dilferences between many of them are so 

 slight as not to be worth noticing, and there- 

 fore I shall only describe to you the six prin- 

 cipal kinds. The first and best of them all 

 is the white ash; this kind prefers a cold 

 climate, and is common in the Northern 

 States and Canada ; it has its name from 



