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ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. 



PART 111. 



tV. (a.) p.i subjmbescens Pers. Ench., ii. p. 605., Pursh Fl. Amer. 

 Sept. l.,p. 9.; ? F. subvillosa Bosc; has the leaflets petiolate, elliptic- 

 oblong, acuminated, sharply serrated, downy beneath; common 

 petioles glabrous. 

 Description, <.^-c. According to Michaux, 



this tree rises perpendicularly to the height 



of 60 ft., with a trunk 15 in. or IS in. in 



diameter. The length of the annual shoots, 



and the spaces between the buds, are one 



half those of F. americana ; and the tree is of 



smaller size, and slower growth. The leaves 



are from 12 in. to 15 in. long, downy on the 



under surface ; and on insulated trees this 



down becomes red on the approach of au- 



tumn, both on the leaves and shoots of that \>,- 



year; whence, probably, the name of red ash. 



The bark of the trunk is of a deep brown, 



and the heart-wood of a brighter red than 



that of the white ash. This tree is most 



abundant in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and 



Virginia; where it prefers swamps and 



places frequently inundated, or liable to be 



covered with water by copious rains. In 



these situations, it is accompanied by the 



shell-bark hickory (Carya alba), bitter nut 



hickory (Carya amiira), swamp white oak 



(Quercus Prlnus discolor), red maple (yJVer riibrum), sweet gum (Liqui- 



dambar Styraciflua), and tupelo tree (Nyssa bicolor). In the United 



States, the wood of the red ash is applied to the same uses as that of the 



white ash; compared with which, it is somewhat harder, and less elastic. 



In Britain, it can only be considered as an ornamental tree. The specimen 



in the Horticultural Society's Garden was, in 1834, after having been 10 



years planted, 19 ft. high. Price of plants, in the London nurseries. Is. Gd. 



each, and of seeds 4«. per quart ; at BoUwyller, plants are 1 franc each ; and 



at New York, 50 cents. 



2 11. F. (a.) 5ambucifoYia Vahl. The Elder-leaved Ash. 



Identification. Vahl Enum., 1. p. 51. ; Willd. Sp., 4. p. 1099. ; Muhl. Nov. Act. Scrut. Berol., 3. 



p. 393. ; Pursh Fl. Amer. Sept, 1. p. 8.; Don's Mill., 4. p. .54. ; Lodd. Cat, ed. 1836. 

 Synonywes. F. nigra Mocnch ; F. crfspa Hort. ; the black Ash, Water Ash, Amer. 

 Engravings. Michx. N. Amer. Syl., 3. t 122. ; and o\xr figs. 1057. and 1058. 



Spec. Char., Sfc. Leaflets 3 pairs, 3 — 4 in. long, acute at both ends, sessile, 

 ovate-lanceolate, serrated, having the axils of the veins villous beneath. 

 Younf branches green, beset with black dots. Buds brown or blue. 

 Flowers like those of the common ash. (Do}t\s Mill., iv. p. 54.) A tree, 

 30 ft. hich ; a native of North America, from Canada to Carolina. Intro- 

 duced in 1800, and flowering in May. 



Variety. 



5f F. (a.) s. 2 crispa Lodd. Cat., ed. 1836, has the leaves curled. There 



are plants of this variety in the arboretum of Messrs. Loddiges. 



Michaux mentions another sort of black ash, found in Kentucky ; 



but which, he says, he is too imperfectly acquainted witii to be able 



to describe. 

 Description, S^c. The black ash, Michaux says, grows to the height of 60 ft. 

 or 70 ft., with a trunk 2 ft. in diameter. The buds are of a deep blue, and the 

 young shoots are sprinkled with dots of the same colour, which disappear as 

 the season advances. The leaves, at their unfolding, are accompanied by 

 scales, which fall after two or three weeks : they are 12 in. or 15 in. long when 

 fully developed ; and the leaflets are sessile, of a deep green colour, smooth on 



