THE ASH-LEAVED MArLE AND THE ASHES. 245 



West.* It rarely attains a height of more than 30 or 

 35 feet. Its beautiful deep-green leaves, nearly the 

 same color on either side, make it a handsome and 

 ornamental tree deserving more extensive cultivation, 

 partic- 

 ularly 



as it is a rap 

 id grower. In 

 the "Western cit- 

 ies it is common in 

 streets and parks. 



Blue Ash. Tne Dme 



Fraxinus ash is distin- 



y gmsned by its 



rather square branchlets, at 



least on young and vigorous 



shoots, so says Gray ; but I 



do not find that the average 



blue ash tree has this marked 



characteristic ; of course, this is due to the fact that 



the older branchlets have become round. The blue 



ash is a large Western species which grows from 60 



to 70 feet, and sometimes 100 or even 120 feet high, 



* East of the Mississippi River the red and green ashes grow 

 side by side, and retain their individual character; but in the 

 West they are connected by intermediate forms which can be re- 

 ferred to one as well as the other. Silva of North America, C. S. 

 Sargent, 



Blue Ash, with seed twisted 

 one quarter of the waj 

 around. 



