Chapter IV 



THE ASHES 



Family Oleaceae 



IN winter there is little to attract us in ash 

 trees beyond a certain bold strength of 

 trunk and limb. There is no grace or 

 delicacy whatever in the branches, the twigs 

 are coarsely moulded, and the buds are thick 

 and leathery. The popular prejudice existing 

 against ash trees in summer, when the contrast 

 of their light foliage and heavy trunks makes 

 it less deserved, is fully warranted in winter ; 

 but if the ash is ugly, the wood of few trees is 

 as generally useful, and its literary history 

 dates back to the " Odyssey " and to the Eddas 

 of Norse mythology. 



The generic name, Fraxinus, comes from the 

 Latin phraxis (separation), and probably alludes 

 to the wood of the European species which 

 splits easily. There are about fifteen different 

 species in the United States, three of which 

 are found commonly in New England. The 



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