122 AMERICAN HANDBOOK 



perfection. Seeds should be sown as soon as 

 ripe, on a bed of sandy loam, in a rather 

 moist situation. They will come up in the 

 spring. They should be transplanted into 

 nursery rooms, at least two feet apart, at the 

 end of the first season's growth. All the ashes 

 are amongst the latest to push forth in the 

 spring. 



2. F. EPIPTERA, Wittdenow, which is in- 

 cluded in many of our collections and cata- 

 logues, is, so far as I have been enabled to 

 determine, either the same thing as F. Ameri- 

 cana, L. or is not really with us. 



3. F. EXCELSIOR, Willdenow. Leaflets 

 lanceolate, serrate, sessile. Flowers without 

 petals. English ash. 



This species, though resembling the black 

 ash in its descriptive character, is readily distin- 

 guished at sight. Its leaflets are smaller, and 

 but 4-6 in a leaf. The hue of the foliage is 

 so light as to make a marked distinction. A 

 very fine specimen existed at Bartram till 

 1851, when, being very nearly decayed, it 

 was taken down. There are still several 

 small ones, some exceeding thirty feet high. 



For soil and cultivation see No. 1. 



