280 



NA TURE-STUD Y RE VIEW 



[16:7— Oct., 1920 



The Indian had no trouble in recognizing the ash in the forest. 

 Its pattern against the sky is so characteristic as to be distinguished 

 easily at considerable distance. The twigs are few, stout and in 

 pairs that extend outward and upward with a sturdiness not even 

 approached by other trees. There is no great mass of twigs 

 produced to be starved in numbers after a year or two. In the 

 open, the tree forms an oval outline; but in the forest, the trunk 

 is long, straight with a pyramidal crown. The bark is grayish 



brown and finely fissured 

 in such even diamond 

 shaped areas as to 

 resemble smocking. 

 There is nothing untidy 

 or neglected-looking 

 about this tree from its 

 tipmost bud down to the 

 turf at its base. The 

 branches are a smooth 

 brownish gray with twigs 

 that are a soft gray often 

 with a delicate bloom on 

 them. They are usually 

 long between the nodes 

 and slightly flattened at 

 the nodes. 



The buds are opposite, 



brown and ovate and sit 



like tiny dumpy, brown 



gnomes in round brown 



velvet hoods above the 



large semi-circular leaf -scars that are notched at the top. Usually 



there are three buds at the end of the twig; the terminal bud in 



the middle is the largest bud on the twig. 



Spring time is surely here when the ash buds open. One may 

 often fear the ash is dead since it is so slow in responding to 

 Spring's call. A prudent tree is this one, it waits until spring is 

 really here before uncovering its dainty, fragile, glisteny new 

 leaves. 



"O laggard still, though other trees 

 Have donned their vernal liveries, 



Bole of white ash showing the beautiful bark. 

 Photo by Ralph Curtis. 



