SILVICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS 41 



duces very poorly from seed and is forced to depend on root 

 suckers. 



Its smooth, heavy bark is a good fire resister, and it has no 

 serious enemies. The lumber is used for heavy planking, for 

 tool handles, etc., but is of relatively low value, and the tree will 

 never hold an important position in forestry operations. 



WHITE ASH (Fraxinus Americana). 



The white ash occurs throughout the eastern half of the 

 country, west into Nebraska and Texas, and south into Georgia 

 and Mississippi. In New England scattered specimens are 

 found in all sections, but it is most common in the northern 

 hardwood forests. 



The white ash usually occurs as individuals mixed with other 

 trees, seldom forming a large proportion of the stand. It prefers 

 a moist loam soil and is almost never found on dry, sandy sites. 

 It also requires considerable light, and, when favored with good 

 light and soil, makes a fairly rapid growth. 



The ash seeds nearly every fall, but some years more heavily 

 than others. The seed has a long wing and is carried consider- 

 able distances by the wind. It germinates best on a mineral 

 soil rich in humus, and where such conditions prevail near seed 

 trees reproduction is usually good, although never so plentiful 

 as with some species, as birch and maple. 



The ash is frequently covered with the oyster-shell bark 

 louse, but has no serious enemies and investigation indicates that 

 it is not attacked by the gipsy moth. The bark is not very thick 

 and consequently the trunk is seriously injured by ground fires. 



Ash lumber has a high value for carriage manufacture, scythe 

 snathes, tennis racquets, and other special uses requiring bending 

 qualities. 



On account of its high value and its rapid growth, the white 

 ash is the best deciduous tree of New England to cultivate and 

 should be especially favored by the forester. 



