1086 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



1) 



A large portion of the ash supply of the country goes 

 to the farm in one form or anotiur. The amount nia.ic 

 into agricultural machinery, tools, and impleniems is 

 large, as is apparent from a list of the more common 

 articles of this class ; cornhuskers, cornshellers, hay 

 p.rcsses, shredders, manure spreaders, grain binders, 

 j)lo\vs, hay stockers, soil rollers, potato diggers, threshing 

 in.'ichines, and feed cutters. Some of these are made 

 partly and others almost wholly 

 of ash. 



It is a great handle wood. Some 

 of the handles belong to farm 

 tools, others do not ; l)ut in al! 

 cnses the wood is employed for 

 Iiandles because it is stiff and very 

 strong. The preference which 

 Kuropean farmers and gardeners 

 show for American tools is said 

 to be due in part to the excellent 

 ash so generally used. Shovels 

 and rakes are cited as particular 

 cases. Other tools which are gen- 

 erally equipped with ash handles 

 are pitchforks, hoes, spades and 

 scoops. The same wood is often 

 employed as handles for ice hooks, 



PH cant hooks, brooms, mops and 



Br whips. 



HL Xotwithstanding the almost uni- 



versal presence of mowing ma- 



chines on American farms, scythes 

 are as numerous as ever, and the 

 !i ,ndle or snath is generally made 

 of ash, as it has always been. The 

 l)!anks of which snaths are made 



are first split to insure against cros.sgrain, then steamed, 

 and bent to the desired form. A century ago it was cus- 

 tomary to use them without bending, and such are still in 

 use in some localities, particularly in the mountains of 

 North Carolina and among the descendants of French 

 settlers in Louisiana. It is claimed that the largest as!i 

 tree on record was manufactured into scythe snaths. 



baskets used by farmers and gardeners for grain, 

 fruit and truck are often 

 made of ash, particularly 

 the hoops or bands which 

 strengthen the thin splits 

 constituting the woven 

 frame of the basket. 

 Singletrees, whiffletrees, 

 eveners, and neckyokes 

 are products made from 

 even-grained ash. 



The demand for ash 

 in the boat industry ha? 

 increased in recent years, 

 though for a long time 

 the use of the wood had 

 been large. In Louisiana 

 and Arkansas millions of 

 feet of the best ash 

 found in the primeval 

 forests are yearly man- 

 ufactured into boat oari. 

 This commodity goes <o 

 all parts of the civilized 

 world. For light oa^..; 

 and paddles, spruce is 

 satisfactory, but for the 

 heavier, stronger artic!<% 



Courtesy A. G. Stalding 

 r Brothers. 



BASEBALL BAT MADK 

 OF WHITE ASH 



Courtesy American fork & Hoc Comf>ay. 



WIIITK ASH HANDLES 



Owing to its strcnglh and toiiKliness, white ash is particularly valuable 

 for the manufacture of farm and garden tools. 



Courtesy American Fork & Hoe Company. 



SPADE HANDLE MADE OF 

 WHITE ASH 



