THE ASH. 69 



Phillips, specking of the value of Ash -timber, says: 

 " In remote times, when this island was overrun with 

 woods, timber-trees were principally valued for the food 

 which they yielded to herds of swine ; and thus, by the 

 laws of Howel Dda, the price of an Ash was rated at 4f/., 

 while an Oak or a Beech was put at 120</. At the pre- 

 sent time, Ash-timber meets with as ready a sale, and 

 brings nearly as high a price, as the best Oak ; and al- 

 though we do not so frequently meet with large Ash-trees 

 as we do with large Oaks and Elms, yet it will be seen that 

 the natural size of the tree is nearly the same. But as it 

 grows so much more rapidly than the Oak, so will it sooner 

 decay than that tree, if not felled at maturity. It is ob- 

 served, that when the woodpeckers are seen tapping these 

 trees, they ought to be cut, as these birds never make holes 

 in the Ash until it is on the decay." 



I must not omit to mention the parent of all the "Weep- 

 ing Ashes," which, if not approaching in beauty the normal 

 condition of the tree, are so frequently employed to decorate 

 suburban gardens. This singular tree was discovered about 

 the middle of the last century in a field belonging to the 

 Vicar of Gamlingay, near Wimpole, in Cambridgeshire. 

 It was then a very old tree, and some of its progeny have 

 attained the age of sixty years. Grafts (for by means of 

 them only is it propagated) have been carried to France, 

 Germany, and even to America. 



Another variety of the Ash (Frdxinus licterophylla) is 

 occasionally to be met with, bearing simple leaves ; but is 

 only remarkable for wanting the graceful lightness of foliage 

 which characterises the common Ash. This, too, is in- 

 creased by grafting, but is altogether unworthy of being 

 encouraged. Some botanists consider this, but without 

 sufficient grounds, to be a distinct species. 



