388 



ASH TREE. 



see trees, growing on rocks, extending their roots, 

 like sensitive beings, searching for moisture ; if this 

 is not obtained sufficiently, a sickly foliage and 

 impoverished growth point out the condition of the 

 plant. 



The notable exertions which vegetables occa- 

 sionally make to obtain nutriment may be instanced 

 by the following rude drawing of an ash, a 

 tree which, in consequence of the profusion of its 

 seed, we find more often scattered in wild and sin- 

 gular places than any other not propagated by 

 the agency of birds, or conveyed by the winds. 

 This one had originally been rooted in the earth, 

 upon the top of a wall, but nourishment being re- 

 quired beyond what was supplied by the precarious 

 moisture of the scanty soil, its roots proceeded 

 downwards, winding their way through the crevices 



