AMERICAN FOREST TREES 411 



yearly cut of this species are, ranging downward in the order named: 

 Arkansas, Ohio, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, and Tennessee. 



The uses of white ash are so numerous that they can be presented 

 only in classes. It goes into almost every wood-using industry, but in 

 different sections of country certain uses lead. Thus in Illinois the mak- 

 ers of butter tabs take more of it than any other industry ; in Michigan 

 automobiles lead, and in Arkansas the handle factories are largest 

 buyers; in Louisiana boat oars consume most; in Alabama and Missouri 

 car construction is in the lead; in Texas boxes and crates; in North 

 Carolina wagons; in Kentucky handles; in Maryland musical instru- 

 ments; and in Massachusetts furniture. The utilization of ash in these 

 states, scattered over the eastern half of the United States, indicates 

 fairly well the wood's most important lines of usefulness. A con- 

 siderable quantity is made into flooring and interior finish. It is 

 classed among sanitary woods, that is, it does not stain or taint food 

 products by contact. 



The total quantity of merchantable white ash in the country is 

 not known, but there is still enough to meet demand, and the 

 extent of the tree's range makes supplies convenient in nearly all manu- 

 facturing states. The species grows rather rapidly, and trees a hundred 

 or a hundred and fifty years old yield logs of good size. 



TEXAS ASH (Fraxinus texensis) has been regarded by some as a 

 variety of white ash, while others, including Sudworth and Sargent, 

 consider it a distinct species. It is often called mountain ash where it 

 occurs among the mountains of western Texas. Its range lies wholly in 

 that state, and extends from the vicinity of Dallas to the valley of Devil's 

 river. The compound leaves are smaller than those of white ash, and 

 are usually composed of five leaflets. The winged seeds ripen in May, 

 and are an inch or less in length. The largest trees are fifty feet high 

 and two or three in diameter; but generally the trees are much smaller. 

 The wood is strong, heavy, and hard. The annual rings are marked by 

 one or more rows of open ducts, and the medullary rays are inconspicu- 

 ous. The heartwood is light brown, the sapwood lighter. This ash is 

 employed within its range for various purposes, but it is not of sufficient 

 abundance to constitute an important commodity. In market it is not 

 distinguished from white ash. 



GREGG ASH (Fraxinus greggii) has some peculiarities which make 

 it worthy of mention as one of the minor species. Its range is in the 

 dry mountains of western Texas where a number of ashes seem to have 

 put in an appearance as members of the thinly-peopled vegetable king- 

 dom of that region. The compound leaves of Gregg ash are seldom 

 three inches long, and the leaflets are often half an inch long and less 



