BLACK ASH 



(Fraxinus Nigra) 



WHEN George Washington was a surveyor locating land on the 

 upper waters of the Potomac river, and westward on the Kanawha 

 and Ohio rivers, he always spoke of this ash as "hoop tree" when he 

 marked it with two or with three "hacks," depending upon whether 

 it designated a "corner" or a "line," or a "pointer" in the system of 

 surveying then in use. Trees were used then as landmarks, and were 

 duly recorded in the surveyor's field notes, and were described in the 

 deeds when the title to the land passed from one party to another. It 

 was not unusual, if subsequent litigation came up, to cut blocks from 

 marked trees to prove that such a corner was at such a place. The 

 "hacks" or ax marks, were sometimes healed over and invisible at the 

 bark, but were found deep in the wood. The rings of growth covering 

 the ax marks afforded an admissible record of the years that had passed 

 since the survey was made. The selection of the black ash as a land- 

 mark was one of the few instances in which Washington showed poor 

 judgment; because it is a tree of short life, and might be expected to die 

 before a great many years. 



The name hoop ash is applied to this tree yet. It has always been 

 good material for barrel hoops, because it splits into thin pieces, and is 

 sufficiently tough. It is known as basket ash for the same reason. The 

 New England Indians were making fish baskets of it when the first 

 white people landed on those shores, and settlers speedily learned the 

 art from the children of the wilderness. Those untutored savages 

 knew little of wood technology, but they were able to take advantage of a 

 peculiarity in the structure of black ash wood, which the white man's 

 microscope has revealed to him. The Indians doubtless discovered it 

 accidentally. The springwood in the annual ring of black ash is made 

 up of large pores, crowded so closely together that there is really very 

 little actual wood substance there. In other woods, the springwood is 

 chiefly air spaces. The result is, that billets of black ash are easily 

 separated into thin strips, the cleavage following the weak lines of spring- 

 wood. A little beating and bending causes the annual rings to fall apart. 

 In some way the Indians found that out, and utilized their knowledge in 

 manufacturing baskets in which to carry fish, acorns, hickory nuts, and 

 other forest and water commodities. 



The white people extended the scope of application to include 

 chairs and other furniture in which splits are manipulated. It is worthy 

 of note that Indians made a similar discovery with northern white cedar 



415 



