246 BRITISH FOREST TREES 



a hundred years, by which time it has already assumed 

 good proportions for the technical purposes to which its 

 timber is suited. 



From the fortieth to the fiftieth year onwards, the ash 

 yields, almost annually, large quantities of fruit or * keys ' ; 

 about 7,000 of the seeds are contained in one pound. They 

 possess a germinative capacity of about 65 to 70 per cent., 

 which they retain for one to three years. Seed sown at any 

 time does not usually come up till the second spring after 

 the time of sowing. 



The ash possesses strong reproductive power, coppices 

 freely, and under favourable circumstances sends out suckers 

 from the roots as well as vigorous shoots from the stool ; 

 easy replacement of injured shoots renders it suitable for 

 pollarding. 



Liability to Suffer from External Dangers. In respect to 

 frost, the ash stands on about the same level as the beech, 

 but as it prefers the moister, low-lying localities it is exposed 

 to greater dangers during the youthful period of growth ; 

 nurses are therefore desirable. On loftier situations the 

 ash is backward in breaking into leaf, hence many of the 

 dangers of late frosts are obviated. Red-deer, roe, and 

 cattle are all inimical when the ash is young ; but, on the 

 other hand, it soon outstrips weeds in growth, and easily gets 

 beyond reach of cattle, whilst later on it has little to fear 

 from winds and storms. With its deep root-system, light 

 foliage, and tough, elastic wood, it stands in little danger of 

 being either thrown or broken by the wind. 



The ash is comparatively exempt from attacks of insects, 

 although Lytta vesicatoria and Pachytylus migratorius destroy 

 the foliage, whilst species of Hylesinus (especially H.fraxini] 

 and Scolytus in their larval stage injure the cambium and 

 sap-wood, and wood-lice, Chermts fraxini and Apkis fraxini, 

 destroy the bark. The omnivorous Melolontha also spares 



