12 THEE PLANTER'S MANUAL. 



The flowers of the lindens are special favorites for bees, and the honey 

 thence extracted is classed as of the best quality. It pays to raise them 

 for honey alone; but other commercial values are so great we cannot af- 

 ford to neglect planting extensively our basswood in every part of the state 



OLEACE^E. ASH FAMILY. 



white ash, Fraxinus Americana. 



Common over the state. Frequent on the banks of our rivers and lakes, 

 and on the edges and acclivities of swamps, scattered also on high drained 

 grounds. A fine tree, straight trunk, often undivided to a height of forty 

 feet or more. Bark is deeply furrowed on large stalks, checked into small 

 squares, one to three inches in diameter. Leaves, opposite on their 

 stalks, the green color on their upper surfaces, finely contrasting with the 

 white underneath. 



The cylindrical seeds are about an inch long, gradually flattening into 

 wings slightly notched on the ends. They grow in bunches four or five 

 inches long. Ripe in October. 



In common with all the other ashes, its thriftiness and value are affected 

 by the soil in which it is planted to a remarkable degree. In rich soil its 

 wood is apt to be brittle; is tough and reedy in sandy soil, greatly enhanc- 

 ing its value. When the wood is perfected, it is reddish; sap-wood is 

 white. It is used for carriage shafts, wheel fellies, sledges, wheelbarrows, 

 scythes, and other tool handles, butter boxes and firkins, sieves, wooden 

 bowls, oars, barrels, etc. 



Prof. F. L. Budd, of Ames, Iowa, says : " A grove of ten acres tiiinned 

 to six feet apart, containing 12,000 trees, at twelve years were eight 

 inches in diameter, and thirty-five feet high, the previous thinning paying 

 all expenses of planting and cultivation. Ten feet of the bodies of these 

 trees were worth, for making bent stuff, etc., forty cents each, and the re- 

 maining top ten cents, making a total of $6,000 as the profit of ten acres in 

 twelve years, or a yearly profit of $50 per acre." 



J. Jay Smith reports that the leaves and branches of the white ash "are 

 said to be poisonous to serpents and the leaf to cure their bite. An ash leaf 

 rubbed upon the swellings caused by mosquitoes removes the itching and 

 soreness immediately." 



red ash, F. puhescens. 



In the woodland regions it is quite extensive; "velvety shoots and leaf 

 stalks; fruit flattish, two-edged seed-bearing body acute at the base, the 

 edges gradually dilated into lance-linear or oblanceolate wing." Leaves 

 twelve to fifteen inches long. Wood esteemed equal that of the White Ash. 



