GREEN ASH 263 



grown in close stands to produce the best results, although 

 its lower limbs will die as it approaches maturity, even 

 though the tree stands in the open. Its growth is not so 

 rapid as that of the White Ash nor can it be considered 

 a long-lived tree. 



The wood in thrifty trees is moderately strong, heavy, 

 hard, coarse-grained, and liable to be brittle. The heartwood 

 is a light brown, with thick sapwood slightly lighter in 

 color and frequently streaked with yellow. It is difficult to 

 distinguish the wood from that of the White Ash by its 

 general appearance, and manufacturers and dealers may be 

 deceived in it. He who desires a piece of tough, elastic 

 timber is the one who will most likely ascertain which 

 it is. 



As with the White Ash, the pistillate and staminate 

 flowers are borne on separate trees, and the seeds are almost 

 identical in appearance. The same care should be exercised 

 in securing fertile seeds as is necessary for the White Ash, 

 and propagation should be the same ; but as that tree is 

 superior and will grow in nearly all localities where the Red 

 Ash will, it certainly should be chosen in preference. Only 

 in soils too wet for White Ash would good judgment indi- 

 cate its adoption. 



GREEN ASH : Fraxinus lanceolata 



WHETHER Green Ash is a distinct species is an unset- 

 tled question. Professor C. S. Sargent 1 notes that on going 

 westward it is " connected with Red Ash by intermediate 

 forms equally referable to either tree," and this being so, 

 the natural inference would be that it is a modification 

 brought about by soil and climatic conditions, and the 

 probabilities are that such is the case. The principal eco- 

 nomic difference is that Green Ash can better withstand 

 the drier and colder climate of the Northwest. There is 

 little difference in the character of the wood and both are 

 1 Manual of Trees of North America, page 772. 



