THE OTHER HARDWOODS 155 



Ash is in all respects a hardy tree, though it is 

 very apt to lose the terminal buds of its shoots. 

 This forces on it a typically-forked habit of 

 growth, favourable to the production of prettily- 

 grained furniture wood, but spoiling the bole for 

 ordinary technical purposes. It is a very common 

 tree in hedgerows, though it does great damage 

 in the fields by sending out long surface-roots. 

 It accommodates itself to most soils and situa- 

 tions not too high-lying and exposed, but its 

 most vigorous growth and its best development 

 are attained on a fresh, deep, light, loamy soil, 

 and in soils of a somewhat limy description. On 

 heavy clay land or dry sandy soil it often grows 

 but indifferently, and at an early age shows signs 

 that the situation is not favourable to it. Having 

 a high rate of transpiration through the foliage, 

 it requires to draw a considerable quantity of 

 moisture from the soil, and in dry localities it 

 is one of the first trees to shed its leaves in early 

 autumn. Hence moist situations suit the ash, 

 although not such places as permit moisture to 

 collect and stagnate in the subsoil. 



The ash does not, like the elm, attain any great 

 longevity. Its marketable maturity in woodlands 



