DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 113 



Two of the varieties of P. occidentalis are sometimes culti- 

 vated, the chief of which is the Maple-leaved plane, (P. O. 

 acerifolia.) 



The Ash Tree. Fraxinus. 



Nat. Ord. Oleacese. Lin. Syst. Polygamia, Dicscia. 



The name of the ash, one of the finest and most useful 

 of forest trees, is probably derived from the Celtic asc, a 

 pike, — as its wood was formerly in common use for spears 

 and other weapons. Homer informs us that Achilles was 

 slain with an ashen spear. In modern times, the wood is in 

 universal use for the various implements of husbandry, for 

 the different purposes of the wheelright and carriage-maker, 

 and in short, for all purposes where great strength and elas- 

 ticity are required ; for in these qualities the ash is second to 

 no tree in the forest, the hickory alone excepted. The ash 

 is a large and lofty tree, growing, when surrounded by other 

 trees, sixty or seventy feet high, and three or more in diame- 

 ter. When exposed on all sides, it forms a fine, round, com- 

 pact head of loose, pinnated, light green foliage, and is one 

 of the most vigorous growers among the hard-wooded trees. 

 The American species of ash are found in the greatest luxu- 

 riance and beauty on the banks and margins of rivers, where 

 the soil is partially dry, yet where the roots can easily pene- 

 trate down to the moisture. The European ash is remarka- 

 ble for its hardy nature, being often found in great vigour 

 on steep rocky hills, and amid crevices where most other 

 trees flourish badly. Southey alludes to this in the following 

 lines : 



"Gray as the stone to which it clung, half root, 

 Half trunk, the young ash rises from the rock." 



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