490 



THE NATURE BOOK 



the walnut ; they comprise from two to 

 six pairs of leaflets, with a single terminal 

 one. This subdi\'ision of large lea\'es into 

 leaflets on several of our 

 trees has arisen from the 

 necessity to reduce the 

 strain caused by wind 

 pressure, and in avoidance 

 of rending and breaking. 

 Each leaflet, attached 

 usually without stalk to 

 the side of the extended 

 midrib, is a long oval, 

 pointed at both ends, 

 sharply at the apex. It 

 is thin and smooth in tex- 

 ture. Its margin is irre- 

 gular 1 y toothed. The 

 terminal leaflet is largest, 

 and each several pair of 

 leaflets beneath shows a 

 gradual diminution. The 

 main midrib is channelled 

 on the upper surface, as 

 is the leaf-stalk, which 

 broadens at the base, 

 partly enclosing, as if for 

 protection, the young new 

 bud. In autumn the leaf- 

 lets often fall separately, 

 leaving stalk and midrib 

 to faU later. 



The flowers, which grow 

 out from beneath the as 

 yet unopened buds, form 

 mossy clusters of a ruddy 

 purple colour. Though 

 without petals, they are very conspicuous 

 on the leafless twigs. Normally each 

 flower of the cluster is complete, having 

 two stamens and a flask-shaped pistil 

 with two stigmas. As with the Elms, 

 these stigmas mature first, so that 

 what pollen reaches them comes carried 



■WINTER TWIG 

 OF THE ASH. 



RESTING BUD 

 (ENLARGED) OF 

 THE ASH. 



by the wind, from the stamens of more 

 forward flowers. But there is great 

 indeterminateness as to character in the 

 flowers of the Ash. In 

 some are stamens that 

 fail to develop ; in 

 others the stigmas are 

 absent. Some branches 

 — and, indeed, some 

 trees — have onh' in- 

 complete flowers of 

 one kind or the other, 

 and these are said to 

 vary also from year 

 to year. The flowers 

 of the Ash are evi- 

 dently in process of 

 transition, and the 

 problems in\-olved are 

 of special interest. 

 The reader may here be referred to the 

 account of these given b}^ Dr. Groom in 

 " Trees and their Life Histories." (Cassell 

 & Co.) 



The fruit consists, like that of the Elms, 

 of a seed (or nut) enclosed in a flat en- 

 velope, which, when the need arises, serves 

 the purpose of a wing. This \dng is long 

 and narrow, and has often a twist hke the 

 blade of a ship's screw. The seed is at 

 the base, close to the footstalk. The 

 fruit clings firmly to the twig through most 

 of the winter, till the attachment becomes 

 weakened, weather-worn. It is then torn 

 away by the first strong wind and carried 

 afar. It ahghts seed downwards, and 

 the screw-twist, which, when present, 

 has probably aided its farther flight, 

 may now serve to facihtate the seed's 

 entry into a suitable crevice, or into the 

 soil itself. 



As with the Wych Elm, so with the 

 Ash, there is a drooping (or " weeping ") 

 variety of frequent occurrence. 



Henry Irving. 



