FOREST TREES. 147 



F. pedimrnlata. Cherry Fig. Leaves ovate or oval, rather 

 thick, of a leathery appearance on upper surface, somewhat 

 heart-shaped at base, stalk slender. Fruit nearly round, about 

 the size of small cherries, greenish-yellow or purplish when 

 ripe. A lofty tree of fifty feet high, sending down aerial roots, 

 like the famous Banyan tree. Southern Florida and the West 

 Indies. 



Tour. The Ash. 



A very extensive genus, and most of the species are large 

 trees, well adapted for planting in forests. The leaves are odd- 

 pinnate, and from five to nine leaflets. Flowers dioecious or 

 mostly so, very small, not at all showy, except on a few spe- 

 cies, and those native of our Eastern States, are entirely desti- 

 tute of petals. Fruit winged, sometimes only above, in others 

 all around, and in a few the seed is three-winged and three- 

 celled. Trees usually well furnished with small, fibrous roots, 

 and not difficult to transplant and make grow. Quite free from 

 the habit of producing suckers, when the roots are broken or 

 otherwise injured. 



F. AMERICANA. White Ash. 



Leaflets ovate-oblong, or lanceolate-oblong, pointed, edges 

 nearly or quite entire, smooth on the upper surface, and downy 

 beneath. Fruit rather short, somewhat wedged-shape, rounded 

 at lower end, winged above. A very large, handsome tree, with 

 gray furrowed bark on the main stem, and that on the young 

 branchlets of a greenish-gray color, smooth, buds rusty-colored 

 in winter. This species deserves special attention on account of 

 the great value of its timber, it being one of the toughest and 

 hardest of the whole genus. The wood of what is termed second 

 growth trees, or those springing up after the original forests 

 have been removed, or from seed, scattered in open fields, is* 

 usually superior in toughness to the first growth or large trees. 

 The superiority of many of our farm implements is due in a 

 great measure to the tough, but light ash timber, which enters 

 into their construction. It is not only used for agricultural 

 implements, but for carriages, oars, cabinet work, floors in 

 dwellings, in fact, white ash is well adapted to all purposes 

 where a light colored, tough, and hard wood is wanted. A tree 

 of rapid growth, and reaching a hight of seventy to eighty feet, 

 and thrives in a great variety of soils, but succeed best in a 

 rich, moist one. Common in all our Eastern States, Canada, 



