50 TREES 



a hundred feet, with a diameter of six or seven. 

 Its timber is now used chiefly for turned work 

 and chair-making. The purple and copper 

 beeches seen in ornamental grounds are simply 

 modifications of the common species. 



The leaves we have hitherto seen, however 

 rough or irregular they may be, are at least 

 obviously single. A different form appears in 

 the Ash (Fraxinus excelsior), Plate I., Fig. 4. 

 The leaves of this tree are composed of several 

 pairs of leaflets, tipped by a single one. The 

 walnut has a similar arrangement, and also 

 the rowan; but the dark hue and aromatic 

 perfume of the one, and the extreme delicacy 

 of the other, prevent their being mistaken for 

 those of the ash. The peculiar shape of the 

 leaves imparts a light, feathery appearance to 

 the foliage, which may be recognized at some 

 distance. The timber is very useful. An old 

 superstition attaches to the oak and ash in 

 respect to their precedence in leafing. One 

 generally precedes the other. If the oak 

 comes into leaf first, the season ensuing will 

 be dry; but if the ash leads, it will be wet. 

 ' Oak choke, ash splash,' as the old saying 

 has it. 



