ASHES. 283 



autumn or which may be stratified over winter and sown in 

 in the spring 1 . A good way to keep these seeds over winter is 

 to place them on the surface of a garden walk putting a box 

 over them and cutting a trench around the box to keep the 

 water away. They will not grow if kept too dry. 



Fraxinus americana. White Ash. 



Leaves with 7 to 9 leaflets which are usually rounded at 

 the base and generally entire in outline or very slightly ser- 

 rate. Flowers dioecious appearing with or rather before the 

 leaves. Fruit ripe in autumn cylindrical and winged at one 

 end and surrounded at the base by the persistent calyx. The 

 bark on the young twigs is rather dark, nearly smooth and free 

 from spots. A large and valuable tree commonly confounded 

 in this section with the Green Ash and the Red Ash both of 

 which, however, are smaller trees and much hardier, produce 

 seed at an earlier age and in larger quantities and altogether 

 are better adapted to prairie planting than the White Ash. 



Distribution. From Nova Scotia west to northern Minne- 

 sota and eastern Nebraska and south to northern Florida and 

 Mississippi. In Minnesota the White Ash appears to be a 

 rare tree. In the western part of the state and in the Dakotas 

 'it is wholly replaced by Green Ash or what seems to be a 

 hopeless mixture of Green Ash and Red Ash. 



Propagation. See genus. 



Properties of wood. Heavy, hard, strong, coarse grained 

 and tough although brittle when old; brown with thick lighter 

 colored sapwood. Specific gravity 0.6543; weight of a cubic 

 foot 40.77 pounds. 



Uses. The White Ash is a good ornamental tree in spite 

 of its late foliage and is desirable for timber belts in the 

 milder portions of this section, but on the prairies does not 

 grow as fast as the Green Ash. The wood is of less value 

 when grown here than when grown in the northeastern states. 

 It is used in immense quantities in the manufacture of agri- 

 cultural implements, carriages and furniture, for the interior 

 fin.shing of buildings and for any purpose where a light 

 colored tough wood is needed. The wood of what is termed 

 second growth trees, i. e., those springing up after the origi- 

 nal forest has been removed or from seed scattered in open 



