93 



TREES GROWING NEAR WATER. 



•x5,- 





■:4f^v 









or rarely seven ovate leaflets ; taper-pointed at the apex and pointed, rounded 

 or wedged-shaped at the base ; coarsely and remotely toothed, often entire at 

 the base ; deep green above, pale underneath, /iibs : distinct ; slightly pubes- 

 cent. Flowers: yellowish green; dioecious; apetalous ; small; growing from 

 the sides of the branches in drooping clusters and appearing before the leaves. 

 The fertile ones in racemes of from six to eight inches long. Samaras : Large; 

 yellowish green ; the double wings, veiny. 



The box elder is a rather mysterious 

 character and has much to answer for 

 in the way it has puzzled the minds of 

 botanists and earnest-thinking people. 

 In manner of growth its foliage has 

 suggested to some the elders, and 

 again it has been thought to be con- 

 nected with the ashes. Its fruit, how- 

 ever, shows conclusively that it belongs 

 to the maples. In spite of this ten- 

 dency to conciliate all, although we 

 should give it the benefit of the doubt 

 and think that it has been trying always to imitate the best, 

 it is a handsome tree of free and rapid growth. For the 

 ornamentation of parks or gardens it is well adapted, as its 

 foliage is a lively, brilliant green, and it is able to resist long 

 droughts. Unfortunately it is not regarded as being very long- 

 lived. 



The wood of the ash-leaved maple is creamy white and not 

 strong. From it an inferior sort of furniture is made. In 

 small quantities the bark yields maple sugar. To the tree is 

 attached the distinction of having been one of the first of the 

 North American ones that were known in Europe. 



Acer negtindo. 



BLACK ASH. HOOP ASH. WATER ASH. 



Frdxiniis nigra. 



FAMILY SHAPE 



Olive, Head,, narrow,, slender; 

 branches^ upright. 



HEIGHT RANGE 



yi-Zo/eet, or New Foundland west- 

 higher, ward, southward to 

 Fla. and Ark, 



{Plate XLl.) 



TIME OF BLOOM 

 April, May. 

 Fruit: July, 



Bark: dark, tinged with grey; rough and broken into irregular plates, be- 

 coming smooth in the branches which are marked with white, wart-like dots. 



