TREES GROWING IN RICH SOIL. 



321 



panicles. Leaves: compound; opposite; odd-pinnate; with from five to nine 

 ovate, or lance-oblong leaflets; ta|)er-pointed at the apex and pointed or inclined 

 to be rounded at the base and extending into smooth jjetiolules about one quar- 

 ter of an inch in length. Dark green and lustrous above, silvery underneath 

 and pubescent, beconnng ghibrouj at maturity excepting on the whitish under 

 ribs. Flffivers : dioecious; a|)pe;\ring before the leaves. Staminiite /lowers: 

 with three stamens which have short fila iients and conspicuous anthers. Pis' 

 tillate ones : with their ovarie3 extended into a slender style and having a pur- 

 ple, spreading, two-lobed sfigma. Samaras: hanging on slender pedicels in 

 loose clusters; the wings lanceolate and tapering to a point. 



" Why lingereth she to clothe her heart with love, tit ■'.• 



Delaying as the tender ash delays 

 To clothe herself, when all the woods are green } " 



—Tennyson. 



In the Eddas, the records of Scandinavian mythology, it is 

 told that a mighty ash tree, " Ygdrasil," sprang from the body 

 of the giant Ymir who under it 

 Ues prostrate. It is thought to 

 support the whole universe. One 

 of its great roots penetrates into 

 the dwelling of the gods, another 

 into the abode of the giants, an'l 

 the third extends into the realms 

 of darkness. Each root is wa- 

 tered by a spring. In the abode 

 of the gods it is tended by three "^'jlf^S 

 Norns ; they are goddesses who ^v^^';$ 

 dispense fate and represent the 

 past, the present and the future. 

 The spring in the giant's hall is 

 Ymir's well and holds in its depths 

 wit and wisdom. But the third 

 spring feeds the adder, Nidhogge, 

 darkness, which never ceases 

 from gnawing at the tree's roots, 

 erse the branches and bite off the buds. They are the four 

 winds. After their creation of the universe, these gods also 

 conceived the first man, Aske, to be made out of an ash tree. 



l^fu< 



Frdxinus A mtricina. 



Four hart;> ceaselessly travi 



