2 BULLETIN 523, U. S, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTUEE. 



the Office of. Industrial Investigations of the Forest Service, from 

 1910 to 1913, inohisive.^ 



COMMERCIAL SPECIES. 



There are 18 species of ash native to the United States, but 

 98 per cent of the ash himber produced is from three species — white 

 ash {Frax'mus americana), black ash {F. nigra) j and green ash {F. 

 laThceolata). The species which make up the remaining 2 per cent of 

 the lumber output of ash are Oregon ash {F. oregona), blue ash 

 {F. quaclrangulata) , Biltmcre ash {F. hiUmo7'ea7ia) , pumpkin ash 

 {F. 2)rofu7ida) , and red ash {F. pe7insylva7iica) , all of which species 

 have good cultural possibilities and are considered more important 

 silviculturally than commercially, (Fig. 1.) 



In the lumber trade ash lumber is often not distinguished as to 

 kinds, all species being sold under the common name of ash. Much 

 is sold under the name white ash to distinguish it from brown ash 

 (also known as black ash, F. nigra), which has mechanical properties 

 quite different from those of white ash but the same general appear- 

 ance and structure and a more handsome grain. Lumber cut from all 

 species, however, is often sold as white ash. The terms green, red, 

 and Biltmore ash are not used at all in the lumber trade. Old-growth 

 ash from continuousl}'^ wet river bottom land is often called pumpkin 

 ash because it is soft and brittle. The term is applied chiefly to 

 pumpkin ash {F. profunda) and green ash {F. lanceolata). The 

 terms black and blue ash are often used locally to designate standing 

 ash timber, but do not necessarily refer to the species botanically 

 known as 7^. nigra and F. quadrangulata. The term Oregon ash is 

 seldom used in trade on the Pacific coast. 



An estimate of the cut of ash by species in the different States is 

 given in Table 1, The table is based on 1910 census data. From 

 these data the cut of ash by counties was determined (see fig. 2), 

 and careful estimates were made by the author of the proportion 

 of each species in each county for which a report was made by the 

 census. The table indicates roughly the commercial range of the 

 important species. 



1 Compiled under the direction of J. C. Nellis, forest examiner. 



