THE ASHES : THEIR CHARACTERISTICS AND MANAGEMENT. 



19 



REPRODUCTION. 



Ash reproduces itself well by seed and by sprouting from stumps 

 of trees cut (PL XIV), the first, however, being by far the most 

 important in perpetuating the species. 



SEED PRODUCTION AND DISSEMINATION. 



Ash of any species, in any region where it is common, usually seeds 

 freely about every other year, and bears some seed almost every 

 year. Exceptionally heavy crops occur at intervals of from three 

 to five years. Not all ash trees are capable of bearing seed, since 

 species of the white and green ash groups are dioecious ; that is, male 

 and female flowers are borne on separate trees and seeds occur only 

 on the female trees. Trees in the open are apt to seed when from 

 two to three inches in diameter and from 10 to 20 feet high, being 

 only 10 years old, or even less. In dense stands ash commonly seeds 

 but little until the stand is from 30 to 50 years old and is beginning 

 to thin out. Small-crowned, suppressed, intermediate, and co- 

 dominant trees produce little or no seed; dominant, large-crowned 

 trees and open-grown trees are prolific seeders. Those of the green 

 ash group are the most prolific, seeding when younger and smaller, 

 and more frequently and heavily. White ash is next in this respect 

 and black ash last. 



The lightness of ash seed and its long membranous wing allow it 

 to be carried long distances by the wind. Of the important species 

 green ash is disseminated most widely by the wind, white ash is next, 

 and black ash last. The distance depends largely on the weight of 

 the seeds, which is given in Table 5. 



Table 5. — Weight of ash seed of different species. 



Species. 



Number of seed per pound. 



Remarks. 



Low. 



High. 



Average. 



Fraxinus americana and F. biltmoreana * 



F. lanceolata and F. pennsylmnica 2 



F. nigra, F. excelsior, and F. quadrangulata . 



8,500 



12,000 

 6,000 



11,500 



20,000 

 8,000 



10,000 



16,000 

 7,000 



14, 000 

 10,000 

 3,500 



Seed and kernels float in 

 water. 



Seed (with wing) floats in 

 water, but kernels sink. 













3,000 



4,000 









i Biltmore averages the heavier of the two. 



2 Pennsylvanica averages the heavier of the two. 



GERMINATION AND SEED-BED REQUIREMENTS. 



There is great variation in the germinative characteristics of the 

 different species of ash. Experiments * with good, sound, untreated 



1 Seed planted in flats in the Arlington Experiment Station greenhouse in Jan., 1913. 



