20 BULLETIN 299,, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



ash. seed planted under favorable conditions gave the following rer 

 sults: (1) Green, red, Oregon, and pumpkin ash seed germinate 

 freely in from four to five weeks; (2) Biltmore ash germinates freely 

 in from six to seven weeks; (3) white ash feebly in five months; (4) 

 black, blue, and European ash * not at all the first year. The relative 

 perishability of the seed of these species seems to be inversely pro- 

 portional to the time required for them to germinate, the green ash 

 group being the most perishable and the black the least. Seed of 

 the black ash type has a germinating period of from one to three 

 years. The white and black ash seed can be made to germinate 

 more rapidly by the method described further on in this bulletin. 



Ash seed is especially exacting in its moisture requirements for 

 germination and seedling establishments, and reproduction is 

 restricted to spots where the soil or the humus or leaf litter are 

 liberally supplied with moisture at the proper season of the year. 

 Only a limited amount of light (which need not be direct) is required 

 for reproduction. A moderately open seed bed is sufficient; i. e., a 

 layer of undecomposed leaf litter less than 2 inches thick with humus 

 fairly decomposed beneath. Leaf litter and humus serve to keep 

 the ground moist, but they must not be so thick as to prevent the 

 roots of the recently germinated seedling from coming in contact 

 with the soil. 



Ash reproduction is most common where the soil is protected 

 from the drying influences of sun and wind, and where at the same 

 time there is some light to decompose the leaf litter more rapidly 

 than is possible in dense stands; for instance, in small openings in 

 the forest where the light is direct or in pure second-growth white 

 pine stands where considerable indirect fight reaches the ground. 

 On large, open areas, bare of protecting leaf litter or shrubby plants 

 and weeds, ash reproduces only along streams and river bottoms 

 and in damp depressions. On uplands reproduction is confined 

 mostly to sites where the soil is well protected. 



White ash reproduction is often found in upland forests under 

 shade; even in the mixed oak and chestnut type the species will 

 be found reproducing itself in places where the overhead cover is 

 slightly broken. White ash seedlings are remarkably persistent. 

 They maintain themselves in a stunted condition under the shade of 

 large trees for from 5 to 20 years, dying off almost yearly in the hot 

 part of summer or being eaten off by game or cattle and sprouting 

 again the following season. These are called seedling sprouts. 

 Under favorable soil and moisture conditions in the birch-beecli- 

 maple-basswood type and the yellow poplar type ash reproduction 



1 Belongs botanic-ally to the Mack ash group. 



