COMPOSITION OF VARIOUS TREES 91 



One ton of Fraxinus extracts 26lbs. of mineral 

 matter from the soil. 



The ash is a native of Great Britain, an im- 

 portant timber tree, and one of the finest objects 

 in our rural scenery — " the fairest of the forest " 

 {Virgil). It grows rapidly, and reaches in fine 

 examples a height of about eighty feet, with a 

 trunk four or five feet in diameter. The great 

 Woburn Ash is ninety feet high, twenty-three and 

 a half feet in circumference at the ground, with a 

 clear stem of twenty-eight feet ; and there are 

 numerous other fine specimens of this typical 

 British tree. 



The roots of the ash are remarkable for growing 

 in a horizontal direction, and being furnished with 

 rootlets which approach closely to the surface of 

 the soil ; they thus absorb almost all the moisture 

 and consequently check the growth of other 

 plants. 



The pinnate leaves of the ash differ in form 

 from those of many trees. This form gives the 

 tree a gracefulness and elegance that contrasts so 

 beautifully with the more massive foliage of other 

 trees. 



The wood of the ash is valuable for its elasticity 

 and toughness ; and the Romans employed it in 

 the making of weapons and implements of hus- 



