DESOEIPTIVE ENUMEEATION OF TREES. 55 



the Oak and the Elm, in its neighbourhood, have 

 put on their autumnal attire. 



Another disagreeable circumstance attends the 

 Ash, which is indeed its misfortune rather than 

 its fault. Its leaf and rind are nutritive to 

 deer, and much used in browsing them in 

 summer. The keepers of the forest, therefore, 

 seek out all the Ash trees they can find, which 

 are for this purpose mangled and deformed. 



One thing more I should mention with regard 

 to the Ash, as it is of a picturesque nature, and 

 that is the beauty of its roots, which are often 

 finely veined and will take a good polish. Dr. Plot, 

 in his Natural History of Oxfordshire,* speaks 

 of certain knotty excrescences in the Ash, called 

 the hrusca and mollusca, which, when cut and 

 polished, are very beautiful. He particularly 

 mentions a dining-table, made of the latter, which 

 represents the exact figure of a fish. 



"With regard to these exact figures of animals, 

 and other objects, which we meet with both in 

 stone and wood, I cannot say I should value 



* Chap. vi. sec. 80. 



