chap. lxxv. oleaYem. fra'xinus. 1219 



History. The ash was known to the Greeks, whose name for it was melia 

 or boumelia; and both Greeks and Romans made their spears of its wood. It 

 was also valued by them for its medical properties. By the Roman agricultural 

 writers it is recommended as peculiarly fit for making agricultural imple- 

 ments, to which purpose it is chiefly applied in modern times. 



Properties and Uses. The timber of the ash is very elastic ; so much so, 

 that a joist of this timber will bear more before it breaks than one of that of 

 any other tree indigenous to Europe. It weighs, per cubic foot, 64 lb. 9 oz. 

 when green; and 491b. 8oz., when dry. The value of the timber is in- 

 creased by the rapidity of its growth ; and, as in the case of the sweet chest- 

 nut, the wood of young trees is more esteemed than that of old ones. The 

 texture of the wood is alternately compact and porous ; and, where the 

 growth has been vigorous, the compact part of the annual layers bears a 

 greater proportion to the porous, and the timber is comparatively tough, 

 elastic, and durable. In durability, however, and also in rigidity, it is inferior 

 to the oak : but it is superior to that wood, and to every other, in toughness 

 and elasticity ; and hence its universal employment in all those parts of 

 machinery which have to sustain sudden shocks; such as the circumference, 

 teeth, and spokes of wheels, beams of ploughs, &c. (Tredgold's Carpentry.) 

 Since the use of iron became so general in the manufacture of instruments 

 and machines, the value of the ash is somewhat diminished, at least in Britain ; 

 it still, however, ranks next in value to that of the oak, and is held even to 

 surpass it for some purposes. It is much in use by the coachmaker, the 

 wheelwright, and the manufacturer of agricultural implements. It is highly 

 valued for kitchen tables, as it may be scoured better than any other wood, 

 and is not so liable to run splinters into the scourer's fingers. For the same 

 reason, it was formerly much used in staircases; and in old houses, for example, 

 at Wroxton Abbey, near Banbury, the seat of the Earl of Guildford, the stair- 

 case is entirely formed of this wood. Milkpails, in many parts of England, 

 are made of thin boards, sawed lengthwise out of the tree, each rolled into a 

 hollow cylinder, with a bottom affixed to it. The roots, and the knotty parts 

 of the trunk, are in demand by cabinet-makers, for this curious dark figures 

 formed by their veins, which make a singular appearance when polished. 

 Evelyn says that " Some ash is so curiously cambleted and veined, that skil- 

 ful cabinet-makers prize it equally with ebony, and call it green ebony." It 

 makes excellent fuel, burning even when newly cut, with very little smoke ; 

 and it is said to be the best of all woods for smoke-drying herrings. It makes 

 excellent oars, and also blocks and pulleys. Few other trees become useful 

 so soon, it being fit for walkingsticks at four or five years' growth ; and for 

 handles for spades and other implements, at nine or ten years' growth. An 

 ash pole, Nicol observes, 3 in. in diameter, is as valuable and durable, for any 

 purpose to which it can be applied, as the timber of the largest tree. {Plant. 

 Cat., p. 77.) It is particularly valuable for hop-poles, hoops, crates, handles 

 to baskets, rods for training plants, forming bowers, for light hurdles, and for 

 wattling fences ; and also for walkingsticks. In Staffordshire, in the neigh- 

 bourhood of the potteries, the ash is cultivated to a great extent, and cut 

 every five or six years for crate-wood, which is in great demand for forming 

 crates to pack up the articles manufactured in the potteries. In Kent, and 

 in various places in the neighbourhood of London, the most profitable appli- 

 cation of the young ash is for walkingsticks, plant-rods, hoops, and hop- 

 poles. For the latter purpose, coppice-woods are cut over every twelve or 

 fourteen years, according to the nature of the soil ; and, for the former pur- 

 poses, every five or seven years. The ashes of the branches and shoots of this 

 tree afford a very good potash ; the bark is used for tanning nets and calf- 

 skins ; the leaves, in some places, for feeding cattle in autumn, and in others 

 in spring, and for adulterating tea. The leaves and shoots, eaten by cows, are 

 said to give the milk and butter a rank taste ; but this does not appear to have 

 been considered a great evil by the Romans, as they recommended the leaves of 

 the ash, next to the leaves of the elm, for fodder. In moist pastures, inter- 



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