freely when exposed to the sun, durable, but liable to termite 

 attack. Eecommended for beams, rafters, and masts. 



Asada. See Hornlbeam, Hop. 



Ash {Frdxinus excelsior L. : Order Oledcece). Germ. " Bsclie." 

 Dutch " aesche," Dan. and Swed, " ask," French " frene," ItaL 

 ''frassino," Span, ''fresno," Buss, "jasan." S.G. fresh S52, dry 

 750—692, W 43—63, E 750 tons, e' 1.28, p 11,600, p' 1-05, ft 2—7, 

 c 3,780, c' 499, fc 2—4, v' -912, fs •2—3-7, R 15,120 lbs. Stress 

 required to indent sV i^- transversely to the fibre, 2,300 lbs. per 

 square inch. (Kg. 31. "i 



Height 30—50, or even 80—100 ft. ; diam. 1|~2 ft. 



The sapwood, very broad, about 40 rings, yellowish or greyish- 

 white ; the heart, light brown, or greyish- white, not very different 

 from the sapwood, or, in colour, from light Oak. Eings very 

 distinct, with a broad zone of spring-wood with numerous larger 

 vessels, sharply marked off from the autumn wood, in which the 

 few small vessels stand singly or from 2 — 4 together. Pith-rays 

 scarcely recognizable. Pith-mass, ovoid, very large. The wood 

 contains vessels, wood-fibres, fibre-cells, and parenchyma. It is 

 of moderate weight and hardness, very even and close in grain, 

 lustrous and susceptible, of a good polish, the toughest of European 

 woods, and very pliable. It warps but little ; and, if felled in winter 

 and properly seasoned, is extremely durable, though few woods are 

 more perishable if these precautions are neglected. 



'• Very great advantage will be found in reducing the Asli logs soon after they are 

 felled into plank or board for seasoning, since, if left for only a short time in the 

 round state, deep shakes open from the surface, which involve a very heavy loss 

 when brought on later for conversion" {Laslett) 



The compression or contortion of its fibre produces a lateral 

 grain or figure in Ash known as " ram's-horn," or, from its re- 

 semblance to the figured Maple used for the backs of vioHns, as 

 '' fiddle-back." This is best shown in billets imported from Austria 

 and Hungary. Though the Ash grows in almost any soil, it pro- 

 duces the best light-coloured wood when grown quickly in rich 

 loam and a moist climate, as in the valleys of Britain and Central 

 Europe. The slower-grown wood of poorer soils, mountains, and 

 JSforthern Europe is apt to become " black-hearted," as also does 

 that of pollard- trees. This is sometimes attributed to incipient 

 decay, and is held to lessen the strength of the wood, but produces 

 the figured veneers imported from the Pyrenees, as ''Pyrenean 

 Ash." Wounds or cankers also occur in the heart-wood, which are 

 beheved, in the North-East of England, to be caused by bees ; 

 but this " Bee-sucken Ash," as it is termed, is extremely hard and 

 tough, so as to be suitable for mallets, etc. 



The utiHty of the Ash has long been recognized, and few woods 



9 



