53 



THE MOUNTAIN ASH. 



The Mountain Ash is quite a different 

 tree. Its leaves, indeed, are shaped some- 

 what like those of the other, and the wood is 

 tough and flexible ; but it is soft, and soon 

 decays. It is a slow-growing tree, and never 

 becomes large. Its white flowers, and bright 

 red berries, make it rather an ornamental tree 

 in a shrubbery. It is a beautiful object on 

 the hills of the north, intermingled as it is 

 with the dark pines and waving birch. But 

 we should now speak of a far more stately and 

 important tree." 



