20 BULLETIN 299^ TJ. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. 
ash seed planted under favorable conditions gave the following re- 
sults: (1) Green, red, Oregon, and pumpkin ash seed germinate 
freely in from four to five weeks ; (2) Biltmore ash germinates freely 
in from six to seven weeks ; (3) white ash feebly in Hve months ; (4) 
black, blue, and European ash 1 not at all the first year. The relative 
perishability of the seed of these species seems to be inversely pro- 
portional to the time required for them to germinate, the green ash 
group being the most perishable and the black the least. Seed of 
the black ash type has a germinating period of from one to three 
years. The white and black ash seed can be made to germinate 
more rapidly by the method described further on in this bulletin. 
Ash seed is especially exacting in its moisture requirements for 
germination and seedling establishments, and reproduction is 
restricted to spots where the soil or the humus or leaf litter are 
liberally supplied with moisture at the proper season of the year. 
Only a limited amount of light (which need not be direct) is required 
for reproduction. A moderately open seed bed is sufficient; i. e., a 
layer of undecomposed leaf fitter less than 2 inches thick with humus 
fairly decomposed beneath. Leaf litter and humus serve to keep 
the ground moist, but they must not be so thick as to prevent the 
roots of the recently germinated seedling from coming in contact 
with the soil. 
Ash reproduction is most common where the soil is protected 
from the drying influences of sun and wind, and where at the same 
time there is some light to decompose the leaf litter more rapidly 
than is possible in dense stands; for instance, in small openings in 
the forest where the light is direct or in pure second-growth white 
pine stands where considerable indirect light reaches the ground. 
On large, open areas, bare of protecting leaf litter or shrubby plants 
and weeds, ash reproduces only along streams and river bottoms 
and in damp depressions. On uplands reproduction is confined 
mostly to sites where the soil is well protected. 
White ash reproduction is often found in upland forests under 
shade; even in the mixed oak and chestnut type the species will 
be found reproducing itself in places where the overhead cover is 
slightly broken. White ash seedlings are remarkably persistent. 
They maintain themselves in a stunted condition under the shade of 
large trees for from 5 to 20 years, dying off almost yearly in the hot 
part of summer or being eaten off by game or cattle and sprouting 
again the following season. These are called seedling sprouts. 
Under favorable soil and moisture conditions in the birch-beech- 
maple-basswood type and the yellow poplar type ash reproduction 
1 Belongs botanically to the black ash group. 
