=Ash= (_Fraxinus_), a valuable timber-tree belonging to the olive tribe. It has smooth, olive-grey bark, black buds, opposite pinnate leaves of from seven to fifteen leaflets, flowers without calyx or corolla, and an oblong-winged fruit. Its wood is more flexible than that of any other European tree, and is used for walking-sticks, spade-handles, the spokes and felloes of wheels, etc. There are about twelve species native to North America. The best known are: COMMON ASH, a large tree one hundred to one hundred and fifty feet high, growing wild in southern Europe and northern Asia. WHITE ASH, a large tree forty-five to ninety feet high; Nova Scotia to Florida, westward to Minnesota and Texas. GREEN ASH, forty to fifty feet high, Vermont to Florida, intermittently to Utah and Arizona. RED ASH, a small tree, rarely more than forty feet high, growing in moist soil from New Brunswick to South Dakota, Florida, Alabama and Missouri. BLUE ASH, fifty to seventy-five feet high, Ontario, Minnesota, and Michigan to Alabama, west to Iowa and Arkansas. BLACK or HOOP ASH, a large tree, seventy to eighty feet high, Newfoundland to Manitoba, south to Virginia and Arkansas.
=Aspen or Trembling Poplar= (_Populus tremula_), has a greenish-grey bark. Its leaves have long stalks, and tremble at the slightest current of air. The AMERICAN ASPEN called QUAKING ASPEN or QUAKING ASP, is one of the most widely distributed trees of North America, growing from Alaska and Newfoundland to lower California. A slender tree with light green bark, maximum height 100 feet. Wood soft, light, and largely used for manufacture of wood pulp. The EUROPEAN ASPEN is a quick growing tree, fifty to eighty feet high. The wood is soft and porous, and is used in turnery and in interior finish for houses.
=Beech= (_Fagus_), a genus containing about sixteen species. The trees have smooth, silver-grey trunks, egg-shaped leaves like leather, and blossoms at the base of the leaves. The beechnuts are three-cornered; they grow in couples in a wooden capsule. The beech trees attain a height of from sixty to ninety feet, and blossom in April and May. The AMERICAN BEECH is the only North American species. It is a beautiful tree seventy to eighty and sometimes one hundred feet high, and is one of the most widely distributed trees of eastern North America. The wood is tough, close grained, and is largely used in the manufacture of tool handles, chairs and for fuel. The COMMON BEECH, forming pure forests in many parts of Europe, is a large tree one hundred to one hundred and twenty feet high. The wood is dark colored, solid, and very durable under water and is much used in cabinet making, for weirs, and for fuel. The bark is sometimes used in tanning. The nuts are used for the manufacture of beech oil.