CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TREE: Height, 40'-50', even 100'; diameter, 1'6"-3'6", even 5'; variable in form; bark, brown, deeply fissured and scaly; leaves, in sprays, short, petioled, brilliant scarlet in autumn; fruit, bluish black, sour, fleshy drupe. APPEARANCE OF WOOD: Color, pale yellow, sap-wood, white, hardly distinguishable; diffuse-porous; rings, not plain; grain fine, twisted and interwoven; rays, numerous, thin. PHYSICAL QUALITIES: Medium heavy (25th in this list); 39 lbs. per cu. ft.; sp. gr., 0.6356; strong (34th in this list); elasticity, medium (51st in this list); hard (20th in this list); shrinkage, 5 or 6 per cent.; warps and checks badly; not durable if exposed; hard to work; splits hard, tough. COMMON USES: Wagon hubs, handles, yokes, wooden shoe soles, docks and wharves, rollers in glass factories. REMARKS: The best grades closely resemble yellow poplar. [Illustration: Radial Section, life size.] [Illustration: Cross-section, magnified 37-1/2 diameters.] [Illustration: Tangential Section, life size.] 63 BLACK ASH. HOOP ASH. Hoop, refers to its use for barrel hoops. _Fraxinus nigra_ Marshall. _Fraxinus sambucifolia._ _Fraxinus_, from a Greek word (_phraxis_) meaning split, refers to the cleavability of the wood; _sambucifolia_, refers to the fact that the leaves are in odor like those of Elder (Sambucus). [Illustration: Habitat.] HABITAT: (See map); best in moist places. [Illustration: Leaf.] CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TREE: Height, 80'-90'; diameter, 1'-1-1/2'; slenderest of the forest trees, upright branches; bark, gray tinged with red, irregular plates, with thin scales; leaves, 10"-16" long, compound, 7 to 11 leaflets, in autumn rusty brown; fruit, single samaras in panicles. APPEARANCE OF WOOD: Color, dark brown, sap-wood light; ring-porous; rings, well defined; grain, straight, burls often form highly prized veneers; rays, numerous and thin. PHYSICAL QUALITIES: Medium heavy (27th in this list); 39 lbs. per cu. ft.; sp. gr., 0.6318; strong (38th in this list); elasticity, medium (12th in this list); hard (23d in this list); shrinkage, 5 per cent.; warps, but not very much; not durable when exposed; hard to work; separates easily in layers, hence used for splints. COMMON USES: Interior finish, cabinet work, fencing, barrel hoops. REMARKS: The flexibility of the wood largely determines its uses. [Illustration: Radial Section, life size.] [Illustration: Cross-section, magnified 37-1/2 diameters.] [Illustration: Tangential Section, life size.] 64 OREGON ASH. _Fraxinus oregona_ Nuttall. _Fraxinus_, from a Greek word (_phraxis_) meaning split, refers to the cleavability of the wood; _oregona_, named for the State of Oregon. [Illustration: Habitat.] HABITAT: (See map); best in southern Oregon. [Illustration: Leaf.]