CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TREE: Height, 50'-80'; diameter, 1'-1-1/2', even 4'; branches, stout, erect; bark, grayish brown, deep interrupted fissures, broad, flat ridges, exfoliates; leaves, 5"-14" long; pinnately compound, 5 to 7 leaflets; fruit, single samaras in clusters. APPEARANCE OF WOOD: Color, brown, sap-wood thick, lighter; ring-porous; rings, plainly marked by large, open, scattered pores; grain, coarse, straight; rays, numerous, thin. PHYSICAL QUALITIES: Weight, medium (37th in this list); 35 lbs. per cu. ft.; sp. gr., 0.5731; medium strong (50th in this list); elasticity, medium (48th in this list); medium hard (29th in this list); shrinkage, 5 per cent.; warps,............; not durable; hard to work, tough; splits with difficulty. COMMON USES: Furniture, vehicles, cooperage. REMARKS: A valuable timber tree of the Pacific coast. [Illustration: Radial Section, life size.] [Illustration: Cross-section, magnified 37-1/2 diameters.] [Illustration: Tangential Section, life size.] 65 BLUE ASH. Blue, refers to blue dye obtained from inner bark. _Fraxinus quadrangulata_ Michaux. _Fraxinus_, from a Greek word (_phraxis_) meaning split, refers to the cleavability of the wood; _quadrangulata_, refers to four-angled branchlets. [Illustration: Habitat.] HABITAT: (See map); best in lower Wabash valley. [Illustration: Leaf.] CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TREE: Height, 60'-70', even 120'; diameter, 1'-2'; tall, slender, four-angled, branchlets; bark, light gray, irregularly divided into large plate-like scales, inside bark, bluish, yielding dye; leaves, 8"-12" long, compound pinnate, 5 to 9 leaflets; fruit, winged samaras in panicles. APPEARANCE OF WOOD: Color, light yellow, streaked with brown, sap-wood lighter; ring-porous; rings, clearly marked by 1 to 3 rows of large, open ducts; grain, straight; rays, numerous, obscure. PHYSICAL QUALITIES: Heavy (16th in this list); 44 lbs. per cu. ft.; sp. gr., 0.7184; strong (37th in this list); elasticity, medium (58th in this list); hard (12th in this list); shrinkage, 5 per cent.; warps, ............; most durable of the ashes; hard to work; splits readily, bad for nailing. COMMON USES: Carriage building, tool handles. REMARKS: Blue ash pitchfork handles are famous. [Illustration: Radial Section, life size.] [Illustration: Tangential Section, life size.] 66 RED ASH. Red, from color of inner bark. _Fraxinus pennsylvanica_ Marshall. _Fraxinus pubescens_ Lambert. _Fraxinus_, from a Greek word (_phraxis_) meaning split, refers to the cleavability of the wood; _pennsylvanica_, in honor of the State of Pennsylvania; _pubescens_, refers to down on new leaves and twigs. [Illustration: Habitat.] HABITAT: (See map); best east of Alleghany mountains. [Illustration: Leaf.]