Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 02.djvu/138

ASH. veined, and is then prized by cabinet-makers. The wood of the yoiuig trees is almost as valu- able as that of the old. Indeed, the value of the timber is greatest in trees of which the growth has been rapid, as it exhibits the characteristic toughness in the highest degree. The ash prefers a loamy soil, but grows in almost any, and flour- ishes in situations too elevated or too exposed for most other trees. It has been extensively planted in elevated' situations in some parts of the north of Scotland, and there, in the more sheltered glens, it grows to a large size. Culti- vation has produced and perpetuated a number of varieties, of which the most remarkable are the weeping ash, with boughs bent almost straight down to the ground; the curl-leaved ash, with dark-green wrinkled or curled leaves; and the entire-leared ash, a very curious variety, with many or all of the leaves simple (not pin- nated), which has been erroneously regarded by some botanists as a distinct species, and named FraxiiiKS simpUcifoUa. Fi-rnrintis heterophylla, etc. The small-leaved ash [Fraxinus parvifoUa) and the Lentisk ash {Fraxinus lentiseifolia) are both natives of the shores of the Mediter- ranean, and are very graceful and ornamental trees. The American Ash, or white ash {Fraxi- nus Americana), is readily distinguished from the common ash by its lighter bark and paler green leaves. The leaves have a calyx, and the leaflets are shortly stalked and entire (those of the common ash are sessile and serrated ) . It is abundant in New Brunswick and Canada, but is rare south of New Jersey and west of Minnesota and Kansas. The trunk often rises more than 40 feet undivided. The wood is used for the same purposes as that of the common ash. The red ash {Fraxinus pubescens or Fraxi- itus Pcnnsylvanica) is very similar, but of smaller size, and has a deep-brown bark. It is most abundant in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, especially in swampy ground. The black ash or water ash of the New England States, New Brunswick, etc. {Fraxinus sambiici- folia or Fraxinus nifjra), is a large tree, with buds of a deep-blue color. This tree is more com- monlv found in wet places than the other species. Its wood is soft, tough, and easily separable into thin layers, on whieli account it is com- monly used for barrel hoops, staves, and for splint baskets, etc. The blue ash of Ohio, Ken- tucky, Tennessee, etc, {Fraxinus quadrangulaUv) , is also a large tree. The inner bark of this spe- cies gives a blue color to water, hence the name. The branches are quadrangular, the young shoots having on the angles four membranes which extend their whole length. The green ash {Fraxinus viridis or Fraxinus lanceolata) . read- ily recognized by the brilliant green of its young shoots, is chiefly found in the Middle States: on account of its hardness, the green ash is exten- sively planted for wind-breaks, and as an orna- mental in Minnesota and the Dakotas. It is easily propagated from seed and is of very rapid growth. The wood is less valuable than that of the white ash and the Carolina ash {Fraxinus Carolinia), remarkable for the great size of its leaflets, chiefly in the Southern States. Besides these, North America produces about a dozen other species or varieties. The wood of all of them is used for somewhat similar purposes to that of the common ash. In the south of Europe grows the jnanna ash or flowering ash {Fraxinus uiiius, called Ornus Europa-a by some botanists), whose flowers have a four-partite calyx, and four small yellowish-white petals. The tree has much resemblance to the common ash. From it the substance called manna (q.v. ) is obtained by means of transverse incisions in the bark; but in very favorable situations it flows spon- taneously during the greatest lieat of summer. Manna is chiefly collected in Calabria and Sicily. A nearly allied species, Fraxinus rotundifolia, a native of Greece and the Ionian Islands, yields it also in perhaps equal quantity. The common ash is said sometimes to produce the same exu- dation in the same warm climates.

The mountain ash is the Rowan Tree (q.v.), and belongs to a difi'erent natural order. Its re- semblance to the ash is chiefly in its leaves. Fos- sil forms of the ash {Fraxinus) are known in all the Tertiary beds above the Eocene, in Eu- rope, but have not been found in beds of equiva- lent age in North America. Consult: G. Nich- olson, IZAusfra/ed Dictionary of Gardening (Lon- don, 1884-89) ; L. H. Bailey, Cuclopwdia of Amcrirnn Horticulture (New York, 1000-01).

ASHANTI, .i-shiin'te, or ASHANTEE. A negro kingdom in western Africa, separated from the Gulf of Guinea by the British Gold-Coast colony (q.v.), of which it has practically been a part since 1896 (Map: Africa, D 4), Its boundaries are only imperfectly defined, and its area is estimated at about 10.000 square miles. It is a fertile and well-watered region, and a large part of its surface is covered with trop- ical forests especially rich in resinous plants. The soil has been little cultivated, owing to the backward state of the country. The principal crops raised by the natives are yams, corn, rice, millet, and tobacco. The chief products for ex- ])ort are ivory, rubber, djewoods, and gold. The latter metal is found in many parts of the country, but not in sufficient quantities to repay its mining by modern methods. The natives have several well-developed industries, and are skilled workers in metals and in the weaving of fabrics, as well as in the production of earthen- ware. The commerce of Ashanti was quite im- portant before the Ashanti War of 1900, and amounted to about .$7,000,000 annually. The railway line from Sekondi, on the coast, to Ku- niassi," the capital of Ashanti, recently con- structed, will do nuich for the development of the country, Anotlier railway line is proposed between Akkra and Kumassi, and the telegraph line was completed in 1900 as far as Jlansu. The population of Ashanti is estimated at from 1,000,000 to 3,000,000. It consists^ of a great numl)er of difi'erent tribes, who, prior to the British occupation, were governed by their own kings under the stipremacy of the King of Kumassi. The principal tribes are the Bekwais, Kokofus, Kmnassis, Daniassis, and ilanpons. all of negro descent. Pliysically, the inhabitants of .shanti are strong and well devekqied. Tlieir speech belongs to the Tshi group. They practice polygamy, and their religion is a mixture of ancestor - worship and animism or nature- worship. Gold found in the country is wrought by the natives into barbaric ornaments. Capital, Kumassi (q.v.), with a population estimated at 30.000.

The beginnings of the Ashanti kingdom are obscure, but its traditions point to an immigration some hundreds of years ago from a region