Page:Timber and Timber Trees, Native and Foreign.djvu/229

XXVII.] Ash is extremely durable if felled in the winter months and properly seasoned before use; but where these precautions are neglected few woods are more perishable. Very great advantage will be found in reducing the Ash logs soon after they are felled into plank or board for seasoning, since, if left for only a short time in the round state, deep shakes open from the surface, which involve a very heavy loss when brought on later for conversion.

Ash wood, when beginning to decay, changes at the centre to a blackish colour, as also it will do if the trees are pollarded or topped off during growth, hence the "best quality" should be uniformly greyish-white throughout

There are several varieties of the Ash which attain timber size, and those which are raised for ornamental purposes in this country are very numerous. This tree is remarkable for its lateness in putting out its leaves in the spring, and for throwing them off very early in the autumn.