XXXIII. THE MAPLE. 481 



the various uses in the arts to which, from its softness in some 

 species, its hardness in others, and its great beauty in all, it may- 

 be put, the resource it furnishes in the sugar extracted from its 

 sap, and the value of several of the species as ornamental trees, 

 give it a place hardly second to any of the trees which cast 

 their leaves, at least for the northern part of the country. 



THE MAPLE. ACER. L. 



The genus A~cer is distinguished by having its flowers poly- 

 gamous, that is, male, female and perfect flowers on the same 

 or different individuals ; petals colored like the sepals, but often 

 wanting ; stamens 7 to 10, rarely 5 ; and simple leaves. 



Nearly forty species of maple are known, of which ten belong 

 to the United States. No climate is better suited to their growth 

 than that of New England, as is shown by the perfection to 

 which several of the most valuable species attain here. There 

 are several other species deserving to be introduced for their 

 economical value and their beauty. Among these, the most 

 conspicuous perhaps is the Large-leaved Maple, A. macrophy'l- 

 lum, of Pursh, introduced into England by Mr. Douglas from the 

 northwest coast of North America, and described by him as a 

 tree of the largest size, sometimes ninety feet high and sixteen 

 in circumference, and yielding a wood soft but beautifully 

 veined. It would doubtless flourish on this side of the continent, 

 as would the Round-leaved Maple, A. circinndtum, of the 

 Columbia River. Others are the Sycamore or Great Maple 

 of Europe, A. pseudo-platanus, and the Norway Maple, A. pla- 

 tanbides, both of which grow as readily here as our own trees, 

 and the former of which, remarkable for its rapid growth, some- 

 times attains to a height of one hundred feet. The Field 

 Maple, A. campestre, the common maple of the continent of 

 Europe, the Montpelier Maple, which abounds in the south of 

 France and in Italy and Spain ; the Guelder-rose-leaved Maple, 

 A. opulifdlium, of the mountains of southern France, the Italian 

 Maple, A. opalus, of Corsica ; the Tartarian Maple, of Russia, 

 and the Smooth-leaved Maple of Nepaul, A. Icevigdium, are all 

 trees which attain more than a medium size, are sufficiently 

 62 



