486 WOODY PLANTS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 



vessels of the leaves, may possibly contribute to the depth of 

 the colors, although some of the best physiologists doubt in 

 regard to this. 



The Red Maple is usually a low, round-headed tree, of less 

 beauty of shape than either of the other species. But the great 

 variety of rich hues which it assumes, earlier in the fall than 

 any other tree, gives it a conspicuous place in our many-colored 

 autumnal landscape. It sometimes, when growing in rich, wet 

 land, attains to a great height and size, rising to seventy or 

 eighty feet, with a trunk three or four feet in diameter. It has 

 then a very rough bark. 



The wood is whitish, with a tint of rose color, of a fine and 

 close grain, compact, firm and smooth, the silver grain lying in 

 layers very narrow and close, and the pores being very small. 

 It is well suited for turning, and takes a fine polish; is. easily 

 wrought, and serves for a great variety of purposes. It is much 

 used for common bedsteads, tables, chairs, bureaus and other 

 cheap furniture. In building, it serves well for joists, is an ex- 

 cellent material for flooring, and may be used for any part not 

 exposed to dampness. It lasts well in the flat of a ship's floor. 

 It has sufficient elasticity to serve to be made into oars, which 

 are almost equal to those of white ash. Its defects are want 

 of strength, and its speedy decay when alternately exposed to 

 moisture and dryness. 



There are several varieties of the wood, such as the Curled 

 Maple, the Landscape, the Mountain, the Blistered, &c. Curled 

 Maple is the name given to a variety whose longitudinal fibres 

 have a serpentine course, presenting, when sawn lengthwise, a 

 varying succession of light and shade, which has a beautiful 

 effect in cabinet work, imitating the lustre of changeable silk. 

 It is comparatively tough and compact, while it is very light, 

 and is used for gun-stocks and the ornamented handles of uten- 

 sils. Landscape and Mountain Maple are varieties in color, 

 caused by the irregular change from sap-wood to heart-wood. 

 These are much used for the foot and head-boards of bedsteads, 

 and for pannels of doors to wardrobes, &c. Blistered Maple is 

 'a rare variety, resembling the Bird's Eye of the Rock Maple. 

 As fuel, the Red Maple is much used, burning readily and 



