96 ACKR KlllOCARPUM. 



scatt(^rod, and loaves an ojxmi passaL'o for llio siiii])(\-\ins. Arfordiiii; to Dr. 

 Hooker, the younu; leaves, aiul germs, are very downy; hut tlie old leaves, and 

 perfect fruit, are iriabrous. 



Gcoi^raphy antf History. "^Plie banks of the river Sore), in Lower Canada, in 

 latitude forty-live di'irrei-s, may he eonsidered as the uorllK^rn. and those of the 

 tributaries of the IV'uohseot, in the state of Maine, as tlie eastern Innit of the Acer 

 eriocarpum. Hut, like many other trees, it is stunted by the rigorous winters of 

 these latitudt^s. and never reaches the size which it attains a W'w de<;rees farther 

 south. It is found on the banks of all the rivers whirji How from tlie AlleLdianies to 

 the ocean ; thouirli it is less connuon along those which water the southern j)artsof 

 the Carolinas and Georgia. In no part of the United t^tates is it more nuilti])Iied 

 than in the country west of the mountains, and nowhere is its vegetation more 

 luxuriant than on the banks of the (^)hio, and on those of the streams which How 

 into it. 'I'here, sometimes alone, and at others mingled with the willow, wliicli 

 is also found along all these waters, it contributes singularly, by its magnificent 

 foliage, to the embellishment of the scene. "The brilliant white of the leaves 

 beneath, forms a striking contrast with the bright-green above, and the alternate 

 reflection of the two surfaces in the water, heightens the beauty of this wonder- 

 ful moving mirror, and aids in forming an enchanting picture; which," says 

 Michaux, " during my long excursions in a canoe in these regions of solitude and 

 silence, I contemplated with unwearied admiration." " Beginning at Pittsburg." 

 continues he, " and even some miles above the junction of the Alleghany and 

 Monongahela Rivers, white maples, with short trunks, twelve or fifteen feet in 

 circumference, are continually to be met with at short distances." 



The Acer eriocarpum was introduced into England by Sir Charles Wagner, 

 in 172.5. and has shice been in general cultivation throughout Europe, for orna- 

 ment. 



The largest tree of this species in the neighbonrhood of London, is at Kew, 

 where, in twenty-five years after planting, it had attained the height of fifty 

 feet. At Trentham, in .Stalibrdshire, there is another tree mentioned by liOudon. 

 of the same height. 



At Pfauen Insel, in Prussia, there is an Acer eriocarpum, which, at the age of 

 forty years, had attained the height of fifty feet. And another is recorded, 

 as, growing in the garden of Christianholme, near LoUand, in Sweden, of the 

 height of forty feet. And another of still more rapid growth, at Niedzwiedz, in 

 Poland, which had attained the height of thirty-six feet in twenty years. 



Insects. The Acer eriocarpum is chiefly preyed upon by the larvaj of the 

 Apatela americana, of Harris, and by those of several species of the Geome- 

 tridse, all of which feed with more or less avidity on the leaves of various other 

 maples, the elm, chesnut, and probably many other trees. 



Soil. Situation, (Sf^c. In its natural habitat, the Acer eriocarpum is found in a 

 sandy loam, on the banks of such rivers only as have limpid waters, with a 

 gravelly bed ; and it is seldom, if ever, found in swamps and other wet grounds 

 enclosed in forests, where the soil is black and miry. When cultivated, this tree 

 requires a deep, free soil, and more moisture than most of the other species. 

 Though it will not grow in swamps, yet it attains its greatest dimensions on the 

 alluvial banks of rivers which are occasionally inundated. It ripens its seeds, 

 both in Europe and in the United States, by midsummer, or earlier; and if 

 these are immediately sown, they come up, and produce plants, which are eight 

 or ten inches high, by the succeeding autumn. 



Properties and Uses. The wood of the Acer eriocarpum is very white when 

 newly cut, and of a fine texture; but it is softer and lighter than that of any 

 other maple in the United States ; and from the want of strength and durability 

 it is little used. When dry, it weighs thirty-eight pounds to a cubic foot, and 



