VERMONT AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 



193 



Besides its value as a sugar tree, its timber is hard and durable. It is 

 extensively used for flooring, also for chair stock and other furniture and 

 for fuel. The "curled" and "bird's-eye" maple are unusual forms of this 

 species, produced by a peculiar curling of the fibers. 



black maple Acer barbatum nigrum Sarg., Acer saccharinum nigrum T. & G., 



Acer nigrum Michx. f. 



The above list of Latin names reveals the fact that this tree has long 

 been a puzzle to botanists. In leaf characters it differs considerably from 

 the sugar maple, but resembles it in fruit characters, general habit and in 

 sugar production. As indicated in the key, the leaf is less deeply lobed, 



and is minutely hairy on the lower face ; 

 it may also be hairy along the leaf stalk. 

 It is thicker and more leathery in texture 

 and is usually heart-shape at the base, 

 the rounded basal lobes sometimes over- 

 lapping. The typical form of the leaf is 

 shown in the accompanying figure. 



It is common in portions of Canada 

 and farther west. In Vermont it seems 

 to be rare, and has not been reported out- 

 side of the Champlain valley, except at 

 Windsor. Michaux found it at the latter 

 place about a century ago and its rediscov- 

 ery there would be of a considerable bot- 

 anical interest. It is usually found in 

 low, moist places. 

 This black maple should not be confused with specimens of the ordi- 

 nary sugar maple having darker bark. Sugar makers often term such trees 

 "black maples." The bark of this black maple is generally dark, but the 

 leaf characters must be appealed to in its recognition. 



BLACK MAPLE, X Vz- 



SILVER MAPLE (SOFT MAPLE, WHITE MAPLE, SWAMP MAPLE ) Acer SaCCharillUm 



Linn., Acer dasycarpum Ehrh. 



The silver maple is a large, graceful tree, generally distributed along 

 our water courses, especially near the shores of Lake Champlain and the 

 streams emptying into it. It resembles the red maple but is distinguished 



