158 



THE MAPLE FAMIL"X. 



every bough to the topmost pinnacle of the glorious fabric, as if with 

 lamps for some jubilee or royal gala, supply one of the most imposing 

 spectacles in nature. The large, smooth, shining, mahogany-coloured 

 seeds, as they drop in October from the prickly capsules, are no less 

 beautiful in their kind than the flowers and foliage. No tree expands 

 its leaves more rapidly, or furnishes a finer example of a bud, ' The 

 noblest horse-chesnut near Manchester, that I am aware of, stands by 

 the wayside between Singleton and Besses-o'th'-Barn, on the right 

 hand, and is called, because of its magnitude, by the people of the 

 neighbourhood, the " Great Tree." The small red-flowered species, 

 occasionally seen in plantations, but not often blossoming, is the 

 jEscuIus Pdvia. The flowers of both are in perfection about the 

 middle and end of May. 



XXXVIL— THE MAPLE FAMILY. Acerdcece. 



A small family of trees, confined to the northern hemisphere, and 

 remarkable, in several instances, for their sugary sap, and light and 



Fig. 114. 

 Fruit of Acer. 



Fig. 113. 

 Loaf of Acer. 



useful timber. The beautifully mottled wood, called " bird's-eye 

 maple," is well known in drawing-rooms, and "maple sugar" to 

 every one who is informed concerning the productions of New Bruns- 



