THE MAPLE. 



IN New England and the adjoining States, the maples 

 are among the most conspicuous and important families 

 of our indigenous trees. Their wood is used for various 

 purposes in the arts, and their product of sugar is of 

 incalculable value. Two of the European maples are 

 cultivated here, distinguished from the American species 

 by their larger leaves and flowers and their darker ver- 

 dure. I prefer the latter, because they have a smaller 

 leaf, and consequently a more lively and airy appear- 

 ance, and because they are more beautiful in autumn. 



Besides the three most remarkable species in our native 

 woods, there are several smaller maples in New England, 

 not rising much above the height of shrubs, but distin- 

 guished by their elegance and beauty. One of the most 

 common of these is the Striped Maple, sometimes called 

 Moosewood. It is a tree of singular grace and beauty, 

 and in Maine and New Hampshire it is abundant, inter- 

 mixed with the undergrowth of the forest. It is one of 

 the earliest trees in putting forth its flowers. The leaves 

 are large, broad, not deeply cleft, and finely variegated 

 in their tints in autumn. The protection of the forest 

 seems needful to this tree, for it is seldom found among 

 the border shrubbery of fields and waysides. Mr. Emer- 

 son thinks it deserving of cultivation. " I have found it," 

 he remarks, " growing naturally twenty-five feet high, and 

 nineteen or twenty inches in circumference ; and Mr. 

 Brown, of Eichmond, tells me he has known it to attain 

 the height of twenty-five feet. It well deserves careful 



