THE EED MAPLE. 



NOT dainty of its soil, but thriving equally well in a bog 

 or upon a fertile river-bank, by the side of a stream or 

 upon a dry eminence ; coming forth in the spring, like 

 morning in the east, arrayed in crimson and purple ; 

 bearing itself not proudly, but gracefully, in modest green, 

 among the more stately trees in summer ; and, ere it bids 

 adieu to the season, stepping forth in robes of gold, ver- 

 milion, crimson, and variegated scarlet, stands the queen 

 of the American forest, the pride of all eyes and the 

 delight of every picturesque observer of nature, the 

 Red Maple. There are but few trees that surpass it 

 in general beauty of form and proportion, and in the 

 variety and splendor of its autumnal tints it is not 

 equalled by any known tree. Without this species, the 

 American forest would hardly be distinguished from that 

 of Europe by any superiority of tinting. It stands among 

 the occupants of the forest like Venus among the planets, 

 the brightest in the midst of brightness, and the most 

 beautiful in a constellation of beauty. 



The Eed Maple is a tree of second magnitude, very 

 comely at all periods of its growth, producing many 

 branches, forming a somewhat pyramidal top while 

 young, but expanding into a round head as it grows old. 

 It is very evenly subdivided, the central shaft seldom 

 being distinguished above the lower junction of its prin- 

 cipal branches. The leaves are palmate, of rather a pale 

 green, and the spray, though neat and elegant, does not 

 equal that of the lime or the birch. We associate this tree 



