234 The Hornbeams and the Maples. 



arts, and is suitable for the making of levers, tool-handles, and 

 other articles requiring great strength. It forrus an excellent fire- 

 wood and material for charcoal used for cooking, or in forges, or for 

 making gunpowder. 



926. THE EUROPEAN HORNBEAM (Carpinus betulus) is often culti- 

 vated for screens and hedges in Europe, and it was thought by 

 Michaux that it might be introduced with profit into the United 

 States. Among its merits are the following : It bears pruning well, 

 is not liable to disease, grows for a long time in a confined form, 

 and does not injure the adjacent crops, probably because its roots 

 draw their support from a greater depth ; it grows very close and 

 twiggy, and retains its leaves late ; it endures a rough and windy 

 situation, and grows well in a great variety of soils. 



927. It seeds abundantly, and when sown immediately, a few 

 spring up the first year, but most of them not till the second year. 

 The usual mode of cultivation is to sow in spring, at the rate of a 

 bushel of clean seed to fifty yards of a bed four feet wide ; and as 

 the seeds do not grow the first year, the ground may be occupied by 

 some other light crop, such as onions, lettuce, raddish, or cabbage. 

 They may be thinned out when one year old by transplanting to 

 nursery rows, but the young plants do best if not taken up till they 

 are two years old. In two years more, they will be suitable for set- 

 ting in single hedge rows. Under cultivation, the hornbeam has 

 produced cut leaved and variegated forms that are propagated by 

 layers for ornamental planting. 



THE MAPLES (Genus Acer). 



928. The maples occur widely distributed in the Northern Temper- 

 ate Zone upon both continents, and upon the eastern rather than upon 

 the western sides. There are about fifty species described, of which 

 nine or ten occur within the United States. They generally grow 

 to trees of considerable size, take when planted alone, a rounded, 

 symmetrical form, and are highly prized for ornamental planting in 

 village streets and by the wayside. 



929. The wood of the maples is generally light colored or with a 

 'reddish tinge, works smoothly, is not liable to warp or check, and is 

 much valued for cabinet work. In some cases, the grain is curled 

 or contorted in such a manner as to give it, when finished, a highly 

 ornamental effect. 



930. The maple leaves in autumn take bright crimson and orange 



