THE MAPLES. 



207 



and extends southward to Florida and westward to the 

 Dakotas and Texas ; it is one of the very earliest 

 trees to blossom in the spring, when 

 it assumes a ruddy hue by reason 

 of the red flowers; in autumn 

 its rich red foliage again dem- 

 onstrates the right of 



the tree to its name ; 

 even the hard wood has 

 a reddish tinge at times, 

 and with a " curled " grain 

 it is considered peculiarly 

 handsome in cabinet work. 



I have drawn a leaf of 

 the beautiful Norway maple {Acei 

 plutanoides) so that we may com- 

 pare it with that of our own su- 

 gar maple ; the shapes are very 

 similar. Notice the extremely 

 divergent seed wings which are 

 characteristic of this tree. It is Red Maple, 

 a handsome maple, very round Three lobed leaf 

 in outline, and is easily distinguished by the milky 

 juice which is best seen at the base of the young 

 leaf. It is becoming very common in our Eastern 

 cities. My drawing was taken from a tree which 



grows in Roxbury, Mass. Acer palmatum is a beau- 

 15 



