Maples 



27 



FIG. 16. Silver maples in winter. 



R. E. Horsey 



dioxid, a gas that is taken in from the air. In the leaves 

 these are united to form sugar. Leaves cannot do this 

 work without light; when the sun shines on them it 

 supplies the energy for the process. 



Uses of the wood of the maple. The sugar maple is 

 called also " hard maple." Try to cut a piece across 

 the grain with a knife or saw and see whether it is the 

 hardest wood you have. Hardwood floors are often made 

 of maple, the pieces of which have been planed and 

 matched with tongue and groove. Maple wood is used 

 for this purpose because it has no soft places to wear 

 away and leave the floor uneven or splintered (page 152). 



"Bird's-eye maple" is an ornamental wood obtained 

 from certain sugar-maple trees of the same species as 

 those whose wood is straight-grained. " Curly maple " 

 is found in this species as well as in the soft maples. 



