Along the Lakeside Third Excursion 



tint, and interminable blendings of rich shades, noth- 

 ing approaches our plebeian red maple. It is the artist 

 tree. In early spring it flings out a wealth of crimson 

 flowers that is only prevented by our familiarity with 

 it from being more highly prized. When the blossoms 

 fade, the crimson dye runs back and suffuses the leaf- 

 stems, whence later it spreads over the red-winged 

 fruit, and at last the fire that has long smouldered 

 breaks out into an October conflagration, that finally 

 consumes the foliage to ashes. The sugar maple is 

 often a mass of uniform light yellow, whose falling 

 leaves strew the ground with a strange sunshine. But 

 the white maple, whose deeply cut foliage gives it an 

 especially ' ' dressy ' ' look through the summer, turns to 

 a lifeless yellow, or simply withers. 



LINDEN. In marked contrast to maples are the lin- 

 dens, that present an altogether different type of figure, 

 leaf, and flower. Basswood and lime-tree are names of 

 two of the species, the latter being a favorite in Europe, 

 and figuring prominently in ancient poetry. Two or 

 three hundred years is a great age for most trees, but 

 there are authentic instances of the linden surviving 

 nearly a thousand. 



We have three native species, two with very large, 

 and one with small leaves. With compact head and 

 thickly branched, the large-leaved species produce 

 remarkably dense foliage, with a contrasting effect, 

 against elms, maples, and birches, that is fine ; but the 

 form and size of leaf preclude a graceful appearance. 

 For small grounds, therefore, the common basswood is 



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