MAY. 147 



of sleds, which are curved up at one end to run on the snow. 

 The wood is handsome, of a bright, changeable, satiny lustre, 

 with many straight lines radiating from the centre outwards, 

 across the grain ; these are lustrous, and in one light look 

 darker, and in another lighter than the rest of the wood : 

 these are the medullary rays. It is used for the finer kinds 

 of furniture, and when varnished, looks very beautiful ; it is 

 hard and heavy, but it is not durable. Trees are occasion- 

 ally found, the wood of which is filled with little knots or 

 eyes, which make what is called curled, or Bird's-eye Maple, 

 and which is much prized in cabinet work. This appearance 

 is accidental, and does not indicate a different species. I 

 have often seen logs of firewood which were curled, some less, 

 others more ; and sometimes the eyed part extends only a 

 few inches, all the rest being as usual. 



C. — Here is a Soft Maple : it covered with little red 

 blossoms, so thick as to hide the branches : how very beau- 

 tiful it is, and what a delightful fragrance it diffuses around ! 



F. — The Soft Maple, whether in blossom or in foliage is, 

 like its congener, a beautiful tree. It flowers several days 

 before it leafs, and the blossoms individually considered are 

 both handsome and fragrant : they grow in thick spikes or 

 clusters on the twigs, and have a very rich appearance. 

 This is a lofty ti^ee, but with us it does not attain either the 

 size or the height of the sugar maple. It very much resem- 

 bles that species, but it may be distinguished from it by its 

 trunk being more profusely marked with broad, pale yellow 

 patches. In clearings, it usually divides at the ground, and 

 takes the form of several small trees, growing in a clump ; 

 the bark in such situations is of a darker colour and smoother 

 texture than when it grows in the woods. It affects marshy 

 situations, the sides of rivers, brooks, &c. but is not found 

 with us in any great abundance. The wood is soft and too 

 full of sap to make good fuel : indeed it will scarcely burn of 



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