650 



ACERINEjE. I. ACER. 



liked by them, and when the flowers are out, which are of a 

 yellow colour, this tree has great beauty. The leaves die to a 

 golden-yellow colour in autumn, which produces a good effect 

 at that season. Linnaeus recommends it for walks and plant- 

 ations, as yielding a juice from which sugar may be made, if it 

 be wounded in the winter, and as cutting out into a fine white 

 wood, fit for the stocks of guns, the joiner, and the turner, 

 and answers all the purposes of the Sycamore. The raising of 

 this tree for use and ornament should not be neglected. 



Var. ft, variegalum ; leaves variegated. 



Var. y, laciniatum (Ait. hort. kew. 3. p. 435.) lobes of leaves 

 deeply jagged, with acuminated, bristle-like teeth. A. crispum, 

 Lauth. acer. no. 4. A. palmatum, hort. Tratt. arch. 1. no. 5. 

 with a figure. The bark of this tree is grey, with large white 

 spots. 



Platanus-like or Norway Maple. Fl. May, June. Clt. 1683. 

 Tree 50 feet. 



25 A. GLA'BRUM (Torrey. in ann. lye. nat. hist, new york, 

 vol. 2. p. 163.) leaves roundish, 5-7-lobed, acutely toothed, 

 smooth on both surfaces ; corymbs stalked ; fruit smooth ; wings 

 diverging, broad-ovate. ^ . S. Native of North America on 

 the Rocky Mountains. 



Smooth Maple. Tree. 



26 A. SACCHARINUM (Lin. spec. 1496.) leaves cordate, smooth, 

 glaucous beneath, palmately 5-lobed ; lobes acuminated, si- 

 nuately toothed ; corymbs drooping, on short peduncles ; pedi- 

 cels pilose ; fruit smooth, with the wings diverging. J; . H. 

 Native of North America from Canada to Pennsylvania in rich 

 valleys. Michx. fil. arb. 2. t. 15. Tratt. arch. 1. no. 3. with 

 a figure. The American sugar-maple will grow to the height of 

 40 feet. It has some resemblance to the Norway maple when 

 the plants are young. The flowers are yellow, disposed in short 

 compound corymbs, composed of imperfect hermaphrodite and 

 perfect male flowers, the anthers being abortive in the first and 

 perfect in the last. From this tree the inhabitants of North 

 America make a very good sort of sugar in large quantities. 

 It is very probable that the Americans make sugar from many 

 species of maple, particularly A. rubrum and Negundo fraxini- 

 folium. The juice is obtained by tapping the trees ; warm days 

 and frosty nights are most favorable to the plentiful discharge 

 of the sap. A hole is made in the tree in an ascending direc- 

 tion by an augur, and a spout is introduced about half an inch, 

 which projects from 3 to 12 inches ; it is generally of sumach 

 or elder. The sap will sometimes flow 6 weeks, according to 

 the temperature of the weather. Troughs are placed under 

 the spouts to receive the sap, which is carried every day to a 

 large receiver, from which it is conveyed, after being strained, 

 to the boiler. Lime, eggs, or new milk is added to the sap in 

 order to clarify it, but clear sugar may be made without any of 

 these ingredients. The sugar, after being sufficiently boiled, is 

 grained, clayed, and refined in the same manner as the cane 

 sugar in the West Indies. The sooner the sap is boiled the 

 better. It should never be kept more than 24 hours. The 

 quality of maple sugar is superior to that which is made in the 

 West Indies from the cane, and it deposits less sediment when 

 dissolved in water. It has more the appearance of sugar-candy. 



' The sugar prepared from the sap of this tree is one of the 

 greatest conveniences to the inhabitants of the Western Coun- 

 ties, is equal to any other sugar, and procured with little 

 trouble." (Pursh.) 



American Sugar Maple. Fl. Apr. May. Clt. 1735. Tr. 40ft. 



27 A. NIGRUM (Michx. fil. arb. 2. p. 238. t. 16.) leaves cor- 

 date, with the recess closed ; palmately 5-lobed, pubescent be- 

 neath ; corymbs sessile, nodding ; fruit smooth, turgid at the 

 base, with the wings diverging. ^ . H. Native of North Ame- 

 rica from New York to Carolina, on mountain lands. Flowers 



1 



yellowish. This large tree produces sugar similar to the fore- 

 going species, and occupies the same situation where the other 

 is not found. 



Black Maple. Fl. April, May. Clt. 1812. Tree 40 feet. 



28 A. ERIOCA'RPUM (Mich. fl. amer. bor. 2. p. 253.) leaves 

 truncate at the base, smooth and glaucous beneath, palmately 5- 

 lobed, with blunt recesses, and unequally and deeply-toothed 

 lobes ; flowers conglomerate, on short pedicels, apetalous, pen- 

 tandrous ; ovaries downy. Jj . H. Native of North America 

 on the banks of rivers from New England to Georgia. Desf. 

 ann. mus. 7. p. 412. t. 25. A. dasycarpum, Willd. spec. 4. 

 p. 985. Tratt. arch. 1. no. 8. with a figure. A. tomentosum, 

 Hort. par. A. glaucum, Marsh. A. Virginianum, Duh. A 

 large tree with greenish-yellow seeds and flowers. It is known 

 by the name of White or Soft Maple. 



Hairy-fruited 01 White Maple. Fl. April, May. Clt. 1725. 

 Tree 40 feet. 



29 A. RU'BRUM (Lin. spec. 1496.) leaves cordate at the base, 

 glaucous beneath, deeply and unequally toothed, palmately 5- 

 lobed, with acute recesses ; flowers conglomerate, 5-petalled, 

 pentandrous ; ovaries smooth. 1j . H. Native of North Ame- 

 rica in low woods from Canada to Florida. Mich. fil. arb. 2. 

 t. 14. Desf. ann. mus. 7. p. 413. t. 25. Tratt. arch. 1. no. 

 9. with a figure. Schmidt, arb. 1. t. 6. A. Virginianum, 

 Herm. par. t. 1. Mill. ill. t. 8. f. 4. Trew. sel. t. 85, 86. A. 

 floridanum, Hortul. Flowers and seeds red as well as the 

 branches. A small tree, commonly known by the name of Red, 

 Scarlet, or Swamp Maple. In Pennsylvania the natives use the 

 wood for all sorts of wood-work ; with the bark they dye a 

 dark blue, and make a good black ink. The Canadians tap the 

 tree for the juice, of which they make sugar and treacle. With 

 us it is grown for the sake of its red flowers, which are very 

 she ivy. 



Red, Scarlet, or Swamp Maple. Fl. April, May. Clt. 1656. 

 Tree 20 feet. 



30 A. ACUMINA'TUM (Wall. mss. D. Don. prod. fl. nep. p. 

 249.) leaves cordate, smooth, 3-5-lobed ; lobes doubly serrated, 

 long-acuminated ; corymbs few-flowered, erect, somewhat race- 

 mose, shorter than the leaves ; pedicels nearly opposite, elon- 

 gated, smooth. Tj . H. Native of Nipaul in Sirinagur, where 

 it is called Khaunsing. Flowers greenish-white ? 



Acurninated-lobed Maple. Tree. 



31 A. CULTRA V TUM (Wall. pi. asiat. rar. 2. p. 4.) leaves cor- 

 date, 7-lobed, villous in the axils of the veins beneath, the rest 

 smooth ; lobes acuminated, quite entire ; corymbs stalked, smooth ; 

 flowers subumbellate ; petals wedge-shaped ; wings of fruit di- 

 varicate, cultriform. ^ . H. Native of the regions towards 

 Himalaya in Kamaon and Sirinagur. 



Cw/<ra<e-winged-fruited Maple. Tree. 



3. Umbels stalked. Species not sufficiently known. 

 * Leaves 5 or 7-lobed, rarely 9-10-11-13. 



32 A. DISSE'CTUM (Thunb. fl. jap. p. 160.) leaves 9-10-parted ; 

 lobes oblong, acuminated, deeply serrated or pinnatifid ; umbels 

 4-6-flowered. ^ . H. Native of Japan. Tratt. arch. 1. no. 18. 

 with a figure. Corolla small, red. 



Dissected-leaved Maple. Fl. May. Tree 30 feet. 



33 A. JAPO'NICUM (Thunb. fl. jap. p. 161.) leaves roundish, 

 villous, palmately multifid ; lobes 11-13, acuminated, serrated; 

 umbels many-flowered, fj . H. Native of Japan. Trat. arch. 

 1. no. 16. with a figure. Branches and corollas purple. Fruit 

 woolly. 



Japan Maple. Fl. April, May. Tree 20 feet. 



34 A. PALMA'TUM (Thunb. fl. jap. p. 161.) leaves smooth, 

 palmately divided into 5-7 lobes beyond the middle ; lobes 



