100 ACER RUBRUM. 
mountains, between Brownville and Pittsburg, the red-flowering maple is seen 
growing on elevated ground, with the oaks and the walnuts ; but in such situa- 
tions, it does not attain such ample dimensions, as in Pennsylvania and New 
Jersey. In these states exist extensive marshes, called maple swamps, exclu- 
sively covered with it." Elliot observes that, in " descending the mouths of our 
large rivers, the red maple is the last tree found in the swamps, diminishing in 
size as the soil becomes impregnated with salt, until it dwindles down to a shrub, 
and mingling with the Myrica cerifera, (candlebery myrtle,) and the Baccharis 
halimifolia, it finally disappears." 
This species, when cultivated, contrary to the general character of the maples, 
is said to thrive best in moist soil, which must, however, at the same time, be 
rich ; and for the tree to attain a large size, the situation should be sheltered. 
In Britain it is chiefly propagated by layers ; but on the continent, almost 
always by seeds, which ripen before midsummer, even sooner than those of the 
Acer eriocarpum, and, if sown immediately, they will come up the same season. 
The seeds, however, do not keep well, even when mixed with earth; and in 
general, but a small proportion of those vegetate which are sent from the United 
States to Europe. 
Insects. The insects which attack this species are the same as those which 
prey upon the Acer eriocarpum. 
Properties and Uses. The wood of the Acer rubrum, when dry, weighs forty- 
four pounds to a cubic foot, and when green, it is soft, full of aqueous matter, 
and loses in drying nearly one half of its weight. In this tree, as in others which 
grow in wet places, the sap-wood bears a large proportion to the heart-wood, the 
latter of which consists of an irregular column, star-like in its transverse section, 
and occupies the central part of large trunks, with its points projecting into the sap- 
wood. This wood has but little strength, is liable to injury from insects, and fer- 
ments, and speedily decays, when exposed to the alternations of moisture and dry- 
ness. Yet it is solid, and for many purposes, is preferred by workmen, to other kinds 
of wood. It is harder than that of the white maple, and of a finer and closer grain ; 
hence it is easily wrought in the lathe, and acquires, by polishing, a glossy and 
silky surface. It is principally employed in the manufacture of chairs, saddle-trees, 
shoe-lasts, ox-yokes, broom-handles, and various other articles of domestic use. It 
sometimes happens that, in very old trees, the grain of the wood, instead of fol- 
lowing a perpendicular direction, is undulated; and this variety bears the name 
of curled-maple. This singular arrangement is never found in young trees, nor 
even in the branches of such as exhibit it in the trunk ; it is also less conspicuous 
in the centre of the tree than near the bark. Trees offering this disposition, 
however, are rare. The serpentine direction of the fibres, which renders this 
wood difficult to split and to work, produces, in the hands of a skilful mechanic, 
the most beautiful effects of light and shade. These effects are rendered more 
striking, if, after smoothing the surface of the wood with a double-ironed plane, 
it is rubbed with a little sulphuric acid, and afterwards with linseed oil. Or 
examining it attentively, the varying shades are found to be owing entirely to 
the inflection of the rays of light ; which is more sensibly perceived in viewing it 
in different directions by candle-light. Before mahogany became generally fash- 
ionable in the United States, the best furniture in use was made of the red- 
flowered maple, and bedsteads are still made of it, which in richness of lustre, 
exceed those of the finest imported woods. But one of the most constant uses to 
which the curled-maple is applied, is for the stocks of rifles and fowling-pieces, 
which, to elegance and lightness, unite toughness and strength, the result of the 
tortuous direction of the fibres. The cellular matter of the inner bark is of a 
dusky-red. By boiling, it yields a purplish coloured liquor, which, with the 
addition of sulphate of iron, (copperas.) acquires an intense dark-blue, or black 
