STUDIES OF TREES IN WINTER 



All the maples have opposite leaf-scars. 



Sugar or Rock The g eneral sha P e is erect > with 

 Maple smooth, clean branches. In old 



Acer saccharum rees {fa fayfe b rea ks away in 



long, shallow fissures with curling ridges, giv- 

 ing the trunk a ploughed appearance. The buds 

 are narrow, brown, and sharp-pointed. Deli- 

 cate pinkish leaves folded inside the bud. Leaf- 

 scars small and opposite; also the twigs branch 

 opposite each other. 



Among the different characteristics of this 

 tree in winter, two stand out conspicuously as 

 unfailing means of identification, the sharp- 

 pointed brown buds and the rough furrowed 

 trunk with smooth places between the fissures. 

 When young it can be distinguished at a dis- 

 tance by its erect habit of growth and general 

 shapeliness, the main trunk often extending up 

 into the tree unbroken by divisions. 



The sugar maple is typically American, and 

 is especially associated in our minds with the 

 farming and country life of New England. It 

 is found in all the Northeastern States growing 

 wild and extensively cultivated. Maple sugar 

 is made from the sap of this tree in the early 

 spring. A clear, bright day and a westerly 

 wind succeeding a frosty night are most favor- 

 able to the flow of sap, according to Emerson. 



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