96 LIFE ON THE FARM. 



several smaller sub-divisions, each ending in a 

 sharp point. The veins radiate from the base of 

 the leaf blade, giving it the palmate form. The 

 autumn colorings of maple leaves are most glori- 

 ous. They flash under October skies in red, crim- 

 son, orange, and yellow. 



Maples blossom early, and the seeds ripen before 

 the middle of summer. The seeds are borne at 

 the end of long, pendulous foot-stalks, diverging 

 into two wings forming what is known as maple 

 keys. One of the capsules is usually empty, prob- 

 ably for the reason that two seeds cannot ger- 

 minate at the same spot without crowding each 

 other. By means of the two wings the seeds are 

 carried by the wind and planted in new soil. It is 

 easy to grow maples from the seed. 



One of the most noted things about the sugar 

 maple is the sweetness of its sap from which maple 

 syrup and maple sugar are made. The sap is 

 drawn from the trees in very early spring, before 

 the leaves begin to grow. Boring into the tree for 

 sap beyond question weakens it to some extent, 

 but the injury is so slight that the effect is seldom 

 noticed, even though repeated for twenty or thirty 

 consecutive years. 



On the whole, the sugar maple is a very beauti- 

 ful and useful tree and will stand for generations 

 in full vigor. No farm should be without a grove 

 of sugar maples. 



