28 



along the watercourses and up over the steep hillsides and 

 bluffs on the eastern and northern exposures. This tree is a 

 native through the greater part of the central hardwood 

 region, growing in greatest abundance in the extreme north. 

 The wood is heavy, hard, tough, strong, light colored, and 

 used extensively in the manufacture of furniture, interior 

 finishing, flooring, and in many ways in the various industrial 

 arts, as shown in the following table : 



Factory Uses of Maple. 



Purpose. Per cent. 



Mill work 34 



Furniture and fixtures 17 



Boxes and crates 10 



Boot and shoe findings 6 



Agricultural implements 5 



Musical instruments 5 



Handles 4 



Wooden ware, novelties, etc 4 



Vehicles 4 



Laundry appliances 2 



Other uses 9 



Total 100 



Habits of Growth. The sugar maple is one of the most toler- 

 ant of our broad-leaved species, growing as seedlings in dense 

 stands under other hardwood trees, and even in mixture with 

 conifers. In dense stands it clears itself readily of limbs and 

 develops a narrow, conical crown, until it begins to approach 

 maturity. The crown then assumes a more dome-like appear- 

 ance, with compact, dense foliage. In this state the trees 

 reach a diameter of three feet or more and a height of sixty 

 feet or more. It is a tree that does not endure extreme heat 

 or droughty conditions, and can only be grown successfully in 

 this state where soil and atmospheric moisture conditions are 

 congenial. 



Two- or three-year-old seedlings of the hard maple may 

 be used in woodlot planting to underplant maturing stands. 

 When planted in this way the seedlings will require very little 

 care, unless lopping the weeds is necessary to prevent the 

 trees from being smothered. However, this will seldom be 

 necessary if the stand is at all dense. In open stands hoeing 

 and lopping the weeds will be required at least two or three 

 years. Eight hundred or one thousand seedlings per acre will 

 give a very full stand of hard maple. 



