of education 43 



The Rock Maple. 



" The Acer saccharinum, or Rock maple, is a very 

 beautiful tree, especially in autumn. There are forty 

 species of maple in the world, and five of them grow 

 in Massachusetts. The largest rock maples grow a 

 hundred feet tall and six feet in diameter at the base. 

 It is one of our best shade trees and it reaches its great- 

 est size and perfection in Vermont and New Hamp- 

 shire. The wood is white and very solid and hard. It 

 makes the very best wood to burn, and it is highly 

 prized for all kinds of nice furniture on account of its 

 beautiful silver-grain. 



11 The leaf of this tree is four or five inches long, 

 and it has many sharp points. In color it is bright 

 green and very glossy. The leaf is net-veined and 

 the veins are yellow. The stem is about an inch and 

 a half long, and there are several small grooves run- 

 ning the whole length. The pith rays are very fine 

 and lighter in color than the rest of the wood. The 

 annual rings are quite thick, and the inner part of 

 them is light brown. The ducts, if any, are so fine 

 that they can hardly be seen. 



' ' The seeds are round and grow together, separated 

 only by the stem. They have wings of a light buff 

 color, and the wings have many fine veins. The sap 

 of the rock maple tree contains sugar, and if twenty 

 pounds of the sap is boiled away, there will be about 



