358 Lake Maxinkuckee, Physical and Biological Survey 



the weeping habit. There is an actual "cut-leaved" form (Wier's 

 cut-leaved Maple) and it has a decidedly weeping habit. In some 

 of these cut-leaved maples all the leaves are well laciniated, others 

 approach the typical form. 



Another peculiarity of habit of some trees is the tendency to 

 have the leaves compactly crowded close to the main branches. 

 This oddity had reached its perfection in a tree seen on an island 

 of the Cumberland River a few miles above Nashville, the leaves 

 all clustering so closely and compactly to the branches that the 

 appearance of the tree was that of a lot of ropy festoons — much the 

 effect that the tree might have presented if wholly dead, and cov- 

 ered densely over, the minutest branches and all, with a closely 

 growing vine of ivy. Although this particular tree was surrounded 

 and backed by other trees of the same species, so great was its con- 

 trast in form, that it could be distinguished from the growth 

 about it as far as the eye could see it at all. Such an unique tree 

 would be well worthy of an attempt to perpetuate if possible for use 

 in parks ; either standing by itself or in mass backed with the com- 

 mon form, it would produce a striking spectacle unlike that of 

 any other tree. 



The silver maple has not as beautiful autumnal coloration as 

 the red and hard maples; sometimes the leaves turn red, some- 

 times pale yellow. In open places, the top leaves are shed first, 

 leaving the lower boughs still leafy. The trees were shedding their 

 leaves rapidly in the latter part of October. 



It is not rare to find silver maples with leaves red or purplish 

 red all summer. This color is characteristic of the young leaves 

 when they first appear, and seems to be due to an abundance of cell- 

 sap ; its continuance through the summer appears to be due to a 

 sort of prolonged youthfulness of the leaves, and is especially likely 

 to happen in saturated or acid soils. In some cases it appears to 

 be an individual peculiarity of certain trees, and one planted in 

 the sandy soil near Long Point retained its brilliant foliage all sum- 

 mer. By paying especial attention to this peculiarity we could 

 probably develop strains of silver maples with colored foliage and 

 in due time accomplish with our arboreal maples as astonishing re- 

 sults as the Japanese have done with their shrubby species. 



The sap of the silver maple has a much lower sugar content 

 than the sugar maple, but the tree yields a much larger supply. 

 It makes an excellent maple syrup or sugar. 



In its use as a street or shade tree the silver maple is more ad- 

 mirable for its possibilities than for what has as yet been accom- 



