Minnesota Plant Life. 



315 



woodenware or furniture. Soft maples are abundant through- 

 out the southern part of Minnesota and extend north to Bel- 

 trami county. 



Red maples. The red maple commonly occurs in Minne- 

 sota as a bush or low tree, but may, under the best conditions, 

 reach a height of over a hundred feet. The bark is of a dark 

 gray color. The leaves are whiter below than above, and in 

 autumn exhibit beautiful hues of scarlet and orange. The 

 flowers are borne much as in the soft maple and the fruits some- 



Fio. 154. A grove of sugar-maples. Near I^ake Minnetonka. After photograph by Mr. E. C. 



Mills. 



what resemble those of the latter species, though the wings are 

 more incurved. The red twigs, brilliant autumnal color, and 

 more conspicuous flowers distinguish easily this maple from the 

 soft maple. Its wood is heavy and one variety of it, known 

 as curly maple, when polished is very beautiful. In Minnesota 

 the red maple is one of the earliest trees to assume the autumn 

 tints, and, with the sumacs, gives a vivid color to hillsides 

 before the deep red of the scarlet oaks appears. 



Sugar-maples. The sugar-maple is a large, round-headed 

 tree, sometimes growing in Minnesota to a height of seventy 



