SILVICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS 37 



fall and is often thickly scattered over the ground near old trees. 

 It germinates well in pasture grass or on bare mineral soil. The 

 result is that our northern forests often have dense thickets of 

 maple saplings. On account of the thickness of the bark it 

 suffers comparatively little from fire. It sometimes suffers 

 severely from defoliation by the forest tent caterpillar. An 

 injury to the sap is caused and often ends in the death of the 

 tree. Another common insect enemy is the maple borer which 

 makes great sores on the trunk. 



SOFT MAPLE OR RED MAPLE (Acer rubrum). 



The range of this species is slightly more restricted than that 

 of hard maple, as it extends westward only as far as eastern 

 Minnesota and Nebraska, but it reaches a little farther south in 

 Florida. It is found throughout New England but is more 

 common in the southern section. In the northern portion an- 

 other species, A. spicatum or mountain maple, commonly takes 

 its place and is similar in character. 



The red maple is not in the least fastidious as to soils for it is 

 the most common deciduous tree of swamp lands and is found 

 as well on very dry sites, although seldom on sand plains. In 

 the swamps its growth is only medium, but on the old fields of 

 southern New England where it is a characteristic feature it 

 grows rapidly. It does not, however, attain great age and 

 specimens over fifteen inches in diameter and eighty feet high 

 are rare. 



It produces an abundant crop of seed every spring and repro- 

 duction both by seed and by sprouts is good. The seed germi- 

 nates best on old fields and also on soil made bare by fire. 



The bark of red maple is soft and the tree is easily damaged by 

 fire. It has no serious insect or fungus enemies. 



As the wood is of inferior quality it is used chiefly for fuel. 

 Except in swamps and as a pioneer in the reestablishment of 

 forests on old fields, it is of little importance silviculturally, and 

 it is bound to play a less and less important part as such worth- 

 less species gradually are eliminated. 



