THE SUGAR MAPLE 



1021 



FOREST FORM OF SUGAR MAPLE 



The maximum size of the forest trees is about five feet in diameter and one hundred and twenty feet high. The usual forest maple is from two 

 to three feet in diameter and seventy to ninety feet high, being clear of limbs to within twenty or thirty feet of the top, where it forms 

 a small rounded crown. 



"On sods of turf he sat the soldiers round ; 

 A maple throne, raised high above the ground, 

 Received the Trojan chief; and, o'er the bed, 

 A lion's shaggy hide for ornament they spread." 



The sugar maple flourishes on moderately deep, well- 

 drained, fertile loam soils. It will grow on stifif clay 

 soils if not too wet, and on stony hillsides if not too dry; 

 it shows strong preference for limestone soils. It thrives 

 in cool, moist situations; in fact, sugar maple requires 

 a cool climate and an abundant rainfall for its best devel- 

 opment. It has a shallow root system. Under the best 

 conditions it grows only moderately fast. In the forest 

 it grows slowly, but at a fairly even rate ; an inch in diam- 

 eter in 12 to 16 years is probably average growth under 

 forest conditions. In the Lake region, beech and yellow 

 birch are commonly found associated with the sugar 

 maple. Among other trees that often grow with it are 

 red spruce, paper birch, red maple, white pine and 

 hemlock. 



The exceptionally dense foliage of the sugar maple en- 

 ables it to endure heavy shading by other trees. Some 

 seed is borne every year, but every three to five years 

 large quantities of seed are produced. For this reason 

 young growth is abundant, and the ability of the seed- 



lings to grow vigorously in considerable shade insures 

 plenty of young maples ready to take advantage of any 

 opening in the forest. Sometimes trees develop from 

 the sprouts that come up from maple stumps on cut-over 

 lands. 



If it is desired to grow sugar maple trees, the seed 

 should be planted in the fall in well-prepared seed beds. 

 The seeds may also be sown in spots cleared of grass 

 and shrubbery where the trees are desired to stand per- 

 manently. 



Sugar maple is an excellent shade tree for planting 

 along country roads and village streets. In large towns, 

 it is affected by smoke, dust, illuminating gas and other 

 troubles. It is sometimes defoliated by the forest tent 

 caterpillar, and the maple borer occasionally makes great 

 holes in its trunk. Under favorable conditions the tree 

 may live to reach an age of three or four hundred years. 



The sugar maple casts a very dense shade, and the 

 mosaic formed by the artistic arrangement of leaves on the 

 branches is a joy to the observant student of nature. Its 

 broad dome forms a pleasing picture in summer or winter, 

 but the lover of the woods finds one of his greatest pleas- 

 ures in its brilliant autumn foliage. At first the change 

 of color is gradual ; later the tints become more and more 



