130 HANDBOOK OF NATURE STUDY 



The Maples 



3. The Soft Maple, or Silver Maple. Acer dasycarpum. 



This tree grows to a height of about sixty feet. It gen- 

 erally divides into three or four stout, upright, secondary 

 stems ten to fifteen feet from the ground. These secondary 

 stems are destitute of large branches, but bear a number of 

 brittle, pendulous branchlets. 



The bark of old trees is reddish-brown, furrowed and sep- 

 arated into large, thin scales; but young trees and large 

 branches have a smooth gray bark, tinged with red. 



The smooth and very lustrous branchlets of the last season 

 are bright chestnut-brown and dotted with large, pale len- 

 ticels. 



It is a common tree along river banks. In the West it is 

 often planted for shade, and if placed in good, moist soil, 

 grows very rapidly. 



The rather large brown flower buds, which appear in thick 

 clusters, can be recognized as early as December. 



4. The Sugar Maple, or Rock Maple. Acer saccharmum. 



A young sugar maple growing in an open place develops 

 a symmetrical oval top of stout and nearly upright branches. 

 As the tree grows older, its branches spread gradually, mak- 

 ing a broad, round-topped dome from fifty to seventy feet 

 across. 



In the forest, where many trees crowd each other, sugar 

 maples often rise to a height of fifty or sixty feet with- 

 out a single branch. 



The bark is one-half to three-fourths of an inch thick, 

 broken into deep longitudinal furrows, separating into small 

 scales on the surface. On old trees it appears light gray- 



Observations. Preserve some piiie flowers in alcohol. 



