106 THE MAPLE. 



unchanged. Soon tired of this, the maple takes a 

 pattern from his sober neighbour ash, throws its 

 gaudy trim away, and patiently awaits with all his 

 peers the next new change. In spring the wood- 

 bine wreathes its knots of green around the rugged 

 limbs of the maple ; the rose beneath puts on its 

 emerald gems, and then our gallant sir will wear 

 such colours too, fluttering through all its summer's 

 day. When first the maple begins to autumnize 

 the grove, the extremities of the boughs alone 

 change their colour, but all the internal and more 

 sheltered parts still retain their verdure, which 

 gives to the tree the effect of a great depth of shade, 

 and displays advantageously the light, lively co- 

 louring of the sprays. We find the maple useful 

 in our hedges, not from the opposition it affords, 

 but by reason of its very quick growth from the 

 stool after it has been cut, whence it makes a fence 

 in a shorter time than most of its companions ; 

 and when firewood is an object, it soon becomes 

 sufficiently large for this purpose. The singular 

 ruggedness of the branches and shoots when they 

 have attained a year's growth, and the depth of the 

 furrows, give it a strongly marked character among 

 our shrubs. The under side of the leaves in au- 

 tumn, when they become yellow, and dashed here 

 and there with a few specks of red and brown, ap- 

 pear, when magnified, like a very beautiful and 

 perfect mosaic pavement, with all its tessera? ar- 

 ranged and fitted. If one of these rugged young 

 shoots be cut through horizontally with a sharp 



