64 HAND-BOOK OF TREE-PLANTING. 



abundance from the forty-second degree of 

 north latitude to Georgia, and from the eastern 

 border of Maine to the Rocky Mountains. 



Among the maples the box-elder (Negimdo 

 aceroides), or ash-leaved maple, is especially wor- 

 thy of notice, on account of its hardiness and 

 rapidity of growth. For this reason, though it 

 is an inferior tree for lumber, it is valuable for 

 use, especially on the dry and bare plains of the 

 Northwest. Its form and foliage likewise make 

 it a desirable tree for planting by the road-side. 

 It has also a saccharine sap, from which sirup 

 and sugar are made, but its value on this ac- 

 count is not equal to that of the sugar-maple. 



Another tree of rapid growth, but of more 

 substantial merit, is the locust (Robinia pscudaca- 

 cid). This tree deserves more attention than it 

 has commonly received. No tree when young 

 is more beautiful, owing to the peculiar tint and 

 shape of its leaves, and the graceful disposition 

 of its long and slender branches, in which it re- 

 sembles the willows. It is one of the trees to be 

 chosen for planting near the dwelling, especially 

 where it is desirable to get the shelter or com- 

 panionship of trees quickly. But the locust has 



