THE MAPLES 



THE family of Maples is a large one. There are between 

 sixty and seventy species in the world all but one of them 

 belonging to the Northern Hemisphere and thirteen of 

 them indigenous to the United States, of which less than 

 one half have any commercial value as timber trees. They 

 are naturally separated into two classes : Hard Maple and 

 Soft Maple. This division is based upon the physical char- 

 acteristics of the wood of each, and it has been very pro- 

 perly adopted by the lumber trade. 



While there are several species belonging to the Hard 

 Maple class, there are but three that may be considered as 

 rightfully belonging to the list of important timber trees of 

 our country. These are Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum, some- 

 times called "Sugar Tree," "Rock Maple," and "Hard 

 Maple"); Black Maple (Acer nigrum, generally called 

 " Rock Maple ") ; and Broadleaf Maple (Acer macrophyl- 

 lum, frequently called " Oregon Maple "). The last-named 

 one is elsewhere described (page 354) when considering 

 the broadleaf trees of the Pacific Slope. 



Of the Soft Maple class there may be named Silver Maple 

 (Acer saccharinum, generally called " Soft Maple "), and 

 Red Maple (Acer rubrum). 



SUGAR MAPLE : Acer saccharum and nigrum 



BECAUSE of its widespread natural range, the well-known 

 Sugar Maple is the dominant one of the Hard Maple class ; 

 but the economic difference between this and the Black 

 Maple is not great. What there is lies in the smaller size 

 of the Black Maple and the slightly greater hardness of its 

 wood. Both species may be accurately called Sugar Maple, 

 but if either deserves the name of Hard Maple, it more 



