CHAPTER VII 



BROAD-LEAVED TREES: THE MAPLES 



It is the maple family to which we are indebted for 

 much of the glorious coloring of our autumn landscapes. 



It is true that all trees play their part in the general 

 color scheme, but for the brilliant reds and scarlets of 

 the fall foliage we must look to the maples. 



When we think of the word maple we are apt to 

 have visions of other things besides trees. Maple and 

 sugar or sirup seem to go together, and in fact some of 

 us do not know that there are other maples besides the 

 sugar maple. 



This fine American tree is one of which we should be 

 proud. Not only is it a handsome large tree, valuable 

 for its shade and the beautiful colors it wears in the fall, 

 but its wood is hard and valuable, it is often called 

 rock maple, and besides all these good qualities it fur- 

 nishes us with our maple sirup and sugar. 



The process of making maple sugar is quite interest- 

 ing and may be divided into two stages, gathering the 

 sap, and boiling down. 



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