13 



where I was sawed still further and planed and 

 polished and so turned into a desk." 



"And was your bark made into a canoe?" pursued 

 the inquisitive Stove. 



"No, my bark was too thick and brittle for that. 

 It is the bark of my cousin Paper Birch, sometimes 

 called Canoe Birch, which is made into canoes. 

 He grows all over Canada, so that wherever the 

 Indians are they need not be without canoes." 



"I notice that the teacher is proud of his desk 

 and is careful to keep it free from ink spots" said the 

 Stove, "and I have also often wondered what causes 

 its surface to be marked by little knotty spots resemb- 

 ling birds' eyes. If you, Mr. Desk, have a tongue 

 as well as eyes, let us hear it." 



"I am Sugar Maple" returned the wood of the 

 Desk, "sometimes called Hard Maple." 



"Just a moment!" cried the Stove, "Is not the 

 leaf of the Sugar Maple the national emblem of 

 Canada? Do not the pupils often sing, especially 

 on Friday afternoons, "The Maple Leaf Forever?' ' 



"That is true," said the Sugar Maple, "and now 

 that you have mentioned it I will relate something of 

 that patriotic song which otherwise my modesty 

 would have prevented me mentioning. I was a 

 little seedling many years ago more than one 

 hundred years ago in a piece of low, rich land near 

 lake Ontario, for the Maples, and Oaks, and Beeches 

 love good land. There were plenty of Indians 

 about in those days and only a few white men. 

 After a while more white people came and built 

 houses and the place was called York, Canada West. 

 As there were no sidewalks and no paved streets 

 the visitors who came to see it, remembering the 



