196 TREES 



across a swamp, is sure to be a scarlet maple that suddenly 

 declares its name. Against the green of a hemlock forest 

 these maples show their color like a splash of blood. The 

 tree is gorgeous. 



In winter the lover of the woods, re-visiting the scenes 

 of his summer rambles, knows the scarlet maple by the 

 knotty, full-budded twigs which gleam like red-hot needles 

 set with coral beads, against the clean-limbed, gray-trunked 

 tree. The red maple never quite forgets its name. 



As a street tree, it makes rapid progress when it once 

 becomes established, though it is apt to stand still for a 

 time after being transplanted. Its branches are short, 

 numerous, and erect, making a round head, admirably 

 adapted to the resistance of heavy winds. It is particu- 

 larly suited to use in narrow streets. 



The Soft Maple 

 A. saccharinum, Linn. 



The soft maple or silver maple (see illustration, page 199) 

 has a white-lined leaf, cleft almost to the midrib and each 

 division again deeply cut. It is quick and ready to grow, 

 and has been widely planted as a street tree, especially in 

 prairie regions of uncertain rainfall. It is one of the 

 poorest of trees for street planting, because it has a sprawl- 

 ing habit and weak brittle wood. The heavy limbs have 

 great horizontal spread, and are easily broken by ice and 

 windstorms. When planted on streets, they require 

 constant cutting back to make them even safe. Thick 

 crops of suckers rise from the stubs of branches, but the 

 top thus formed is neither beautiful nor useful. 



Wier's weeping maple, a cut-leaved, drooping variety 



