THE MAPLES 199 



The Dwarf Maple 



A. glabrum, Torr. 



The dwarf maple ranges plentifully from Canada to 

 Arizona and New Mexico. Its leaves, typically tliree- 

 lobed and cut-toothed, vary to a compound form of three 

 coarse-toothed leaflets. The winged keys are ruddy in 

 midsummer, lending an attractive dash of color to the 

 woods that border high mountain streams. 



Very common in cultivation are the Japanese maples — 

 miniature trees, bred and cultivated for centuries, won- 

 derful in the variations in form and coloring of their 

 leaves. Tiny maple trees in pots are often very old. 

 Some leaves are mere skeletons. 



The Japanese people are worshippers of beauty and 

 they delight particularly in garden shows. In the autumn, 

 when the maples have reached perfection, the populace 

 turns out in holiday attire to celebrate a grand national 

 fete. A sort of aesthetic jubilee it is, like the spring 

 jubilee of the cherry blossom To each careful gardener 

 who has patiently toiled to bring his maples to perfection, 

 it is sufficient reward that the people make this annual 

 pilgrimage to view them. 



The Box Elder 



A. Negundo, Linn. 



The box elder is the one maple whose leaves are always 

 cleft to the stem, making it compound of irregularly 

 toothed leaflets. The clusters of flattened keys, which 

 hang all winter on the trees, declare the kinship of this 

 tree to the maples. 



