84 



TREES GROWINCJ XllAK WATER. 



Acer rubriitn. 



with his eager desire to gnaw the red 

 maples' buds ? It is indeed the insects 

 and animals that know best; for their 

 search is not that of the dilettante. 

 Their desire for food impels them 

 to look about diligently, and when 

 found they wish to carry it to their 

 young also. Often before the snow 

 is off the ground the sap of the red 

 maple begins to ascend; and in earliest 

 March, while the odour of winter's 

 pageant is still in the air, the flower- 

 buds begin to expand. Then it is not 

 long before they unfold their exquisite 

 blossoms which hang in the bare trees 

 like a shower of crimson light. As 

 we wander by tlie side of a stream, straining our eyes per- 

 haps for the first sight of the white violet, they may be sway- 

 ing over our heads. Hardly a leaf is to be seen on the trees 

 thus early in the year; but the soil is soft and oozy, and we 

 scent that the winter has passed. 



The red maple is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful trees 

 of the American forest. As in the spring, the tree is in ad- 

 vance of others in the autumn, when it changes its hue to 

 varied tints of scarlet and orange. In brilliancy there is none 

 other to compare with it. During the winter its twigs are of a 

 deeper shade of red than at other seasons of the year. 



The wood of the red maple is reddish brown and hard. 

 Furniture is made from it, and it is especially desirable when 

 running through it is found a curly grain. From the bark a 

 dye has been extracted and used by the Indians. Ink also has 

 been made from it. 



