86 



TREES GROWING NEAR WATER. 



SILVER MAPLE. 



WHITE MAPLE. 



{Plate XXX VI.) 



Acer sacchdrintim. 



SOFT MAPLE. 



TIME OF BLOOM 



March, April. 



Fruit: May, June. 



Bark: reddish brown; flaky. Leaves : simple ; opposite ; with long petioles; 

 rounded in outline and liaving hve lobes; equally notched and toothed; the 

 lower two smaller than the other three. Base of leaf, square or heart-shaped ; 

 apex of lobes, pointed. Sinuses : narrow ; pointed. Brilliant pale green above, 

 Mlvery white beneath Tubescent when young, becoming glabrous; thin. 

 Flowers: small; yellowish green; without petals; growing on pedicels in 

 almost sessile corymbs from lateral buds and appearing before the leaves. Pis- 

 tillate and staminate bi(Jssouis growing in sejiarate clusters on the same or dif- 

 ferent trees. Fruit : yellowish green, samaras growing on long, drooping pedi- 

 cels ; glabrous at maturity. IViiigs : large ; one frequently undeveloped. 



About the leaf of the white 

 maple there is something very 

 beautiful. Its lines are so sharply 

 cut, and it is so free from the least 

 approach to stiffness. It shows 

 rather the crispness of line that 

 artists are always endeavouring 

 to throw into their pictures. The 

 texture of the leaf is fine, too, 

 and pleasing. Through the silver 

 lining run the pale yellow veins, 

 and the colour effect is most 

 resthetic. It seems as though the 

 singing of the breezes through 

 these trees must be more classic 

 and captivating than when it rushes 

 through those that are more 

 coarsely formed. The flowers are exquisite, and in earliest 

 spring the trees, when seen from a distance, appear to be tipped 

 with scarlet. In cultivation the tree is very general, as its 

 beauty and rapid growth make it desirable for shade. Un- 

 fortunately, through the brittleness of its branches, it is often 



Acer sacckiirtniim. 



