Along the Lakeside—Third Excursion 
tint, and interminable blendings of rich shades, noth- 
ing approaches our plebeian red maple. It is the artist 
tree. In early spring it flings out a wealth of crimson 
flowers that is only prevented by our familiarity with 
it from being more highly prized. When the blossoms 
fade, the crimson dye runs back and suffuses the leaf- 
stems, whence later it spreads over the red-winged 
fruit, and at last the fire that has long smouldered 
breaks out into an October conflagration, that finally 
consumes the foliage to ashes. The sugar maple is 
often a mass of uniform light yellow, whose falling 
leaves strew the ground with a strange sunshine. But 
the white maple, whose deeply cut foliage gives it an 
especially ‘‘dressy ’’ look through the summer, turns to 
a lifeless yellow, or simply withers. 
LinpDEN.—In marked contrast to maples are the lin- 
dens, that present an altogether different type of figure, 
leaf, and flower. Basswood and lime-tree are names of 
two of the species, the latter being a favorite in Europe, 
and figuring prominently in ancient poetry. Two or 
three hundred years is a great age for most trees, but 
there are authentic instances of the linden surviving 
nearly a thousand. 
We have three native species, two with very large, 
and one with small leaves. With compact head and 
thickly branched, the large-leaved species produce 
remarkably dense foliage, with a contrasting effect, 
against elms, maples, and birches, that is fine; but the 
form and size of leaf preclude a graceful appearance. 
For small grounds, therefore, the common basswood is 
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