(8i) 



parts of the United States, where in some places it has become 

 a nuisance, both on account of its ill-smelling staminate 

 flowers and its habit of freely suckering from the roots. 



On the ridge to the west of conservatory range No. 2 are 

 the maple and buckeye families. The maples (Acer) are 

 represented by a number of species. Perhaps the most im- 

 portant of these is the sugar, or rock maple, a native of 

 eastern North America, and the principal tree yielding maple 

 sugar and syrup. The sap is usually collected from late in 

 February to early in April ; trees from twenty to thirty years 

 old are considered the most productive, and a tree will usually 

 yield in a season from four to six pounds of sugar, some 

 giving less and others much more. This tree is often planted 

 for shade along streets and in parks, its beautiful coloring in 

 the fall enhancing its value for this purpose. Its wood is 

 largely used for making furniture, in ship-building, for tool- 

 handles and for shoe-lasts and pegs. Another tree here is 

 the red maple, ranging throughout eastern North America; 

 its wood is now used in large quantities for the manufacture 

 of furniture of various kinds, for gun-stocks, etc. The 

 striped, or goose-foot maple, sometimes known also as 

 moosewood, of northeastern North America, is a pretty deco- 

 rative species, especially attractive on account of the beautiful 

 marking of its bark. Two Old World representatives are 

 the common European maple, of Europe and western Asia, 

 and the sycamore maple, from Europe and the Orient. The 

 sycamore maple is a valuable timber tree in Europe ; its wood 

 is used in the manufacture of musical instruments, spoons 

 and other household utensils. From the southeastern United 

 States comes the white-barked maple, also in the collection. 

 The ash-leaved maple, or box elder, of eastern North Amer- 

 ica, is represented by several specimens. 



In the buckeye family, planted near power house No. 2, 

 is the common horse-chestnut (Aesculus) ; for a long time 

 the native country of this tree was unknown, and its home 

 was ascribed by different authors to various lands ; it has been 

 pretty well established now that it is indigenous to the moun- 



