﻿50 BULLETIN 12, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Factor of stiffness (modulus of elasticity). — 1,482,000 pounds per square inch, 

 or 112 per cent that of white oak (Sargent). 



Light, hard, strong, brittle, compact, easy to work ; color, light brown ; medul- 

 lary rays numerous, thin. 



Height, 60 to 100 feet: diameter, li to 3 feet; individuals occasionally much 

 higber. 



SUPPLY. 



This tree is known by several names, among them swamp maple, 

 silver maple, water maple, silver-leaved maple, river maple, white 

 maple, and soft maple. The last name is that by which the wood 

 is known among lumbermen, and silver maple is most frequently 

 applied by those who plant the tree, such as nurserymen, park 

 keepers, and the tree departments in cities. The whiteness of the 

 leaves, particularly the under sides, suggests the name silver. It does 

 not refer to the color of the wood, for that of other maples is as 

 white. In fact, the wood of this maple sometimes changes color after 

 it has been exposed to the air, and may become tinged with blue. An 

 early reference to an American maple, believed to have been this 

 tree, noted the blue color of the wood as its chief value in England 

 more than a hundred years ago. " The bog maple," says Stevenson 

 in " Trees of Commerce," " is of a beautiful pale blue color, grows 

 in American swamps, and is sent to England in the form of veneers, 

 and is the most handsome wood that can possibly be conceived. It 

 is made into stationery cases and cabinet work." 



The silver maple's commercial range is wide, and conforms pretty 

 well to its botanical range, for wherever the tree grows it is used. 

 Its importance is much below that of sugar maple, and the total 

 quantity is certainly less, though its range is as wide. It grows in 

 all of the States east of the Mississippi River and in several west 

 of it. It grows rapidly, but is subject to injury and is a prey to 

 disease. This is the maple most frequently planted in towns and 

 cities for shade, particularly south of the northern tier of States. 

 The commercial supply of silver maple does not come from planted 

 trees, and probably never will, but the forest growth will be drawn 

 upon for a long time. South of the commercial range of sugar 

 maple, the local supply comes principally from silver maple, and 

 the wood has a wide range of uses. 



EARLY USES. 



Silver maple was never thought much of as a farm timber, except 

 that it was good fuel. Hatters preferred charcoal of this species for 

 heating their boilers. Furniture makers cut it in strips for inlays 

 in the manufacture of mahogany, cherry, and walnut articles. The 

 white wood contrasted well with the darker material, but the maple 

 did not hold its color well. Age darkened it, and the older the inlaid 

 furniture became the less pleasing it was. Sugar makers tapped 



