DECIDUOUS TREES 95 



the finest trees of this kind the author has ever seen 

 was in Baltimore, Maryland, and in this case the massive 

 foliage swept the ground, and from thence rounded into 

 a great sphere of green seventy-five feet high. 



Both the sugar and Norway maples retain the natural 

 beauty of form for which they are celebrated, without 

 pruning, except for the removal of a dead limb or 

 abnormal shoot. The Norway maple blends well with 

 other trees, and has less of the prim symmetry that 

 renders the sugar maple less suited to a congregation of 

 different species. It is, therefore, an excellent idea to 

 group sugar maples in masses by themselves, or to scat- 

 ter them singly throughout a particular territory. 



The sycamore maple is a less symmetrical tree than 

 those just mentioned, but its foliage is fine, and the ap- 

 pearance of its seed vessels attractive. It is hardy, 

 healthy, and easily transplanted, and naturally develops 

 reddish purple varieties. 



The scarlet or swamp maple has considerable value, 

 but it is not of equal excellence to the sugar and Norway, 

 being loose-headed and irregular in outline. Its proper 

 habit being the swamp, it is naturally not suited to dry, 

 sandy soil, but when it does thrive, as it readily does on 

 ordinary soil, it is a fine tree. In autumn its coloring is 

 splendid, and in spring it has charming red flowers. 



Although it may be said that the family of maples all 

 afford satisfaction on the lawn, there is possibly one ex- 

 ception, and that is the silver or ,soft maple. It is 

 true it grows fast, transplants readily, and is attractive, 

 sometimes, for a number of years, but eventually, and 

 sooner rather than later, its brittle branches are broken 

 down by ice storms, the foliage becomes sparse and 

 comparatively uninteresting, and, too often for the credit 



