342 TREES OF MINNESOTA. 
Distribution.—It is found in the north from the valley of the 
St. John river in New Brunswick to southern Ontario. It ex- 
tends southward through the United States to western Florida 
and west to eastern Dakota and Nebraska. It is adapted to a 
wide variety of soils, and is especially abundant along rivers, 
often growing luxuriantly on sand bars and land that is in- 
undated by spring freshets. A very common tree in southern 
and central Minnesota and north along the Mississippi valley. 
Propagation.—By _ seeds, 
which drop off in early 
summer, and where they 
fall on moist soil they soon 
grow. They are very deli- 
cate, however, and cannot 
be kept in good condition 
many weeks after they are 
ripe. If sown at once in 
good moist soil they will 
often produce plants two 
feet or more high the first 
season, and the growth is 
also very rapid in subse- 
quent years. The ornamen- 
tal varieties are propagated 
by grafting or budding on 
the seedlings, and occasion- 
ally by layering. 
Propertics of wood. — 
Light, hard (though not 
nearly so hard as Sugar 
Maple), rather brittle and 
easily worked. It is pale, 
Figure 61. Leaf of Wier’s Cutleaf 5 : 
Maple—one-half natural size. faintly tinged with brown. 
The sapwood is light colored and thick. Specific gravity 0.5269; 
weight of a cubic foot 32.84 pounds. 
Uses.—The Silver Maple is exceedingly hardy and of very rapid 
growth, but suffers from a deficiency of moisture in the soil. 
It makes a very good street and lawn tree on retentive land, 
and is adapted to a wide variety of soils. The limbs are brittle, 
and the crotches of the tree are weak and likely to break in 
