MAPLE. 345 
Uses——On account of its slow growth the Red Maple is 
seldom used for planting, although very hardy. It is, however, 
very ornamental in the spring when loaded with its brilliant red 
fruit, which often appears while the branches are still destitute 
of leaves, and the gorgeous blaze of scarlet coloring of its leaves 
in autumn makes it a very conspicuous feature of the landscape 
at that season. It could often be employed to advantage in 
ornamental planting. The timber is a valuable fuel; it is used 
for floors, cabinet work, turnery, and in the manufacture of 
shovels, bowls and small wooden ware generally. The curly 
figure is sometimes found in this wood, and is sometimes used 
for choice veneering. ‘The sap of the Red Maple is not so rich 
in sugar as that of the Sugar Maple, but produces a very good 
quality of maple sugar. 
Acer spicatum. Mountain Maple. 
Leaves three or slightly five-lobed, thin, downy on the lower 
surface, at maturity glabrous above. Flowers small, greenish 
yellow, in upright dense, sometimes compound racemes, ap- 
pearing after the leaves, the fertile towards the base and the 
sterile at the ends of the racemes; petals much longer than the 
sepals. Fruit with small erect or divergent wings. Within 
our range a low shrub, with slender erect branches; in the 
shade in moist woods the branches are often rather flexible, and 
it is probably on this account that it is given the name of Vine 
Maple in some parts of this section. 
Distribution —Valley of the St Lawrence to northern Minne- 
sota and the Saskatchewan, southwards through the mountains 
to Georgia. Common in Minnesota south to Mille Lacs. 
Propagation.—By seeds. 
Properties of wood.—Light, soft, light brown with thick hghter 
colored sapwood. Specific gravity 0.5330; weight of a cubic 
foot 33.22 pounds. 
Uses.—The Mountain Maple may occasionally be used to ad- 
vantage in shrubbery in shady situations. The tree is so small 
that the wood is of no special economic importance. 
