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Handbook of Nature-SUtdy 



Spring Study — lo. At what time do we tap maple trees for sap? On 

 which side of the tree do we make the hole? If we tapped the tree earlier 



would we get any sap? What 

 kind of weather is the best for 

 causing sap flow? Do you sup- 

 pose that it is the sap going up 

 from the root to the tree and the 

 branches, or that coming down 

 from the branches to the root 

 which flows into the bucket? 

 Why do we not make maple- 

 sugar all summer? Do you sup- 

 pose the sap ceases to run because 

 there is no more sap in the tree? 



11. Write a story telling all 

 you can find in books or that you 

 know from your own experience 

 about the making of maple-sugar. 



12. When do the leaves of 

 your maple first appear? How 

 do they then look? Do they 

 stand out or droop ? 



13. Do the blossoms appear 

 with the leaves or after them? 

 How do the blossoms look? 

 Can you tell the blossoms with 

 stamens from those with pistils? 

 Do you find them in the same 



cluster? Do you find them on the same tree? 



14. What uses do we find for maple wood? What is the character of 

 the wood? 



Supplementary reading — Trees in Prose and Poetry pp. 25-41. 



Leaves and fruit of striped maple. 

 Photo by Ralph Curtis. 



Blossoms of red maple. 

 Photo by Ralph Curtis. 



