FOREST TREES. 47 
East of the Alleghanies, the Red Maple appears to 
be much more common than the Silver Maple. I 
have never found it in Central or Northern Illinois, 
although it is said to grow in some localities. Fur- 
ther south it iscommon. Itis scarcely probable that 
it will ever be much cultivated for any other purpose 
than as a beautiful ornamental tree. 
The seeds, which are red, and only about half as 
large as those of the Silver Maple, are ripe about the 
same time. They are sown and treated in the same 
manner. 
3. Acer saccharinum—Sugar Maple, Rock Maple... 
Leaves, three to five-lobed, paler beneath; flowers, 
greenish-yellow, in clusters, pendulous; petals, none ; 
wings of the fruit broad, slightly diverging. 
The Sugar Maple is by far the most valuable species 
of its genus, and it is, also, the most abundant in 
that part of the United States which lies north of 
latitude 40,° and east of the Mississippiriver. South- 
ward it is found chiefly on the mountains, and it 
becomes rare in going westward from the Mississippi. 
This species is often found of the height of seventy 
or eighty feet, with a diameter of three feet; but is 
commonly of less size. The wood is hard, heavy and 
strong, but not durable when exposed to the weather. 
As fuel, it ranks next to the Hickory. It is fine 
grained and has a silky lustre when polished. It is 
employed in cabinet work, the gearing of mills, and 
in naval architecture. The undulations and inflec- 
tions of fibre called Curled Maple and Bird’s-eye 
