i89 



the various important kinds of trees and shrubs in this 

 section. Of these, such as have been met with before in 

 other rambles are not here described, only the new 

 varieties, and these are : 



Acer Spicatum. (Mountain Maple. No. 65.) Near 

 the handsome shrub, Corylopsis, in the northeasterly 

 part of the Ramble, a little off from the Walk, and in 

 behind some other shrubs, you will find this rather 

 small sample of the maple which flings its glory over 

 country roads. You will have no difficulty in finding 

 it if you take the path which runs almost northerly from 

 the junction near the Corylopsis. It lies a few feet to 

 the right of the Walk, as you face north, about half a 

 dozen paces from the junction, and nestles very shyly 

 in behind the clumps here, as if longing for the retired 

 haunts of wood or glen or shaded roadside. 



The mountain maple is easily identified by its leaves. 

 These are divided into three tapering lobes above the 

 middle of the leaf, the central lobe usually extending 

 out further than the side lobes. Sometimes the leaves 

 are five-lobed, having two small ones at the base. The 

 bases are heart-shaped {cordate) and the leaves, coarse- 

 ly serrated, are downy on the undersides. These soft, 

 beautiful leaves swing out on very long stems {petioles) 

 which are swollen at the base. In June you can look for 

 this tree's flowers, greenish-yellow, in delicate spikes or 

 panicles, five or six inches long, which stand up conspic- 

 uously amid the beautiful flowers. These erect or 

 slightly nodding panicles look almost fuzzy at a little 

 distance away, but when you get the hand glass on them 

 you can see that they are made up of clusters of the 



