CHAPTER VII 
BROAD-LEAVED TREES: THE MAPLES 
It is the maple family to which we are indebted for 
much of the glorious coloring of our autumn landscapes. 
It is true that all trees play their part in the general 
color scheme, but for the brilliant reds and_scarlets of 
the fall foliage we must look to the maples. 
When we think of the word maple we are apt to 
have visions of other things besides trees. Maple and 
sugar or sirup seem to go together, and in fact some of 
us do not know that there are other maples besides the 
sugar maple. 
This fine American tree is one of which we should be 
proud. Not only is it a handsome large tree, valuable 
for its shade and the beautiful colors it wears in the fall, 
but its wood is hard and valuable, —it is often called 
rock maple, — and besides all these good qualities it fur- 
nishes us with our maple sirup and sugar. 
The process of making maple sugar is quite interest- 
ing and may be divided into two stages, — gathering the 
sap, and boiling down. 
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