142 FAMILIAR TREES 



some spot where it may have a good chance of 

 growing up without exclusion from light and air by 

 the boughs on which it formerly hung. 



The wood of the Maple is excellent as fuel, and 

 can be made into charcoal of the best quality; but 

 being compact, fine-grained, and often beautifully 

 veined, besides taking an excellent polish, it is 

 chiefly in demand for ornamental purposes. Tables 

 made of this wood were much prized among the 

 ancient Romans, and veneers and various turned 

 articles are still made from it, especially in France. 

 The wood of the roots is frequently fuU of knots; 

 and mediaeval alms-dishes, known as " mazer " bowls, 

 made from it, highly polished and generally silver- 

 mounted, are among the prizes of the virtuoso. Allied 

 North-American species yield the beautifully-mottled 

 furniture-woods with which we are all familiar, and 

 which are so commonly imitated by the grainer. 



In France the young shoots, being tough and 

 flexible, are employed as whips ; and being exception- 

 ally tolerant of the shears and the bill-hook, the tree 

 recommends itself for hedges and the " topiary " work 

 of geometrical gardening. The leaves and young 

 shoots are also gathered when green, and dried for 

 winter provender for cattle ; but though the sap con- 

 tains a larger proportion of the sugar so character- 

 istic of the genus than does that of the Sycamore, the" 

 tree does not bleed freely. Maple sugar is obtained 

 from American species, especially A. barba'tum, 

 the Rock or Bird's-eye Maple, and A. ru'brum, the 

 Scarlet or Curled Maple, the latter only yielding 

 half as much as the former. 



