(i6 4 ) 



On the ridge to the northeast of the apple family, and to 

 the west of conservatory range 2, are trees of the ailan- 

 thus family, represented by the Jilanthus, or tree-of- 

 heaven, a native of China, but extensively naturalized in 

 the eastern parts of the United States, where in some places 

 it has become a nuisance, both on account of its ill-smelling 

 staminate flowers and its habit of freely suckering from 

 the roots. 



On the ridge to the west of conservatory range 2 are 

 representatives of the maple family. The maples (Jeer) are 

 represented by a number of species. Perhaps the most im- 

 portant of these is the sugar, or rock maple, a native of 

 eastern North America, and the principal tree yielding 

 maple sugar and syrup. The sap is usually collected from 

 late in February to early in April; trees from twenty to 

 thirty years old are considered the most productive, and a 

 tree will usually yield in a season from four to six pounds of 

 sugar, some giving less and others much more. This tree 

 is often planted for shade along streets and in parks, its 

 beautiful coloring in the fall enhancing its value for this 

 purpose. Its wood is largely used for making furniture, 

 in ship-building, for tool-handles and for shoe-lasts and 

 pegs. From the southeastern United States comes the 

 white-barked sugar maple, also in the collection. Another 

 tree here is the red maple, ranging throughout eastern North 

 America; its wood is now used in large quantities for the 

 manufacture of furniture of various kinds, for gun-stocks, 

 etc. The striped, or goose-foot, maple, sometimes known 

 also as moosewood, of eastern North America, is a pretty, 

 decorative species, especially attractive on account of 

 the beautiful marking of its bark. The box-elder, or 

 ash-leaved maple, native of eastern North America, repre- 

 sents another type with compound leaves. Three Old 

 World representatives are the common European maple, 

 of Europe and western Asia; the sycamore maple, from 

 Europe and the Caucasus; and the Norway maple, with a 

 number of varieties, also from Europe and the Caucasus. 



