TREES AND SHRUBS 231 
THE MAPLES 
To the early Colonists the maples were trees of value. 
Their presence as a rule meant strong fertile Jand of 
high agricultural value, besides, sugar could be ob- 
tained from several of them. There are all told nine 
.species of maple trees in the United States, of which 
the sugar maple is the most important from an eco- 
nomic point of view The box elder and silver maple 
are both common, having been widely planted, but in 
spite of their rapid growth are considered undesirable 
for shade purposes as they are both very brittle. 
