XX XI. THE MAPLE. 48] 
the various uses in the arts to which, from its softness in some 
species, its hardness in others, and its great beauty in all, it may 
be put, the resource it furnishes in the sugar extracted from its 
sap, and the value of several of the species as ornamental trees, 
give it a place hardly second to any of the trees which cast 
their leaves, at least for the northern part of the country. 
THE MAPLE. ACER. L. 
The genus A‘cer is distinguished by having its flowers poly- 
gamous, that is, male, female and perfect flowers on the same 
or different individuals; petals colored like the sepals, but often 
wanting; stamens 7 to 10, rarely 5; and simple leaves. 
Nearly forty species of maple are known, of which ten belong 
to the United States. No climate is better suited to their growth 
than that of New England, as is shown by the perfection to 
which several of the most valuable species attain here. There 
are several other species deserving to be introduced for their 
economical value and their beauty. Among these, the most 
conspicuous perhaps is the Large-leaved Maple, A. macrophy’l- 
dem, of Pursh, introduced into England by Mr. Douglas from the 
northwest coast of North America, and described by him as a 
tree of the largest size, sometimes ninety feet high and sixteen 
in circumference, and yielding a wood soft but beautifully 
veined. It would doubtless flourish on this side of the continent, 
as would the Round-leaved Maple, A. circinndtwm, of the 
Columbia River. Others are the Sycamore or Great Maple 
of Europe, A. pseudo-platanus, and the Norway Maple, A. pla- 
tandides, both of which grow as readily here as our own trees, 
and the former of which, remarkable for its rapid growth, some- 
times attains to a height of one hundred feet. The Field 
Maple, A. campeéstre, the common maple of the continent of 
Kurope, the Montpelier Maple, which abounds in the south of 
France and in Italy and Spain; the Guelder-rose-leaved Maple, 
A. opulifolium, of the mountains of southern France, the Italian 
Maple, A. dpalus, of Corsica; the Tartarian Maple, of Russia, 
and the Smooth-leaved Maple of Nepaul, A. levigdtum, are all 
trees which attain more than a medium size, are sufficiently 
62 
