194 A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. Juba was sold for fifteen thousand, and another, which I read of, valued 

 •^y"^ at one hundred and forty thousand H. S. which at about three halfpence 

 sterling, arrives to a pretty sum ; and yet that of the Mauritanian 

 Ptolemie was far richer, containing four feet and a half diameter, three 

 inches thick, which is reported to have been sold for its weight in gold : 

 Of that value they were, and so madly luxurious the age, that when 



farm, the 2000 sugar Maple-trees alone confer a value upon it of 5,333 dollars and 30-90ths 

 of a dollar. It is said, that the sugar-trees, when deprived of the shelter and support they 

 derive from other forest-trees, are liable to be blown down, occasioned by their growing in a 

 rich, and of course a loose soil. To obviate this, it will only be necessary to cut otf some of 

 their branches, so as to alter the centre of gravity, and to allow the high winds to have an 

 easy passage through them. Orchards of sugar Maple-trees, which grow with an original 

 exposure of all their parts to the action of the sun, are not liable to this inconvenience." 



7. ACER (pENNSYhVANicuM ) foMis trilobis acuminatis, serrulatis, floribus racemosis. 

 Lin. Sp. PI. 1496. The mountain maple. 



The body of this tree is slender, and is covered with a whitish bark. It sends forth several red 

 branches, and grows about fifteen feet high. The leaves are three-lobed, pointed, and are 

 unequally and sharply serrated. The flowers come out in longish bunches in the spring; 

 they are of a greenish yellow colour, and are succeeded by seeds, which (like those of the 

 Norway Maple) generally fall off before they are ripe. This species is a native of Penn- 

 sylvania. 



8. ACER ("tartaricum ) foliis cordatis indivisis serratis, lobis obsoletis, floribus racemosis. 

 Lin. Sp. PI. 1495. The Tartarian maple. 



This species of Maple grows to the height of about twenty feet. The leaves are heart-shaped, 

 undivided, and their edges are unequally serrated. The flowers come out from the wings of 

 the leaves in long bunches. They appear early in the spring, and are sometimes succeeded 

 by ripe seeds in our gardens. 



9. ACER (monspessvlanvm ) foliis trilobis integerrirais glabris. Lin. Sp. PI. 1497. 

 Acer trifolium. C. B. P. 431. The montpelier maple. 



The Montpelier Maple grows to about twenty feet high, and is a very beautiful tree. The 

 leaves are composed of three lobes of a shining green, and of a thickish substance ; they re- 

 tain their verdure later in the year than most of the other sorts. The flowers come out 

 in the spring, but have very little^ beauty ; their blow is soon over, and they are sometimes 

 succeeded by seeds which come to perfection in our gardens. 



10. ACER (creticumJ foliis trilobis integerrirais subtus pubescentibus. Lin. Sp. 

 PI. 1497. The Cretan maple. 



This grows to about the height of the former. The leaves are downy, composed of three lobes, 

 and grow opposite to each other on long downy foot-stalks. The flowers come out in the 

 spring, and are very seldom succeeded by good seeds in England. It is a native of the East. 



