P'lG, 4. AcTiNiDiA voLUBins. NATURAL SizE. (See page 142. ) 



A GLIMPSE BENEATH THE MAPLES. 



HOEVER may have enjoyed 

 the privilege of a walk in the 

 forests of Northern Michigan, 

 if possessed of an apprecia- 

 tive soul for the beautiful in 

 Nature, has had a pleasant 

 experience. There are mil- 

 lions of acres covered with a 



dense growth of hardwood 

 timber, against which until recently the ax of the 

 woodman has but slightly prevailed. But the lack 

 of supply farther south and the growing demand 

 for the lumber for making furniture, are now caus- 

 ing this paradise of the hard maple, the beech, the 

 birch and rock elm to be despoiled. In no part of 



all this forested area does the sugar maple develop 

 to more stately proportions than along the shores 

 of Crystal Lake, in Benzie county. It is not un- 

 common to find trees of this species measuring ten 

 to twelve feet in circumference, with trunks as 

 straight as a plumb line and fully sixty feet without 

 a branch. 



During a recent sojourn there I thought to pre- 

 serve a few of the woodland gems so far as my 

 camera would do it for the future pleasure of those 

 of our household and \-isiting friends. It has 

 occurred to me that the nature-loving friends who 

 read The American Garden might also like to see 

 one of these pictures. Of course, the delicate 

 detail of the photograph cannot be preserved, but 



