THE MAPLE. 
79 
itself, and become an inhabitant not easily ejected from 
our church-yards. Badgers are said to feed much upon 
the fruit of the bramble. They are certainly very fat 
and fleshy about the time that the blackberry is ripe ; 
but it is probable that the acorns and crabs, which it 
finds at the same season, contribute most to its nourish- 
ment. 
The maple (acer campestre) is found growing in all 
our fences, generally reduced by the hedger’s bill to 
serve the same humble purposes as the thorns and sloes 
associated with it. Sometimes, however it is permitted 
to assume the rank of a tree, when, if not possessing 
dignity, it is certainly beautiful, and becomes an orna- 
ment in the hedge-row. It is the earliest sylvan beau 
that is weary of its summer suit; first shifting its dress 
to ochery shades, then trying a deeper tint, and lastly 
assuming an orange vest; thus setting a fashion that 
ere long becomes the garb of all except the rustic 
oak, which looks regardlessly at the beau, and keeps its 
verdant robe unchanged. Soon tired of this, the maple 
takes a pattern from his sober neighbor ash, throws its 
gaudy trim away, and patiently awaits with all his peers 
the next new change. In spring the woodbine wreathes 
its knots of green around the rugged limbs of the ma- 
ple ; the rose beneath puts on its emerald gems, and 
then our gallant sir will wear such colors too, fluttering 
through all its summer’s day. When first the maple 
begins to autumnize the grove, the extremities of the 
boughs alone change their color, but all the internal 
and more sheltered parts still retain their verdure, which 
gives to the tree the effect of a great depth of shade, 
and displays advantageously the light, lively coloring 
of the sprays. We find the maple useful in our hedges, 
not from the opposition it affords, but by reason of its 
very quick growth from the stool after it has been cut, 
whence it makes a fence in a shorter time than most of 
its companions ; and when firewood is an object, it soon 
becomes sufficiently large for this purpose. The singular 
ruggedness of the branches and shoots when they have 
attained a year’s growth, and the depth of the furrows, 
give it a strongly marked character among our shrubs. 
