[ 93 J 
MAPLES. 
Of tlie species which compose this genus, the number known is already 
considerable, and will probably be augmented by the future researches of 
Botanists, especially on the continent of North America. 
The Maples, in general, are lofty and beautiful trees. One of their prin- 
cipal characters consists in opposite leaves divided into several very dis- 
tinct lobes. Capable of enduring an intense degree of cold, they form in 
the north of the Old and of the New Continent, extensive forests, which, 
with those of the Beech, appear to succeed the Spruce, the Larch, and the 
Pine, and to precede the Chesnut and the Oak. Such, at least, seems to 
be in America, between the 43d and 46th degrees of latitude, the place 
assigned by nature to the true Sugar Maple. 
The species of Maples hitherto described amount to fourteen, of which 
seven belong to Europe, and seven to North America. Among these last 
I have not included the Dwarf Red Maple, Acer coccinewm, which is a 
diminutive species, and concerning w^hich I do not possess adequate mate- 
rials for a description. It abounds in Nova Scotia, and has always been 
confounded with the proper Red Maple ; I have also observed it in the 
upper parts of New Hampshire. It scarcely exceeds 12 or 18 feet in 
height, and its flowers and seeds are of a more vivid red than those of the 
Red Maple. The Black Sugar Maple grows to'about the same height with 
the Sugar Maple, but it is plainly a distinct species. In the collection of 
dried plants made by Captains Lewis and Clarke during their journey to 
the South Sea, I saw specimens of a beautiful Maple from the banks of 
Columbia river. 
From this brief summary it results that the North American species are 
more numerous than those of Europe. The wood of the Maples differ so 
widely in quality in different species, that it becomes difficult to charac- 
terize it by general observations : it may be remarked that it speedily fer- 
ments and decays when exposed to the weather, that it is liable to be injured 
by worms, and that hence, it is unfit for building. It possesses properties, 
however, which compensate in part for these defects, and which render it 
