SELECTION OF TREES FOR PLANTING 61 
early in the autumn. During the winter the tree has a 
beauty and grace similar to that of the Red Maple. It may 
be pruned into a low, spreading crown. It is more sus¬ 
ceptible to insect attacks than the Norway and Red Maples 
and suffers from borers, scale and leopard moths. 
Big Leaf Maple. —The Big Leaf Maple is a strikingly 
handsome native of Oregon, Washington and California, 
with normal height ranging 
from thirty to sixty feet, 
and under the best condi¬ 
tions reaching ninety feet. It 
is much used as a shade tree 
in the Pacific Coast states. 
This species requires deep, 
rich soil, but thrives from 
the Sierra Nevada Moun¬ 
tains to the Coast, and is one 
of the best for that country. 
Silver Maple. —As in the case of the Carolina Pop¬ 
lar, the Silver Maple has been much planted because 
of its rapid growth. This 
tree is also proof against 
many of the hardships of 
city life, but it is undesir¬ 
able in most of the country 
because of its early loss of 
strength and resultant de¬ 
cay and the damage to pave¬ 
ments caused by its bulging 
surface roots. The tree lit¬ 
ters the street through the 
breaking and dropping of its brittle branches, and heavy 
storms often break off large limbs. When sleet storms 
occur, this tree is usually the first to be damaged. Damage 
