Jan. 6, 1906.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 


TREES IN WINTER. —I. 
SoME one_has well said that the best time to 
begin the study of trees is in winter. To one 
who thinks of the leaves as the most important 
feature of the trees this may seem a misleading 
statement, but it will bear careful consideration 
before it is denied. For to one who has paid 
little attention to the subject it is surprising 
what distinctive characteristics even the leafless 
twigs of our deciduous trees and shrubs present. 
To avery great degree they are as easily recog- 
nized as are the leaves themselves, and they 
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Reduced from Natural Size. 
furnish an admirable opportunity for a raison 
d@étre of winter walks, the observation of them 
serving to “compose and occupy the mind,” as 
Stevenson said of Modestine, his famous donkey. 
The Maple Family. 
In winter the maples are readily distinguished 
by their opposite buds and slender branches. 
No one would confuse the twigs for a moment 
with the other principal trees that have op- 
posite buds—the horse-chestnut and the ashes. 
The colors of the buds and branches of the 
maples are beautiful and interesting, and help 
greatly in determining the species. Even the 
introduced kinds, like the Norway and the 
sycamore maples, may be known by distinctive 
characteristics—the former by the milky juice of 
the buds and twigs, and the latter by the large 
green buds. 
Of the native species the abundant and 
familiar sugar maple is known by its acutely 
pointed, conical buds on smooth twigs, the bud 
scales being downy over the exposed surfaces, 
while the red maple and the silvery maple have 
the scales downy on the margins only, a fact 
that may readily be determined by looking 
through a reading glass or other hand-lens. The 
buds of these two resemble each other more 
closely than do any of the others, but they may 
generally be distinguished by the fact that the 
scales of the red maple are deep ruby red, while 
those of the silver maple are of a lighter and 
brighter tint. 
Moosewood or Striped Maple. 
The three remaining maples are not so gen- 
erally known as those already mentioned, and 
may well receive a fuller treatment in this con- 
nection. Of these the moosewood or striped 
maple is perhaps the most interesting. In the 
more northern States it is one of the most dis- 
tinctive features of the undergrowth. As one 
wanders along the mountain trails one con- 
stantly sees the slender saplings of this beauti- 
ful little tree springing up beneath the monarchs 
of the forest, and occasionally in an open glade 
reaching a considerable size. 
In summer the striped maple is easily recog- 
nized by the large goosefoot-like leaves, with 
extraordinarily thin blades and a most delicate 
network of veins and veinlets. The upper sur- 
face is dark yellow-green, while the lower sur- 
face is much lighter, the latter being sparsely 
clothed with short rust-red hairs. The margins 
are finely and doubly saw-toothed or serrate, and 
have narrow points. About the time they fall 
in autumn the leaves change to a bright yellow 
color. 
In its winter condition the striped maple is 
easily recognized by the beautiful striped mark- 
ings of the bark, which is generally some hue 
of green or red. The bark is rather smooth and 
the buds have short stalks, which are quite 
characteristic. 
In spring, or early summer, just after the 
leaves have developed, the beautiful yellow 
flowers appear, hanging downward along a stem 
in a group that the botanists call a raceme. 
Like sO many of the maples, these blossoms 
are variable as to pollen-bearing and _ seed- 
bearing flowers. For the most part each pend- 
ent cluster consists of one kind of flower, al- 
though clusters of both sorts are commonly to 
be found upon the same tree. Each small bell- 
shaped flower hangs on a slender stalk and has 
yellow petals—the showy parts of the blossom. 
The seed-bearing flowers gradually develop into 
clusters of maple-keys, or key-fruits, as they are 
often called, each pair of keys being united at a 
wide angle. 
The striped maple is often called the moose- 
wood, because the branches are fed upon by the 
moose. The tree seldom attains a height of 
more than twenty-five feet. It is essentially a 
northern species, extending from the far north 
south to the mountains of Tennessee and the 
Carolinas. 
The Mountain Maple. 
The mountain maple is one of the most char- 
acteristic trees of the hill regions of northern 
New England, where it is found along every 
highway, as well as by the margins of every 
trout brook, pond or lake. It is more often a 
shrub than a tree, and seldom grows higher 
than twenty-five feet. 
The leaves of the mountain maple average a 
much smaller size than do those of the striped 
species, although they are somewhat similar in 
form and texture. There seem to be more of 
them on the twigs, and one soon learns to dis- 
tinguish them at a glance. The new twigs in 
early summer are grayish and more or less 
downy, but after the leaves fall in autumn the 
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RACEME OF THE STRIPED MAPLE, 
smaller branches are of a distinct crimson color 
which is most characteristic. Near at hand one 
sees that the red bark of these twigs is covered 
with fine white hairs, a fact that serves to 
identify the mountain maple at any time. Before 
falling in autumn the leaves turn to a deep red 
color. 
The blossoms of the mountain maple do not 
develop until early in summer, after the leaves 
have reached their full size. These blossoms 
are borne on the ends of the new season’s 
shoots along a stem from which the stalk of 
each flower arises. The clusters are not so 
drooping as is the case with the flowers of most 
of the other maples. The fruits develop very 
slowly through the summer, maturing in autumn 
and often remaining upon the trees well into 
the winter. 
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