. The wood is white and of little use, as it is soft and
perishable; but the beauty of the finely-cut foliage, the contrast
between the green of the upper surface of the leaves and the silver
color of the lower, and the magnificent spread of the limbs of the white
maple, recommend it as an ornamental tree; and this is the purpose for
which it is intended. It is used very largely in the cities for shade
and beauty. It is often called the 'river maple,' because it is so
frequently seen on the banks of streams."

"And now," said Malcolm, "I hope there is ever so much about the
maple-sugar tree. Can't we get some this spring, Miss Harson, before
it's all gone?"

"We can certainly buy the sugar in town, Malcolm, if that is what you
mean; but it does not grow on the trees in cakes, and we shall scarcely
be able to tap the trunks and go through with the process of preparing
the sap, even if it were not too late for that. We will do what we can,
though, to become acquainted with the rock maple, that we may be able to
recognize it when we see it. When young, it is a beautiful, neat and
shapely tree with a rich, full leafy head of a great variety of forms.
It is the largest and strongest of the maples, and gives the best shade.
It can be distinguished from the other members of the family by its
leaves, in which the notch between the lobes is round instead of being
sharp, and also by their appearing at the same time with the blossoms,
which are of a yellowish-green color. The green tint of the leaves is
darker on some trees than it is on others, and in autumn they become,
often before the first touch of the frost, of a splendid orange or gold,
sometimes of a bright scarlet or crimson, color, each tree commonly
retaining from year to year the same color or colors, and differing
somewhat from every other. The most beautiful and valuable maple-wood is
taken from this tree. It is known as 'curled maple' and 'bird's-eye
maple,' and the common variety looks like satin-wood. In the curled
maple the fibres are in waves instead of in straight lines, and the
surface seems to change with alternate light and shade; in the
bird's-eye, irregular snarls of fibres look like roundish projections
rising from hollow places, each one resembling the eye of a bird.
Buckets, tubs and many useful things are made of the straight variety,
and for lasts it is considered better than any other kind of wood. The
curled and the bird's-eye are largely used for