“Is there such a thing as a silver tree?” asked Clara.

[Illustration:  THE SILVER-LEAF MAPLE.]

“There is a tree called ‘the silver maple,’” was the reply, “and there is also the silver poplar.  The silver maple is considered the most graceful of the large and handsome maple family.  I have not told you, I think, that the name of the family is Acer, which means ‘sharp’ or ‘hard,’ and it was supposed to have been given in old English times when the wood of the maple was used for javelins.  The silver maple gets its name from the whitish under-surface of its leaves, and it is a favorite shade-tree; it has a slender trunk and long, drooping branches.  The foliage is light and rather dull-looking, and it is not a very bright tree in autumn.  The leaves are so deeply notched that they have a fringe-like appearance, and this, with its slender form and bending, swaying habit, gives it a very graceful look.”

Little Edith wished to know “if the wood was like silver,” and Malcolm asked her how she expected it to grow if it was.

But Miss Harson replied kindly,

“The silver, dear, is all in the leaves, and there is not much of it there.  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