s. The early-summer foliage of the red
maple is of a beautiful yellow green, and the young leaves are very
delicate and airy-looking; but the graceful tree is in such a hurry to
display her gay autumn colors that she will often put on a scarlet or
crimson streamer in July or August. One brilliantly-colored branch will
be seen on a green tree, or the leaves of an entire tree will turn red
while all the other trees around it are clothed in summer greenness."

"Don't you remember, Miss Harson," said Edith, "the little tree that I
thought was on fire and how frightened I was?"

"Yes, dear, I remember it very well--an innocent little red maple that
_would_ put on its flame-colored dress when it should have been all in
green, like its sisters; but it was too green at heart to be in a blaze.
This tree is often used for fuel, but it has to be cut down and dried
first. The reddening of the leaf generally begins at the veins and
spreads out from them until the whole is tinted. Sometimes it appears in
spots, almost like drops of blood, on the green surface; but, come as it
will, it is always beautiful. It is said of the red maple that 'it
stands among the occupants of the forest like Venus among the
planets--the brightest in the midst of brightness and the most beautiful
in a constellation of beauty,'"

"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