old, the bark cracks and can be peeled off in long, narrow strips."

"Is anything done with the bark?" asked Clara.

"Yes, it is used, with other substances, for dyeing, and also for making
ink. The sap, too, can be boiled down to sugar, but it is not nearly so
rich as that of the proper sugar-maple. The wood, which is very
light-colored with a tinge of rose in it, is often made into common
furniture, as it takes a fine polish and is easy to work with. It is
used, too, for building-purposes. 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