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. 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