Miss Miller examined the maple thoughtfully for a moment, then said, "How many of you know what kind of a maple this is?"
"We have one like it on the front lawn and Dad always calls it "the red maple,"" replied Zan.
"Yes, it is a red maple. Acer is the Latin name, while maple is the common name. Now look at the height of this tree and tell me how tall it will grow before it reaches its full growth?"
"This one is not twenty feet, is it?" asked Elena.
"No, about twenty I should say."
"The red maple on our lawn is at least thirty feet high, Miss Miller, and Dad says it is an old tree," said Zan.
"About thirty feet is the average height. Now, tell me, do you think this tree will thrive best on this hill-side or down in the glade beyond the bridge where the ground is low and moist?" continued the Guide.
"I don't know do you?" said Jane, looking at the other girls.
"Give up! There's another item we failed to know," replied Zan.
"The red maple thrives best in low woodsie land. It needs rich soil and plenty of moisture. Now examine the bark of this one carefully. It is smooth and spotted, but this is an old tree in spite of its height, for the spots grow dark on old trees and are always
lighter on younger ones in fact, quite young trees have white spots. Its timber is valuable for house trim and some kinds of cabinet work. The red maple is highly ornamental and of late years has been selected for landscape gardening and shade trees."
Miss Miller looked at the tree a moment, then said, "We will review this lesson on the house-lawn where Zan says a large maple grows. Now, pass on to the next tree."
"I see a great big oak!" cried Elena.
"How many kinds of oak do you suppose there are in the world?" asked Miss Miller.
No one could tell her so she replied, "I do not know myself, as I suppose there are many species never heard of in the great forests of South America, Africa and Asia. However, we know there are the White Oak, found mostly in the United States, Adriatic Oak, European Oak, Live Oak of the Southern States, the Holm Red Oak, commonest in Northern States this is a Red Oak tree , Black Oak, one of the loftiest of forest trees, and a Live Oak of Asia. The timber of each one of the Oak species is valuable, as its grain is straight, the wood hard, and of strong quality and durability. I remember the oak ceiling timber of my old home. The house was built long before Washington crossed the Delaware and my father inherited it along with a few acres of ground. When I was a little girl of about six, mother wanted the old dining-room modernized. The carpenters contracting to do the work showed us some solid timbers that were hewn out by hand with the axe. On the side where mother wished two windows to be turned into a bow-window for her winter flowers, the men had to saw through a beam as hard as iron. Finally, the boss carpenter said, "We will have to take this beam out whole to save time and strength." They did so, and what do you suppose we found cut in one side of that oak beam?"
The girls had been listening with all attention, but of course no one could imagine what was found.
"The dates of the time when Washington's army were in winter quarters on Fort Nonsense, Morristown, N. J. Several of his men were stationed at the old house and had cut their initials in the beam which must have been exposed at the time. Father found out that the window-casing and ceiling of plaster were added later to beautify the house according to up-to-date ideas at the time. At the time the army camped on the mountainside, the house was of rough timber, without any attempt at finish or adornment."
"How interesting!" said some of the girls.
"What became of the log?" asked practical Zan.
"The George Washington Headquarters requested the loan of the beam to exhibit in their museum."
"Then that oak beam lasted over a hundred and forty years and was good as new when found!" declared Zan wonderingly.
"Yes, it would have lasted a hundred and fifty more, if it had been left encased safely as it was when found," replied Miss Miller.
"Was it a Red Oak?" asked Nita.
"How could Miss Miller tell, you ninny! She was only six years old!" said Jane.
"I don't think any one thought to investigate at the time. The people were not so keen for Nature lore then as now," laughed Miss Miller.
Then continuing, "This oak has leaves, you will see, with deep veinings; they are scalloped on the edges, and curved out toward the middle-sides and in again toward the end. This tree, I should say, is about eighty feet high, although they grow to a hundred. Their diameter is from one to three feet through. The leaves of this oak were green when they first grew but they turn red as the season advances and by fall they are a beautiful crimson."
As they passed on, Jane cried, "Here's a chestnut tree, as every one knows!"
"Do you know anything of its individuality?" asked Miss Miller.
"I know that it blossoms into long feathery catkins that smell very sweet, something like the blossoms on our grapevines," said Zan.