ACER. The generic name of the maple fam ily of trees. The flowers are polygamous, calyx colored, five lobed or parted — rarely four to twelve lobed; petals either none or as many as the lobes of the calyx; stamens four to twelve; ovary two celled, with a pair of ovules in each; styles two, long and slender; at the back of each ovary a wing is formed, the fruit being in pairs, and one-seeded, but which at length separates each keyed fruit by itself. The family contains both trees and shrubs, with apparently palmated-lobed -leaves and small flowers. The species of value for planting are: The sugar or rock maple, Acer sac L.,(fharinum; the sugar maple, A. nigrum; white or silver maple, A. dasycarpum, and the red or swamp maple, A. ruprum, of the American species, and the Norway maple, .4. platanoides, a European species. There are now a number of ornamental species, some of which are beautiful. We give an illustration of one of the best, origi nated in Illinois and now widely planted east and west. It will serve as a type of the ornamental weeping species. The illustration of the leaves re duced will show the peculiar toothed notches of the leaves. The shrubs or small trees belonging
to the maple family are the striped maple, or moosewood, Acer Pennsplvanicum, and the mountain maple, _4. spicatam. Aegun,- do aceroides, or the ash-leaved maple, or box elder as it is called in the west, is closely allied. It is a fast growing and hand some tree when young, and attains a height of sixty feet.
It will live fifty or six ty years, and soon forms a pleasant and dense shade; hence is much planted in the west. Its sap makes an excellent syrup, but no sugar. The flowers are dicecious, calyx minute, four to five cleft; petals, none; stamens, four to five. The leaflets are smoothish when old, very veiny, ovate, pointed, toothed; the seed smooth, with large rather in-curved wings, and should be gathered and Rlanted as soon as ripe, which occurs early in summer. (See articles on the various species.) ACETATES. Salts containing acetic acid. Sugar of lead is a combination of acetic acid and lead, hence called acetate of lead.