108 



3YLVA AMERICANA. 



to the inflection of the rays of light ; which is more sensibly 

 perceived in viewing it in different directions by candle light. 

 In cabinet making, furniture is made of it, which, in richness and 

 lustre, exceeds the finest mahogany. It is much used for the 

 stocks of fowling pieces and rifles, which to elegance and lightness 

 unite a solidity resulting from the accidental direction of the fibre. 

 The cellular integument is of a dusky red, which, by boiling, 

 yields a purplish color, and on the addition of sulphate of iron, 

 becomes dark blue approaching to black. With a portion of 

 alum in solution, it is used for dying black. The French Cana- 

 dians make sugar from the sap of this maple, but, as in the white 

 maple, the product of a given measure is only half as great as is 

 obtained from the sugar maple. The wood does not burn well, 

 and is not much esteemed for fuel. 



Sugar Maple. Acer saccharinum. 



This species, the most 

 interesting of American ma- 

 ples, is called Rock Maple, 

 Hard Maple and Sugar 

 Maple. The first of these 

 names is most generally 

 used, but we prefer the last, 

 because it indicates one of 

 the most valuable properties 

 of the tree. It is found 

 most abundantly between the 

 46th and 43d degrees of 

 latitude, which comprises 

 Canada, New Brunswick, 

 Nova Scotia, Vermont, New 

 Hampshire and the state of 

 Maine : in these regions, it 

 enters largely into the composition of the forests with which they 

 are still covered. Farther south, it is common only in Genesee, 

 in New York, and in the upper parts of Pennsylvania. In the 



PLATE X. 

 Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2. The seed. 



