52 PENH ALLOW ON 



called by the Indians " Cotton tree." Of this, he says, " In the morning, before the dew is 

 off, stroke the flowers, and there falls from them a kind of honey, which, by boiling, is 

 reduced to a kind of sugar." ^ He apparently refers to the nectar Gf the flowers, which, 

 diluted by dew, may then be collected, thus constituting a kind of manna. The sun- 

 flower is mentioned as cultivated by the Indians for the seed, from which they prepared 

 an oil for anointing the hair. JefFerys mentions the same use of the sunflower or Helio- 

 trope.^ Ginseng was found to be in common use among the Miami Indians, about the 

 southern extremity of Lake Michigan, and the same Indians were also in the habit of 

 makin"' cloth from the fibrous bark of the whitewood (Ti/ia Anierwana), a practice which 

 finds a parallel in the manufacture of cloth from the fibrous bark of the Ubnus moniana, 

 var. laciniata, by the Ainos of northern Japan and eastern Siberia. 



The production of maple sugar appears to have been a process which aroused more 

 than usual interest in the minds of these early travellers. Charlevoix enters somewhat into 

 detail concerning its mode of preparation and virtues. He says that " The Indians, who 

 are perfectly well acquainted with all the virtues of their plants, have at all times, as well 

 as at this day, made constant use of this licjuor (the fresh sap). But it is certain, they were 

 io-noraut of the art of making sugar from it, which we have since taught them."'^ Later 

 writers also seem to have been impressed with this production of sugar, notably Weld,' who 

 makes somewhat detailed observations of interest. Thus he states that, " A pound of sugar 

 is frequently produced from two or three gallons of the sap of the curled maple, whereas, 

 no more than the same quantity can be had from six or seven gallons of that of the 

 swamp. A maple tree, of the diameter of twenty inches, will commonly yield suihcient 

 sap for making five pounds of sugar each year, and instances have been known of trees 

 yielding nearly this quantity, annually, for a series of thirty years." Dr. Nooth of Quebec, 

 is spoken of as having demonstrated the possibility of producing white sugar of the finest 

 quality, with but little trouble. 



Charlevoix finally ventures a remark which, with slight modification, might be made 

 to apply to-day, that " It is surprising that in France, where there are so often met with 

 persons who have spent a great part of their lives in Canada, they should have so imper- 

 fect a notion of the country." ' Among other useful labors performed by Charlevoix, in 

 the interest of Canadian botany, was the ttanslation of Cornut's work, to which he made 

 several important additions. 



Contemporary with Charlevoix, was the Jesuit Lafitau, resident at Caughnawaga. 

 He does not appear to have given any marked attention to the flora of the country ; never- 

 theless, to him we are indebted for the discovery of ginseng on the banks of the St. Law- 

 rence in 1*716." Through his efforts there arose an important commerce in the roots of this 

 plant, as noted by Kalm at the time of his visit some thirty years later. 



From this it would appear that, useful as they were in other directions, the early 

 missionaries did not, in any very large degree, promote our knowledge of Canadian botany ; 

 nevertheless, in this, as in other fields of labor, they accomplished important work as 

 pioneers, a position which should always command the respectful consideration of those 



' Voyage to North America, i. 250. ^ History of the French Dominion, p. 42. 



^ Voyage to America, i. 192. * Travels in North America, 1. 381. 



^ Voyage to North America, i. 253. 



" La Plants du Ginseng du Tartarie découverte en Canada, Paris, 1718. Canadian Naturalist, iii. 460. 



