OF NOVA SCOTIA. PREST. 413 



twice. A poor substitute for nuts. S([uirrels search for and 

 eat them only when other food is exhausted. Grows just 

 beneath the surface of moss or leaves without any visible sign 

 of their presence, yet the squirrel detects them easily. 



In moderately moist soil in shady woods. Widely distrib- 

 uted but not ver}^ abundant. Edible from August to October. 



[Dr. A. H. MacKay has tested a large number of Nova 

 Scotian species when cooked, some of them superior to the 

 " mushroom." The edible list of fungi is a long one ; but it 

 requires an expert to distinguish them. This is very important, 

 for a few common species are terribly poisonous.] 



PARASITIC PLANTS. 



67. Monotropa uniflora L. Indian Pipe, locally "Death-plant." 



White semi-transparent stalk, 2h in. to 5 in. high, with 

 highly organized flower of five petals, without smell, stalk with 

 thin transparent scales or leaflets, tender and almost tasteless. 

 Parboil, then boil or roast, comparable to asparagus. 



In dry or moderately dry soil in thick w^oods, June to 

 August. Generally distributed and abundant. 



JUICES AND EXTRACTS. 



68. Acer saccJiarinum Wang. Sugar Maple, Rock Maple. 



Tree 40 ft. to 60 ft. high, branches usually crooked and 

 irregular. Bark dark grey, rough, flaky and corrugated, but 

 not so much as the oak or ash. Wood extremely hard, fine- 

 grained, and durable when dry. Leaves 3 in. to 5 in. in diam- 

 eter, deeply notched into 5 unequal pointed lobes with 5 main 

 ribs radiating from centre (turning color in autunni). A 

 sweet sap is obtained by boring or cutting into the tree to a 

 depth of h in. to 2 in. A spout of wood is fitted into a cut 

 made below the boring, and this conducts the sap into a wooden 

 trough or dish of birch-bark. It is then boiled down, about 4 



