CHAP. XXII. ACERA CE. ACER. 4.17 
Turner’s Herbal, in 1551: it is mentioned by all subsequent British authors as 
of doubtful indigenousness. From the facility with which it is propagated, the 
hardiness and vigorous growth of the tree, its various uses, especially, as Dr. 
Walker observes, for forming domestic utensils, and also the beauty of its buds 
in spring, and of its foliage in early summer, it has been very generally 
planted. 
Properties and Uses. The wood, when the tree is young, is white; but, as it 
gets older, the wood becomes a little yellow, and often brown, especially 
towards the heart. It is compact and firm, without being very hard; of a fine 
grain, sometimes veined, susceptible of a high polish, and easily worked, either 
on the bench, or in the turning-lathe. It does not warp, and is not likely to 
be attacked by worms. It weighs per cubic foot, newly cut, 64 lb.; half dry, 
56 1b. ; dry,48 lb. It loses, in drying, about a twelfth part of its bulk. 
In France and Germany, it is much sought after by wheelwrights, cabinet- 
makers, turners, sculptors in wood, manufacturers of musical instruments, and 
especially of violins, and makers of toys and other small wares. The roots, 
which are often agreeably veined, and the stools or stumps where the plant 
has been long treated as a bush, and cut periodically for coppice-wood, is 
eagerly sought after for curious cabinet-works and for inlaying. The wood is 
used for pestles, for tables,rollers, spoons, plates, and other household articles ; 
it is also used for gun-stocks, and in every kind of structure, whether under 
water or in the air. According to M. Hartig, the principal German writer on 
timber trees and their uses, the wood of the common sycamore is the most 
valuable of all woods as fuel, both for the quantity of heat which it gives out, 
and the time that it continues burning : it surpasses the beech, in these respects, 
in the proportion of 1757 to 1540. Converted into charcoal, it is superior to 
the beech in the proportion of 1647 to 1600. The leaves, gathered green and 
dried, form an excellent forage for sheep during the winter. The sap has 
been drawn from the trees in Germany, and various experiments made with it. 
At first, itis as clear as water, and sweet; but, after it has run from the tree 
for some time, and begins to run slowly, it takes a whitish colour, and becomes 
sweeter and of a thicker consistence ; though this thick sap is found to contain 
less sugar than that which comes off first, and is quite clear. From atree 18 in. 
in diameter, from which the sap was allowed to flow for five days, 36 quarts 
were Obtained. The proportion of sugar produced by the sap varies. Some- 
times an ounce of sugar froma quart of liquor has been obtained ; but, generally, 
not so much. The variations depend on the age of the tree, the vigour of its 
growth, the nature of the soil, the temperature of the season, and a number of 
other circumstances of which littleis known. In Scotland, Sir Thomas Dick 
Lauder informs us, incisions were made in the trunk of a sycamore tree of 
45 years’ growth, at 5 ft. from the ground, in the beginning of March, 1816. 
“ A colourless and transparent sap flowed freely, so as in two or three hours 
to fill a bottle capable of containing 1 lb. of water. Three bottles and a half 
were collected, weighing, in all, 3 lb. 4.0z. The sap was evaporated by the 
heat of a fire, and gave 214 grains of a product in colour resembling raw sugar, 
and sweet in taste, with a peculiar flavour. After being kept fifteen months, 
this sugar was slightly moist on the surface. The quantity of sap employed in 
the evaporation was 24,960 grains, from which 214 grains of sugar were ob- 
tained : therefore, 116 parts of sap yielded one part of sugar. The experiment 
was made at Cannon Park, in Stirlingshire, on the 7th and 8th of March, 1816. 
(Lauder’s Gilpin, i. p. 124.) Dr. Walker states that the sap is made into wine 
in the Western Highlands of Scotland. 
In Britain, the uses to which the A. Psetdo-Platanus is applied are much 
less various than in France and Germany. The species is a very umbrageous 
one, from its numerous branches, and numerous and large leaves; and hence it 
is eligible in all cases where trees are wanted to afford dense shade: it may be 
on this account that it is sometimes seen bounding the homesteads of a farm, 
and on the sunny side of the dairy in the farm-yard. It is used in joinery 
and turnery, and cabinet-making ; by musical instrument makers ; for cider- 
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