intervals, throwing out a variable point of light, giving the appearance of 

 a roundish projection, having a distant resemblance to the eye of a 

 bird. All the varieties of this wood, particularly the last, are used in the 

 manufacture of articles of furniture, pianos, sideboards, bedsteads, desks, 

 picture frames, &c. It is highly esteemed and preferred to every other 

 wood in the making of laste, and for this purpose is largely exported to 

 Boston and the neighbouring towns. It is preferred on account of its 

 superior compactness and cohesiveness of its fibre for keels of ships. As 

 fuel the wood of the rock maple holds the first place in this Province ; 

 the ashes abound in alkali, and the best charcoal is made from it. 

 Michaux says that the wood of this tree may be easily distinguished 

 from that of the red maple or scarlet maple by pouring a few drops of 

 sulphate of iron upon it. This wood turns greenish ; that of the scarlet 

 maple turns a deep blue. The sap or juice which yields the sugar will 

 run from the trees if cut or wounded any warm day after December. It 

 ceases to flow about the middle of April, when the weather becomes so 

 warm as to awell the buds of the trees and loose the bark. The proper 

 season for making sugar is in March. The sap runs only on warm days 

 which are preceded by keen frosty nights. The sap first drawn is always 

 the best ; it then yields a pound of sugar to four gallons of sap. The sap 

 last drawn is commonly fit only to make molasses. A sugar maple tree 

 standing in an exposed situation will yield more sugar for the same 

 quantity of sap. The trees ought to be tapped with a chisel or an auger, 

 and not with an axe, as is too common. In a good season fair-sized 

 trees yield from two to three pounds each. 



BED FLOWERING, WHITE or SCARLET MAPLE. This tree grows upon 

 almost every kind of soil, it thrives most near the water. It is covered 

 with red flowers very early in the spring, before the leaves appear, and 

 the leaves generally change to red on the approach of autumn. It is 

 harder than the soft maple of New York, but it is much inferior to it for 

 timber, as the grain twists very much. It is sometimes used by chair- 

 makers to turn, but they commonly prefer yellow birch ; it makes good 

 fuel when dry, but very indifferent when green. 



MOOSE- WOOD MAPLE. This is a small tree, very rarely more than four 

 inches diameter. It is not used for any purpose that I know of except 

 for fencing stakes. It is of very quick growth, and the wood is very soft 

 and brittle. Its twigs are the principal winter food of the moose where 

 they can find it, for it does not often grow on very barren land. It is 

 most plentiful near small brooks on stony hemlock lands. 



MOUNTAIN or DWARF MAPLE. This is not above half the size of the 

 last-mentioned species. It is a very troublesome bush upon new cleared 

 land, as it grows very fast, and it is not easily destroyed. 



BLACK or YELLOW BIRCH. The bark of this tree when young is of a 

 yellow colour, but as the tree matures the bark becomes dark and the 

 tree is then known as " Black Birch." It is a large tree frequently three 

 feet diameter, but takes a long time to grow, certainly 200 years would be 



