APRIL. 73 



sugar cool in vessels, without either disturbing it, or draining 

 off the molasses, so that it becomes a mass, nearly as hard 

 as rock, and very dark in colour. 



C — The maple is a very useful tree ; does any other 

 species produce sugar ? 



F, — The White Maple {Acer Eriocarpon ?) yields sap 

 more readily than the Rock Maple (A. Saccharinurn), and 

 it is said to be more abundant in sugar ; but it is compara- 

 tively rare as a large tree. The Butternut (^Juglans Cinerea) 

 likewise will yield sugar from its sap, and probably other trees. 

 The Birch {Betula Tapyracea) is often tapped, and the sap, 

 (evaporated by boiling) exposed to the summer's sun, by 

 which it is made into a good vinegar ; whence I conclude it 

 must contain sugar, probably mixed with other matters. The 

 fresh sap of the birch has a pleasant, slightly acid taste. It 

 has a curious property, peculiar to itself, I believe, for I have 

 never observed it in the sap of any tree but the birch ; where- 

 ever it flows, it leaves a mass of fungus-like, mucilaginous 

 substance, of a delicate pink hue, which probably has some 

 affinity with what is called " the mother" in vinegar. From 

 the stumps of trees which have been felled during the winter, 

 the sap flows in spring so profusely, that I have seen them 

 covered with this substance, — a great resort of insects. 



C, — How large must the maple become before it will 

 yield saccharine juice ? 



F. — The sap contains sugar from the first period of its 

 existence, but it is not usual to tap a tree until it attains 

 about the diameter of a foot at the bottom ; too early tap- 

 ping is injurious to the health of the tree, and causes prema- 

 ture decay ; old trees, too, produce little or none, and are 

 cut down for fuel. 



C. — Is there never more than one incision made in a 

 tree at one time ? 



F, — With us there is no more ; but in the United States 



