118 VEGETABLE StTHSTANCES. 



Sugar Maple Acer taccharinum. 



settle upon it, it is speedily attacked by the worm. 

 When kept dry, and free from this attack, it will last 

 a considerable time; but exposed to humidity, it is 

 one of the most perishable of trees. 



The maple forms a very pleasing shade, from the 

 largeness of its leaves; but the twisting of its branches 

 is injurious to its picturesque effect. The constant 

 excoriation of its bark produces a variety of hues, 

 which give colour to any landscape in which the tree 

 is introduced. 



The sugar maple grows plentifully in the United 

 States; and from the sap of it the inhabitants make 

 a considerable quantity of sugar, which, though in- 

 ferior both in the grain and in strength to that which 

 is produced by the cane, granulates better than 

 that of the beet root, or any other vegetable, the 

 cane excepted. The sugar maple is a smaller tree 

 than the maple of this country; and it is not much in 

 repute as timber, although from its abundance it is a 

 good deal used in America, the wood, for domestic 



