68 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. 



by the cane, the maple, or the beet ; for from all these it is 

 manufactured for consumption. But few substances are more 

 generally diffused through the vegetable creation than sugar, 

 and it is even found in animal substances. It is true that in 

 many of these it can be detected only by the chemist, but in 

 dried fruits, in germinating grain, especially barley, in many 

 roots, as turnips, parsnips, &c., in the stalks of maize, and 

 even in straw, it can be readily appreciated by the senses. 

 A most singular discovery has been made, that starch and 

 sugar are chemically the same, composed of the same ele- 

 ments, and in the same proportions, and that in certain cir- 

 cumstances, the former becomes changed to the latter in every 

 property. The cereal grains, or corn in general, are prin- 

 cipally composed of starch, which in the process of germina- 

 tion is transformed to sugar ; this is the manner in which 

 malt is made out of barley. 



C. I suppose these tubs are set at the foot of the trees 

 to receive the flowing sap. 



F. Yes ; one to every tree, except where two grow so 

 close to each other as to flow into one tub or bucket. You 

 see, a hole is first bored in the trunk with an auger, about 

 an inch deep ; some cut an oblique notch with the axe, but 

 this wounds the tree unnecessarily, and causes premature 

 decay. Beneath the hole or notch a semicircular incision is 

 made with a large iron gouge, called a tapping iron, into 

 which a spout made of pine wood, guttered down the centre, 

 is driven, to catch the sap as it flows from the hole above, 

 and conduct it down to the bucket beneath. This is our 

 custom ; but in the state of Vermont, I have seen a much 

 handier way. A nail is driven into the tree just below the 

 spout, and on this the bucket is hung by a hole in one of the 

 staves ; the advantages are, that a shorter spout serves, and 

 the sap cannot be overturned by hogs or stray cattle, as it 

 frequently is when it stands on the ground. 



