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. Saccharinum), 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 Papyracea) 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 j 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 



E 



