1 68 OBober 1748. 



are chiefly fwampy, wet places, in which 

 the alder commonly is its companion. Out 

 of its wood they make plates, fpinning- 

 wheels, rolls, feet for chairs and beds, and 

 all forts of work. With the bark, they 

 dye both worfted and linnen, giving it a 

 dark blue colour. For that purpofe it is 

 iirft boiled in water -, and fome copperas, 

 fuch as the hat-makers and flioe-makers 

 commonly make ufe of, is added, before 

 the fluff (which is to be dyed) is put into 

 the boiler. This bark likewife affords a 

 good black ink. When the tree is felled 

 early in fpring, a fweet juice runs out of it, 

 like that which runs out of our birches. 

 This juice they do not make any ufe of 

 here ; but in Canada, they make both trea- 

 cle and fugar of it. Here is a variety of 

 this tree which they call the curled Maple, 

 the wood being as it were marbled within j 

 it is much ufed in all kinds of joiner's work, 

 and the utenfils made of this wood, are pre- 

 ferable to thofe made of any other fort of 

 wood in the country, and are much dearer 

 than thofe made of the wood of the wild 

 cherry iTttsfPrunus Virginiana) or of black 

 walnut trees. But the mofl valuable utenfils 

 were thofe made oi curled black walnut, for 

 that is an excefTive fcarce kind of wood. 

 The curled maple was likewife very un- 



com- 



