854 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



maple derives its chief leiniiation, as well as its 

 iiiime frotii the qualities of its sup. A large por- 

 tion of the sugar iise.l in many parts of the coun- 

 try, the western districts of Vermont and New 



York for instance, is derived fpoin the majde 



Michanx remarked, nearly thirty years since, that 

 at least ten millions of [ioiinds of this sugar 'were 

 then annnaily made in the Uuted States. This 

 qnantty is far less than iniglit he procured, from 

 the sani(! source, in case of necessity. According 

 to Dr Rush, the northern part of New Vork and 

 Pennsylvania alone, contained at the same peiiod, 

 thirty nwllions of sugar nnipie trees; and, if we 

 suppose each tree to yield on an avi-rage from 2 

 to 4 i)ounds af sugar annuallv, the product would 

 go far towanls supplying the whole consumption 

 ot the country. 



The maplesngar can be made of a quality equal 

 to tin; best imported. We have seen it formed 

 into very good loaf sugar, ft is, however in a 

 brown state that it is generally used ; and, except 

 in the drstricts where it is produced, it is less 

 agreeable to the palate of consumers generally, 

 than the product of the cane. To manufacture 

 it, requires a great expense, not only of labpr, hut 

 of fuel; and hence it probably cannot be sold, at 



UfAV 17 18 r. 



a distance, for a price which will eiiableit toco'm- 

 pete with the imported article. The sap of the 

 tree, or maple juice, as it is cai:ed,is greedily cov- 

 eted by wdd and domestic anin.a's, who break 

 through enclosures for the sake of oblainin" it 

 and IS gpupi-ally an agreeable and wlioleson.e bev- 

 erage. We have been infornie<l, however, of one 

 instance, in which it |)roved to be of a highly in- 

 toxicating quality. This circum.stance occurre.l, 

 about 30 years since, in the western part of the 

 State ot New Vork. All the sap proem cd from 

 the maple trees of au extensive district, was found 

 to have undergone a vinous fermei tation ; and 

 children who drank it fr ely, were in some cases 

 rendered delirious, for two or three days. We 

 have heard of no other instance (,f this phenome- I 

 non, nor have we learne.l that any probable ex- ' 

 planation has been given of its cause. 

 _ 'J'he last of our forest trees whi,di'we shall no- 

 tice, IS one of which we need .say hut little, either 

 m the w.ay of description or recommetidatioii.— 

 V\ e mean our Ame, ican Elm. In a strictly eco- 

 nomical point of view, this tree is of little value 

 as nerher its wood nor its bark is employed to 

 any extent in the useful nrls. It is subject to the 

 disadvantage of being more attacked by the can- 

 kerworni, than any other of our forest trees, «nd 

 IS one of the first to shed its foliage in autumn.- 

 It IS a tree also, whi.h proves rather a trouble- 

 some mnmte in small gardens and enclosures a. 

 It spreads us roois far and wide, and frequently 

 protrudes them above the surface of the gro,m,l 

 so that It completely monopolizes a large extent 

 01 sod. I,ut where a proper .space can he allot- 

 ted to u, there is no tree which rivals it in grace 

 and majesty. Michaux pronounces it to be deci- 

 dedly the n,o.st n.agniticent vegetable production 

 of the temperate zone. Pew, who have seen this 

 tree in favorable situations, will question its ri-ht 

 to iIhs preeminence. lla; pily we need not gofar 

 to hnd this remark sphndally il ustrated We 

 refer to the triple row of ehns which a.lorns the 

 Boston Mah. What is there in the finest .speci- 

 mens of architern.re in that city, public or pri- 

 vate, to which a Jio.stonian can turn with more 

 pleasure or n.ore exultation .' Who has ever con- 

 temp.aled those solid colonnades and shady ar- 



ches, without grateful feelings to the Unknown 

 individual to whose taste and wisdom we owe 

 them.' Who doubts that his name, had he cho- 

 sen to record it, w„uld have been far better per- 

 |)eluated by such a mem.iri.d, than by the proud- 

 est monument of brass or maihle .' We have seen 

 nothing of the same descri|:tiou in any part of the 

 country, to be compared to this magnificent ave- 

 nue ; but every one must have observed single 

 elms, of equal or superior magnitude and beauty 

 to any of the trees of which it is composed. These 

 are generally the relics of our ori^'inal forests ; 

 and the care with which they are now jireserved' 

 and protecteil, furnishes a striking and giatifv- 

 ing evidence of an iuqiroving taste for sylvan sce- 

 nery. 



We have thus called the attention of our rea- 

 ders to a very i;.w of the forest trees of this coun- 

 try. It might be gratifying to s|ieak also of sev- 

 eral of those of the old world ; but we could not 

 do so without extending this article beyond its 

 proper limits. We have already observed that 

 the list of European forest trees is far more scan- 

 ty than ours, and th, ,e are very few of them 

 winch would be a valuable accession to our bo- 

 tanical treasures. Many cf the most important 

 classes or genera of forest trees are common to 

 both continents, such as the oak, ash, elm, &c _ 

 Those trees of the old world an.l the new, wldcli 

 bear ihe same name, generally resemble each oth- 

 er to a great degree ; but in almost every instance 

 the resemblance stops short of complete exact 

 iies.s Thus we find that the elms, willows, and 

 larches of Europe and America, though inanife«t- 

 ly belonging to the same cla.^s of vegetable pro 

 duclions, iliffer from each other materially either 

 in then- size, their beauty, or the value of their 

 timber '1 his seems merely an appli. ation of the 

 general law of nature, which lea.ls her to avoid 

 in all her productions, any thing like mathemati' 

 cal resemblance; a rule, of which we have a fa- 

 miliar proof, in the fact that no two leaves can be 

 found on any tree, which do not manifestly differ 

 111 shape or size. 



'i here is, liowver, one tree of the old world 

 winch has been rendered so familiar to our ima-' 

 mations, by early associations both of a poetical 

 and sacred character, that we cannot forbear to 

 speak of It moreparlicularly; we mean the Cedar 

 of Lebanon. 7 his tree was for a long time sup- 

 pose.l to be indigenous only on the mountains of 

 falestme, whence it derives its name. The re- 

 searches of later hot.mists have discovered it on 

 other high ridges, and it has been said to have 

 been found more especially in the northern part 

 of Kiissia. It is c!a.ssed with the larches, a t.lace 

 to which It is entiile.l, among other reasons, by 

 tl,e shape and size of its leaves, and the maimeV 

 in which they are dis|.osed on its branches These 

 branches extend themselves to an unconimonly 

 wide distance, are arrange,! in stages one above 

 another, and are horizontal or rather .slighily in- 

 clining to the earth, and thus form an irregn'ar 

 penthouse. In the opinion cf the best judges 

 tins tree owes its beauty partly to this arfa.i"e- 

 nieut of Its limbs, and partly to the density and 

 the deep green of its foliage. But it is only in its 

 native mountains, that we can find any magnificent 

 specimens of this renowned plant, and of these 

 specimens the number is small, and consrant'y di- 

 "".shing. We are told, that, in 1789 there were 

 only s.vcn cedars on Mount Eebanon, of a very 

 large size, one or two of which were found by 



measurement to be thirty feet in circumference. 

 Thrnc noble trees are probably the growth of sev- 

 eral centuries, but we should give ourselves up 

 quite too far to the guidance of our faiuies, if we 

 supposed, as many writers seem inclined 'to do, 

 that they were coeval with the days of Solomon. 

 The whole number of cedars on "this spot, large 

 and small, is about a hundred ; and tl-iey are said 

 to be annually honored by a pompons relisions 

 ceremony, attended by several thousand devotees. 

 But however magnificent the appearance of this 

 tree, ;ind however numerous and interesting the 

 associations with which it is connected, we are 

 compelled by the testimony of the best authori- 

 ties, to deny to it some of the qualities, with which 

 it has long been invested in popular estimation. 

 It has been called, for instance, a lofty tree. To 

 this title it has no pretension, as we I'ave no w.;!!- 

 anlhenticated account of its exceeding the height 

 of a hundred feet, and it .seldom rises to much 

 more than half that elevation. 



There is also a popular imi)rcssion, that its 

 wood is distinguished by dur-bility. This opin- 

 ion is derived partly from the representations of 

 the ancients,* and partly from the fact that the 

 limber of its namesakes, the cedars of our own 

 country, is remarkable for this quality. Accord- 

 ing to the great majority of botanists, the wood 

 of the cedar of Lebanon, is an inferior kind of 

 deal, resembling some descriptions of pine, hut 

 less durable. 



For the purposes of timber, therefore, this tree 

 is unworthy of cultivation. Whether it's beauty, 

 and its historical and poetical celebrity, are sufii- 

 cient rccommemlations for its introduction, is a 

 question unfortunately of little interest to lis, as 

 there is probably no part of the United Slates, 

 where it could be rai.sed to advantage in the open 

 air. It is true that, in its native locality, it is sub- 

 jected lo a high degree of cold, as it grows imme- 

 diately below the covering of eternal snow, which 

 rev's on the summit of Lebanon. lint the atmos- 

 phere even of Eiiglan<l is unsiiited to its full de- 

 veIo|,ment, on account of its want of snflicient 

 moisture, and iherefore it must be emirely out of 

 the qnesii,,!,, to suppose that it could flourish in 

 our proverbially bright and dry climate. It seems 

 to jiaitake of the nature of what are called Al- 

 pine plants, and e\i:ry gardener knows, that such 

 plants are of all others the most difficult to rear, 

 and that it is next to impossible to supply them 

 with a proper equivalent, for the constant shade 

 and moi.stnre, which they enjoy on the cloud-cap- 

 ped tops of their native liills. 



(To be continued.) 



Be careful not to remove any of your winter 

 garments, however inviting the weather may ap- 

 pear, until summer arrives. This is the season for 

 consutuption, &.,:. As a l^atal influenza is rava- 

 ging in England, especial caution should be used 

 on this side of the water to stop its progress here.' 



* It is well known that the ancients were far 

 from accurate in their botanical knowledge, and 

 tiiat, even in our day, nothing is more coinmon 

 or more vexations, ihan the great confusion .-.ml 

 nu.iierous mistakes, which result from describing 

 vegetable productions merely hy their po[.ular 

 names. '1 here is much controversy amoui.' hot- 

 anists, whether the nime of cedar was not'ofi.m 

 given by ancient writers to some species of jdne 

 or cypress. 



