92 



DESCRIPTIVE BOTANY. 



Etymology. — Acer is a Latin word, signifying sharp, and is supposed to 

 have been applied to the maple tree because it was, on account of its hardness, 

 used for spears. Saccharinum, the specific name, is from the Latin word 

 saccharum, sugar, due to the sugar-bearing sap. Nigrum, name of the variety, 

 is a Latin word signifying black, due to the dark foliage. 



History. — When or where the sap of the maple was first used for the manu- 

 facture of sugar is not known ; but Ave have no record that sugar was made 

 from this tree till after the colonization of northeastern ^Vmerica. It is there- 

 fore probable that its manufacture was begun by the early settlers of the French 

 and British colonies of this continent. At the present time about 10,000,000 

 pounds are exported from Canada ; allowing 5,000,000 pounds for home con- 

 sumption would make the amount produced about 1 5,000,000 pounds. In tlie 

 United States the production is about 3-0,000,000 pounds, which makes an 

 aggregate production of 45,000,000 pounds. The sap flows from the tree 

 through wounds made in the trunk near the ground, into which are inserted 



Acer saccharinum (Sugar Maple). 



tubes ; it is caught in pails or tubs and placed in large pans, in which it is 

 evaporated by heat to a syrup. A tree will yield from 2 to 4 pounds yearly, 

 and will continue to do so for 40 years without suffering injury. The trees 

 are tapped early in spring, when the sap is ascending. The boiled sap is 

 used as molasses under the name of maple molasses or syrup. By further 

 evaporation, straining, and refining by boiling with it lime, milk, and eggs, 

 a white sugar is produced of a very delicate flavor. 



Use. — Maple Sugar is used for the same purposes as the cane sugar, and 

 when purified by the ordinary modes of refining, it has much the same char- 

 acter ; but when used without refining, it lias a smoky taste, Avhich is grateful 

 to most palates. 



The sap of the Sugar Maple has been for more tlian a century used for 

 the manufacture of sugar. 



The wood of the Sugar or Rock Maple is also of very great value. Wheel- 

 wrights use it for axles of carriages. It constitutes a large part of the material 



