140 



POPULAR ECONOMIC BOTANY. 



2. The Sugar Maple — Acer saccJiannum (Nat. Ord. Ace- 

 racece), and probably other species of Maple. — From the 

 juice of these trees, which runs out of incisions made in 

 the stem, large quantities of a coarse uncrystallizable sugar 

 is manufactured in North America. The Maple sugar is a 

 domestic manufacture, and is only used in the country dis- 

 tricts. The Indians of Canada make and sell it to the colo- 

 nists, often packed in very elegant little baskets, made of 

 bark, and embroidered with small quills of the North Ame- 

 rican porcupine [Hystrix dorsata. Linn.), dyed in various 

 bright colours. 



3. The Date {Phcenix dactylifera). — Prom this useful 

 palm, and also from P. sylvestris, the wild date and Sa- 

 guerus (Arenga) saccJiarifer (Plate IX. fig. 46), very much 

 sugar is produced, by boiling the juice, which flows in im- 

 mense quantities from incisions made in the spadices, or 

 flower-heads ; from P. sylvestris alone as much as 60,000 

 tons are made. These sugars are mostly consumed in 

 India ; much however is supposed to reach this country as 

 cane-sugar. 



Sugar has also been manufactured extensively from potato- 

 starch, for the purpose of mixing with cane-sugar, but the 

 manufacture is illegal in this country. 



