Plate XITHE SYCAMORE1. Sycamore Tree2. Leaf Spray3. Fat Bud4. Flower Spike5. Winged Fruit
Plate XI
THE SYCAMORE1. Sycamore Tree2. Leaf Spray3. Fat Bud4. Flower Spike5. Winged Fruit
The Field Maple is full of sugary sap, butnothing is made of it in this country, as the trees do not yield enough to make it worth while. But in Canada the sap is drawn from the trees and made into sugar. I am sure you must have seen the brown blocks of Maple sugar in the confectioners’ windows.
The wood of the Field Maple is too small to be of much use, but it is strangely and beautifully marked and veined with spots and stripes like the skin of a tiger or panther, and is eagerly bought for decorative purposes. The knots that grow on the roots were said to be worth their weight in gold, and in old history books you read that the thrones of great kings were made of Maple. Nowadays the wood is largely used for making small articles such as plates, and cups, and trays, and it can be cut so thin without breaking that the light may be seen through it.
In France the long slender Maple shoots are used for coachmen’s whips.