Beauty and Utility

Beauty and Utility. . , Maples' strong timber and sweet syrup contribute to the economy of the Northeast., Sugar maple (Acer saccharum) is the state tree of New York. It is honored not only for its stunning fall beauty fut also its economic significance as a source of maple syrup and lumber. Many maples are valued for their fine-grained hardwood. Virgil wrote more than 2,000 years ago that the Torjan Horse of The Aeneid was built from planks of maple. Today maple is used for the shiny hardwood floors and bowling alleys and gymnasiums as well as for musical instruments., The sweet sap of maples is used in the production of maple syrup. Native Americans taught the first European settlers to drill holes into maple trees and collect their sap. By the 1700s, it was common practice to make maple syrup and sugar by boiling down the watery sap in big copper pots., The United States produces more than three million gallons of syrup each year. Though most maple syrup is produced in factories with modern technology, smaller producers in New England and Quebec maintain the traditional methods. They use buckets to collect sap and cook syrup over wood fires in small "sugar shacks.", The glasshouses ahead of you are the Nolen Greenhouses for Living Collections, where horticulturists grow thousands of plants every year for the Garden's exhibitions, scientific research, and permanent collections. They are open seasonally for special exhibitions.