Io6 On the Preparation of Sugar 



more than four-pence or five-pence. But it may be readily 

 feen, that when this labour can be undertaken on a large 

 fcale, in which cafe one workman, during the procefs of 

 tapping, might be able to attend 500 trees, and if the liquor 

 could be boiled with coals or turf, a pound of fuch fugar 

 would not coft nearly fo much. The procefs of boiling 

 the juice is fo fimple that it may be undertaken by every 

 farmer. As a proof of this I fliall obferve, that Count Von 

 Podevlls, of Gufon, having brought his huntfman to me 

 in order that he might be prefent at the boiling of maple 

 juice, and to learn the method, he foon after tried the pro- 

 cefs himfelf on his mafter's eftate, and fent him a pretty 

 large portion of maple fugar as a fpecimen. But it appears, 

 from various experiments, that the fugar and filver maples 

 are the propereft for this purpofe. As the afii-leaved maple, 

 acer negundo ; common maple, acer campejlre ; Norway ma- 

 ple, acer plantoid^s ; great maple or baftard fycamore, acer 

 ffeudo-platanus ; and all the other fpecies, are Icfs abundant 

 in juice, and as the juice contains lefs faccharlne matter, 

 the manufatluring of maple fugar can be expefted to become 

 advantageous only when fufficient plantations of the filver 

 and fuear maples have been formed, and have come to ma- 

 turity, which will require a period of from twenty-five to 

 thirty years *. 



In 



* I cannot omit taking this opportunity to refute fome ridiculous ideas 

 which have been entertained in regard to the maple. Sometimes it is faid 

 that it is apt to be killed by the feverity of the froft in winter; fomttinies 

 that it dies after being tapped; and fometimes that it is deftroyed by car 

 terpillars. In regard to the firft objefticn, I ftiail refer to the maple plan- 

 tations cf Count Veltheim at Harbke. The greater part of the fugar an4 

 filver maples there are above thirty years old ; they withftood the cold 

 winters of the years 1776, 17SS, and 1793; and will ftill ccniinue to 

 thrive, for the leal trace of corruption, not even in the branches, can 

 be obfcrved in them. Muf. not thefe trees have been long ago deftroyed, if 

 they are fo liable to fufFer from the efFetts of froft ? In regard to the fe- 

 cond objijftion, that alfo mav be refuted by experience. The maples at 

 Harbks have been tapped two years fucceffiveiy without one of them 

 being hvrt ; on the contrary, they produced bloffoms and feeds the fol- 

 lowing fpring. This winter Count Veltheim caufed them to be tapped, 

 for t!ic iliird time. In the like manner, fcvcraJ truisks cf ihe ucer pft-udo- 



flatanui 



