Hu-jH-oducts of the Northern Woodlot 227 



duccs more sap than the sugar maple, hut yields ! 

 >irup and sugar. The silver maple (Acer saccharinutn) 

 yields an abundance of sweet >:ip that in quality or sugar 

 content is about the same as that of the red maple. The 

 red and silver maple> are considered -uirar-producing trees 

 mostly in those regions in which the sugar maple does 

 not occur. It is very common to find these three >p< -i -it - 

 being used for making sirup and sugar, when they occur 

 in mixture. It is not necessary to have a large number 

 of trees to make an operation worth while. A do/en 

 good trees will yield sufficient sap during a good season to 

 warrant tapping them. It is not uncommon to find farn 

 tapping three or four trees, and even one tree, when it 

 happens to be a large tree and is a real sugar maple. When 

 properly tapped and cared for, a shade maple in the yard 

 may yield a large amount of rich sap without any injury 

 to the tree. 



SEASON 



The period of "sugar weather" varies with the locality 



and sea>on. I'sually the sap begins moving in the tree- 

 earlier than i- uvnerally realized. It i- a wi-e policy 

 to get an early Mart so as to be prepared for the season 

 >hould it come in ;i ni>h, as it sometimes does. Sap begin^ 

 to flow as soon as the temperature fluctuates above and 

 below the free/ing point, or 32 F. Frosty nights and 



rn days indn I sugar weather. Generally the 



season begins about March 1 in southern >e<-tions and 



' to the northward. It may beirin two weeks earlier 

 and continue for a week or a month, depending on weather 

 conditi<>. 



