By-products of the Northern Woodlot 233 



Sugar or sirup should be stored in a cool, dry cellar or 

 storeroom, as excessive heat tends to make the sugar 

 mold and the sirup to ferment. 



YIELD PER TREE 



Different quantities of sap are yielded by the same 

 grove in different years, depending on the condition of the 

 weather. However, an average mature maple will pro- 

 duce about twelve gallons of sap or three pounds of sugar 

 per annum. This is about the average, but much higher 

 yields have been reported. For example, a grove was 

 known to average 19 gallons of sap a tree during eight 

 consecutive seasons, which included one poor year. A 

 tree in Vermont produced 30J pounds of sugar in one 

 season, its sap being so rich that seven quarts made one 

 pound of sugar. Another maple in the same state gave 

 175 gallons of sap in one season. 



EFFECT ON TREE 



Three pounds is looked upon as a good yield. This 

 represents about 9 per cent of the sugar contents of a 

 small tree, and probably not more than 4 per cent in the 

 case of a good-sized tree. This amount under ordinary 

 circumstances can easily be spared by the tree without 

 injury. If, however, a cloudy summer or forest cater- 

 pillar defoliation lessened the opportunity for starch 

 storage, or if the environment, leaf area, age or size of the 

 tree militated against it, such a drain might become a 

 serious one. Tapping does very little injury to the tree, 

 if properly done. Trees tapped annually for many years 



