44 



VIII. Maple Sugar. — This is comparatively a large product 

 in several towns in the county. A very small amount is ex- 

 ported ; but what is made goes far to supply this necessary of 

 life, and to prevent the expense of the imported commodity. 

 A large portion of what is produced is made from trees sown 

 or planted within the memory of persons now living, or by 

 their own hands. 



The amount of sugar made in Leverett in good seasons, is 

 from 15,000 to 20,000 lbs. ; in Shelburne, 30,000 lbs. ; in Ash- 

 field two years since, it was ascertained at my request, to ex- 

 ceed 40,000 lbs. 1 have returns from individual farmers in the 

 county, of their own products, being 800 lbs. annually, 1,000 

 lbs. and 2.000 lbs. each. The fact has come to my knowledge 

 since my Report on Berkshire county, that in the town of 

 Sandisfield, Berkshire county, with a population of about 1500, 

 100,000 lbs. of maple sugar have been produced in a year. 

 These extraordinary facts, so little known, show the capacities 

 of the State in this particular, and the importance of cultivat- 

 ing and protecting this invaluable tree. 



In general, a good tree may be expected to yield four lbs. of 

 sugar in a season. I have seen a tree, said to have produced 

 twenty-seven lbs. in one spring. A barrel of sap, or thirty- 

 three gallons, will produce eight lbs. sugar. Lucius Field, of 

 Leverett, whose credibility is above question, informed me that 

 in one season he obtained from one tree, 175 gallons of sap. 

 This, if manufactured, would have produced more than forty 

 lbs. of sugar. The quality and quantity of the sap vary in 

 some measure with the age of the tree and the soil in which it 

 grows. A moist soil produces the largest quantity and the best 

 sap. The sap of old trees contains more sugar than that of 

 young trees. The sugar sells usually from 10 to 12J cents per 

 lb. The color depends in some measure on the cleanliness of 

 the vessels used Sugar burnt upon the kettle discolors the 

 product. The growth of the maple is such, that it may be 

 used for sugar or cut for fuel in twenty years from the plant- 

 ing. The wood makes excellent fuel ; and is likewise used to 

 much advantage in cabinet work and for house-floors. 



