THE PRODUCTION OF MAPLE SUGAR 



The Bureau of Forestry Seeks to 

 Develop and Extend the Industry 



'"THE Bureau of Forestry has been 

 * studying the maple sugar indus- 

 try with the view of securing a larger 

 use of the maple forests. Since 1850 

 the area of maple sugar farming has 

 greatly changed and shrunk. In early 

 days maple sugar was commonly made, 

 even in many parts of the South, be- 

 cause cane sugar was virtually unob- 

 tainable. No longer is there even a 

 limited production in South Carolina, 

 Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louis- 

 iana, and Arkansas. This is because 

 cane sugar can now be bought every- 

 where at a low price, and is preferred 

 to maple sugar for sweetening. In 

 Indiana, Michigan, and Illinois the 

 maple trees have been extensively cut 

 for lumber, thus reducing the oppor- 

 tunity for tree tapping. In those States 

 also the markets are glutted with imi- 

 tations, which removes the incentive 

 to extending the industry. In other 

 States, as in western Maryland, West 

 Virginia, Ohio, New York, and in 

 New England, the maple sugar indus- 

 try has held its own or been increased. 



The best sap flow is secured in the 

 cooler northern States, yet good re- 

 sults can be expected in most of Penn- 

 sylvania and West Virginia, in west- 

 ern Maryland, all of Indiana and Ken- 

 tucky, eastern Tennessee, and western 

 North Carolina. At present the larg- 

 est producers of sugar maple products 

 are Ohio, Vermont, and New York. 

 The sugar and black maples yield the 

 most and the best sap, although some 

 other species of maple may be worked 

 to advantage when neither of these is 

 available. 



The maple is a hardy and vigorous 

 tree and readily reproduces itself, so 

 there need be no fear of failure of sap 

 supply. For sap production the all 

 important consideration is for the tree 

 to have a full and heavy crown. Yet 



it should also grow under forest con- 

 ditions which maintain a ground cover 

 of litter and humus. 



As a result of the study recently 

 made definite directions for the man- 

 agement and improvement of existing 

 groves, and for the establishment of 

 new ones in suitable localities and 

 under different conditions, have been 

 prepared and will soon be published. 

 Many valuable data regarding the 

 profit in making maple sugar were 

 also collected. From these it appears 

 that a farmer can easily clear about 

 $3 an acre from a sugar grove. The 

 expenses in this estimate are placed 

 at a maximum ; all the labor and haul- 

 ing are charged in at market rates, 

 though as a matter of fact the sugar 

 season falls at a time when the farmer 

 has little other employment for himself 

 or his horses. In actual practice, for 

 the farmer who can do most of his 

 own work, the profit should be con- 

 siderably larger. And the land thus 

 utilized will yield little or nothing 

 under any other use. 



The old method of collecting the 

 sap by making a diagonal cut in the 

 tree was abandoned long ago because 

 it injured the tree so that it could be 

 worked for but a few years. The ap- 

 proved practice now is to bore a hole 

 one inch deep and three-eighths of an 

 inch in diameter into the sunny side of 

 trees over 12 inches in diameter, and 

 to make but one hole in each tree, ex- 

 cept possibly where the trees are espe- 

 cially large and productive. Vast im- 

 provements have also been made in 

 appliances for handling the sap and 

 boiling it down to sugar and syrup. 



Maple trees now furnish but a small 

 per cent, of the commercial maple 

 syrup and sugar. While the demand 

 for both these commodities has con- 

 stantly increased, the output from ma- 



