154 AGRICULTURE 



Making the sugar. Once collected, the sap is evapo- 

 rated by boiling in kettles, tanks, or other specially adapted 

 apparatus. When the right consistency has been reached, 

 the sirup is poured into molds and allowed to cool. It is 

 then ready for the market. Maple sugar is considered a 



Tapping maple trees in Vermont. Too ninny taps. 



delicacy, and many attempts have been made to produce 

 substitutes as acceptable as the genuine article. Some of 

 these have been so successful that it is often difficult to tell 

 the imitation from the real. One authority says that were 

 all the maple trees cut down we would continue to have 

 "maple sirup" on the market. 



