68 OUR VANISHING FORESTS 



ments. For every four mature trees in his "sugar 

 bush" the operator may obtain as much as one bar- 

 rel of sap, which in turn will boil down to a single 

 gallon of pure syrup. Under the old methods it 

 was often necessary to cook the sap continuously 

 for upwards of twenty-four hours, but today, the 

 new style evaporators have reduced the time to 

 about seven hours. 



The Sugar Maple, a native of New England, 

 New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and other Jake 

 states, is the source of our chief supplies. It is a 

 friendly tree, willing to live in a great variety of 

 soils and locations, but seldom a rapid grower. A 

 really large specimen, three or four hundred years 

 old, may be only a little over one hundred feet tall 

 and Its largest trunk diameter about four feet. 

 Nevertheless this tree is easy to plant and cultivate, 

 and with patience there is but little difficulty In 

 establishing a "sugar bush." Curiously enough the 

 so-called Black Maple Is considered by many, espe- 

 cially in and about Vermont, as superior to its 

 cousin both as to quantity and quality of sap, while 

 In the Central States the Red Maple plays a limited 

 part. It has the advantage, at least, of being a 

 more rapid grower. The Silver Maple and several 

 others are of minor Importance. 



Although cane and beets control the common 



