MAPLE SUGAR. 



Sugar from the Maple Tree. 



r I ^HE extraction of sugar from the maple tree is evi- 

 dently one of the most simple methods of obtain- 

 ing cane sugar. The coloring matter may be got 

 rid of by a series of filtrations, but maple sugar 

 is not a practical source for the sugar supply of 

 the country. Many with whom we have corres- 

 ponded assert, that it is simply a question of how 

 many trees are utilized ; that these exist at present in 

 sufficient number to meet the home demand. It is 

 also contended that little or no harm results from the 

 tapping. But we can positively assert that there are 

 to-day but few rock and black maple trees stand- 

 ing that were utilized for maple sugar manufac- 

 ture some forty years since. Those which have 

 never been thought of for maple sugar, are rapidly 

 disappearing before the axe; groves of them are 

 consequently swept away. The protection of the 

 farm by these trees, and their view, so highly pleasing 

 to the eye, is generally entirely neglected. The desire 

 for a timber profit (which evidently in many cases 

 represents cash) is so tempting to the owner of the 

 land, that he overlooks the probable future these 

 trees may have in store for him. This vast destruc- 

 tion of trees is too terrible to think of. In France, 

 there exists a law, which prescribes that every tree 

 hewed to the ground must be replaced by another. 

 In this manner the country, its lands, its climate, etc., 

 are protected ; but unfortunately this law does not 



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