15 



dition that obtains in many of the settled counties of Eastern Ontario 

 and of Quebec where the same groves and in many cases the same 

 trees have been tapped by several generations. In more northerly 

 parts of these provinces there are vast stretches of chiefly hard maple 

 forest in a primeval state awaiting the sugar maker with his modern 

 equipment. 



In a tour among sugar makers in the Eastern Townships of 

 Quebec it was observed that the average maple grove contains from 

 50 to 100 tapped trees per acre. The ideal grove would perhaps con- 



Fig. 7. SAP GATHERERS MAKING THE MORNING ROUND 

 Sap conveyed to the sugar house by metal pipes 



tain a somewhat larger number. It should be sufficient to give a 

 maximium yield of sap per acre. 



The production of sap of a sugar making quality depends on a 

 large leaf area. From this it follows that the number of trees per 

 acre must be consistent with the greatest crown development of each 

 tree in the grove. A maple tree, which is a forest species, growing 

 under this condition will produce a good length of trunk and this is 

 necessary to a productive yield because the elaborated sugar is 

 stored in the trunk of the tree for use during the next season; thus 

 the trunk becomes a storage tank. The typical tree for sugar making 



