THE MAPLE. 



439 



vcying tlie sap to the camp — boilers, of fifteen 

 or eighteen gallons capacity — moulds to receive 

 tlie syrup when reduced to a proper consistency 

 for being formed into cakes-^and, lastly, axes to 

 cut and split the fuel, are the principal necessa- 

 ries required in the operation. 



The trees are perforated in an obliquely as- 

 cending direction, eighteen or twenty inches 

 from the ground, with two holes four or five 

 inches apart. Care should lio'taken that the 

 augers do not enter more than half an inch with- 

 in the wood, as experience has shown the most 

 abundant flow of sap to take place at this depth. 

 It is also recommended to insert the tubes on 

 the sunk side of the tree ; but this useful hint is 

 not always attended to. A trough is placed on 

 the ground at the foot of each tree, and the sap 

 is every day collected, and temporarily poured 

 into casks, from which it is di'awn out to fill the 

 boilers. The evaporation is kept up by a brisk 

 fire, and the scum is carefully taken off during 

 this part of tlie process. Fresh sap is added 

 from time to time, and the heat is maintained 

 till the liquid is reduced to a syrup, after which 

 it is left to cool, and then strained through a 

 blanket or other woollen stuff, to separate the 

 remaining impurities. Some recommend leav- 

 ing the syrup twelve hours before boiling it for 

 the last time ; others proceed with it immedi- 

 ately. In either case tlie boilers are only half 

 filled, and by an nctive steady heat the liquor is 

 rapidly reduced to the proper consistency for 

 being poured into the moulds. The evaporation 

 is known to have proceeded far enough when, 

 upon rubbing a drop of the syrup between the 

 lingers, it is perceived to lie granular. If it is in 

 danger of boiling over, a bit of lard, or of butter, 

 is thrown into it, which instantly calms the 

 ebullition. The molasses being drained off from 

 the moulds, the sugar is no longer deliquescent 

 like the raw sugar of the West Indies. Maple 

 sugar manufactured in this way is lighter co- 

 loured in proportion to the care with which it 

 is made, and the judgment with which the eva- 

 poration is conducted. It is superior to the 

 lirown sugar of the colonies, at least to such as 

 is generally used in the United States ; its taste 

 is as pleasant, and it is as good for culinary pur- 

 poses. When refined, it equals in beauty the 

 purest sugar used in Europe. Its use, however, 

 is confined to the districts where it is made, 

 and then only in the country. From prejudice 

 or taste, imported sugar is used in all the small 

 towns and in the inns.* 



The sap continues to flow for six weeks, after 

 wliich it becomes less abundant, less rich in sac- 

 charine matter, and sometimes even incapable of 

 crystallization. In this case it is consumed in 

 the state of molasses, which is superior to that 



* Michanx. 



of the islands. After three or four days expo- 

 sure to the sun, maple sap is converted into vine- 

 gar by undergoing the acetous fermentation. To 

 make beer of it, one quart of maple molasses is 

 mixed with four gallons of boiling water; to 

 this, when cool, a little yeast and a spoonful of es- 

 sence of spruce are added, and thus a very plea- 

 sant and wholesome beverage is obtained. 



It is found that those trees which grow in low 

 and moist places yield more sap than those 

 growing on rising grounds; but it is less rich in 

 sugar. That of single or isolated trees, is also 

 the best. The following operations were made 

 on a tree near Pittsburg: twenty tubes were 

 introduced into a sugar maple, and on the same 

 day 23 gallons 3 quarts of sap were drawn, which 

 yielded 7 pounds and a quarter of sugar. 33 

 lbs. were made the same season from the same 

 tree, which supposes 100 gallons of sap. 



In the United States maple sugar is made in 

 greatest quantities in the upper part of New 

 Hampshire, in Vermont, in the State of New 

 York, particularly in Genesee; and in the coun- 

 ties of Pennsylvania which lie on tlie eastern 

 and western branches of the Susquehannah, west 

 of the mountains in the country bordering on 

 the Alleghany, Minongaliela, and Ohio rivers. 

 The farmers, after laying aside a sufficient store 

 for their own consumption, sell the residue to 

 the shop-keepers in the small towns of the 

 neighbourhood, at eight cents a pound, by whom 

 it is retailed at eleven cents. A great deal of sugar 

 is also made in Upper Canada, and on the Wa- 

 bash. The Indians dispose of it to the commis- 

 sioners of the north-western company established 

 at Montreal, for the use of the numerous agents 

 who go out in their employ in quest of furs 

 beyond lake Superior. In Nova Scotia, and the 

 district of Maine, and in the highest mountains of 

 Virginia and Carolina, where these trees are 

 sufficiently common, the manufacture is less 

 considerable; and probably six-sevenths of the 

 inhabitants consume imported sugar. 



It has been said, that the northern parts of New 

 York and Pennsylvania contain maples suffi- 

 cient to supply the consumption of the whole 

 of the United States. 



Wild and domestic animals are exceedingly 

 fond of maple juice, and break tlirough the in- 

 closures to sate themselves with it. 



Another species, the black sugar maple facer 

 nigrum J, is found growing in the western States; 

 the leaves are similar to the sugar maple, only 

 they are of a deeper green, of a thicker texture, 

 and slightly downy: the wood is coarser grained, 

 and less brilliant when polished. 



The Tied Flowering Maple facer ruhrum). 

 This is also a common tree in the United States. 

 It is the earliest whose bloom announces the re- 

 turn of spring; and in the neighbourhood of New 

 York is in flower about the middle of March. 



