c INTRODUCTION. 



Louisiana produces over two hundred and twenty-one million of the two hundred and thirty mil 

 lion pounds raised in the whole United States. 



Texas produced over five million pounds of cane sugar in 1860, being the greatest sugar-growing 

 State after Louisiana. 



Of maple sugar there was produced in 1850, in the whole United States and Territories, 34,253,436 

 pounds ; and in 1860, 40,120,205 pounds, or an increase of nearly six million pounds. 



Of this amount New York and Vermont produced more than half; the former producing nearly 

 eleven million pounds, and the latter nearly ten million pounds. 



Michigan stands third, producing four million pounds. Ohio produces over three millions; Penn 

 sylvania two and three quarter millions; New Hampshire two and a quarter millions; Wisconsin and 

 Indiana each one and a half million ; Massachusetts and Virginia about one million pounds each. For 

 the amount raised in the other States we would refer to the foregoing table. 



The article known as maple sugar is made from the sap of the Acer Saccharinum, or sugar maple, 

 (known also as rock maple,) one of the most symmetrical and beautiful of American forest trees. It 

 is found in nearly every State of the Union, but is most abundant between the parallels of 43 and 46. 

 The process of making the sugar may be briefly described as follows: As soon as the sap begins to 

 flow in the spring, which is usually from the 1st to the 15th of March, the trees are &quot;tapped&quot; by 

 boring one or two holes of half an inch in diameter and two inches deep, in each tree, and from fifteen 

 to twenty-four inches above the ground. Into these holes are inserted hollow wooden plugs, called 

 &quot;quills,&quot; which conduct the sap into wooden troughs or pails placed beneath. Sometimes the orifice is 

 made with a heavy, curvilinear chisel, which is driven into the sap-wood with a wooden mallet, and a 

 wooden spout, properly prepared, is inserted to carry off the sap. The careless use of the axe in tap 

 ping, is frequently indulged to the great injury of the trees and to their premature destruction. The 

 sap, ordinarily, runs only in the day-time and after frosty nights, commencing as soon as it begins to 

 thaw in the morning, and ceasing as soon as it begins to freeze towards evening. Each tree will yield 

 from one to four gallons of sap in twenty-four hours. Cold and dry winters, with frosty nights and 

 warm, sunny days during the &quot;sugaring season,&quot; are most favorable for the production of sap. The sap 

 is collected from the troughs and placed in sheet-iron pans of about eight inches deep, four feet wide 

 and eight to twelve feet long, set on brick arches, (kettles were formerly used for the purpose.) A 

 brisk boiling is kept up in the pans for twelve or fifteen hours, fresh sap being occasionally added, 

 when the whole reaches the consistency of &quot;sirup,&quot; in which form much of it is used for domestic 

 purposes. The sirup is then strained and put in kettles holding from eight to ten gallons each, where 

 it is again kept boiling for about two hours. (The best makers pour into each kettle-full of sirup 

 about one pint of new milk to assist in clarifying.) During this process the impurities rise to the sur 

 face and are carefully skimmed off. When the sirup has boiled sufficiently to &quot;grain&quot; well, it is al 

 lowed to partially cool, (stirring constantly,) and is then poured into pans or moulds, when it becomes 

 the &quot;maple sugar&quot; of commerce. On the average, twenty quarts of sap will make one pound of sugar, 

 and each tree will produce from three to four pounds of sugar annually. Very large trees will produce 

 eight to ten pounds. The sugaring season usually lasts from four to six weeks, and until the buds of 

 the tree begin to swell vigorously, when the sap diminishes in quantity and quality. 



Of sorghum molasses the product was 6,749,123 gallons. 



It is an interesting fact, as showing how rapidly a plant can be distributed through the country, 

 that we have returns of sorghum molasses from twenty-eight out of the thirty-four States reported. 



The high price of sugar and molasses since the war has stimulated the cultivation of sorghum to 

 to an unusual degree. The drought of 1863 in the west, followed by an unusually severe frost before 

 the plants were ripe, destroyed the sorghum crop of 1863. Had the season been favorable, a large 



