FISHERIES, GAME AND FORESTS. 



313 



There is a well established tradition among the farmers that maple sap should not 

 be drank — that it is "very weak'nin." But the men in the sugar camps often drink it, 

 claiming that it is a refreshing beverage. Perhaps the sugar makers originated the 

 story to intimidate the boys who frequent every sugar bush, and evince a troublesome 

 inclination to drink from the sap buckets. The sap from the different trees varies not 

 only in quantity but quality, the product of some trees containing a much greater 

 percentage of sugar than others. Two trees may produce the same amount of sugar, 

 but the product may differ in color or taste. As a general rule it requires four gallons 



THE WILLIAMS EVAPORATOR AND ARCH. 1 



of sap to make a pound of sugar, and thirty-five gallons to make a gallon of syrup. 



The trees yield on the average about six pounds of sugar per season ; but the amount 



varies greatly with different seasons, running from two to ten pounds per tree. Here, 



again, any definite statistics as to an average yield are apt to be confused with records 



relating to some remarkable trees. 



From Dr. Rush's letter, previously quoted, we learn that "Samuel Low, Esq., a 



Justice of Peace, in Montgomery County, in the State of New York, informed 



Arthur Noble, Esq.,f that he had made twenty pounds and one ounce of sugar, 



* Manufactured by the Vermont Farm Machine Company, Bellows Falls, Vt. 

 f Arthur Noble was the original patentee of the Arthurboro and Nobleboro Patents, now a part 

 of the Forest Preserve. 



