THE MAPLE SUGAR AND SYRUP INDUSTRY. 



JOHN C. GIFFORD. 



The maple sugar and syrup industry is 

 purely American. It is, in fact, the only 

 forest industry which is carefully and 

 scientifically conducted in this country. 

 The best description of the process of 

 manufacture and care of the sugar orchard 

 is by Colonel William Fox in the latest 

 report of the New York State Forest, 

 Fish and Game Commission. In this re- 

 port Colonel Fox states that 50,000,000 

 pounds of sugar and 3,000,000 gallons of 

 syrup are manufactured every year in this 

 country. Seventeen per cent, of the gran- 

 ulated sugar output of the United States 

 of America is yielded by the sugar maple 

 tree. The State of Vermont is the leader, 

 having produced last season 14,123,921 

 pounds of sugar and 993,685 gallons of 

 syrup. 



A sweet sap is yielded, more or less, by 

 all the maples, and, I have been told, also 

 to a certain extent by the hickories. The 

 rock or sugar maple (Acer saccharinum) is, 

 however, the principal source of the 

 product. 



This is truly an American industry, for 

 we are indebted to the Indian for the first 

 knowledge of it. He tapped the tree, col- 

 lected the sap and boiled it in crude recep- 

 tacles. We practice to-day practically the 

 same method, although it has been much 

 improved; the product is, of course, 

 cleaner, and the implements better. The 

 old method was to box the tree in a rough 

 manner, inserting a hollow reed or a piece 

 of shingle, down which the sap trickled 

 into a pail on the ground. The repeated 

 wounds of the axe soon ruined the trees. 

 It was discovered also that an auger hole 

 was quite sufficient. At first a hole \ x /i 

 inches in diameter was made ; now a Y%- 

 inch bit is used. The hole is bored about 

 i l / 2 inches in depth, slanting slightly up- 

 ward. A galvanized spout on which the 

 kettle is suspended is inserted. Nails which 

 will rust should never be driven into the 

 tree, or, in fact, into any tree. 



The first tapping is usually begun breast 

 high. Then the next a little lower, and so 

 on, but this rule is not alwavs followed. 

 One spout to each tree is sufficient. The 

 tree is usually tapped first on the South 

 side. The largest flow is obtained from 

 the side on which there are the largest 

 roots and branches. Sugar can be manu- 

 factured from the sap of young trees, but 

 the yield is less, labor greater, and the 

 young trees are more easily injured. Sap- 

 ping does not injure the tree to any extent 

 if done with care. There are trees in ex- 



istence which have yielded sap for more 

 than a century. 



Never tap a tree where the bark is rough 

 or unhealthy. Select a clean, smooth sur- 

 face, because the slightest amount of de- 

 cayed wood may discolor the sap and in- 

 jure or spoil several barrels of the pure 

 liquid. 



In the old method the open kettle was 

 hung over a fire in the woods. Smoke and 

 dirt helped, no. doubt, to give it the old- 

 time woody flavor of which we are all so 

 fond. Milk and eggs were put in it to 

 clarify the liquid, and even a piece of fat 

 pork was ingeniously hung over the pot 

 to prevent the sap from boiling over. 

 When it had boiled sufficiently it would 

 granulate and harden, and this was tested 

 by dropping a little on the snow, which 

 was almost always present at that time of 

 the year. 



To-day better and cleaner methods are 

 in use — spouts that do not rust, pails with 

 lids, modern evaporators, thermometers, 

 and often a neat little sugar house, to pro- 

 tect the workers and the liquid from the 

 cold and dirt. 



The old "sugaring-off" time was equal 

 to the vintage time of Italy, the grinding 

 season of the sugar cane in the South, and 

 the corn-shuckings of our Central States. 



Granulation is indicated by a tempera- 

 ture of 238 , and at 245 hard cake sugar 

 may be produced. At 219° the syrup will 

 weigh 11 pounds to the gallon, and 100 

 gallons of sap will produce 82 pounds of 

 sugar. 



Any person in the North who is cleanly 

 in his methods, honest, and possessed of 

 the proper amount of business snap can 

 conduct this industry profitably in connec- 

 tion with farm work. 



There is, I believe, great possibility 

 extending this industry to many other 

 parts of this country. The statement is 

 often made that good sugar - id syrup 

 can be produced only in Northern regions. 

 All through the mountainous regions of 

 our South the sugar maple will flourish 

 and produce good sugar. Many claim that 

 12 per cent, can be made on such an in- 

 vestment. A maple sugar bush can be 

 successfully operated in connection with 

 the farm. On almost every farm in moun- 

 tainous districts there are large areas, if 

 not all of it, which are unfit for cultivation. 

 Such places can be profitably utilized for 

 a maple orchard. The trees may be easily 

 grown from seed, and with care, after the 



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