206 



SUGAE. 



Huron, and tlie islands of that inland sea, there are forests of sugar 

 maple unsurveyed capable of producing a supply for the whole 

 population. The Indians upon those islands have lately turned 

 their attention pretty largely to the manufacture of sugar from the 

 maple ; and many tons have been exported from this source. If 

 the Indians could obtain a fair value for their sugar, say seven or 

 eight dollars per 100 lbs., they would extend their operations upon 

 a large scale. Upon these islands alone, there are upwards of a 

 million of full-grown maple trees, capable of yielding each from 

 two and a half to three pounds of excellent sugar per annum ; and 

 if proper attention were given to this branch of production in that 

 quarter, I see no reason why a most profitable business could not 

 be carried on. Every farmer who has a grove of sugar maple, 

 should endeavour to manufacture at least sufficient for the con- 

 sumption of his own family. In most cases 150 trees of medium 

 growth would yield an amount of sap that would make 300 lbs. of 

 sugar, twenty-five gallons of molasses, and a barrel of vinegar. The 

 labor required to manufacture this amount of sugar, molasses, and 

 vinegar, would scarcely be felt by the well- organised cultivator, as 

 the season for the business is at the close of the winter, and open- 

 ing spring, when no labor can be done upon the land. In pro- 

 portion to the amount of labor and money expended in the 

 production of maple sugar, it is as capable of yielding as large a 

 return of profits as any other branch of farm business. It is cer- 

 tainly an object of great national interest to the inhabitants of our 

 i^orth American Colonies, that they should supply their own 

 market with such products as their highly-favored country is 

 capable of producing. Sugar is an article which will ever find a 

 ready sale at highly-remunerating prices, provided that it be pro- 

 perly manufactured and brought into market in good condition. 

 It requires a little outlay at first to purchase buckets, cisterns, and 

 boilers, to stock a sugar bush ; but by carefully using the above 

 necessary apparatus, they will last for a very long period. A farmer 

 can supply himself with the suitable materials for performing the 

 sugar business without any cost further than his own labor. The 

 spring is the season of the year that everything should be put in 

 readiness, — even the wood should be chopped and drawn to the 

 spot, so that when the sap commences to run, there may be no 

 impediments in the way to hinder the complete success of the 

 business. 



Large tracts of land in the Ottawa district are covered witli 

 the true sugar maple. It is found in great numbers in the 

 eastern townships of Lower Canada, where considerable forests 

 of miles in extent contain nothing else, and in other places it is 

 mixed with various trees. There is scarcely a spot in Lower 

 Canada where it is not to be met with. Capt. Marryatt has 

 stated that there were trees enough on the shores of Lakes Huron 

 and Superior, to supply the whole world with sugar. In the 

 United States, the manufacture of the sugar was first attempted 

 about the year 1752, by some farmers of New England, as a 



