MAPLE SUGAR. 
21 
thousand pounds were received in this way by the leader of the 
little colony about this lake ; a portion of it was refined and made 
into pretty little specimen loaves at a sugar-house in Philadelphia, 
and it was quite as white and pure as that of the cane. The common 
sugar about the country is as light as that usually received from the 
West Indies, and the farmers have a simple domestic process by 
which it is often made quite clear ; a clean wet flannel is placed 
over the cake while draining, and gradually imbibes the coloring 
matter, being wasted and changed every morning until the sugar 
has become quite white ; if it has been neatly made and clarified, 
three or four days will whiten it thoroughly. No doubt there 
are maples enough about the country to supply the whole popu- 
lation of the Republic, if necessary, but the sugar of the cane can 
now be procured so easily, and so cheap, from the West Indies 
and the southern parts of our own country, that there is little 
motive for making that of the maple an article of commerce. 
Maple sugar sells in the village this year for nine cents a pound, 
and good Havana for six cents. The farmers, however, are will- 
ing to turn their trees to account for their own use, as it saves 
them some cash, and requires but little outlay or labor. 
A story is told in the village of a Scotch stocking-weaver, who 
some years since bought a farm near the lake, and the first spring 
after his arrival in the country was so successful with his maple 
trees, that in the midst of his labors he came into the village and 
gave large orders for sap-buckets, pans, furnaces, &c. The good 
folk were rather surprised at the extent of these preparations, and 
inquiries were made about this grand sugar-bush. They were told 
by their new neighbor that as yet he had tapped only a small num- 
ber of trees, but he intended soon to go to work in earnest among 
