SUGAR MAPLE. 
105 
the Mulberry, which is very abundant, is preferred. The Chesnut, the 
Black Walnut, and the Butternut, should be rejected, as they impart to the 
liquid the coloring matter and bitter principle with which they are im- 
pregnated. 
A trough is placed on the ground at the foot of each tree, and the sap is 
every day collected and temporarily poured into casks, from which it is 
drawn out to fill the boilers. The evaporation is kept up by a brisk fire, 
and the scum is carefully taken off during this part of the process. Fresh 
sap is added from time to time, and the heat is maintained till the liquid is 
reduced to a sirup, after which it is left to cool, and then strained through 
a blanket or other woolen stuff, to separate the remaining impurities. 
Some persons recommend leaving the sirup twelve hours before boiling 
it for the last time ; others proceed with it immediately. In either case, 
the boilers are only half filled, and, by an active, steady heat, the liquor is 
rapidly reduced to the proper consistency for being poured into the moulds. 
The evaporation is known to have proceeded far enough when, upon rub- 
bing a drop of the sirup between the fingers, it is perceived to be granu- 
lar. If it is in danger of boiling over, a bit of lard or of butter is thrown 
into it, which instantly calms the ebullition. The mêlasses being drained 
off from the moulds, the sugar is no longer deliquescent, like the raw sugar 
of the West Indies. 
Maple Sugar manufactured in this way is light colored, in proportion to 
the care with which it is made, and the judgment with which the evap- 
oration is conducted. It is superior to the brown sugar of the Colonies, 
at least, to such as is generally used in the United States ; its taste is as 
pleasant, and it is as good for culinary purposes. When refined, it equals 
in beauty the finest sugar consumed in Europe. It is made use of, how- 
ever, only in the districts where it is made, and there only in the country ; 
from prejudice or taste, imported sugar is used in all the small towns, and 
in the inns. 
The sap continues to flow for six weeks, after which it becomes less 
abundant, less rich in saccharine matter, and sometimes even incapable of 
crystalization. In this case, it is consumed in the state of mêlasses, which 
is superior to that of the Islands. After three or four days’ exposure to 
the sun. Maple sap is converted into vinegar by the acetous fermentation. 
In a periodical work published at Philadelphia several years since, the 
following receipt is given for making Sugar Maple beer : Upon 4 gallons 
of boiling water pour one quart of Maple mêlasses ; add a little yeast or 
leaven to excite the fermentation, and a spoonful of the essence of spruce ; 
a very pleasant and salutary drink is thus obtained. 
Th.e process which I have described for extracting the sugar is the most 
com.mon one, and it is the same from whatever species of Maple the sugar 
is yjiade. 
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