Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-03-31
MAPLE SUGAR.
This is the Season of the Year When
1t Is Made.

1.-The maple sugar crop is now being har-
vested up in the woods of New Hampshire.
Vermont, Connecticut. New York Penn
sylvania and wherever there are maple
trees said a large wholesale dealer in the
sweet commodity in New York to a writer
for The Star. This year the crop is a lit
tie late. and the indications are that it will
only be an average one of about 10000 900
pounds, as thousands of the finest maple
trees in the two greatest Sugar-producing
states of Vermont and New HAMPSHIRE
were last summer either killed or so badly
ravaged by Swarms of visiting caterpuIars
that they no longer yield sap in abundance
The partial failure of this seasons crop in
New England will put up the price of the
sugar to II or 20 cents per pound which
Will be an advance over last year of from
} to > cents on the pound.
Inc work OF collecting the sap and max
ing the sugar is tedious and expensive
operation, and were it not for the fact that
the sugar season comes at time when
other farm work is not pressing. pure ma
pie strip and sugar could not be sold at
the present prices The way in which the
sap IS obtained from the trees and the
process by which it is converted into sugar
is briefly as follows: The trees are tapped
with a half-inch augur bit. The hole is
bored about two feet above the root and
Slants toward the ground. One end of
Spite. made of a branch of sumach nine
inches long. Is then fitted into the augur
hole in the tree and the other end rests on
a bucket used to receive the running sap
AS fast as a bucket is filed with sap il is
taken to the sugar camp, where the con-
tents are emptied into a huge pan or
boiler four feet wide and four inches high
Al one end of the lower edge of the boiler
Is little faucet. and in order that the
fluid may flow toward this tap the pan is
placed on stones in a sloping position
W men the boiler has been filled half full
with sap fire is started. The sap soon
begins to boil and more Is poured in as the
water eVaporates- Presently the fluid in
the pan changes from the color of water
to brown that grows darker At this
stage Kettle is placed under the faucet in
the pan and the strip is run off for the
sugar1ng-of boil More sap is put into the
pan. a hotter fire Is made and the boiling
begins again. The strip now thickens rap
ldly until 1t can no longer be run off or
uipped up. Then the pan is swung off the
hre by means of chain and a thirty-foot
Sapling, and. when the sugar has been
gwen sufficient tina to cool, it is turned out
or ne pan and is ready for the market
1T is the popular belief that pure maple
sugar is invariably known by its dark.
damp looking appearance. In the old DAYS
OF maple sugar making the product was
necessarily very dark, because the simnle
processes then in use could not make if
hght But II was full of Impurities all the
same No deliberations, but natural i'm
purities. Nowadays it is not the dark ma
pie sugar that should be regarded as the
pure article, for it is more apt to be the
most impure The very choicest maple
sugar that comes from Vermont or else
where is of light. clear dry, glossy brown
50 very light indeed that it looks like clar
flied beeSwax."