Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1902-04-12

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There Is no s,ircr and scarcely any
earlier sign of the rcviving activity of
nature after her winters sleep than
The upward movement of the sap In
sugar trees. 1t comes with the first
mild days of February or March. The
frost is scarcely yet out of the ground
and the snow often Is not yet melted
before the machinery begins to work
that Is soon to clOtlc the sugar trees
with buds ana leaves. That Is the
time when the maple sugar maker
compcls the trees 10 part with share
of their sap. Other naples. the birchcs
hickOiics and some other trees yield
u small amount of sugar. but none
nearly rs much as the sugar maple.
The tree Is not found, for sugnr-mak-
ing purposes. outside of North Amer
ica. being confined TO the northern
parts of the United States and the Brit
ish possessions.
The secret of making sugar from its
sap was probably obtained by the early
white settlers of America from the
Indians, and formerly 1t was nn In.
dustry pf po small importance. Ac.
| cOftling Ia the census of 1870 the to.
tai production of maple syrup In the
United States the preceding year was
2S,iI3,Gl5 pounds In twcnty-cight diff.
fcrcnt States, of which Vermont con-
| tributcd the most S,SJl,3t,. pounds.
! ln,liana's record that year was 3d..
.ei2 pounds. The total quantity uf ma.
| pie molasscs returned was D21 ,OJ1 gal.
loEs-not sufficient to constitute n great
factor In national wealth. but enough
to swertcu u great many bickwhcat
cakes. The production Is not rs great
now as 1t was then, though the ma
chIicry and facilities for the manu-.
fncturc have been greatly improved.
Foi soinc reason or other Vermont has
always led all the other States In the
production of maple syrup-pcrhaps be-
cause the thrifty farmers of that state
had foresight enough to preserve thcil
trees aud perhaps because they found
II convenient way to cke ont small
Incomes. In 1872 congress passed u
law giving u bounty on sugar Of any
kind manufactured iD the United
States that reached specified stand.
ard Of excellence. and out of 1000
sugar makers In the entire country
who complied with the law, iilling ont
blanks nnd taking preliminary steps
to secure the bounty, $500 were In
Vermont.
liut to II great majority of people
what may he called the csthctic side
of maple sugar II more Interesting
than the commercial side. The mum
bcr of persons who have, probably IN
early life. experienced the pleasure OF
u visit to sugar camp IL vastly
greater than the number of those
who profit by It's manufacture, ana the
perennial sweetness of the memories
cngcndcrcd by these visits outweighs
that of any years product. Most oi
the dwcllcrs In American cities hnv,
I'm early life either lived on farms Ol
visited them. and II they were brought
up IN the North the chances are they
have been privileged to visit Il sugar
camp during the few days OF nctiri'!
In spring when the process Of making
sugar and molasscs was going on. II
So, they have never forgotten the cN
pcricncc. AMI as long rs they live the
taste of maple sugar or sirup, like I'll,
0,lOr of some flowers or the melody ol
some songs, recalls sensations long dor
mant and starts n train Of thought
thar makes them, for II brief period ol
forgctfulncss, imagine they are young
again. indianapolis journal.