The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1910-05-26

IS now beginning to yield the most de-
liciouS sweet that nature knows. Even
the honeycomb can not compare With
the golden syrup made from the sap or
the sugar, or rock maple, the acer sac
not all. The tree makes the best of
lumber, yielding marvelously rich.
curled grained wood, which can not be
surpassed for cabinet making. Indeed,
in Roman times curly maple lumber
obtained from the slopes of the Alps
was of priceless value. One of the
Ptolemys had table made of this
wood, scarcely three feet in diameter
for which he paid the equivalent of
100000. which is undoubtedly the rec
ord price in history for wood table.
Invaluable as shade tree, the suger
naples set out years ago by the far
sighted farmers and others, are today
OF inestimable value, not alone as
shade, but for the production of the
delicious sweet, and finally for lumber
for various purposes.
A great many species of maple are
continent, but only the silver maple
and the rock or sugar maple need con-
Germ one now, since they are the only
ones which yield a sap of sufficient
saccharine quality to make sugar. All
through the Northern PARTON of the
country these trees are found and
where they are growing more or less
maple sugar is made.
The sap is obtained by boring a hole
about three-fOurthS of an inch in di-
ameter into the tree perhaps an inch
and half deep. This is through the
bark and into the white or sap wood,
which surrounds the heart. In that
sap wood circulates the sap which is
boiled into syrup. The peculiarities
which govern the circulation of the
sap must be understood to obtain the
most liberal returns. For instance,
the bucket must be hung on the south
Of east side of the tree 1t should be
hung preferably on one of those SWELL
ings which extend up the side of the
tree from the roots. In those swellings
the sap seems to circulate most free
ly and the returns will be greater.
Then, too, the sap will not run ex-
cepting after a freeze or before a rain,
or just before a light snow. Hence a
light snow in the spring is called q
sugar snow in the parlance of the sug-
ar, maker. The sap itself is a clear,
crystalline liquid, bearing only a small
proportion of saccharine matter yield
ing few ounces of dry sugar to the
gallon of sap. But because of its pc
culiar flavor, the like of which does
not exist elsewhere in. nature, almost
any expense is resorted to in procur-
ing it, and the value after the sugar
is made is frequently whatever the
seller chooses to ask.
The sap is collected in large tanks
or holders prepared for the purpose,
conveyed to the boiling house, where
1t is run into an evaporation and boil
ed until it becomes the consistency of
syrup, weighing ten or eleven poun Is
to the gallon. Then it is run into cans
which are Theoretically sealed and it
Is ready for the market. These cans
are usually Of tin, are square and hold
! a gallon. If the syrup is boiled suffi-
GENTLY it will grain and become sugar,
which sells for various prices, depend
ing upon its color. The lighter the COL
or the higher the price.
Some states are noted for their ma
pie sugar. For example, it is a regular
business in Vermont in spring and
fully 100000 pounds are produced
annually, which is shipped to all parts
of the country. 1t is probable that the
bulk Of this product goes~t those who
have been at one time residents or
Vermont and have acquired a taste for
the sugar which comes from the trees
growing upon those rocky hillsides
Wherever the Vermonter goes there
the sugar made in his native state
follows him, and the dealers are bene-
fitted accordingly. Of course, others
buy maple sugar, but it has been said
by those who have investigated the
subject that the buy of the business is
with former Vermonters. and inasmuch
as they are scattered all over the
country the increased trade here and
there has an obvious source.
Authorizations has crept in and in
some cities more maple sugar is sold
or so-called Vermont maple sugar, than
is made in Vermont in year. The
] pure food law has checked this to some
extent but there is undoubtedly much
sold still which never came from a
maple tree.
In the old days. the golden days OF
yore to which the middle-aged and
the venerable are always referring, the
! sap was boiled in an open pan placed
upon brick or stone arch. The fierce
boiling made music and the clouds OF
steam rising like the clouds of a sum-
mer sunset, foated away and dis
appeared in the clear spring air. The
woods were redolent with the return
of spring and squirrels and early
spring birds were the sugar makers
companions. In the long nights of
watching there were visits from owls
which dashed into the fire sometimes