The Washington times., 1924-03-21
CANADA CLAIMS
MAPLE SUGAR
ORIGIN
Revival of Industry on Big
Scale Is Planned With
Modern Methods.

TORONTO, Canada, Mar. 21.-One
Of the Oldest industries in Canada,
and one which is truly Canadian
IN its origin, is that producing
maple sugar, according to j. B.
Spencer of the Canadian depart
ment Of agriculture. who has re-
Gently issued report on this in
dustry. Early settlers from the old
country were taught how to extract
and concentrate the sap of the
maple tree by the Indians, and Tor
perhaps a century they followed
closely the primitive methods of
the natives. save for the substitu-
ton of metal vessels for those of
clay or wood.
Until about fifty years ago there
was little improvement made in the
methods of sugar makers. but since
that time the advance has kept
pace with that in other branches of
agriculture until it has become a
more or less highly organized com.
mercial industry.
The Importance Of the maple
sugar industry is scarcely real.
lied in parts Of Canada where it
mas long since ceased to be carried
on, but it still holds a place of
prominence over large areas in Que.
Dec. and to a lesser extent in On
eario. New Brunswick and Nova
Scotia. 1t is estim ated that $4,000
persons are engaged in the work
From 1850 to 1890, the production
OF maple sugar. together with its
equivalent in syrup, increased wear
oy year. reaching an average an
nual yield of 22,5O0,OOO pounds dur.
ing the ten years between 1881 and
1891. During the next decade the
yearly average fell to 21.2OO. 900
pounds, and in more recent years
II mas dropped to less than 20, 900.
900 pounds.
Merely WOOdlOt,
On the many farms the sugar
push Is simply the woodlot that
mas been preserved to supplv fueI
and to provide an annual crop of
sugar and syrup to be used as a
dellcacy or sold to regular chs.
toners. 1t is not however. from
these small mixed gro:es that the
great marketable supply is secured,
out rather from the more rugged
areas where the plough and the
harvester are not so easily Operated.
The groves as found in the prin-
cipaI sugar counties are chiefly
maple trees, the other kinds having
been removed for fuel or the saw.
This is the condition in many of
the settled counties of Eastern On
tarlo and Quebec, where the same
groves, and in many cases the
same trees, have been tapped by
several generations. In the more
northerly parts, of these provinces
there are vast stretches of chiefly
hard maple forest in a primeval
state awaiting the sugar-maker with
his modern equipment.
The methods of garnering this
annual harvest have changed con-
siderably since the days when the
Indian extracted the sap from A
slanting cash in the tree made with
his tomahawk, boiling it in an
earthen vessel until a small GUAM
tity of dark, thick syrup had been
produced. The first steps were the
substitution of the auger for the
axe. copper pals for the birch-bark
'caso.' or heWn sap trough, and
the eVaporatlng pan for the kettle.
The evaporating pan has in re-
cent years been developed into the
modern evaporation with corrugated
potion and separate compartments
Not only for the conservation of the
life of the tree, but also for cleanli.
ness in sugar making, the wooden
spout has almost disappeared in the
most advanced sections. In fact,
the tendency now is toward the use
or meta! in every article of equip.
ment with which the sap, syrup, or
sugar comes in contact.
Facilities are also provided for
taking full advantage Of the law of
gravltation in the handling of sap.