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The Exeter Times-Advocate, 1966-03-31, Page 23IS YOUR BUSINESS HELD BACK BY LACK OF FINANCING? IDB has helped to finance many growing businesses in the acquisition of land, buildings, machinery or equip- ment. It may be useful for you to discuss the financial needs of your business with us. INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT BANK 27 BRANCH OFFICES ACROSS CANADA KITCHENER.WATERLOO WATERLOO, ONT, : Waterloo Square Building — Telephone: 744.4186 •11011•11111n 11111111111., WHITE BEANS NOW IS THE TIME TO ORDER YOUR SEED SANALAC, SEAWAY, MICHELITE 62 E PTAM Proven Weed Control For White Beans SEED GRAIN OATS & BARLEY FULL LINE OF CLOVER & GRASS SEEDS AT POPULAR PRICES W. G. 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Fun in the sugar bush Brian and Bruce Tuckey were only two of the youngsters who were enjoying themselves by combining work and play in the Tuckey sugar bush just north of Exeter Saturday afternoon. Brian and Bruce Tuckey helped in gathering the sap and are shown pouring it into storage tanks where it is held until evaporated. (T-A photo) Boiling it off Ingenuity is common in the manufacturing of equipment for boiling off maple syrup. Wayne Tuckey uses the top of a cream separator to hold the sap initially. A tap on the bottom of this allows the sap to enter the boiling tray at the desired flow. This has been an exceptionally good year for syrup and already they have made as many gallons as they usually do in total in other years.(T-A photo) SyrUp and sugar made from the sap of the maple tree are things we take for granted when we see them on the shelves of stores but little is known as to whom or how it was first dis- covered how to make these pro- ducts. One of the most popular legends as to its start involves a hot-tempered Indian. The North American Indians knew how to make these products long before the arrival of the white man and they were an es- tablished item of barter. The legend maintains there was once an Indian named Wokis. Many moons ago Wokis's Indian wife was mashing corn at the base of a maple tree when she apparently said something like: Listen mister, you are not going out to play poker with the boys to- night, and that's final. In any event Wokis hauled off and hurled a tomahawk at his nagging wife. Now, either his wife was most agile or Wokis was far from an accomplished warrior because the tomahawk missed her and was buried in the trunk of the maple tree. Mrs. Wokis was so frightened she left an empty deer- skin pot at the base of the tree. Later she returned and found it full of a sweet clear liquid which Only two of the 13 or 14 species of maple trees native to Canada are of importance in the production of syrup because of the sweetness of their sap. "Acer saccharum Marsh"— the high falutin' scientific name --is better known as sugar maple, hard maple, rock maple or sugar tree. It produces about three-quarters of all sap used in the production of maple syrup. The trunk of a mature tree may be 30 to 40 inches in diameter. It is a prolific seeder and endures shade well but, unfortunately, does not grow rapidly. "Acer nigrum Michx" —anoth- er tongue-twister —is better known as the black sugar maple, hard maple or sugar maple is similar to the "acer saccharum" in both production and appear- ance. Other species of maples com- monly found in hardwood stands are the red maple and the silver maple but neither one is a good source of maple syrup because the sap is less sweet and often contains excessive amounts of sugar sand. At present, Most producers have a regular list of customers who buy their succulent spring product every year through pri- vate channels. An ideal sugar bush consists entirely of maple trees which are properly spaced so that the trees can develop a good crown growth. Experiments in recent years in Quebec and the United States have proven that the same volume of sap is produced per acre regardless of the number of trees in the bush. As the number of trees per acre increases, the size of the crowns and trunks and the yield per tree decreases. And it doesn't seem to matter how many tap holes there are on a mature tree, the tree produces from five to fifteen gallons from each hole and records prove some tap holes have produced up when a regular spring flow be- gins and continues for a week or more. Later, when the run is almost over, the syrup becomes much darker and takes on a leafy or "buddy" taste as the trees be- gin to show their buds. had dripped from the tree, down the handle of the tomahawk, She decided it was water and decided to boil it. When the water was tasted a few hours later she became the first person in the world to taste maple syrup. The white man has also de- veloped a taste for this purely new world product. It has three claims to distinction; It is one of this country's oldest agricultural products; It is one of the few crops whose production is solely North American; and it is the only crop which must be processed on the farm before it is suitable for sale. Although maple syrup is re- cognized as one of the oldest industries, very little scientific work has been carried out to improve this, probably because it was so good In the first place. Sap today is collected and con- verted into syrup in much the same way it has been for cen- turies, One change is gaining popularity and that is the use of a plastic pipeline for collection and taking it to a central point for evaporation. The original evaporating equipment was developed by in- genuity, not by engineering studies. to 40, 50 and even 60 gallons of sap. Little Is known about maple sap or "sweet water" as it is called in Pennsylvania. Some maintain the sap flows up the tree; others say it flows down. How- ever, reliable authority asserts that the sap flows upward. Recent experiments maintain the action is caused by sunlight on the small areas where the maple bud s sprout. Times-Advacfite, April 7, 1966 Page 3 Facts about maple syrup Production of this marvellous delicacy has declined in recent years because of the shortage of farm labor. It takes days of long, hard labor to tap the trees. Sap must be collected daily and taken to the "sugaring-off" shack where it is placed in huge evap- orators. The evaporators boil out the water and other impurities. It takes between 35 and 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of Canadian Grade A Fancy syrup. The maple season is short and comes in the early spring when most other farm activities are slowest. It is really considered a by product of the farm although the senior governments in this country have never been able to decide whether it should come under the jurisdiction of the lands and forests department or the department of agriculture. Tapping of trees may begin as early as the first week in March or as late as the first week in April. The "run" may last a few days or six or seven weeks, depending on the spring weather. It takes cold nights and sunny days to produce the run of sap. Actually, maple trees will pro- duce flows of sap any time from late fall after they have lost their leaves until well into the spring, each time a period of freezing is followed by a period of thaw- ing. The sap will flow from a wound in the sapwood whether the wound is from a hole bored in the tree or from a broken twig. But producers generally con- cede the best quality syrup comes Ma Proper sap is from two types of maples a