Process of the Manufacture of Maple Sugar in Vermont, Gleason’s Pictoral, 1852
Colonists learned the practice of sugaring from Native Americans centuries ago. Historically, maple trees are “tapped” by drilling a small, shallow hole into the tree and inserting a “spile” into the hole. The sap drips from the spile and collects in a bucket held below. Sap flows best when the days grow longer and warmer, but the nights are still cold. Depending on weather conditions, the season generally begins in mid-March. It is estimated that it takes more than forty gallons of sap to make one pound of maple syrup. After the sap is gathered and filtered for debris, it is boiled until the water evaporates and the syrup remains.
Making Maple Sugar, New Hampshire, undated stereograph
Maple Syrup label for The Brattleboro Jelly Company, undated
Advertisement for Uncle John’s Maple Kisses, New England Maple Syrup Co., Boston, Massachusetts, undated
Label for New England Maple Syrup Company, Vermont Maple Sap Syrup, Boston, Massachusetts, undated
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