"The sugar-maple begins a little north of Lake St. John, in Canada, near 48 deg. of north lat., which, in the rigour of its winter, corresponds to 68 deg. of Europe. It is nowhere more abundant than between 46 deg. and 43 deg. of north lat., which space comprises Canada, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, the states of Vermont and New Hampshire, and the district of Maine. Farther south, it is common only in Genessee, in the state of New York, and in the upper parts of Pennsylvania. It is estimated by Dr. Rush, that in the northern part of these two states, there are 10,000,000 acres which produce these trees in the proportion of thirty to an acre. The process of making maple-sugar is commonly begun in February, or in the beginning of March, while the cold continues intense, and the ground is still covered with snow. The sap begins to be in motion at this season, two months before the general revival of vegetation. The sap continues to flow for six weeks; after which it becomes less abundant, less rich in saccharine matter, and sometimes even incapable of crystallization. In this case it is consumed in the state of molasses; or exposed for three or four days to the sun, when it is converted into vinegar by the acetous fermentation: a kind of beer is also made of it. The amount of sugar produced by each tree in a year varies from different causes. The yearly product varies from 2 lbs. to 4 lbs. for each tree[V]." The sap is most abundant from young trees, but less charged with sugar. The average produce is five per cent. of sugar. The richer the sap is in saccharine matter, it is so much the more profitable to extract it, as in such a case it is nearly pure from all mucilaginous matter, or free acid, and may be consolidated by the action of cold alone by merely freezing it, thus rendering boiling unnecessary. Sugar exists in many other plants, such as the beet-root, from which it is extracted; and also the stem of the maize, or Indian corn, is charged with an extraordinary quantity of sugar, and it may either be brought to the state of a honey-like sugar, or the juice pressed out of the stalk, and fermented, forming the _pulque de mahio_, or _pulque de Flaolli_, in Mexico[W].