There is, on almost every hill-farm, some place favorable for the growth of a maple orchard—­some rocky spots yielding little grass, and impervious for the plough.  Such spots may be favorably chosen for the growth of a maple orchard; and whether the increase be used for manufacturing sugar or molasses, or for timber or fuel, the proprietor of the land will find a profit better than money at interest in the growth of this beautiful tree, which will spontaneously propagate itself in many positions.

Its great excellence consists in yielding sap for the manufacture of vast quantities of maple sugar in the country during the months of spring.  An open winter, constantly freezing and thawing, is a forerunner of a bountiful crop of sugar.  The orchard of maple trees is almost equal to a field of sugar cane of the same area, in the production of sugar.  This tree reaches an age of 200 years.

Vermont is the second sugar-producing State in the Union.  The amount of maple sugar produced there in 1840 was over 2,550 tons, being more than 173/4 pounds to each inhabitant, allowing a population of 291,948.  At five cents a pound, this is worth. 255,963 dols. 20 cents.

The Statistics of the United States census for 1850, show that about thirty-five millions of pounds (15,250 tons) of maple sugar were manufactured in that year:—­

Maine                     97,541
New Hampshire          1,392,489
Massachusetts            768,596
Vermont                5,159,641
Connecticut               37,781
New York              10,310,764
New Jersey                 5,886
Pennsylvania           2,218,641
Maryland                  47,740
Virginia               1,223,908
North Carolina            27,448
South Carolina               200
Georgia                       50
Alabama                      473
Mississippi                  110
Louisiana                    260
Arkansas                   8,825
Tennessee                159,647
Kentucky                 388,525
Ohio                   4,528,548
Michigan               2,423,897
Indiana                2,921,638
Illinois                 246,078
Missouri                 171,942
Iowa                      70,684
Missouri                 661,969
Minnesota                  2,950
-----------
Total                  32,776,671

There is a balance of about two million pounds produced by Rhode Island, Texas, Oregon, California, Utah, New Mexico, Delaware, and Florida.  The above statement does not include the sugar made by the Indians, east of the Mississippi river, which may be set down at 10,000,000 lbs., and west of that river 2,000,000 lbs.

Besides the above sugar crop, there was a yield by the sugar maple in the United States in 1850, of 40,000,000 gallons of maple molasses.