A Chief threw his tomahawk into a sugar maple tree trunk The sap started to run down the bark from the cut Thinking the clear sap was water, the Chief’s wife poured it in with some meat she was cooking As the water boiled away, a sticky sweet glaze formed on the meat, adding a wonderfully sweet maple flavor

Native Peoples continued to boil down the sap every spring Early explorers record maple sugar as the only source of energy sustaining Native Peoples over long hard winter months Settler came with metal tools and drilled small holes in the trees and traded the Native Peoples wooden troughs for buckets with covers As maple sugaring evolved, arches were built containing the heat. Buildings to house the ‘boilers’ was the next step Sugarhouses today still resemble those structures

In February, the sugarmakers tap the trees. After the taphole is drilled, a spout with a bucket and hook or bag is placed in the hole March and April is sugaring season!

The warmer temperatures coax sugar maple trees to turn stored starch back into sugar Sap is made as the tree mixes ground water with the sugar. Sap is mostly crystal clear water with about 2% sugar. 40 gallons of sap to make a gallon of maple syrup Sugaring season lasts about 4-6 weeks Must be below freezing at night and about degrees during the day

Making Maple Syrup Part II

Approximately million Real Christmas Trees are sold in the U.S. every year Almost 350 million currently growing on Christmas Tree farms in the U.S. Grown in all 50 states For every tree harvested, 1 to 3 seedlings are planted the following spring About 15,000 farms growing trees and over 100,000 people employed by the industry Average growing time is 7 years

Top producing states include: Oregon, North Carolina, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Washington Most common species are: Balsam fir, Douglas fir, Fraser fir, noble fir, Scotch pine, Virginia pine and white pine First written record of decorated tree was in 1510 In the 1800s, the Christmas Tree was introduced to the U.S. by German settlers

1387 farms with over 36,000 acres of trees About 1.8 million trees are harvested annually and over 600,000 wreaths and garland made each year The economic impact of the Christmas tree industry is over $50 million annually Wisconsin ranks #5 in number of trees harvested An acre of Christmas trees provides for the daily oxygen requirements of 18 people

Seasonal work includes: Tree planters in the spring Shearing crews to prune the branches Harvesting crews in the fall Salespeople from Thanksgiving until Christmas Wreath and decoration makers Crop consultants Growers

To ready for harvest: each tree is cut, shaken to remove dead needles and then baled using a machine which presses the branches against the trunk The net or twine used to bale the trees help protect the tree and make it easier to handle for shipping Some plant small trees in pots The trees are renewable and help stabilize soil, protect water supplies and provide refuge for wildlife