Seeing Canada : The Harvest of the Sugar Maple Tree

Library and Archives Canada: 16mm, VHS.
"Collecting and refining maple syrup in Ottawa, during or shortly after the First World War. The syrup is collected in March, when the farmer drills a small hole in the tree then attaches a wooden spile for the sap to flow out of, and a bucket in which the sap is collected. The sap from several trees is boiled in outdoor cauldrons to concentrate it. A small boy drinks the sap directly from the spile. The 'modern' method is much the same but more hygenic, using galvanised metal spiles and buckets. The work continues even in the snow. If there is a sufficient slope the sap is led down pipes to the main evaporating shed in the valley below, where the evaporator can process 350 gallons of sap an hour. After being tested the syrup is driven to a main factory where it is strained, reboiled, and then bottled or tinned. Rough cakes of sugar are poured into moulds to set. A couple in a restaurant are shown enjoying buckwheat cakes with maple syrup. Meanwhile, back in the region where the trees themselves grow, the end of the season is marked by a 'sugaring off' outdoor party, in which the surplus is eaten in one big gathering. This includes pouring the syrup over snow to make 'Maple Wax, the most delectable sweet in the world'. The film ends with the Union flag."