Happy Earth Day 2008!
Travel:
Many few places in the world offer tourism and business opportunity together and Leyden is one of them. Leyden town is located in Franklin County along the northern border of Massachusetts. Leyden has a rich history dating back to 1740's. North of Leyden is bordered by Guilford and Vermont. East of Leyden is bordered by Bernardston. Greenfield and Colrain are located south of Leyden. Leyden is a very picturesque location because of its hilly landscape, highlands of the Green Mountains and rich meadows.
Attractions:
Leyden is also called the “ Little Paradise” since in and around Leyden there are a lot of forest trails and tourist locations. Most of these tourist locations provide opportunities for Camping, Cycling, Biking, Walking Trails, Canoeing, Fishing, Hiking and skiing. Maple Sugaring occurs during March and April. This is also the key attraction in Leyden.
Mohawk Trail: The Mohawk Trail Park is the most famous one near Leyden, spread over around 6000 acres. This trail is set along a river with clear water and woodland on both sides. The Mohawk Trail has around 56 camping sites and 6 rest rooms for the visitors. The trail is active all through the year in all seasons. The Mohawk trail has numerous mountain trails, streams and rivers and many old Indian trails, which are very good for hiking and fishing. The flora and fauna include alpine trees, exotic flowers, small shrubs, lot of birds and deer. This is also place for bears. The best camping Season is from middle of April till middle of October. This place is ideal for Camping, Picnics, Canoeing, Fishing, Hiking, Photography, Skiing, Swimming, and walking.
Wendell State Forest:
The Wendell State Forest is also near Leyden and is located on the southern banks of the Millers River. The Wendell State Forest spreads across a mammoth 7,566 acres. The landscape contains woodlands, forests, hills, rivers, streams, and forest trails. It also has the Ruggles Pond, which is huge 10-acre pond with clear water. The pond is very good for swimming and fishing. The Metacomet and Monadnock Trail takes the trail enthusiasts through the entire forest and along its boundaries. This place offers recreational pursuits like boating, canoeing, fishing, hiking, horse riding, mountain biking, skiing, swimming, and walking trails.
Erving State Forest:
The Erving State Forest is also located in the same are near Leyden. The forest has the beautiful Laurel Lake and woodlands surrounding it. The clear water of Laurel Lake is ideal for swimming and fishing. The camping season is from late May to middle of October. This place is ideal for Camping, Picnics, Canoeing, Fishing, Hiking, Photography, Skiing, Swimming, and walking.
Natural Bridge State Park: The Natural Bridge State Park is also located in this hilly region around Leyden and offers visitors see the one and only marble dam in North America. This place is ideal to see and learn the geological history from the wondrous rock formations in the park. This park offers Historic experience, Photography, Skiing, Swimming, Fishing, Hiking and walking trails.
The other parks and forests located in and around Leyden are Kenneth Dubuque Memorial State Forest which is famous for horse trails, the Connecticut River Greenway State Park which has archaeological and historic sites, the Appalachian Trail along the ridge of the Appalachian chain of mountains and hills, Mount Sugarloaf State Reservation, Mount Grace State Forest, Western Gateway Heritage State Park, Mount Holyoke Range State Park, and many more.
Maple Sugaring History:
Maple sugaring in this area dates back to 1620 and when the native North American Indians living in this area made sugar from sweet sap obtained from the maple tree. The Native Americans must have discovered the sugar from the maple tree when they ate the frozen maple sap. During spring, when the days are warmer, the Native American Indians established "sugar camps" along with their families in the woods where there are plenty of maple trees. They would make small cuts on the maple tree trunks and collect the sap in vessels. The maple sap was then boiled down to evaporate the water and then stirred to crystallize and form maple sugar. The crystalline maple sugar was easy to store and use for the rest of the year. The early European settlers learned to make maple sugar from the Native American Indians. Around 1970 these European settlers found a better way to collect the maple sap by drilling a hole in the maple tree trunk and collected the sap in wooden buckets through a spile or hollow twig. \par
The sap was boiled in iron kettles and when the liquid sugar crystallized, it solidified in wooden molds. Thus maple sugar was sold in the form of blocks.
Maple Syrup Production:
Maple sugar production went through major changes in the next few centuries. Large Sugarhouses were built where the sap was collected in metal tanks and boiled in huge containers. Then special evaporators were designed to continuously boil maple sugar sap. Even today the pure maple syrup is made in such evaporators. With import of sugarcane sugar becoming easier, sugar cane sugar was preferred over maple sugar. And so the Sugarhouses started making maple syrup instead of maple sugar.
Maple Sugaring Industry:
The special flavor of maple syrup is still very popular in North America. With advanced technological methods such as sap tubing technology which enables permanent collection of sap all round the year the maple syrup industry is growing popular. Maple sugaring industry provides employment to over thousand workers. In spring maple sap harvest is done. The sap is then boiled to make the maple syrup. In summer the maple trees again start storing sugar generated during photosynthesis. During autumn the leaves fall off and during winter the maple trees remain dormant. This is when the metabolism inside the tree takes place and maple sap is produced in the tree trunks.
Maple Syrup:
The maple syrup is a pure natural food. The maple syrup contains sucrose and some small quantity of fructose and glucose. Since the maple sap is produced by metabolism in the maple trees, it contains minerals such as calcium, potassium, magnesium, and iron. The maple syrup also contains vitamins such as Riboflavin and Folic Acid.
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