Looking at the mountains of oak logs, Marin's heart was half happy, and the other half was painful......

Why does the egg hurt? It stands to reason that with so much wood, it should be able to explode a lot of warships. But the problem is that in addition to wood, Marlin has insufficient other resources......

Shipbuilding isn't just about wood, it's also about nails, dry oil, and paint (both of which form a waterproof coating). Moreover, because of long-term soaking in the sea, iron nails are not good. Because, iron nails are easily corroded by seawater. So, it's better to use copper nails. As for dry oil, there is no tung oil in Europe, and flax oil is generally used. Olive oil is sometimes used, but it needs to be mixed with paint. Because, olive oil is a non-drying oil, and the waterproof performance is not good. Therefore, it needs to be used in conjunction with paint.

However, flax oil production is too small. Moreover, flax oil can also be eaten. Therefore, its price naturally remains high. It's really expensive to use for shipbuilding.

Needless to say, the European silver-copper price ratio is 1 to 15, and 15 copper nails are equivalent to a silver nail made of silver, which shows its cost......

As for the paint, there is no lacquer tree in Europe, the paint is carefully prepared from mineral and animal products, and the price is very expensive......

So, even if Marlin had more wood and not enough copper nails, dry oil and paint, it would be useless. Moreover, Marin doesn't have too many shipbuilders in his hands now, and it's all tears when he talks too much......

……

After looking at the reserve wood, Marin felt hungry, so he took his men to a barbecue. The materials for the barbecue are taken locally - a guard took off his armor, and at the speed of Liu Xiang and Bolt, he casually caught a sheep on the grass and came back, slaughtered and divided it directly on the spot, and then roasted it on the grill......

What the? You say stealing the people's sheep? Joke, the whole Cape Breton Island is Marin's, and it takes nonsense to kill a sheep? Of course, Marin is a particular person. Although legally speaking, he only asked people to kill one of his own sheep, but in order to show that he was reasonable, Marin still asked the shepherd to find a small silver coin as a reward. In fact, this sheep is not worth a small silver coin (that is, a silver finney coin with a silver content of 50%), but Marintu is happy, and it is nothing to give more. Of course, this only belongs to Marin's manor, and Malin gives money, but he doesn't want to break the rules. Before the shepherd left, Marin told him to take the money worth one sheep to the estate and pay the rest......

The shepherds went away thankfully, while Marin and his guards were concentrating on roasting the whole sheep......

The timber was also taken locally, however, this Marin did not pay for it. Why? In North America, sheep are important possessions, but wood is not. Because, on Cape Breton Island, except for oak, which is classified, the rest of the timber is thrown everywhere. Except for non-oak wood, which affects farming, it was removed, and the rest of the species were thrown away. Who's short of firewood, picking up ...... everywhere

The fat sheep kept spinning on the grill, and Garand, the governor, personally added firewood to the side. And his firewood was chopped out by the fierce men who served as guards on the side.

Smelling the smoke of the firewood, Marin suddenly felt that something was wrong—why did it still have a faint caramel smell?

Suddenly, it dawned on Marin that he finally remembered what it was......

This kind of wood is actually called sugar maple, also known as sugar maple. In later generations, anyone who has read the book will know that the flag of Canada is marked by a maple leaf. And the red maple leaf on the Canadian flag is actually called sugar maple leaf.

Sugar maple is a tall tree native to the high latitudes of North America, and its leaves, in autumn, turn a fiery red color, just like the Canadian flag in later generations. Of course, his most distinctive feature is his trunk, which flows a sweet sap. This sap, which is slowly heated and concentrated over low heat, gives you natural maple syrup, a caramel with a woody aroma and caramel flavor.

In his previous life, Marin had read reports that maple sugar tasted less sweet than sucrose, but it had much lower calories than sucrose. Moreover, it is rich in calcium, magnesium and various organic acids, which can supplement the weak constitution with unbalanced nutrition.

It is said that the Indians of North America, in winter, can only hunt and eat meat, lack vitamins and various minerals, resulting in many people getting sick and dying. Canada's winters are already very cold, and if you lack nutrients in winter, your body will get sick and you can easily die in winter.

Later, around 1600, Canadian Indians stumbled upon the fact that they could drill holes in the sugar maple tree to make it flow a sweet sap. This sap is not only sweet, but also good for the body. Later, European colonizers used to call maple syrup "Indian syrup......

Of course, this is something that hasn't happened yet. Today, in 1507, the Indians have apparently not discovered maple sugar. After all, that was around 1600.

And, Marin remembers that maple syrup extraction is also more demanding – he needs it in the spring, and it is strict about temperatures. Extracting maple sugar is as simple as drilling a small hole in a sugar maple tree that is more than 15 years old, then putting a tube on it, and waiting for the sap to flow out slowly.

Generally, a tree is collected once a year, and about 100 kg of sap can be collected at a time. Then, after concentration and processing, the 100 kilograms of tree sap can be processed into two or three kilograms of maple sugar. The processed maple syrup is somewhat similar to rosin, and the lighter the color, the higher the grade......

However, even though it is spring, the weather requirements for maple sugar collection are very strict. According to an article that Marin had read in his previous life, the temperature requirement for maple sugar harvesting season in the middle and early spring of Canada was no more than 0 degrees Celsius at night and above 5 degrees Celsius during the day......

It is said that sugar maple accumulates a large amount of starch in the trunk of the tree in spring, summer and autumn. Then, during the long winter, the starch in the trunk is converted into maple sugar......

In the spring, when the temperature begins to rise, these maple syrups will slowly be absorbed by the sugar maple trees and converted into energy. Therefore, maple sap is collected in early spring and at the latest in mid-spring. Otherwise, the sugar maple tree itself will absorb the maple sugar. And, in order not to let the sugar maple tree die, it is better to make only a small hole in the trunk and not drill too many holes, otherwise the tree will die......

Marin pondered, it's April. It stands to reason that it should be mid-spring. However, Cape Breton Island belongs to later Canada, and the latitude is higher, and spring comes relatively late. Last night, he felt that the temperature was around 0 degrees, but during the day, it was 10 degrees, which is indeed a good time to collect maple sugar......

Therefore, after eating the roasted whole sheep, Marin didn't care about continuing to inspect, but went back to find tools. After finding the chisel, the leather pipe, and the barrel that opened the hole in the tree, Marin beckoned Garand:

"Let's go, let's collect honey!"

Garland's face was full of inexplicability - what? The young master said to go to pick honey? But we're not bees......

With a head full of question marks, he found that Marin, led by a carpenter, walked in front of a red-leaved tree (Garand didn't know that it was called a sugar maple tree, only that kind of tree has red leaves in autumn) and cut a hole directly. Then, guide it with a leather tube and let the sap flow slowly into the bucket......

Then, Marlin was not satisfied that the flow rate was too slow. So, he went back to find a batch of tools to dig holes in the trunks of several sugar maple trees on the island and collect the sap......

By the next day, Marlin had collected about two hundred kilograms of sap. Then he found a pot, heated it on low heat, and began to purify the sap......

After purification, Marlin obtained a thick, naturally amber syrup of about 5 kilograms......

"Come on, let's try ......"

"%¥#@%#¥%......" After drinking the maple syrup, everyone was shocked, and many people had indescribable expressions on their faces......

"This ...... Is this honey? Garland was stunned...... He really couldn't figure it out, Marlin could make a hole in the tree and make a sugar juice similar to honey, which was amazing......

"It's not honey, it's just maple sugar. On average, each full-age sugar maple tree can collect 100 kilograms of sap every year, and can boil two or three kilograms of maple sugar......"

Garland's mouth suddenly grew:

"We have the most trees here, much more than oaks. If each tree collects two or three kilograms of maple sugar, how much sugar does it get? ”

You must know that in this era, sugar is a scarce resource in Europe, and it is sold in pharmacies. And on Cape Breton Island, Sugar Maple can be seen everywhere, and Garland has already seen the rolling gold coins smashing at him......

Marin nodded and said:

"From now on, stop cutting down sugar maple trees unless necessary. Also, you need to collect maple syrup as soon as possible. I guess there's not much time left to collect maple sugar. You have to collect enough maple syrup within half a month. Otherwise, after the season, you won't be able to collect ......"

"Huh? And this kind of thing? Garland panicked.

"Nonsense, this kind of syrup can only be collected in early spring. The requirement is that the temperature does not exceed 0 degrees at night and above 5 degrees during the day...... By the way, you have a mercury thermometer invented by Leonardo da Vinci, right? You can use it for reference......"

"Yes, I see, I'll arrange to prepare enough pipes and buckets to try to collect enough sugar juice!"

"Well, remember, you can only dig one hole in a tree, don't dig too big. Otherwise, the tree will die......"

"Huh? We've pumped the syrup, and the tree is still alive? Garland was a little shocked. In his opinion, if 100 kilograms of sap flow out of the tree, how can the tree still be alive?

"Nonsense, those trees are all old trees that are more than 40 years old, so tall, so thick, what is the amount of 100 kilograms of sap per tree? Remember, don't kill the tree! After the sap is drained, you have to do something to the trunk to recover. Otherwise, you won't be able to make maple sugar the next year! Also, find a few craftsmen and study how to turn syrup into solid maple sugar. The solid maple syrup is sealed in an oiled paper bag, so I can take it back to Europe and sell it! ”

"Understood!" After Garland finished speaking, he hurriedly prepared the pipes and barrels. He had to rush for time to collect enough maple sugar in the short time Marlin said. Otherwise, you're going to miss the season......