Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1865-03-21
agricultural.
Maple Sugar.

As II to remind US Of the promise that = seed
time and harvest shall never fail " there is one
farm crop that is "whte for the harvest" and
must be gathered while the snow still covers
the face of the earth. This Spring, especially,
with sugar at 20 to 30 cents per b., every fam
lily that owns or can hire few maple trees
should make the most Of them. We believe
that farmers are efectlng great improvement
IN the details OF the manufacture Of maple su-
gar, and that still further Improvements and
still greater care, will be found to pay, aside
from che qualification of enjoying q luxury
which is the direct result of one 5 own industry.
Some OF the most pleasant recOllections of our
boyhood are connected with scenes in the grand
old sugar lot, above the house. The trees were
then" boxed with an axe, a wooden spout
conducted the sap into still ruder troughs, it
was carried in these buckets, balanced over ones
shoulder bya sap-yoke, to a large " holder y.
near fire built against some huge log or square.
faced rock, over which, strung on pole, hung
the old fye-pai and three pail kettle, big pot,
little pot, and even the skillet just to please the
children. Near by stood little tent, that
might at least partly shelter a full grown man
from the winds that blew, and the snow and
rain that fell.
But now things are done differently. The
trees are carefully tapped with small
sharp cutting auger; cast iron CT sheet iron
spouts are neatly fitted many use bright tin
Tor sap buckets, others nice wooden ones near
ly all have sheet iron pans or large kettles set
IN close arch, sometimes placing the chimney
vt the front, With a PARTITION IN the arch, which
forces the heat to perform a circle before 1t %.
capes and all arranged under tight root. and
"A pnnyanient How ri, L..
much more comfortable the whole process
New York sugar maker states in the Roch-
ester Rural, that he hangs his buckets ltin) on
his cast iron spouts, aud thus avoids the wound
and loss of sap occdsoned by the use of the
spike. His bit for tapping is nine-sixt eenth
inch be bores about one and hall inches dee D,
aud puts but one spout IN tree; sometimes
rims out the hole By the uss Of u bit one SIX.
teenth larger, when no thinks the Tow of sap
wiz b. increased thereby. Mr.. Lawrence Smith
oil West Worthington, In this State, recon.
mends that at first the hole be bored about two
and hall inches deep, aud IN the course Of two
or three WEEKS, sink another inch and q halt
TINS recommendation Is basel on an experiment
which be communicates to the Country Genae
man, as follows:
Selected tree eighteen inches in diameter
D~'es h"'o WIN M aug IL lnCneS IN I'll
ameter, two inches IN depth from the insid,
bark; drove IN hollow wood tube for conduct
hog the sap. Then, commencing at the cenlr,
where the first incision left of. bored another
hole With half inch BIT exactly two inche
deeper into the tree, making iour inches in oil
Inserted a half inch spout through the hollov
tube into the second bore very snug, 30 that tn
inside sap might not leak into the other. Tbi
tube was much longer than the FIRST, so that il
using two vessels side by side, the sap could b
conducted beyond the first into the second Tn
sap IRON thee incislons was boiled separated
at the same time in two kettles on the stoy,
with the following results: Three and one-hal
quarts OF sap from The first and outside Dor
made four ounces of sugar the quantity Of "a
from the inside bore made five ounces of sugar
each done to equal dryness."
IL the snow Is not too deep, let the bows yok
up iher steers and with their light steer sled
made purposely to encourage the boys TO hand,
not break their own teams-help draw up III
sap. Even last Springs calves may be yoke
aud put on as leaders and thus may boys, 81 ,er
and the whole camp enjoy jolly time this " 81
caring "-Ne9 England Fgmer.