Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1866-03-01

From the American Agliculturalist
The sugar Of the maple is "Cane sug-
ar, identical with that OF the Southern
cane, but mingled with so few impuri-
ties, which inCite fermentation and 9th
er changes, that it is very easily obtain
ed In condition OF considerable purity.
The purer it is, the lighter colored; and
the more rapidly UvapOrated, the more
it retains the pleasant flavor peculiar to
it,. Artificial Qualification removes this
flavor, and the perfectly pure white loaf
sugar which may be made, cannot be
distinguished from that o! the same
quality from other sources.
1t is always desirable to avoid injury
to the trees by tapping the incisions
should, therefore, be made where they
will do no damage to the timber, that is
below the cylindrical part Of the trunk,
where the sap will flow quite as abund-
antly as at any place above. There is
nothing gained by cutting such large
gdsheS as are sometimes made when the
trees are tapped In fact, some Of the
, most thrifty trees when hacked In such
Il manner, commence dccaying, and con-
| tinuC to rot until their body IL nothing
| but shell. 1t is unnecessary also to
| make deep inCsioue, either with center
| bits, Gouges or axes as sap will flow as
rapidly ii one or two Of the COnCentric
| layers Of wood are cut through. The
! best way to tap d tree i5 to hew off the
dead baJk viii. sharp axe, making Il
/ smooth place about As large as a man :
! hand. Then with Il mallet and wide
chisel cut TWO small couvergent lines
| through the bark and into the wood In
! The form OF the letter Y. Then about
,Yo inches below the incision, make q
oaah with II inch 2ouge, aud insert
meta Vic spout, made Of stiff zinc or
palvanj2a, zheetjrou TIE spouts may
6r trn ortw, I've jLckcs long. and made
Of stripS one a, I'd Il half inches wide
with one end from, i or dIed to a sharp
edge. Cut SINAI! che. "oel in the bark
from the V,shapcd CAST GOWN to the
spout. 1t Is not necessity 10 cut
through the bark when m aklng the
channel. The lower edge OF the cut
should be beveIed downwards a, 1d in
wards, so as to conduct the sap doAvn to
the angle There may be several ia, %
made in large trees, and each yield as
much as If there We're but Que.
The tools needed for tapping trees in
this way arc, malet, sharp two.inch
'firmer' chiset, l 1.2inch joiner's
gOuge, and a sharp AK, or Carpenter's
adze, for dressing Off the rough bark.
Insert the sp0uts as low as the top Of
the sap buckets, that the wind may not
blow the liquid over the side of the YES
sci. When domestic animals are per-
mitted to roam in d sugar orchard,
trees must be tapped several feet from
the ground and the sap vessels suspend
ed by hooks. The better way, however,
is 20 keep all such animals ia their an
propriate enclosures, especially at this
time Of the year.
The best sugar makers all over the
county aro employing the sorghum
evaporat0rs. which, with some slight
notifications perhaps, are found both
economical and convenient. Which of
the many kinds in use Is best, we can
not say, but Cooks" one of the best
known, is very highly commended. For
those who cannot go TO this expense,
and woald still pursue much better
plan than the old kettle swung on pole,
or set in brick OF stone fire place, we
describe q good home made pan, or pair
Of pans, one being used as heater and
reservoir of hot sap, and the other as
the evaporation. The sides and ends
Of the pans are made of l IL inch pianks
of any kind Of wood, (though mspie or
beech is prelerred,l aud the bottoms of
iron or zinc. The sides Of the reservoir