Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1870-03-23
THE CHRONICLE.
Manic Sugar Making

Your article on maple sugar
making in a late number of the
Ohio Farmer, contains many
valuable suggestions to sugar
makers, and perhaps one or two
more would not be out of place
lust at the present time.
The first requisite is good buck
cts, and of the various kinds used,
tin buckets are the cheapest. and
wooden troughs the dearest. Tin
buckets are cheaper at $50 per
hundred, than it would be TO
have wooden buckets given you
and be paid $25 per hundred to
take them. They should be made
of the heaviest tin, TO hold about
ten quarts; larger at the top than
bottom, of such a slant that they
will just pack away in nests, and
consequently occupy but little
room to store. The top should
be strongly wired, and a hole
punched under it to hang the
bucket up; as buckets hung upon.
the tree close under the spout,
are not filled with blowing leaves,
dirt, etc. and but very little sap
is blown over.
Tin buckets are always ready
for use; no scalding out and soak
ing ; no hoops to drive before
they can be used; are light to
handle, and retain all the sap
caught. When the bush is clear
ed up, scald them out. wipe dry,
and set them in the sun for an
hour or two, then pack away
where they will keep dry, and
they will last as long as you will
want buckets, and whenever you
wish to use them they are ready,
whereas wooden ones must be
scalded and soaked before using.
Another advantage is, there is
no loss in tin, while in wooden
ones the loss will be at least two
per cent. and you will get at least
One-third more sap from the tin.
The first season | used tin, | used
first a tin then a wooden bucket;
gathered them separate, and
that at every time gathering l
got more sap from the tin than
wood, and to satisfy myself that
it was not in the trees, | changed
the buckets, and found the same
result; sometimes especially after
a drying day or two, would get
as much again sap from the tin.
From as careful an estimate as |
could make, | think that tin buck
cts will save enough more sap
than wooden to pay their cost
in three seasons.
Many persons throw away the
skimmings these should be saved
and when you have ten or twelve
quarts, add to them two or three
pals of sap, place them in your
sugaring off kettle ; just as they
come TO a boil remove them from
the fire and skim thoroughly, re-
turn to the fire and as long as
any dark colored scum rises, skim
it off; these second skimmings
pour into a thin cotton cloth
strainer, and hang up. to drain.
a bucket of skimmings served
in this manner, will make Is lbs.
of sugar.
Another requisite is plenty of
store room; this should be equal
to thirty barrels for each 500
trees. An excellent and cheap
storage can be built in the follow
manner: Get out your slaves
) inches wide, 2 inches thick, 6
feet 6 inches long; take them to
the cooper's and have a cistern
built, six feet across at the bot
tom, five and one-half at the top;
put on four good iron hoops to
hold it. This should be set above
your pan, so as to draw the sap
from the bottom of the tank di-
rectly into your pan. This will
n~ecessitate setting your sugar
house on a side hill, so as to drive
your gathering tank on the upper
hill side, and run the sap from
the gathering tank into the top
of store tank.
When there is a prospect that
sap will run all nightJust at night
90 around the bush and empty
the fastest running trees into
those that run slower, and at day
light start the gathering tank,
gathering only those that are full
or nearly so. Gather the whole
bush at least once each day, even
there are but few buckets full
in the whole bush, as it will soon
sour if left in the buckets, and
they will then have to be scalded
before the next run.
Another little item that will
save many times its cost. At
some time during the winter,
draw a load or two of ice and
place near the sugar house, COW
with chaff, or saw dust, and
warm weather keep ice in
your sap, and there is no danger
of its souring, which is one cause
of the sugar not granting as well
toward the close of the season.
To get a large yield for the num-
Der of trees tapped, save all the
sap.-O. Burras, az Ohio Far
mer. March 10.