Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1873-03-19


It's cost is high, aud there is a growing dis.
position among farm laborers to give less
work in day than formerly. Taxes are
high. | could name tow9s where the cost
Of doing the town business has increased
five hundred per cent. IN ten years, with
but little increase 10 the amount Of bust.
ness At the same time, the price of all
farm crops is low There has been little
squirt in wool trade, aud farmers have rea =
lied 80 to 60 cents for good lots; but there
is an organized and resolutc determination
on the part Of manufacturers aud dealers
to crowd prices down again. There is
general complaint that farming does not
pay an income on capital invested, and much
dependency exists among farmers.
The only farm crop common to the whole
State, and uniformly profitable, is maple
sugar. | propose to give the thousands OF
farmers who read your excellent paper some
hints, based on the experience Of our most
successful sugar makers. There are a few
simple rules the observance of which will
insure success They are plain aud easily
understood, aud aim to economic labor aud
fuel and secure absolute cleanliness and
freedom from foreign substances, to obtain
the greatest possible quantity Of sap with
the leas, injury to the tree, aud to reduce
it to syrup or sugar with all possible dis
patch.
There should be a sugar house for boil.
ing large enough for the eyaporator aud
for storing all the buckets and fixtures,
with a wide door, that will admit the en-.
trance Of the gathering tubs at the end Of
the season, and which should not be used as
a hog pen, or for any other base purpose
(Sap, like milk, is very sensitive, and mpur-
tiles in the atmosphere or the sugaring
utensils are quickly impaired to it, destroy.
ing the delicious maple flavor, which is its
peculiar charm.) The farmer can put up
suitable building at cost of $50. 1t
should stand on side bill, or have an arti-
fetal elevation, at one side Of three feet, to
give head for the flow of sap from the gath
ering tub to the evaporator. A wood shed.
or at least roof over the wood pile, should
be adjacent, but 80 placed that the steam
will not escape through it. The evapora-
WI VI I"uo ouVuii pV set Ou DIlcks Wlth
iron crate and door, and damper in the
chimney to regulate the draft If the bars
OF the CRATE are concave on the upper sur.
face, they will Gil with ashes, and not warp
or burn out, as solid bars will do in the TO-.
tense heat Fuel should be provided in the
fall, well worked up and Thoroughly season.
ed. No good sugar maker keeps bis sap
simmering over suffering fire.
All the utensils should be scrupulously
clean and sweet. Old barrels with the
pores Of the wood impregnated with West
India molasscs, or anything else, are not
fit for gathering or storing sap Gathering
tubs should be made Of clean, sound timber,
and should be keptsweet. Tho buckets should
be Of tin and the spouts Of metal. Mr.. G.
@. Post has Invented several valuable i'm.
proyements in spouts and buckets, which
are regarded as superior to all others. |
have seen them advertised in the Rural
New Yorker, They are worthy Of a full
description in this place.
The Eureka sap spout and bucket hang
or is Of galvanized iron. Three tin nanges
ouy enter the hole 10 the tree half an inch,
and while they hold the spout firmly in
place and support the bucket, do not
obs'ruct the flow Of sap. A collar or OBJ
ique shoulder fits against the external
bark and prevents the escape of sap, and
also excludes from rain and melting snow
which frequently runs down on the tin,
and would color the sap and spoil its fue
flavor if it got into the bucket. The APP
erture for the escape of the sap is such as
to exclude the air which would dry up the
pores and stop the flow There is hook
attached to hang the bucket on. My own
experience and that OF my neighbors who
use these spouts demonstrates that the SAP
starts earlier in the morning and runs fast
er aud continues longer in the season thar
with any wood spouts, while the hole doe,
not dry up aud require to be reamed out al
with tin spouts, which are the next bes
thing. The tin spouts are apt to cut thu
bark or to fit imperfectly, causing leakage
and the wood spouts plug up the pores
The nails, which injure the grain of thu
tree, break off and spill the sap and Otter
stick in the tree so they cannot be drawn
are superseded.
1t is important that the tapping SHOULD
be done by a skillhul hand, that the tire,
be not injured by too deep boring or other
wise. The sap flows close to the bark, an,
hole an inch deep is sufficient.
The common sense" bucket, contrive,
by the same inventor, is of tin, conical, in
dentod on one side to fit the tree, so that i
retains itsupright position, aud has a tin GOV
er which is attached to the top of the spout
eifectually excluding rain, snow and fallin,
bark, leaves, dirt and insects. The en-
trance Of either Of these foreign substance
affects the flavor Of the product. The GOV
er is not attached to the bucket, so doe
not interfere with gathering.
A half inch hole, an inch deep, 500
heals over, and causes but little injury t
the tree.
The sap should be gathered frequent
and boiled Immediately. Fermentation
begins very soon, if not instantly or tn
sap leaving the tree, although it may no
be at once perceptible to the casual obsery
or. 1t is certain that the delicious mapl
flavor, so agreeable to the palate, is bes
preserved by speedy removal of the waite
by evaporation.
There are yeral devices for eyaporatinl
The best in use is the Cory Evaporation
1t is Of galvanized iron, with lodges O
grooves in the bottom, which give doubl
the heating surface, and cause curreu
from side to side as the sap flows from en-