Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1874-03-11
agricultural.
Sugar Making.

Sugar Making.
Mr.. EDITOR:-If the necessity of MAX
ing better article of maple sugar can be
impressed upon the minds of the farmers
of the country, It will add thousands of
dollars to the market value of the product
y great proportion of the maple sugar
sold each year is of u very inferior quality.
and probably would not AVERAGE eight
cents p0und-which is less than the cost
OF production. Late in the season-sav
In the latter part of April, = almost any
amount of this low grade of sugar, black.
dirty, and rank in taste, can be obtained
here IN Rutland, at IL price ranging from
SIX to ten cents pound while tn. better
product always commands market, and,
II not engaged to regular customers can
ind sale ut any time at Il remunerative
price. Many of t le best and largest man
ufacturers in Vermont engage their sugar
to their customers in advance, as regularly
rs they do their early chickens; eggs. but
ter or other special products. This system
results in Il higher and better product.
from year to year, and is to be commended
from the fact that the producer and con-
sumner are thus brought together and the
responsibility for good article rests where
it properly belongs, that is, Uth the pro
Queer. In making the higher quality of
sugar, the one idea that must ALWAYS
guide and direct the manufacturer is the
absolute necessity first and last, of the
most tdstidiOus and scrupulous cleanliness.
This must not for one moment be lost
sight Of, for this, in Il great degree, is the
agent that sells sugar for %, 30 and even
- cents Il pound. when the lower grades
are dull ut 10 and % cents Let the first
step then to be scald in b0ilinq water all
the buckets watts, SpOutS, &c. and if these
utensils are of wood, scald them in the
usual manner, and dip into boiling lime
water, rinsing off with clean hot water. [
have cleaned old sour wooden buckets in
this way, so perfectly and thoroughly that
no faint. or OdOr could be detected Trcat
the watts, gathering tub. troughs and pals
to the lime and thoroughly rinse them out
Tin buckets are best, except rs regards
their liability to sour the sap They are
easily cleaned. VIII pack in "a small COM
pass, admit of covers, last Il lifetime, and
are in every respect, except in the particu-
lar mentioned, better adapted to the pur-
pose than wood.
If wooden buckets are used, covers
should be procured. These are made of
pine or poplar, Il foot square and hree-
tOUrths of an inch thick. Covers keen
out rain, snow, bark and insects, and are
Il great Improvement. | can commend
most heartily Posts tin buckets and
metallic spouts- These buckets are made
tlaring to pack close, are indented on one
side-if desired-to fit the tree, and are
furnished either with or without covers.
They hang from the spout. by II hole I'M
der the wire rim, the:indented buckets hang
level, and ali, spout and bucket, are COW
cred Posts ep0u 5 are the best metallic
conductors made. They are Of cast-irOn,
galvanized; are light, easily adjusted, and
do not obstruct the flo of sup from the
outer grains of the tree like the common
wooden spout. - Heaters are RAPIDLY
working th' If way into favor, and they
are certainly a great lid to the sugar
maker. utilizing heat which, without them.
would be wasted. They are not expensive,
and. in economy of fuel, will save their
cost in making 200 pounds ofsugar Cooks
evaporatOrs are used to some extent, but
they are not as well liked by farmers gen
orally as the theory of their working
would lead one to expect No one should
buy an evaporation unless he has seen one
in operation and is convinced of its adapt
ability. L am positive that many in this
section would not put them in again if
they should be deprived of the use of those
they now have. just as good sugar, in
every respect, can be made with the COM
mon sheet-iron pans, us with the costliest
evaporation, if the requisite conditions are
observed. At the commencement of the
season, the underside of the roof together
with the beams and rafters, should be
an1 oil lirt anl 4
4 skinner with square corners, and a
dipper with fiat edge should be provided.
a large bag strainer should be fitted into
the opening of the gathering tub, and
another across the outlet of the store tub
The reservoir should be placed outside
the main building, in an addition built for
the purpose, otherwise in Warm weather.
the sap, if near the fires, will be more or
less affected by the heat and steam, and
sour sap is fatal to the production of the
best sugar. In this vicinity a tub is used
TO gather sap in place of hogshead for
merely in vogue. This tub is made for
the purpose; it is about three feet in heioht.
and nearly the same in diameter, is largest
at the bottom, so it may sit firmly on the
sled. The top is sunk a little. and has an
opening a foot square, with hinged cover
IN the middle, and n pailful of sap can be
turned in ut once without splitting. The
tub is provided with faucet in the bottom
arranged for hose connected with the
reservoir, and the load of sap discharges
itself int the store tub
Sap should be boiled down as fast as it
runs, and should be syruped down at least
twice daily-the pans at each change being
thoroughly washed out. The syrup is Ia,
ken to the dwelling house, strained through
flannel, and poured into II high. conicaI |
tub. largest at the top, to settle Next
it is drawn off ADORE the dregs. |
into the sugaring off pan. This is heavy
sheet-iron pan. made to order. and is lust
the size of the top of the cook stove. No
eggs or milk are put into the syrup, for it |
Is certain that the scum over an even, slow
fire, will rise just as rapidly and tn roughly |
without. as with yeast. - Before the
syrup reaches the consistency of molasses. |
which can be determined by the scales
a gallon of molasses weighing ten and a
half pounds-it should be removed from
the fire and strained through flannel to re-
move the 1imy sediment, which is more