Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1878-03-15

fTimothy wheeler Of waterbury, w., in the N
England Farmer.l

Timothy wheeler Of Waterbury, VI, in the New
England Farmerl
As we are to have an excellent sap season
the coming spring, both in relation TO quanti-
ty and quality sugar-makers will do well to
consider the following points, VIII
l. Sap, at its maximum flow, about the
first Of April, on an average. will be the sweet
est so be in season.
. Tap low down, and on the south side,
il gu wish to make the most sugar, but
3. If you wish to make the incest quality,
then tap on the same side, but high up and
shallow.
T. The largest quantity and the incest quail
ity cannot be secured by the same methods.
3. The shallower we bore, the winter the
sugar; SO, the deeper we bore, the darker the
sugar.
G. The shallower we bore the less the SUI
gar, and hence,
I. The deeper we bore the more the sugar.
s. Quality of sugar is always at the OK
pense of quality.
.. If you wish to get through with sugar
ing as early as possible, then tap early on
the south side, high up, and shallow.
10. IT, on the contrary you wish to sugar
late, then tap low down, on the north side,
and deep.
II. From the heart-wood sap will not run
in early spring, but later it will therefore,
tap shallow early, and deeper late in the sea-
son.
II. Sugar made from the sap-wood (Which
is white, } makes white sugar. while sap from
heart-wood OZARK, makes dark sugar.
10. Sap begins to run at the surface, in the
alburnum or sap.wood, and later in the sea-
son it runs from the dark wood near the
heart. This explains the variation in the SUI
gar made early and late.
H. The more borings we make, the more
sap we get, but of poorer quality.
10 One hole near the ground will make
more sugar than five or six holes directly
above the lower one, equidistant from each
other, reaching twenty or thirty feet above.
According to President Clark of the AIassa-
chusetts Agricultural college, but little sap
runs from the maple above twelve to twenty
feet from the ground.
lG The letter the sap season the sweeter
the sap.
H. Quantity of sugar depends not so much
on the quantity of sap as on the quality.
49, A maple will run sap any time after
the leaves fall, from November till May, when
the weather is favorable.
10. The larger and taller the tree, and the
longer it has been tapped, other things being
equal, the more and sweeter is the sap.
20 The vitality of tree lies at the surface,
in the alburnum; therefore large external
wound will heal sooner than n small deep in
ternal wound, and hence bore two inches
deep will iniure tree less if made on the
south side, high up; and more if made low
down on the north side
All the above points think are true, and
feel willing and able to defend them, us they
agree, in the main, with the conclusions ar
rived at by President Clark who has made SO
many and interesting experiments on the cir
culation of sap and its kindred phenomena.
Nn doubt of tho ohO1ya nOnts president
Clark would negative, but l would risk a lit
tie brush with him before l should surrender
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.
Sap would run two weeks longer if the tree
was tapped to the heart, either on the south
or north side, or if tapped under ground or
under the surface. Sap will run from the
dark wood, near the heart after it has ceased
at the surface. Sap begins to dry up where
it began to run or circulate, at the surface or
sap-wood, and finally, two weeks later, it dries
up at the heart.
The white maple will make very white SUI
gar, but it will not make so much rs the rock
maple A rock maple is gorged with sap in
an open winter. and the opposite in a severe
winter. Usually, but not always much sap
indicates much nitro. The best and sweetest
sap will make dark sugar, if long exposed to
the air, so the sooner it is converted into su-
gar, the whittier it will be- Tapping over late
in the season is of but little account, except
you tap deeper; then you will get sap longer,
but it will be of poorer quality Quantity
and quality of sap is in proportion to the
amount of the sap-wood, the size of the tree,
the thickness of the bark and the sparseness
of the trees. Sap from the south side of 4
tree exceeds in quantity that of the north side
in the fore part of the season, while it is re-
versed in the latter part, but the south side
will make the most and whtest sugar. The
more spouts we put into the tree the more
sap we get, but not of so sweet quality.
The flow of sap depends much upon the
changes of the atmosphere, storms, freezes
and thaws Great is the mystery of sap cir
| culation.