The Portland daily press., 1878-03-04
THE PRESS.
MAMIE suxnrmakinp

Il nh L -IOIkO0o
Maple Sugar Making,
Location of Arch. Let the sugar house be
located centrally in the Scamp or grove, if
possible, but by all means on slope. If
there is no slope, log-way covered with
earth should be built, about three feet high,
near the arch, sloping both ways, parllel with
the arch, SO the team can draw a load OF sap
up from either side and the sap be run off
into the store trough; not dipped up or rolled
up in barrels. A sugar house with free ven-
tilatfon In the roof should cover and enclose
the arch and protect from rain and wind. A
cold wind on the surface Of the pan greatly
shed full of fnelysplit dry wood should join
the sugar house near the arch door. Refuse
wood, old broken rails &c. can be used II cut,
split and stored In the summer.
The store vats or casks should be of wood
lined, II one can afford, with tin or galvanized
iron. 1t not lined, they should be thor
oughly painted, and and perfectly smooth
inside, so as to be more easily scalded and
kept clean and sweet. If made entirely of
iron or tin, the sap freezes in cold and sours
in warm weather too easily. Metal not en-
closed in wood is too good aconductor of heat
and cold. In warm .latitudes, e. g., Ohio,
Pennsylvania and Southern New York, the
vats should usually be outside of the sugar
house, SO that the heat and steam of boiling
shall not help to sour the sap in store. In
cold localities they should be in the sugar
house to prevent the sap's freezing in cold
nights.
A convenient form for vat is two feet wide,
two feet deep and sixteen feet long. A vat
OF these dimensions INSIDE measure) will
hold about sixteen barrels. Each foot added
to the width adds eight barrels in capacity.
II the vats are outside the house, and the
slope not steep enough to secure the re-
quired fall, they can be put end 10 end, and
thus carry the emptying place far enough
from the arch so that the sap can be run
from faucet in the gathering cask into the
top of the outside vat, and thence through
the other watts into the evaporator. Sa p
should never be lifted by hand but once, viz,
when taken from the buckets to the gather
ing cask. Sap may be run from vat to vat by
siphons. The gathering cask should be about
6 feet long, feet in diameter in the midd le,
and three inches larger at the rear end than
In front. 1t will hold about four barrels. 1t
should be firmly fastened horizontally on q
stone boat sled, .. e., a sled with wide, fla {
runners, that will run on soft, bare ground.
In billy Vermont, where the surface in the
camp is rough with cradle knobs. the front
end rests on pair of stone boat "bobs," 10
which is fastened dray or drag, 1. G., two
long parallel skids, fastened to the beam OF
the bobs, and dragging behind. The hind
end OF the cask rests on a cross piece of this
drag. Thus, when the bobs are in a hollow,
the drag will rest midway on the cradle knobs
and when the bObs are on one knoll, the rear
end of the drag will rest on the knoll behind,
and SO the cask will be kept nearly level on
uneven ground. Where the hills are very
afoor fho rae ss cnunofimoc 10 lar md
shorter and placed upright on its large end.
The buckets should be of "cross" charcoal
tin; not coke tin. They should be soldered
inside and out in every seam to prevent rust.
A 5S-inch hole just below the wire rim is cut
and thus the bucket is hung on the metallic
spout, aud held firmly against the side of the
tree. The buckets should be covered to ex.
clude rain, snow, dirt, insects, and the direc,
rays Of the sun, and TO retard freezing al
night.
The covers are, think, best made of wood
planed and painted. For thousand covers,
take, say LOO feet of inch lumber-pine,
wide, dressed on both sides. Some allowance
must be made for waste. Plane the edges
5 and paint both edges aud one side white and
Ihs ether red. Put on two or three coats with
poile1 oil, SO as to make smooth glazed sur
Iace.t men cut into lengths foot long with a
@ nne tootned saw, and your covers are done.
Inc painting Is far mosa easily done before
cutting. Cracked or knotty PARTS should be
left unpainted, and trown out In saving.
The different colors on opposite sides faciii.
tate gathering sap and prevent mistakes and
omissions. For instance, in tapping put the
red side up. As the sap is gathered reverse
each cover. A white cover shows that the
sap has been taken. II you forget to reverse
you go again on fools errand and you sooI
learn to remember. You never go to tIet
twice, and you never need miss bucket 0
sap 10 freeze solid or sour as the weather ma,
turn. A single glance from high GROUND
when the gathering is done will detect any
omissions. Where several hands are gather
Ing in large camp it is very simple am
natural device that occurred to me some eght
years ago, and in my large camp is easily
worth the entire cost Of the covers each year
have no "axe to grind" in calling attention
to it; the only patent desire for it is that
every sugar-maker should know and use it,
Cor. Country Gentleman.