Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-04-17
AN INSIGHT INTO A PAYING
NORTHERN INDUSTRY.

| great excitement not only here, but all
! over the surrounding country.
AN INSIGHT INTO A PAYING
NORTHERN INDUSTRY.
Where the Maple Tree FIOurishes Best
The Groves of Chautauqua County
Extracting the Sap-BOiling Down
The Hands EmplOyed-The Profits
Cost of an Outfit-SOcial Features.
CHAUTAUQUA Co., n. Y, April 15.-The
principal species of timber of this section
are sugar maple, beech, hemlOck, poplar.
locally termed white wood elm, bass
wood, cucumber, black and white ash.
and an almost endless list of different
kinds of small growth. Hemlock, which
constituted very considerable proportion
! Of the primeval forest of this region. is an
evergreen of the pine, or fir family, but is
much harder and cOarser grained than
either the white or yellow pine. The
peculiar conformation of the fibre
does not admit of the lum-
Der being smoothly dressed, and it has
come to be common saying that one
canot look at hemlock plank from dis
tance of less than ten feet without getting
his hands full of slivers. 1t is the princi-
pal saving timber of this region, however.
and is used i'll vast quantities in the rough
i'll the construction of barns, Out-build-
ings and plank fences. Its market value
is about $40 per thousand, whereas white
or yellow pine is worth from $25 to $50
per thousand, There are limited areas of
white pine timber along the southern bor-
der of this State and in Northwestern
Pennsylvania, but the bulk of our pine
lumber comes from Michigan. The tim
Der lands of Western New York at this
time embrace probably less thad one
eighth of the total area.
The sugar maple flOurishes most extern
siyely in Indiana, Ohio, New York, Ner-
mont and Pennsylvania, but abOunds
more or less in the upland regions of sew.
eral other States, extending as far South
ward as West Virginia and Eastern Ten
neSSee, where, as in this section. its pecu-
liar qualities are utilized in the production
OF vast quantities of the most delicious of
all sugars and syrups.
This tree is indigenous only to hill coun-
tries OF an altitude of not less than 1000
feet above the sea. In other words il is
native to cold regions, so that wherever
you find the sugar maple in the native
Wilds you may reckon on cold winters
and heavy snow falls. 1t is deciduOus
tree and attains enormous size, commonly
measuring three and a half feet in diam
eter at the stump and from forty to sixty
feet to the first limbs, having Il total
height of from seyenty-fve to ninety feet.
IN the form OF its growth it resembles the
oak.
There are few farms in the upIands of
this section that have not sugar orchard.
or "sugar bush," as it is locally termed.
containing from 100 to 800 maple trees.
The sugar is made from the sap of the
tree, extracted during the period of its
spring flow in natures process OF. .prepar-
dng for and supplying nutriment to the
new growth of foliage.
This upward flow of the sap begins with
the first general thaw which bet0kens the
approach of spring, commonly about the
last week in March, and continues until
the frost is entirely out of the ground,
and the new buds are swollen nearly to
bursting, or from three to five weeks
This year the opening of the sugar-mak-
ing period has been unusually late, the Sth
inst. having been the first good sap day of
the season.
If the reader will accompany me through
one OF the numerous sugar bushes near
Stockton, and spend a day at the sugar
camp, we may be able to gain very COM
prehensive idea of the entire process of
maple sugar making.
The farm upon which we are stopping
contains 200 acres, about TWENTY-FIVE of
which is in the original growth of timber.
almost exclusively beech and maple, there
being on the twenty-five acres not less
than 500 enormous trees of the last named
species.
A walk of $50 yards from the farm
dwelling across the snow covered fields
brings us to the edge of the woods, or
sugar bush. The first thing that especially
attracts our attention, aside from the ma
tural grandeur Of the lofty forest trees, is
the fact that attached to the side of each
of the several hundred maple trees In
view, and about four feet from the ground.
is bright tin bucket of about three gal
Ions capacity. In this bush there are 45O
of these buckets in use, and the scenic
effect of so many of these bright tin
vessels dotting the woodland is quite
novel.
The manner of extracting the sap is
this: With a three-qIarter inch bit a
hole is bored in the tree TO depth of an
inch and half. From the pores thus
opened the sap flows very freely, and in
conducting it into the bucket an iron
spout, about four inches long, is used.
These spouts are of a slightly greater
diameter than the hole in tine tree, and the
end to be inserted is tapered, so that when
driven firmly in it closes the hole water
tight, without Obstructing the pores be-
yOnd the immediate outer surface. and
allows the escape of the sap only through
the spout, which is. Of course. perforated
for that purpose. The spout is provided
with hook, upon which the bucket is
suspended and held in position to catch
the sap. Two spOuts are generally in
serted to each bucket, the holes being
bored about four inches apart, side by
side. During good run the sap will fall
from each spout in drops as fast as one
can count, and accumulates In the bucket
at the rate of about Il quart an hour.
Sometimes, however, it will flow at even
a faster rate than that, filling three
gallon bucket in eight hours, or even less.
sap runs only when the temperature is
above the freezing point, and it is cOnsid-
cred the most favorable for sugar making
when the ground freezes a little every
night and thaws during the day. In fact,
frequent freezes are essential. as, with
continued warm spell of a week without
freezing, the flow of sap will cease. The
process above described is termed .'tap-
ping" the trees. Some of the largest trees
are tapped on opposite sides, or for two
buckets. The sap has the appearance of
the purest spring water, and differs there
from only in its sweetness. Taken ice
cold from the bucket, it constitutes
the most delicious and refreshing drink
imaginable. The degree of its sweetness
- sepCbt OhC pun VI sugar Ill IOuT gal
Ions Of sap. 1t varies greatly in this re-
spect, however, sometimes requiring five
gallons or more to make pound of sugar,
according to the season and other .condi-
tiOns not readily explained. In fact, there
VIII be very marked difference in the
degree of sweetness of sap flowing from
trees standing side by side, and quite as
much difference in the quantity produced
by various trees. During an ordinarily
good run, every bucket in the woods will
be filled in eight or ten hours, aggre-
eating, in this bush which we are
visiting, 1850 gallons to be evaporated in
one day, and as it frequently occurs that
1t continues for two days and nights un-
interruptedly, the evaporater must he
kept running night and day to keep apace
with 1t. And then, again, there win be
two or three days that it will be warm
enough only for two or three hours during
the middle of each day for the sap to flow