Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1883-03-16

WATERBURY CENTER, VT, Feb. 10, 1888.
Mr.. Editor The belt of land growing
the rock maple, the best adapted for sugar
making, lies in north latitude between forty
and fifty degrees, and it extends from Maine
on the east 10 the Mississippi on the west,
embracing Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont,
New York (the northern part, Ohio, Penn
sylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minneso-
Ia, ana still further south on ranges ofmoun-
tains. Vermont has the credit of makins the
best favored sugar. South of this belt, gu
gar is NOT made to profit; the climate is
warmer and more even during the Spring
than ours, rendering the trees DRYER, the sap
moi running when the tree is tapped. The
white maple will make winter sugar Than the
rock maple, but it will not make so much.
No sap can be obtained from maple while
in leaf No sap can flow from the rock ma
pie even while not in leaf, without frost
The sap season of the maple is some six
months, while the tree is destitute Of foliage.
After the leaves have fallen and there has been
II freeze, with warmth following, sap will
flow il the tree is tapped but in the fall Of
the year the sap is in the top, not in the body
low down, where we find 1t in the spring,
At this time of the year the sap lies near the
ground. More sap can be caught within
twelve feet Of the ground than can be caught
in the rest OF the whole tree, no matter how
tall. Sap varies in three respects in all parts
OF the tree, and it varies in the same locality
nj different seasons Of these SIX months
The three variations are color, taste and
density. In an open, changing winter, the
sap is capable of running iii the tree is
tuInp1l n nj a.
Tree, But little sap can be obtained in the
spring from tree tapped thirty feet from
the ground. The most that | have lbeen able
to obtain at this hit is eleven quarts
during the entire spring. At every ten
feet from the ground the color and taste
is so marked that it is easily dscernible
without even Il liability TO u failure in Or
binary seasons. Sap deepens in color as we
ascend, and also as we near the heart.
The sacharinc quality and density 60 with
color. The lightest colored sap of the
whole tree Gts surface lies near the ground
where earth and air meet and as we go to-
ward the heart of the tree color increases and
density decreases, but US we 60 up. both
color and density increase. am aware that
DIR. Cutting thinks that sap lessons in sweet
ness as we ascend, but my experience leads
me TO the opposite conclusion. In three sue
cessive years have tapped trees ten and
twelve feet apart in four places, one directly
above another noting the quality, quantity
and color myself, and then calling the atten-
ton of other witnesses TO the same facts, all
coming to the snmc conclusion in every par
licular had thought of letting these cx-
perinients settle this point in my own mind,
but, since learning that so careful a student
of nature as our State geologist has arrived
ut the opposite conclusion, am tempted to
try again, though there is much labor and
risk in the operation.
Trees standing in or near surface water,
and in low, moist, rich and mucky land, run
much sap, but it is watery and poor, while
trees standing on ledgy ground and dry, will
give us very sweet sap. In all cases where
have found trees standing in or near cold