The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1885-12-02

numerically, or only by the seDses?'
In reply ] would say: A few years
since / requested my sister (who lives
on the farm and makes the sugar from
this tree) to test the spring by the Their
mometer, and she did, but l cannot
now recall the result, though l have it
down in my sugar-book somewhere,
among large mass of other facts, but
it was under fifty degrees, and l think
nearer forty than fifty. Other facts
that | am learning about the maple
compel me to the conclusion that the
colder the spring the more and sweeter
is the sap ] have learned that warm
surface-water gives us much sap, but it
is always watery and poor The lower
the temperature that sap will run the
nicer the product. The colder the sap
when ready for the pan, the better the
sugar; it is whittier even if we cool it by
ice or snow. Again, the less heat en-
ployed in boiling the nicer is the result;
so the vacuum way of boiling is the best
system. Birch and butternut trees
have been running sap quite freely the
past week, regardless of frost or freezes,
and so have very small naples, say four
inches in diameter, but all, or nearly
all, is water. There is no sweetness
about the birch or butternut, but the
sap from the maple indicated very
small per cent Of sweetness, say frac-
ton of one per cent. All this sap comes
up from the ground, but in the case of
the maple the shift is about now being
made. AT a certain temperature (wish
l knew just what it is) the maple
ceases its affinity for saltwater. The
tree then rests. I did not know until
the past summer that saltwater rising
up the tree could be made visible to
the naked eye under any circumstances,
but now / know that it can be, and
without frost, too. How will DR.. Cut
ting harmonic this with his theory?
Saltwater goes up in warm weather
and the quantity varies with the tenn
perature of the air. When the tenn
perature of the soil and air lowers to
certain degree-(and who will be the
first one to ascertain the degree p
mean the soil to a certain degree and
the air to a certain degree, but not the
same-then capillary action ceases and
the tree rests. This takes place after
the leaves fall. think this change
takes place usually about, or in the Vi
entity of, November LIST. Now, then,
under certain conditions sap (not soil
water) will flow, and the direction is
down, for the laws which govern these
movements are entirely different. l
feel more and more the necessity of
making distinction between these two
liquid, or fluids, as the case may be.
With me sap is more or less sweet, but
saltwater is not. In the spring can
tell almost to day, ordinarily, when
these movements shift-that is, from
uoNh W up' 40 a SShSidi lhlhS, thC
maple is in each of these two condi-
tions six months. l have performed
this experiment twice, so as to satisfy
myself. The experiment is quite in
furious to the tree, so do not care to
perform it again, except to convince
the skeptical. TIMOTHY WHEELER"
Mr.. Wheeler invites us to criticise
his letter, and we may do so, as regards
one or two points, hereafter. But mean
time we heartily thank him for his let
ter, and assure him that we highly
value the perseverance, intelligence
and skill with which he pursues his in
vestigations of a very difficult and in
teresting problem.
AGRICULTURAL EDITOR.