Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1886-04-23
mAPLE.sUGAR MAKING IN VERMONT
A Pleasant Description of One of Our
Chief Productions.

The poet SAKE has written of his native
State, that Vermont is noted for four sta
pie products: oxen, maple-sugar, girls
and horses
..The first are strong, the last are. fleet,
The second and third exceedingly sweet,
And all uncommon hard to beat"
Whatever changes may have taken
place in other respects, in maple sugar, at
least, Vermont retains her preeminence,
producing each year from eight to ten
million pounds, or more than any other
single State, and nearly one-third of the
entire amount manufactured in the
United States.
To the farmers boy among the Green
Mountains the springtime is the sweetest
and most welcome of all the seasons. And
however far he may wander in later years
from the scenes of his boyhood, yet often,
in quiet hours or when busted with the
cares of life, his thoughts return to the
old homestead and, as he walks again in
the old paths. recalls the old memories,
and Watches the old-time pictures come
and go before his mental vision, he enjoys
again, and with freshness ever new, the
pleasures OF the maple-sugar season.
Mid-winter is past. The January
smooth, hard crust, just right for coast
ing. The heavy storms of February have
piled the drifts mountain high over road
and fence and wall and the roaring
winds of early March have driven the
snow in binding clouds along the hill
sides, through the forests and down into
the valleys. But now the coolest days
are over, and the sun, in his returning
course, begins to send down-rays of pleas
ant warmth The nights are still sharp,
and the March winds have not yet ceased
to blow but for a week, the snow has
been melting at MONDAY on the southern
slope of the hills.
One afternoon, when the sun seems a
little warmer than usual, the farmer
comes into the house, on his return from
trip to the lot, saying, Boys, this
is good weather for sap. We must get
the buckets out, and be ready to tap the
trees tomorrow. "
The buckets are stored in the loft over
the she'd or at the barn, or in the sugar
house, where they We're carefully laid
away Bfter last years season was over
Now they must be washed and scalded
repaired if necessary, and carried around
to the trees.
Twenty-Five years ago nearly all the
buckets were made of pine or cedar, had
wooden hoops, and were without covers
At present many of them are made of tin
and are provided with covers.
BY night, with all hands at work, the
buckets are washed and distributed
They are left in sets of half-a-dozen at
convenient distances through the orchard
or else are turned bottom-upwardso on the
snow, one at the foot of each tree.
Sometimes it happens at this stage of
the proceedings that storm comes on I'M
expectedly, a cold spell follows, and oper
ations are delayed accordingly. But if the
weather continues fine, the next day the
trees are tapped.
Armed each with bit-stock and one
half or three quarters inch bit, the farmer
and his older boys go from tree to tree, and,
selecting favorable spot few feet from
the ground, break off any rough pieces of
outer bark. and bore hole into the trees
to the depth of one or two inches. For
merly Il larger bit was used, and the bore
was rarely more than an inch in depth ;
but experience has shown that the small
err and deeper bore Injuries the tree less
and secures larger quantity of sap.
Next the younger boys, acting as asss
tants, come forward with spOuts and nails
and buckets The old style of spout con-
sists Of a wooden tube some five or six
inches in length, tapered slightly at one
end to fit the auger-hOle. and with the
upper half of the cylinder cut away down
to an inch from the point where it enters
the tree. .The new style, now largely
smaller size and has attached to it a hook
on which to hang the bucket. Sometimes,
also spOuts of tin are used, being driven
into the bark just beneath the auger-
hole.
After the spouts have been driven in,
the buckets must be put in place and fas-
tened there. If iron spoutS are used they
are already provided with hooks. If wood
ell or tin ones are used, instead, the com
mon practice is to drive into the tree, a
oh, h..1 e
wrOught-iron, with a tapering point and
thin head, and upon this to hang the
bucket by means of its upper hoop; or, if
the ground is level, and the snow nearly
gone, 1t is sometimes set upon the ground.
At length the trees are tapped, the
spouts and nails are driven, the buckets
are set, and all is ready for the sap.
L remember once to have seen i'll an il
Illustrated magazine picture, one of y
series intended to represent the process OF
sugar making, in which the spOuts were
several feet in length, and the sap poured
out in rushing stream, as though each
sprout were a hose-plpe, and every tree
water main. To carry out the idea, il
would have required man to stand al
every tree and empty the rapidly filling
buckets into a monster hogshead.
Not thus lavishly is this nectar of the
gods poured out on our New England
hills but, slowly, filtered through the
closely wrought fbres of the dcer sac
cTnum, absorbing new sweetness, anC
gaining more delicate flayorat each steI
of its progress, until at last it falls droI
by drop into the bucket. This is rarely
filled in less than twenty-four hours
while three or four bucketfuls is al
average yield for a season, and six IA larg,
one.
Next the sugar-house is put in order
the arch is mended, the Kettle or PAL
washed out, and all necessary prepare
tons made for boiling. The earlies
method of boiling sap of which have an!
recollection was in a huge caldron KEITH
suspended from a heavy pole, which wa
supported at each end by Il limb of tre
on top Of post. Then a huge log wa
rolled up to each side of the kettle, anC
the fire was built between them. Thi
was known simply as the boiling place,
and could be changed as often as conven
lent. The kettle which contained tn
sap was also open for the reception o
the dust, and smoke, and falling leaves
and forms of dirt innumerable.
The first advance on this primitv
/ L mn