Wichita eagle., 1888-06-07
IN THE SUGAR CAMP.
A SHORT CHAPTER OF WOOD LORE
FROM PENNSYLVANIA.

the "Suear Bush''-A Pennsylvania
Writer Begs Leave to Differ-How Ma
pie Sugar is Made.
Pennsylvania farmers manufacture over
2,0o0, 600 pounds of maple sugar every spring.
The bulk of this is made in the counties on
and west of the Allegheny mountains, but
the northern and northeastern counties pro-
duce large amount of superior quality.
Poets and painters have succeeded in throw
ing a glamour of romance and rustic pictur-
esqueness about the sugar camp, and great
amount Of sentiment is annually wasted on
them By persons who have no closer knowi-
edge of the woods in March than the poet
and painter have given them. In reality,
the sugar bush is q nasty, soggy place.
The sugar farmer has discovered many
curious facts about the maple and its sap.
For the sap to run freely there must be well
mingled conditions of heat, cold and light.
A still and dry yet dense atmosphere, with a
north or west wind blowing, is the best for
sap running. That is the weather referred 10
by the farmer in his saying: when fires
burn best then sap runs best" When the
ground thaws during the day and freezes at
night, and there is plenty Of snow in the
woods, ''sap weather" is prime a heavy
snow storm during the sap season, followed
by freeze and a thaw, will make the owner
of a sugar bush happy. "a few trees will
produce as much sap as good many" is an
an anomalous saying of the sugar farmer. 1t
means that trees standing close together dl-
vide the aggregate flow made possible by the
extsCt of soil they cover, which aggregate
would be as great if there were half as many
trees draining the spot. Night sap, or sap
that runs at night, will make more sugar
than the same quantity during the day. Sap
contains more saccharine substance when
caught either Immediately before or just
after snow storm or freeze up. A tree
tapped high will give sweeter sap than one
tapped low, but the low tap will give the
larger quantity. A shallow tap will fetch
from the tree sweeter sap, and one that
will produce winter and better grained sugar
taan deep tap, but the deep tap will yield
tbs most rlolasses. Sap starts just on the
south side of tha tree, and runs much sweeter
than sap from the north side, but sap will
run for long time from the north side Of
the tree after it has ceased running on the
south side.
DROP gY DROP.
As soon as the sap starts in the trees the
NAPLES are tapped, iron spiles driven in the
holes and covered bucket hung to eacn one.
In the old days the spile was an elder with
the pith punched out, and the receptacle for
the sap was either a trough hewn out of
birch block or an ordinary pail. The sap
falls from the SpileS drop by drop, and SO
Glowly that it seems as if a pailful would
never be obtained; but on the contrary the
trees have to be watched very closely, as the
pals fill in a remarkably short time, and the
little drops of liquid sugar will be running
over the rim of the pail before the stranger
would think it possible As soon as q pail is
filed it is lifted from the spile and emptied
into large barrel with a top Ikea big fun
uel. This barrel is securely attached to
rude sled or wagon, a. .s drawn about the
bush from tree to tre9 y mild hammered
and easy going horse, dI ven by a youth es-
pecially selected for h.s patience and careful
ness, for the rounds oL the camp must bs
made in a slow and cautious manner An
upset in the bush with & cargo Of sap aboard
lowers 8 driver in the estimation of his fell
.ows, and it is a great iea.ther in his cap if he
comes out when the seasoa is over with q
clean record on that score
When the rounds of the trees are made
the big barrel is filed witch sap and is taken
TO the sugar house or boiling shed. There it
is emptied into watts, beneath which a steady
fire is kept burning, As the sap boils in the
watts it is kept constantly az Gitated by those
having charge of that part Oh the work, who
use long handled ladies and rakes This is
the most interesting part Of maple sugar
making, but it Is at the Same time the most
distressing. The damp wood srnoldering
beneath the boiling vats, acted upon by the
riotsus March wind, sends up dense clouds of
suffocating smoke. The stirrer chokes,
freezes and burns by turns, according to the
whim and the temperature of the wind and
the combustible qualities of the wood in the
fire. These disconforts, however, never
attend sap boiling in the northeastern coun-
ties Of the state, where the sugar houses are
inclosed and well appointed
"SUGARING OFF,"
After boiling in one vat until certain con-
ditions are brought about, which the sugar
makers skill detects at the proper time, the
sap is run into another vat through strainer
and then the boiling is continued. When a
proper consistency is reached in the second
vat the sap is ready for sugaring of. A few
farmers in western Pennsylvania have their
boiling houses SO equipped that the last pro-
cess may be gone through with on the prem
ises, but generally the awaiting syrup is
loaded IN barrels and conveyed to the farm
houses, where the farm wives and their
daughters take charge Of it and "sugar off"
1t is placed in huge boilers, on stoves ar
ranged for the purpose, where it boils and
bubbles and reduces itself, under the skillful
and superintendent of the
housewife.
The tests of the different stages of the
syrup as it is slowly transformed into sugar
are the same today as they were the first day
maple sugar was Inade-a spoonful of syrup
on plate of snow, or dropped into bowl Of
cold spring or well water. The work of su-
caring off requires the greatest skill and the
most constant attention. If syrup is wanted
the quick eye of the farmers wife detects the
stage known as the "buckwheat"-whenl little
three cornered grains form under this test.
The syrup is then turned into earthen jugs.
When the boiling shows the advance of the
hardening stage, the hard work begins The
hot, sticky mass must be beaten and stirred
and stirred and beaten, until the grains sep
arate and the sugar assumes fine, smooth
and whitened appearance. While ths syrup
is still in liquid form it IS run into nolds
and forms of all descriptions TO suit tho
fancy or convenience of the maker, and set
away to cooL-Cor. New York Tribune.
Which Surrouny3 fsf3 ao.