Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1889-06-21
MAPLE SUGAR.
NEW AND OLD METHODS OF, MAX
INC THE SWEET.
The Average Yield is Three Pounds
Oh Sugar to II Trce-A View
OF the Old -Fashioncd
Sugar Party.

A letter from WATERFOWL, N. Y. to
the New York Times, says that there are
some Interesting things about suearmak
ing. The old residents do not have to
rack their memories very much to recall
the time when almost everybody up this
way depended on the maple trees for
sweet stuifs. That was before the DAVIS of
railroads, when cane sugar was hard IN
get, and every farmer tapped the maplc
trees on his farm. Now the business is
carried on by those who have large suuar
orchards, and only about one farmer out
oil every twenty bothcrs with it. Some
Sh"arnf'kcrs IN this section gather the SAP
from rs many rs 1000 trees, and send to
market several tons Of maple sugar an
9naliy. In an extra good season five
pounds OF sugar 10 the tree is made. but
that is hi" yield. The average is about
three pounds to each tree. The manner in
which HE sweets arc gathered in these lnr,ec
orchards Is quite astonishing to the old.
time S'lsarmaiicrS, who used to carry on
the work in Il very primitive way. The
old timers began by catching the san in
wooden trcughs which were muIc from
small trees with much labor, ms they had
to he followed out with an axe, and ibrn
charrcd over an open lire to prevent the
sap from running out through the pores
oil the wood. An augur was used in fam.
ping, and wooden splcs were driven IN
the trees. The sap was carried by hand
TO the boiling place, where it was cvapo-
rated III large iron kettles swung up on n
crane over an open fire. The modern
Su%arnakcr looks to the economy of
things and makes the work easy. Instead
OF an au"ur and wooden spilcs. he uses Il
pntcnt galvanized iron spilc and n tin
bucket. The Spite is driven into the free
with half dozen blows of heavy NAL.
let, and the augur is dispensed
with. The bucket is suspend
from the side of the tree by a nail
made for the purpose. Smooth roads
through the orchard in every direction
allow 1T To be travcrscd by II team. so
that the sap is all drawn on sleigh and
the man has little to do except pour il
from the bucket on the tree into the re-
cciving tank ON the two-horsc conveyance.
Instead of kettles, SHALLOW shcct-ron pans
set in an arch are used in evaporation.
The arch economies fncl, and the pans
shorten The process of evaporation about
one-lalf. An automatic feeder keeps IN
the supply of sap in the pans. As this pari
OF the work is done in snng building
erected for the purpose, instead of in the
open air, nearly all the har,lships incident
to oid-timc suSarnaking are done away
with. The people who used to carry SIN
long distances in pals suspended ON a
yoke, like Japanese portcrs, and aftcrward
boiled it IN the open mir, exposed TO all the
incicmenci of the season, call The present
way OF making sugar. mere pasiimc.
Another feature of sugarmaknr fifty
or sixty years ago, which is now nbscnt.
Is the good old fashioned sugar party.
Those were joyous times when, in re-
sponsc 10 AN invitation, all the nci.hbors
Tor II mile or more around would gather
IN IL farmers ''sap bush" to attend tina
"su@aring of and ill their jackets with
warm sugar. All of the bows and rirls.
ms well as the married folks, attended
these frolics, and four feet of snow. with
"a cutting March wind, never kept them
ut home. When party Of this sort as
semblcd around the "!,oiling place" there
was music in the mir until the syrup had
been reduced to ii consistency where it
would harden when poured on top Of the
snow. When this point was reached each
member of the party would give his or
her undivided attention TO Il ball of 'siack-
wax big enough for two of the most
voracious candy eaters Of the present day.
When the sugar had been stirred in the
kettle until it was partially cooled and
nicely grained, it followed the "jackwax"
until all had furry gorgcd themselves.
To this day it is II mystery among the old
inhabitants how they managed to eat so
much sugar and not make themselves
sick. One Of them in speaking to the
writer of old times expressed willing
ness to give up all his earthly possessions
II he could live over the days when he
uscd'to carry home Il ball of ''jackwax'
on chip to the brothers and sisters who
were too small to go out in the sugar
bush. There are thousands, no doubt,
vino will echo the sentiment.