The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1895-03-15
SUGAR MAKING.

Readsboro Enterprise, believing that It
will be Of interest to our many readers
who in few days will be in the midst
ofsugar making:
1t will be but short time now be-
fore we shall be getting our sap buckets
soaked up sap pans mended and every.
thing in order for making sugar; and
while every sugar maker must have
soma knowledge of the art there are
really but few who thoroughly under,
stand sugar making.
In years past It was thought anyone
could make sugar, but this has all
changed, and NOW it has become n mat.
ter of scientific study like every other
branch of farming. The nipple sugar
as black as your boot does not lind a
ready market today, for people are be-
ginning to learn that with proper tools
an d manipulation, It can be made light
colored and clean. Cleanl yes, that is
the word. One of the greatest faults
with sugar makers is, they don't keep
their utensils clean. You can't make
good quality of sugar unless your
sugar utensils are absolutely clean.
The first thing to do is to employ
only competent and experienced men to
tap your trees. An inch and halt is
deep enough to bore. Shallow tapping
has been found to produce the finest
favored and lightest colored sugar.
The best spout is a wood spout dipped
in hot oil and the Boss spout made by
T. Stowe of Readsboro answers every
requirement. For a bucket | would
recommend a wood bucket, oiled. II
painted it draws the sun and sours the
sap. Too much cannot be said in fay
or of using bucket covers. 1t is an
acknowledged fact that the best sugar
makers today are using covers for their
buckets. The Stowe covers are cheap,
durable and will pay for themselves the
first season; and therefore they recon-.
mend themselves, 1t is impossible to
keep dirt and rain or snow out of your
sap without using covers.
One great fault l have noticed in
visiting sugar places is, the pans are
not set right. The only correct way to
set pan or evaporation is TO set the
back end (of a II it. PAM at least ! Of
an inch the highest. As the sap runs
In at the front end the syrup will flow
back as fast as it is fit to draw out, and
if properly run syrup may be taken
on all the me. A tin pan with parti-
tons riveled on is tie best. Don't be
afraid of getting your pans made too
wide. Let them hang over the edge Of
the arch at least six inches. This will
give the sapa chance to stop Jumping
before reaching the side of the pan, thus
will much scum be prevented and the
quality of the sugar improved, neither
can it burn on to the side of the pan.
Sap should be strained before it is
boileo, and you might as well try to
make hay with no Sc fiddle as TO get
along without thermometer. Use felt
strainers for syrup; boil down to II
pounds per gallon and give full gallon
measure. The quicker sap is boiled
after it leaves the trees the better.
Keep hustling-and keep your sap
clean above all things There is not
so much in where trees stand as there
is in manipulation. l know of swamp
sugar places that make the best of
sugar. 1t all depends on the man and
the tools he uses.
Sugar making like everything else is
susceptible of improvement. In years
past the sap was boiled in iron kettles
hung on cro.ched sticks, then came
pans and evaporation, but at the present
day steam is coming to the front, and it
is the only correct way to boil sap.
Witha an eight horse power South Allen
steam evaporation, 60 gallons of sap an
hour, or more can be converted into
syrup with no possible danger Of burn
ing In fact it is impossible to burn sap
or syrup by the steam process. You can
run in zig stream of sap and take out
syrup all the time. This new process
has not yet been thoroughly introduced;
but it has been tried enough so that we