The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1897-03-28
A. thex enhraced AMI ,heir uns met

As they embraced and their lips met
Moqua got her first taste OF maple sugar.
Ever after they had maple sugar in the
wigwam. That is the story one hears In
Vermont.
There Is a vast difference between the
present methods OF extracting the sap
and those employed long ago. a quarter
OF a century ago the Vermont farmer cut
V-shaped nick into the maple tree. An
elder stick had been cut and the pith
pushed out. lie pushed In the stick and
under the end he placed a wooden trough
made from an ash log. The winds that
swept through the bush or maple tree
orchard blew leaves. twigs. and dirt into
the Tough. mus spelling a good deal OF
zap. The work OF collecting the sap In
those days was very hard. Suspended
from q wooden yoke slung across tho
shoulders OF the carriers were two buck
cts These buckets were used TO convey
the sap 10 a kettle which usually held
about fifty gallons. Much OF the sap
stopped out Of the buckets as the carriers
trudged through the woods. As soon as
the kettle was fun IL was slung on a
crude sort OF crane. The fire was then
started. As soon as the impurities in the
sap came 10 the surface they had TO be
skinned Off One or two men stood con-
stantly at the side OF the huge kettle.
To leave the sap standing would be as
good as throwing 1t away. Maple sap
always sours when left standing Very
often the troughs overrun. and much
sap was lest In this way. The sugarinS
process. or sUearing off, was left gem
orally until later.
But as tho maple sugar industry grew
many Improvements in gathering the sap
were invented and introduced. Now the
90 81 or 81 -,
clear all the way from 5000 to $500 a sea-
son. This Is more than three times as
much as the owner Of twenty-five years
ago made during the same period. II
maple sugar again comes within the
classification of tariff law. such "a the
Mckinley law. the farmers Will make a
great deal more money than during any
year since 1891 when the Mckinley law
was repealed. The law then gave a boun-
ty Of "a and cents per pound on all
maple sugar made.
The maple sugar maker OF to-day is
decidedly practical and modern He has
no use for tho old ways. He drives a
galvanized iron into the tree after hav-
ing bored a half-inch auger hole In the
trunk. At the end OF the iron tube he
hangs n covered metal bucket This
keeps the tricking sap free. from dirt and
other extraneous matter The old way
Of Juggling tho sap i'm buckets 10 the ket-
tle or hogshead Is no LONGER I'm vogue.
4 great hOgshead set on runners or
wheels is hauled by horses through the
wood or orchard As each tree is passed
strong arms take up the buckets and
empty the contents into the hogshcad. IL
this way the sap is collected with very
little waste One seldom sees the old
sap kettle in tho orchards supplied with
modern improvements. 4 large evaporat-
ing pan set I'm a brick fireplace inclosed
and covered by a shed or rude house.
has taken the place OF the kettle These
pans are usually about ten feet long. five
feet wide. and only a few inches deep
Tho sap is pumped into the pan. which
IS divided into partitions. These parts
lions are so arranged that to reach tho
far end Of the pan the sap must take
! a zigzag course. This Is done 10 Obvlate
the necessity OF stirring the sap. The
thin sap flows IN AZ one end OF the pan
and ont the other a clear beautiful am
her syrup. To a novice this Is astonish-
ing for the sap when n comes from the
tree Is about the consistency OF water.
and IS slightly yellow. a barrel Of sap
will generally make about a gallon OF
syrup. which IN turn will make about
eirht or nine pounds Of maple sugar
The law regarding the anuitefatlon OF
maple sugar Is severe IN Vermont. When
you get tho sugar I'm this State II ls as a
rule. free from foreign matter. What IL
generally sold as maple sugar I'm the
stores Of Now York city as genuine YER
mont maple sugar" IS too often a very
inferior and much adulterated article
But the sweet and delicious maple syrup
that YOU delight I'm pouring on hot cakes
IS pretty nearly pure. n irst-class
grocer sells Il TO you. and 4 mres you
that D. IS no product OF the -,outh.