The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1898-02-23
Maple Syrup.

Everybody hasn't an evaporation, but
q good many have small sugar bushes
that won't warrant the expense of
purchasing one, but want to make ma
pie syrup that is good enough for any
body. l have tried maple syrup made
in an evaporation, and l am free to say
that almost as good can be made by
much cheaper outfit. An evaporation
is the thing for the larger camps, but
for the camp of 100 to 200 trees some
thing cheaper has to be used.
In the first place, secure tive galvan-
lied iron pans about two and one.half
or three feet wide and six feet long and
six inches deep; build an arch long
enough to set both these pans on.
Stone or brick can be used for the arch,
or both. Set the arch 30 that the
mouth will be in the direction from
which the wind usually blows. Build
good, high chimney so as to secure q
good draft. If you have but few trees,
the pans need not be 30 long. Espe-
cially the hind pan may be shorter.
The hindmost pan should be used as q
heater, into which all cold sap should
be strained from the storage tank. Bar
rels can be used for storage. Don't
put cold sap into the front pan after
boiling begins, but strain from the
back pan into the front one. Use the
front pan to syrup off in. Quick work
all the way through is necessary to
make good syrup. The sooner the sap
is made into syrup after it drops from
the tree the better it is. Don't let sy-
rup stand in the pans over night, but
Gva
SO that the pan can be pulled off to one
side when the syrup is thick enough.
Take dipper and dip some syrup up
and let it run into the pan again and if
the syrup that last hangs to the dipper
widens out and hesitates to drop off
the syrup is ready to take off and strain.
Strain through succession of strain
ers, using cheese-cloth for the top
strainer and something finer for the
lower ones. Loose-woven flannel is
good. Have galvanized iron pan
made large enough to just fit the top of
your kitchen stove and ten inches
deep, with four good strong handles
on. AS soon as the syrup is taken
from the bush, remove to the house
and strain into this kitchen stove pan,
and boil down until gallon will weigh
ten and one-half or eleven pounds. As
soon as the syrup is put into this small
pan take about pint of sweet milk
and thoroughly stir it through the
syrup. This will cleanse it by making
all filth rise to the top where it can be
skinned off. This skimming must be
done quite rapidly before it boils toe
hard, as there is danger of boiling il
all through the syrup again.
Tin pals that hold ten quarts with
holes punched through 80 as TO hang or
a tin Spite, are the best to catch the
sap from the trees. Cleanliness should
be observed all the way through. Al
ways strain whenever you have 6
chance.
Put in glass cans and seal, or in gal.
lon tin cans with screw top, cork lined
Fill can full and hold up by the bail
and then refill until the molasses runs
over the top, enough to fill the threads
of the screw when the top is screwed
on. This should be done when the
molasses is cold. This makes it all
tight and leaves no room for mold tC
get in. This may seem like a goot
deal of fussing, but it pays when you
are after something good. - Ohio
Farmer.