Akron daily Democrat. [volume] (Akron, Ohio) 1892-1902, 1900-03-12

halves, and chopping out the middle
portion, thus furnishing a receptacle
that would hold three or four gallons.
The sup was conveyed to the boil,
ing place in buckets, narrower at the
top than at the bottom, which were
made at the cooper shop. These buck
cts were hung at either end of a yoke
made to fit the shoulders of a man or
boy, whose task Of gathering the sap
was very laborious. Much sap was
wasted by spilling from the buckets,
or by the troughs running over when
the men were hurried or tired.
! The sap was boiled down in huge
block iron kettles holding from forty
to sixty gallons each. A stout crotched
stake was driven solidly into the
ground, upon which was placed
hickory sapling, one end of which pro
truded few feet beyond the stake;
upon this end was hung the kettle,
much like the bucket at the end of an
old fashioned well-sweep. The long
end of the sapling rested on the
ground and was used to swing the
kettle on and off the fire. Into this
kettle was poured the sap with all its
accumulation of leaves, twigs, and
dirt, some of which was skinned of
with a shallow gourd after the sap
reached the boiling-point.
Later on, the kettles were hung on
stout sapllng suspended between two
crotched sticks, rough shed OF
boughs and slabs being built above
them for protection. Occasionally a
crude stone arch was built in a hill
side for the kettles, but the huge az
fairs were more awkward to handle
lin that way than when hickory sap
ling was made to bear the weight OF
lifting. The more shiftless sugar-mak-
er who depended on couple OF logs
for support for his kettles building n
fro between them. sometimes came to
grief by one of the logs giving way,
dashing the syrup onto the ground
The acme of perfection in sugar-mak-
ing was supposed to be reached when
the big black kettles were relegated to
the making of soft soap, and sheet
iron pans were used in their stead.
Arches were made for these pans, and
n substantial shed was built over all.
Some especially enterprising makers
attached pulleys to the roof OF the shed
and moved the pans about by means
of ropes of chains, as they desired
them over hot fire OF slow one.
Before this time buckets had taken
the place of the wooden troughs to
catch the sap, and wooden spiles were
bought to replace the homemade alder
, spiles. The yoke for carrying the
; buckets of sap gave way before the
"stone-boat upon which was bar
rel to receive the sap, drawn by oxen
as the sugar-bush was gradually clear
, ed of underbrush making possible tht
movements of the "stone-boat' and ths
clumsy beasts among the trees. The
"stone- boat and oxen We're replaced
, in time by sleds and horses.
At the present time the trees are tap
ped by means of bit; a galvanized
iron spile il inserted and upon the enc
Of the spile is hung pail, closely GOV
cred, except for an opening large
enough to receive the drippmgs of sap
In some instances the sheet-iron pans
are still used for boiling down the sap
but they are partitioned off, and the
, different pans are connected by gas
pipe couplings, the syrup making its
, tourney from the storage tank to, the
warming pan, and passing to the from
, pan on the arch, on the same princi
, pie as an evaporator is operated
, Most large orchards have evaporator'
and all appliances for rendering the