The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1910-07-14
"BUDDY SAP.~
Vermont Agricultural Station Issues
Interesting Bulletin to Sugar Max


Interesting Bulletin to Sugar Max
ers.
Vermont Agricultural Experiment
Station Bulletin No. ISL, just issued
deals with Buddy Sap" and contains
over 100 pages of matter of interest to
those who are interested in the maple
sugar industry. Some of the i'm
portant paragraphs are quoted be-
low. with the summary Of the expert
ments made.
Maple sap is sweet liquid con-
taining varying amount, averaging
from to per cent of saccharose,
and, usually, traces of invert sugar.
In addition to these carbohydrates it
contains small amounts of proteids,
of mineral matter, mainly lime and
potash, and of acids, mainly malic
acid. The sap of the earlier flows is
water clear and transparent, and
possesses a clean, sweet flavor With
the advance of the season, however, it
undergoes a marked change. AS the
days grow warmer and night freezes
are less severe and less frequent, the
sap gradually becomes cloudy and
discolored and unpleasant fiavors de-
velop. Such sap, while usually con-
tanning only the normal amount of
acid, is popularly termed sour" 1t
rapidly deteriorates when stored even
70 ra few hours. Several types of sap
are recognized by sugar maxi
ers to which the descrip-
tive terms milky" "stringy," red
and particularly green" are COM
monty applied. Green sap is almost
always secured just before the close
of the season, when the leaf buds are
ready to open. 1t is popularity be-
lieved that the swelling of the buds
associated with the renewal of vege-
tative activity in the tissues of the
tree, is accompanied by change in
the composition of the sap within the
trunk; and that the alteration in color
and flavor are manifestations of this
change. The term buddy" is uni
versally used to describe this sort of
sap.
The syrup made from late runs is
much inferior to that derived from
the earlier flows. Last run" goods
are often very dark in color and usu~
ally lack the delicate flavor possess
ed by the best syrups. Moreover, the
quality of syrup varies markedly from
year to year and these varia-
ly from year to year and these varia-
tons are seldom local in distribution.
Such widespread fluctuations in
equality are not accidental but of nee
essity mast be associated with some
fundamental cause or causes. 1t is
conceivable that they may be related
to weather conditions, either during
the preceding summer or during the
progress Of the sugar season. 1t is
known, moreover, that inferior pro-
ducts result from carelessness and
lack of cleanliness.
Summary.
Maple sap as it occurs within the
tree is free from bacteria and other
heterogeneous.
AS the sap flows from the tree it be-
comes infected, in the taphole. spouts
and buckets, With wild yeasts, spores
of molds, and countless numbers OF
bacteria. This infection becomes in
creasingly heavy with the advance
of the sugar season and is the cause
of the "souring' of sap.
Some OF the types of hurt sap are
caused by the action of specific
groups of organisms. others may be
caused by the collective action of
many of the common forms.
Green sap and the resulting red
syrup are not to be attributed to the
swelling of the buds, but are caused
by the development OF particular
group of bacteria characterized by
green fluorescence
The dark color of the late run syr-
UP is due entirely to the action of
icro-organisms. If these are elm
mated, as light colored syrup may be
made from the last run as from the
first run.
The flavor of the syrups is also Sc
riously impaired by these agents. This
injury often becomes pronounced be-
fore marked change in color is pro-
duced. Buddy flavors also appear
to be due, at least in part, to the ac-
ton of microorganisms.
The quality of the product may be
improved by: % keeping the spours
and buckets thoroughly clean; (2)
using metal utensils in lieu of wood
, enones; CD gathering the sap al
short intervals and boiling it in al
once.
The Change of Letter.