230 The Farm Woodlot 



frequently placed in one tree so close together that the sap 

 will flow into one bucket. This is not advisable, since it 

 may injure the tree. Only the very largest trees should 

 have more than one spout. Small trees should not be 

 tapped. 



COLLECTING SAP 



When a few trees only are tapped, the sap may be collected 

 in buckets and carried to the farm house. When a large 

 number of trees are tapped, a tank holding two or more 

 barrels and hauled on a stoneboat can be used. One or 

 more clean, wooden barrels will serve the same purpose. 

 The sap should be gathered each day. The sooner and 

 faster the sap is boiled after it leaves the tree, the better 

 is the sirup. 



BOILING THE SAP 



A large sugar bush will require a boiling house with 

 special boiling and evaporating apparatus. The average 

 farmer's woodlot will, as a rule, have less than one hun- 

 dred trees suitable for tapping, so that the sap can easily 

 be boiled over a stove in an outhouse, or in a covered kettle 

 in a shed. An open shed with a roof is not necessary, 

 but in bad weather it is a great convenience. The kettle 

 should be kept covered so as to keep windblown ashes 

 and dust out of the boiling sap. Boiling is frequently 

 done in the woods by using open kettles or pans. 



MAKING SIRUP 



In boiling, the impurities rise to the surface in the form 

 of a scum which should be removed with a perforated metal 

 skimmer. As the sap becomes concentrated, a mineral 

 substance may form and float in the sirup or be deposited 



