390 



FOREST PRODUCTS 



sugar orchards under such favorable conditions as large numbers of trees, 

 rather steep topography and a central location for the sugar house. 

 Narrow gauge railroads have been used, but this is an extreme refinement 

 which will never be adopted to any extent. 



Under ordinary conditions two men and one team work together. 

 This crew will gather the sap from 500 buckets per day, making two col- 

 lections during the day. The men pour the sap directly into gathering 

 buckets which are emptied into the tank on the sled. Gathering should 

 be done as frequently as possible and the sap should always be taken 

 up after from 2 to 4 qt. of sap flow. The leaving of sap in buckets too 

 long results in discolored sap, which means a low grade of syrup. 



It costs about $50 per season for gathering sap on a bush of 500 

 buckets. 



MANUFACTURE OF SYRUP AND SUGAR 



The Sugar House. 



In laying out a new operation, the first consideration is the location, 

 size and equipment of the sugar camp or sugar house and its cost. These 



FIG. 103. A typical sugar house in the "sugar bush." A large pile of dry wood is available 

 for heating the evaporator under the shed at the right. 



are determined, in turn, by the number of trees to be tapped. In an 

 orchard containing 500 buckets or more, it must be located with refer- 

 ence to the minimum length of sap haul on one of the principal woods 

 roads. The house should be placed on a well-drained slope to permit 

 the emptying of the gathering tank by gravity into the storage tank. 



