30 



apt to be mixed with dirt, or to turn sour and contaminate the later 

 flow. The sap runs very clear at first, but as the season advances it 

 shows a tendency to darken. The most probable explanation of this 

 is the oxidation that takes place about the hole. 



DEPTH OF TAP HOLES. 



The relation of the depth of the tap hole to the amount of sap 

 secured has been much discussed. A nearly uniform depth of about 

 1 inch is now used by professional sugar makers. The sap is found 

 almost entirely in the sap wood, which in the mature maple is con- 

 fined to about twenty-five or thirty annual rings, or from 2 to 3 

 inches of the outer wood, according to the tree. The great bulk of the 

 sap, however, is confined to the outer ten or fifteen rings of growth. 

 The increased cost of deep boring is not offset by the increased yield, 

 while the injury to the tree is considerably greater. The sap also is 

 of darker color and considered inferior by sugar makers. 



The first requisite for transporting sap to the sugarhouse is a 

 good system of roads throughout the sugar bush (p. 15). In some 

 respects sap is as delicate a product as milk, and the method of bring- 

 ing it from the tree to the storage tank must be rapid and systematic. 

 In small groves the carrying can be done by hand, of course, or with 

 the old shoulder yoke, but with larger operations the transportation 

 must be effected by horses, steam power, or gravity, and must be 

 fully organized. 



If the grove be of moderate size (from 15 to 25 acres), teams may be 

 used to haul the sap in a gathering tank (fig. 6, No. 7) on sledges or 

 stone boats. The labor of carrying the sap by hand to the hauling 

 tank will be in proportion to the number of roads and their proximity 

 to the trees. The tank should be metallic, but if of wood it should 

 be painted white on the outside, to keep the sap cooler and prevent 

 souring. When the grove is situated on a steep hillside it will often 

 pay to run a pipe line, with receiving funnels at regular intervals, 

 for the conveyance of the sap to a lower storage tank or directly 

 to the sugarhouse. The storage tank should be of tin or galvanized 

 iron, encased with wood and covered, to keep the sap cool and to 

 prevent it from freezing. Every practicable precaution should be 

 taken to keep the sap in good condition and free from impurities. 

 As it is very sensitive to changes in the weather, and is likely to sour 

 if it becomes heated, it should be collected regularly, and as soon as 

 possible after it has left the tree. Some sugar makers begin to 

 gather sap as soon as there is a quart or so in each bucket, even at 

 the expense of going over the ground twice in a single day. The 

 gathering tank should have a strainer over the mouth, and the 

 storage tank should be kept at an even temperature, even if it must 

 be cooled with ice during a sudden period of heat. Often during the 



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