22 THE PRODUCTION OF MAPLE SIRUP AND SUGAR. 



generalty placed on the ground and not suspended to the tree they 

 cause a considerable loss of sap. 



Wooden buckets were formerly used almost universally and are 

 still used quite extensively. As a rule they are heavy and do not 

 hang well on spouts or they require a nail to be driven in the tree 

 below the spout to hang on. The latter practice has been mentioned 

 as inadvisable. Wooden buckets are a great care to the maker to 

 keep the hoops tight to prevent their falling to pieces or causing 

 loss of the sap from their leaking. Other points against their 

 use are the large space they occupy in storage between seasons and 

 the difficulty of keeping them clean; the sap enters the wood and, 

 besides extracting coloring matters and flavors, they soon become 

 sour when the warm days come. To prevent these conditions 

 makers who use this form of buckets paint them on the outside, and 

 in many cases on the inside, during the summer or fall. (The kinds 

 of paint used are taken up later.) By this means the pores of the 

 wood are filled and the wood preserved from decay. Most makers 

 are replacing their wooden buckets as they become useless with some 

 form of metal buckets, although there are a few who retain them, 

 believing they impart a pleasing flavor to the sirup. 



The most satisfactory buckets are of metal, practically free from 

 corrosion or rust, and fitting well to the tree. They are light in 

 weight, yet strong, not easily dented, are readily cleaned and easily 

 stacked away in a small space after the season closes. As to the 

 metal composing the bucket, the finest, no doubt, would be aluminum, 

 but the expense is too great. The heavy tin plate comes next, with 

 the lighter tin plate coming in order, then the gal vani zed-iron 

 buckets. One form that is certainly objectionable is the " terne- 

 plate " bucket. " Terne plate " is iron coated with a mixture of tin 

 and lead in about equal parts. The objection to the lead is readily 

 understood. For the same reason there is objection to a bucket that 

 is soldered on the inside. The seams should be turned, and, if sol- 

 dered, this should be on the outside, so that the sap does not come in 

 contact with it. Objection has also been raised to galvanized buckets 

 in that they soon begin to peel, leaving the iron surface to rust. 



The widely flaring bucket, such as the ordinary tin water bucket, 

 is not a good form. One with a gentle slope is better, as it gives 

 greater surface in contact with the tree, but still has enough slope 

 to allow stacking. There should be a stout w T ire turned under the 

 metal forming the rim, to give strength. Such buckets can be pur- 

 chased in sizes of 8, 10, and 12 quarts. Some makers prefer the 

 straight-sided buckets, and in such cases three sizes that easily nest, 

 namely, 11, 13, and 15 quarts, should be bought. 



These buckets may be obtained without handles. A round hole 

 of an inch or less is made in the side just under the rim, and by 

 means of this hole or a wire loop through it the bucket is suspended 

 from the spout. If care has been exercised in the selection of the 

 place of tapping the tree, there will be no need of driving a nail to 

 keep the bucket in position. 



One great advantage of the metal bucket is the ease with which 

 it may be cleaned. All parts are easily reached and there is no 

 danger of sap remaining to sour at a later date. 



516 



