40 THE PKODUCTION OF MAPLE SIRUP AND SUGAR. 



MOLDING. 



Wooden molds are used almost altogether for large-sized cakes and 

 tin for the smaller ones. A very convenient kind for large-sized 

 cakes is a wooden box with the sides clamped, so that when the sugar 

 is molded the sides can be removed. By having the sides grooved, 

 sheets of wood or metal can be inserted and smaller cakes made from 

 the same mold. 



The mold should be dry and warm. If the mold is wet, the cake 

 of sugar will not be of uniform color; if cold, the cake is likely 

 to stick at the sides, causing the sugar to harden there and be soft 

 on the inside. 



GRAINED OR STIRRED SUGAR. 



Grained maple sugar derives its name from the fact that it is 

 concentrated to a high degree, then stirred continuously during cool- 

 ing. A mold is not used. The finished product is, as a rule, dry 

 and somewhat lumpy, resembling the ordinary commercial brown 

 sugar in appearance, but, of course, retaining its maple taste. In 

 color it varies from a nearly white to a dark brown. It has been 

 used as a table preparation. 



STOEAGE OF MAPLE SUGAR. 



Like brown sugar, maple sugar does not keep well in a moist 

 atmosphere. It tends to absorb water, molds rather quickly, and 

 if finished at too low a temperature the sugar is soft and the liquid 

 portion drains out. Therefore sugar which is to be stored should 

 always be boiled to a high temperature. After being taken from 

 the molds it can be wrapped in paper, but should not be put in cov- 

 ered containers unless these are absolutely sealed. It is best to store 

 the sugar in a warm room of even temperature. If the cakes are 

 staled without access to air, a cold place can be used, but in no case 

 should the storage room be damp. 



ECONOMIC CONSIDERATIONS. 



CARE OF APPARATUS. 



When the .buddy sap has started to run and no more high-grade 

 maple products can be produced it is time to close the season of 

 manufacture. The buckets should be removed from the tree and 

 stood upside down on the ground to dry in the sunshine. The 

 better makers wash them, while many claim that the last sap is good 

 to leave in the buckets, as it prevents rusting. After they are thor- 

 oughly dry they should be stacked in piles and put in the sugar 

 house, barn, or other shelter away from the rain. In stacking., rope 

 or straw should be placed between the buckets, so that they will not 

 fit tight in one another. This method is of great assistance when 

 taking the stack down at the beginning of the next season, gome 

 buckets have a bulged circle around them, which does not allow the 

 buckets to become wedged together in stacking. After the spouts 

 have been removed, care being taken not to break the bark of the 



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