THE MAPLES. 201 



or stormy weather, or before the temperate genial 



warmth which is usually brought by the south wind, 

 is considered by some sugar-makers an ill-advised pro- 

 ceeding: the weather must be neither too hot nor too 

 cold to obtain the best flow of sap. 



The methods employed to-day in the making of 

 sugar are quite scientific compared with those in 

 practice twenty years ago. A patent evaporator, 

 with an infinite length of trough through which the 

 sap flows,* now takes the place of the long pan over 

 the bricked-in log fire. Also, in place of the wooden 

 tap or spout for the tree, a new galvanized iron one 

 (which does not clog up the pores) is in common use. 

 The sap is evaporated to a certain point in the pro- 

 duction of sirup, and it passes through a process of 

 still greater evaporation in the making of sugar.f 

 In my own judgment, the sugar made by the old- 

 fashioned, boiling-down method possesses the high- 



* The passage of sap through the trough to the necessary point 

 of evaporation is about two hours. There is also a partitioned 

 pan now in use, the principle of which is similar to that of the 

 evaporator. 



f One hundred eight-quart bucketfuls of sap are boiled about 

 sixteen hours in the production of sirup, and about twenty hours 

 in the production of sugar. The test is made by stirring and cool- 

 ing some of the boiled sap in a saucer: if it granulates and adheres 

 to the spoon and saucer the process is completed ; also, some of 

 the sap is dropped on snow or ice, and if tins becomes " like glass," 

 the proper point is reached. 



