1851. 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



61 



from the trees, is the best contrivance. Fair roads 

 slioiild be cut all throup-h the sngar orchard, if it 

 be not completely under-brushed : and when a load 

 of sap is brought to tlie camp the reservoir sliould 

 stand a little lower than the sled, so that by pulling 

 a plug, or turning a faucet, all the sap in the hogs- 

 head on the sled will run without labor into the sto- 

 rage tub near the evaporating pans or kettles. To 

 carry sap in buckets on one's neck and shoulders 

 with a yoke, as many a reader has done, through deep 

 snow, seems very much like hard work. 



That side of a tree v/hich has the larger part of 

 the top, and grows most thriftily, with the biggest 

 roots, will yield the most sap, if properly tapped. If 

 one begins early, the south side is best, other things 

 being equal ; if late, the north side should be prefer- 

 red. There are many facts pertaining to the tlow of 

 sap, which are involved in much obscurity, such as 

 the influence of the wind, sunsliine, freezing at night, 

 fee, that somehow modify the ascent of liquid, and, 

 perhaps, the descent, in the vascular system, and the 

 evaporation of water at the terminal buds. Where 

 the sugar comes from, and how it is formed, are 

 quite as curious studies as the way in which its cir- 

 'Ij) culation is kept up before the tree has any leaves to 



h aid in the operation. 



jj], .We are not disposed to enter into either a physio- 

 logical or chemical discussion at this time, but aim 

 to give a few practical hints on sugar making. As 

 in the dairy business, one's kettles and utensils of 

 every name should be perfectly clean and sweet, and 

 the syrup should be settled ten or twelve hours be- 

 fore it becomes molasses, to remove all fine particles 

 of dirt which no cloth strainer can sepcrate. This, 

 with judicious skimming,*will give pure sugar, which 

 can be farther whitened by percolation, if desired. — 

 As the trees that yield this delicious sweet are cut 

 down, and fine maple sugar and syrup become scarce, 

 the price advances and their manufacture b^omes 

 more of an object. We have seen a good many tons 

 of good maple sugar sold at five cents a pound ; and 

 it was once thought a liberal price, when wheat 

 brought but thirty and forty cents in Western New 

 York. . 



Instead of having to dip cold sap into boilers, it is 

 much better to have a small stream constantly run- 

 ning from the reservoir into the kettles just equal to 

 the liquid driven oti' in vapor. In this way there is 

 little danger of the syrup boiling over and being 

 wasted, or burning on tiie sides of the kettles, and 

 no time is lost in bringing the liquid up to the point 

 of ebulition. To decide when the sugar is evapora- 

 ted enough to cake well, is a matter that experience 

 alone can teach. A plenty of dry wood, a comforta- 

 ble house, kettles well set in an arch, with conveni- 

 ences for filtering and settling syrup, and "sugaring 

 off," are all points not to be overlooked whei-e the 

 business is prosecuted to any extent. PVom 8,000 

 to 10,000 lbs. are the largest quantity that we have 

 ever known manufactured in one orchard in a season. 

 Mr. Marthkr, of Fairfield, Herkimer county, N. Y., 

 formerly, (about thiily years ago,) often realized 

 $1,000 for his sugar crop ; but of late years, the sac- 

 charine matter of sugar cane has nearly driven that 

 of the acer siicckannuin out of the market. Land 

 that bears a fine growth of rock maple is usually val- 

 uable for tillage, meadow and pasture ; and unskilful 

 tapping, in a few years, will nearly destroy any tree. 



Success is the child of courage and perseverance. 



COETNT-GROWINa. 



Messrs. ErnxoRs : — I have a desire to communicate 

 to you, and througb the medium of your valuable 

 paper to others, the method I have successfully prac- 

 ticed in growing corn for several years past — not 

 that I claim to have made any important discovery 

 in its cultivation, but simply to have combined and 

 practised the experience and recommendations of 

 men wis-^r and more experienced than myself. The 

 soil that I have tilled is a gravel loam. I have usu- 

 ally, for corn, turned over in the month of April, or 

 early in May, a clover sod, by plowing carefully and 

 deep — a little deeper than ever before plowed. I have 

 spread t!ie manure upon the ground before plowing, 

 I dig up the grass around the stumps and then tho'r- 

 onghly harrow until the surface is well pulverized 

 and mixed. To mark the land for planting, I have 

 used a ligiit j)ole about thirteen feet long, twelve feet 

 of which is divided into three equal spaces, four feet 

 apart, (the distance I have between the rows) and to 

 it I attach, by means of ropes, four pieces of chains 

 which I have found to make the best marks to follow 

 in planting-. Two men or boys, by each taking an 

 end of the pole, can mark both ways ready for plant- 

 ing, several acres in a day. The benefit of thus 

 marking I have found to be saving of time, straighter 

 rows, and a uniform distance between them, and also 

 the entire independence of the planters of each other, 

 so that boys who can plant only a part of a row and 

 keep up, can do so correctly. I grow the large dent 

 corn which is adapted to this climate. Four kernels 

 are usually dropped in each hill and slightly covered 

 with not more than two inches of earth. As soon as 

 the corn has come out of the ground so as to be seen 

 and follow the rows, I prepare a composition by mix- 

 ing equal parts of slaked lime, ashes, and plaster, of 

 which about a gill is dropped upon every hill of corn, 

 and which is quickly done by suspending a pail or 

 other vessel across the shoulders by a strap of leather 

 or rope, walking nearly erect, and with a small shin- 

 gle dip out of the vessel and throw it upon the grow- 

 ing corn. Should the leaves be open and the prepa- 

 tion drop into them it does not injure the corn. I 

 liave found this composition thus applied, to cause the 

 corn to grow rapidly and vigorously. And also what 

 to me has been a great benefit, crows have never 

 pulled up any after its application, although they had 

 began to pull before. As soo.«, as the rows could be 

 easily traced, I have gone between them with a horse, 

 and a culti\ator so constructed that alltiie earth was 

 moved and cleaned of whatever was growing, thirty- 

 five inches wide. The cultivator has fiat teeth shaped 

 like a common flat-iron, with a shank from the wide 

 end eighteen inches long, and fastened on the top of 

 the frame by screws and nuts. I have found that 

 passing once with it has been as effectual as twice 

 with any cultivator I had previously used. After 

 passing both ways through the corn as above men- 

 tioned, I leave it till about the first of June, when I 

 again go through the field in the same manner, and 

 then thoroughly clean the hills with the hoe and 

 hand, leaving the ground level. About the first of 

 July I again clean the hills, after having been through 

 as often as necessary with a horse and cultivator. 

 The average yield per acre, in favorable seasons, 

 when harvested, has been one hundred, or morg, bu. 

 good sound ears of corn, Tlie cultivator is gaged 

 by a wheel so that it can be used without disturbing 

 the sod. The benefits of level culture I have found 



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