MAPLE SAP STUDIES 



BY FRED W. MORSE 



The studies of maple-sap, begun three years ago by Professor 

 Wood and myself, were continued thisseasou with the assistance 

 of Mr. Edward P. Stone. 



The time which could be given to the work this year was 

 devoted to the consideration of two problems, viz., the variation 

 in composition and flow of sap during the season, and the dif- 

 ferences in sap from the outer and inner layers of wood. The 

 experiments were coufiued to five sugar maples (Acer saccharin - 

 um) because it was impracticable to handle auy more samples 

 of sap than these five involved. The trees were designated 

 respectively by the numbers, 5, 8, 10, 11 and 12. 



Numbers 8 and 11 were tapped in the usual manner followed 

 by sugar-makers, by boring in the south side of the trunk about 

 three feet from the ground, a hole two inches deep and three- 

 eighths of an inch in diameter. Eureka spouts were inserted 

 in the holes and the sap was collected in covered tin buckets. 



The trees were situated about ten rods apart on opposite sides 

 of a highway running east and west. They were nearly the 

 same size with trunks measuring a little less than seven feet in 

 circumference and well developed tops with many branches. 

 Number 8 stood on the south side of the road and number 11 on 

 the north side. 



The tapping was done on March 11, but the sap did not flow 

 until March 13. The weather was variable during the entire 

 term of bleeding and there was but one period during which the 

 sap ran freely on successive days. This period was from April 

 4 to April 7. 



The whole season was characterized by blustering winds 

 alternating with rain or snow. The ground was entirely thawed 

 by rains on April 8 and 9, and the flow of sap from these trees 



