1903 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



403 



What can be nicer for old people who en- 

 joy these thing's than a pretty little camp, 

 with all the things nicely cared for, to await 

 sufjar-ma kins' each spring-? We are going^ 

 to put away every thing, when the season 

 closes, so it will be ready for use next time; 

 and if ice are not living when "springtime" 

 comes again, it will be ready for some of 

 the children or grandchildren who have in- 

 herited from us a love of the country and 

 the woods. 



In view of keeping every thing in apple- 

 pie order, our sugar-house is made so it may 

 be closed up tight during summer and win- 

 ter. The sheet-iron smoke-stack slips off 

 just below the roof (inside); and after it is 

 stored in the dry in the loft, a door shuts 

 down and closes the hole in the roof. The 

 cupola, made to let out the steam from the 

 steaming-pans, also has two horizontal 

 doors to close up, so snow can not drift in, 

 in the winter time. These doors are wide 

 open when boiling, unless a severe storm 

 makes it needful to close one or more of them. 



In closing, I take pleasure in giving a 

 letter from the Champion people that touches 

 upon some important points. 



.l/>-. A. I. Root: — We are much pleased with the 

 report of your experience of manufacturing maple 

 svrup. It "seems you are getting on to the job all 

 right; however, there ate a few points, or, rather, a 

 few questi )ns, that I can answer that will no doubt be 

 a benefit to you. 



(jur card of directions is all we have to send out to 

 our patrons, but we are always ready to give explana- 

 tions as far as we are able, where questions are asked. 



In regard to bucket-covers, they might be a little 

 handier in gathering if there were no bails, but the 

 object of the bail is to keep them from blowing off the 

 pail, as frequently you have a rainstorm with pretty 

 sirong wind 



We will now explain to you how to operate the felt 

 strainer : Of course, before using, it should be thor- 

 oughly wet in clear water. The syrup-maker should 

 have a can for a settling-can. which is of pretty good 

 height and the strainer is hooked on to a little wood- 

 en frame which lies across the settling-can. After 

 the syr\ip has been strained through the felt strainer 

 until it becomes filled up. and the syrup does not run 

 freely, it should be taken off and laid in the front pan 

 in the evaporator. In large rigs, or where there are 

 large bushes, there should be two felt strainers for 

 use. While the sweet is boiling out of the one la.st 

 used, place the other one in position for use When 

 you wish to make the change, take the one out of the 

 pan. turn it wrong side out, and rinse thoroughlj' in 

 clear water and wring it out, and it is ready for use. 

 Thus, you see, they are easily cleaned and you do not 

 lose anv of the sweet. 



Your'idea. we take it, is to can your syrup hot. We 

 do not consider that necessary. We do that gener- 

 ally when the syrup is cool, and perhaps we can 

 give you a ])ointer in canning syrup. The syrup-cans 

 are generally made a trifle large, so that, when syrup 

 is done to weigh 11 pounds to an even gallon measure- 



the boiling sap. I said to myself, " I.ct millionaires 

 have their luxurious dwellings and fine appointments; 

 let the aristocracy have Iheir gold and silver and dia- 

 monds, with their fine clothing, dining-rooms, etc. I 

 would rather have my ' cabin in the woods,' with my 

 little -sug-rcamp out here in the darkness of the 

 night, than any of these things that the great world 

 craves and delights in — at least I iM//i<95^ men delight 

 in these things or else they would not sacrifice so 

 much for them." It makes me think of the old poem: 



Cleon dwellcth in a palace, 



In a cottaKC I ; 

 Cleon hath a score of doctors. 



Not a one have I. 



There is another verse that I can not recall ; but the 

 ending is — 



" Happier man am I," 

 and I think that fits my case exactly. 



ment, it will not fill the can; but it is not necessary to 

 fill the can entirely full. Put in one gallon of syiup; 

 set tlie can a little on a tilt, with the corner where the 

 screw top is the highest, then plqce the screw top over 

 the nozzle and press in on the sides of the can 

 until the syrup flows over the nozzle a trifle; hold 

 it there until you screw down the top so that it is 

 entirely tight. You will have, by running the syrup 

 over the nozzle a trifle, a double seal. You will 

 have your 'seal in the top of the screw top; you 

 also screw the top down into the syrup, which 

 makes it doubly sealed, and you will readily see, 

 by pressing in the can until the syrup runs over 

 the nozzle a trifle, that you have every particle of air 

 out of the can. That is a very important point in can- 

 ning syrup. Syrup canned in this way, ai d stored in 

 a cool dark place, will hold its flavor for a long time. 



The point of gathering your sap and boiling it in at 

 once is correct. 



Another important point, have your buckets secure- 

 ly covered, so that you will get iio rain water mixed 

 with the sap; and when the syrup is finished and 

 stiained through the felt strainer, although you may 

 let your strained syrup settle in the settling-can, there 

 will be but a trifle of sediment even in the bottom of 

 the can, when the syrup is turned out. People having 

 a quantity of syrup to can should have a little box 

 made on purpose to set the can in, which will hold it 

 in proper position, and work with a little lever and 

 press the sides in. 



We are glad to note that the syrup season has not 

 ended and that you still have prospects to experiment 

 to some extent as yet. It seems singular that syrup- 

 makers in that section have already gathered their 

 buckets, as it would not seem to us that, in that north- 

 ern climate, the buds had started so as to injure the 

 syrup. 



The .syrup in our section this season has been merely 

 nothing: but we have been informed, by parties in 

 Wiscousin, that they are having an excellent sugar 

 season in those northern climates. 



We saw a statement in the papers a day or two ago, 

 that estimated the loss of the sugar-makers in North- 

 ern Ohio at five hundred and fifiy thousand dollars. 



In regard to piping your sap down the hill, we 

 would say we never had any per.sonal experience; but 

 we know of several parties that run their sap down 

 hill through galvanized gaspipe. 



Mr. A. A. IvOw. of New York, is operating some 50,000 

 trees in the Adirondacks, and he pipes pretty much 

 all of his sap down the mountain, into the valleys. 



If you should pipe this down and connect your pip- 

 ing with the regi later on the evaporator, we wouid 

 suppose it would be nice to have your storage-tank at 

 the top of the hill. We see no reason why you could 

 not connect your piping with storage-tank at the top 

 of the hill, and attach the same to the regulator on 

 your evaporator. 



Y'ou would have to keep a close watch on your tank, 

 however, and not let the sap run low unexpectedly. 

 If the sap all ran out j-ou might burn your pan unless 

 y< u were watching it. 



In regard to storage-tanks, we do not agree with 

 you that they should not be made of galvanized iron. 

 It is no detriment to the sap, as it is never heated in 

 the tank, but galvanized pans for boiling sap we most 

 decidedly object to. Champion Evapor.^tor Co. 



Hudson, Ohio. 



With the present good prices for maple 

 syrup I think we can well afford to look 

 after our groves of maple-trees Some time 

 these beautiful trees may be planted for this 

 purpose; but at present there are thousands 

 of pieces of woodland where beautiftil sugar- 

 camps may be made in a comparatively 

 short time by cutting out the other timber. 

 Every sugar-maker has noticed the extra 

 quantity as well as quality (sweetness) 

 from trees in or on the edge of a clearing. 

 Cutting otit every thing else, or, if not quite 

 that, cutting out all undergrowth of no 

 value, will very soon make a wonderful dif- 

 ference in the thriftiness of the maples. If 

 a tree dies now and then, it makes the best 

 firewood in the world; and with prices from 

 S2.00 to S2.50 for a cord of 18-inch wood 

 (during the past winter it has sold for that 



