OPERATING THE PLANT 



Sap will flow during favorable weather anytime after the leaves 

 have fallen in the autumn, but even though a warm spell should 

 occur during the autumn or winter no experienced sugar maker thinks 

 of tapping his trees. The proper time to tap varies from year to year 

 and in different latitudes. In Canada it seldom commences before 

 March and is not often delayed beyond the first of April. It should 



Fig. 18. A MODERN GATHERING TANK READY TO BE EMPTIED AT THE SUGAR HOUSE 



be done when indications point to warm, sunny days and frosty nights. 

 A sugar maker living in the Eastern Townships of Quebec kept a record 

 of tapping dates since 1884. During this period the earliest tapping- 

 date was in 1894 when it commenced on March 9th. The latest season 

 was in 1912 when tapping did not take place until the 9th of April. 

 In 1903 the season ended on April 2nd and in 1911 on April 26th. 

 which were the earliest and latest finishing dates on this farm. 



At the beginning of the season all the sugar utensils should be 

 cleaned even though they were well washed, dried and stacked away at 

 the close of the season before for the dust which collects during the 



