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AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK 134, U.S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 



Figure 40. — Float valve assembly and vacuum (suction) 

 line. 



back; they had to be installed with great care so 

 that there would be no sags in the line. Sags in 

 pipes permitted the sap to lie there and, when a 

 freeze occurred, the ice formed would often 

 burst the pipe. Sags in troughs permitted the 

 sap to overflow. In addition, metal pipe was 

 hard to clean. Since metal pipes are opaque, 

 there is no simple means to determine when 

 they are clean. Nevertheless, the saving in time 

 and labor made possible by these earlier pipe- 

 line systems justified their use. 



Suimnai*y 



(1) Collecting sap by hand and hauling it is the 

 most expensive operation of sirupmaking. 

 Examine all steps and introduce laborsav- 

 ing methods where possible. 



PN^737 



Figure il. — Use of pipelines to carry sap over impassable 

 areas saves time. With a lateral system of dumping 

 stations, collecting tanks can be eliminated in some 

 locations. The pipeline also makes accessible some 

 sugar groves that would be impossible to reach by 

 tractor or truck. 



PN^738 

 Figure 42.— When the sugar grove is at a higher elevation 

 than the evaporator house, the pipeline carries sap 

 from dumping stations at the edge of the sugar grove 

 to the evaporator house. This eliminates long and 

 costly hauls of sap. 



(2) Wherever possible, use pipelines to trans- 

 port the sap. 



Do not collect spoiled sap. Do not allow 

 small runs of sap to remain in the buckets. 

 Do not spill sap when pouring it into collect- 

 ing pails and tanks. This can account for a 

 10-percent loss. 



(5) Use as large a collecting tank as possible to 

 avoid repeated hauls. 



(6) Use a -pump or vacuum to fill the tank. 



(7) When vacuum is used, be sure the tank is 

 internally braced to withstand the high ex- 

 ternal pressures. 



(8) Keep all equipment sanitary at all times. 



(3) 



(4) 



