1861. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



561 



run off too thin, or be in danger of burning — and 

 as most of us have the sap to gather, and a stock 

 of cattle to take care of, it is very difficult to give 

 it the proper attention. But -whether Cook's 

 Evaporator or the common sap pans are used, 

 the first thing to be done is to select a location 

 for the "Sugar Camp." Whether this be located 

 in the sugar orchard or near the dwelling, will 

 depend on circumstances ; but as a general rule, 

 for a moderate business, I prefer the latter ; not 

 near enough, however, to create danger from fire. 

 If possible, the ground should slope sufficiently 

 to admit of drawing the sap from the gathering 

 tub into the store tub through a siphon, and from 

 that to the pans by a faucet, and if a solid rock 

 foundation is at hand for the arch, by all means 

 take advantage of it. Sufficient shelter ought to 

 be provided for fuel, boiling apparatus, storage 

 and buckets. If rock cannot be had, the founda- 

 tion for the arch should be made by removing the 

 earth, and filling in small stones to a depth 

 and size sufficient to avoid all heaving by frost, 

 and if there is any chance for water, it will be 

 necessary to guard still farther by thorough drain- 

 ing. To ensure durability, the arch must have 

 the walls one foot in thickness, if built of brick, 

 ■which is the best material. For convenience in 

 saving the ashes, it is well to have the bottom 

 covered with flat stone, or, rather coarse gravel. 



For the manufacture of 1500 or 2000 pounds a 

 year, a neighbor has a very good apparatus, con- 

 sisting of two pans, each 47 by 20 inches on the 



oa 



o o o o o o c 

 o o o o o o o 



O O O O O o o 

 O O O O O O O 



o o o o o o o 



Fig. 1. 



o, small tube for drawing o£f the sap into the pans. 6, larger 

 lube to prevent the possibility of the sap boiling over. 



bottom, and 6 inches deep, and a heater, (Fig. 1,) 

 the lower part reaching across the arch (12 inch- 

 es,) and 13 by 13 width and depth, with 35 1| 

 inch tubes for the passage of smoke, and the top, 

 which is about the same height, flaring to 18 by 

 24 inches. 



These pans are lapped on the brick-work 2h 

 inches on each side, and supported at the ends 

 by cast iron plates made for the purpose, and have 

 a fire-box under them 12 inches deep. I should 

 have stated that these pans were placed over the 

 same fire-box, ends together, and the heater be- 

 tween the last pan and the chimney. The arch 

 has a cast iron mouth, with a door 14 by 12^ 

 inches for fuel, and one 10 by 12, opening into 

 the ash pit, which extends under the whole of the 

 grate, the latter being composed of five separate 

 bars, each 4 feet long, and 2 inches wide by 3 



FiQ. 2. 



deep. The lower door serves to regulate the 

 draft. The sap is conducted from a faucet in the 

 store tub through a wooden spout, with a strain- 

 er attached, into the heater, and from a spout a 

 few inches below the top of the heater into the 

 back pan, and a small siphon (Fig. 2,) carries it 

 to the other pan ; the end of 

 this siphon must be bent up- 

 ward a little, or it will fill 

 with steam. Perhaps I should 

 add, the heater is made of tin, 

 and one of the size described costs about $11. If 

 it is desirable to leave, for any great length of 

 time, it is easy to supply its place with a lid, and 

 conduct the sap directly into the pans. Having 

 disposed of that portion of the work, which 

 should be done at this season, I will take a look 

 at the other apparatus. 



The most common form of bucket is that of a 

 common pail, made of pine, with a piece of sheet 

 iron to hang it up by. There are some advanta- 

 ges and some disadvantages in this form. ITiey 

 are readily packed together for storage or trans- 

 portation, and the ice can easily be removed when 

 they accidentally become frozen up, but on the 

 other hand they catch much more water in storms 

 and more leaves and dust in high winds, than if 

 made smallest at the top. In purchasing, those 

 which are thoroughly painted with genuine oil 

 paint, and do not shrink in dry weather so as to 

 leave cracks, should be selected, and I prefer 

 those having three hoops and holding about two 

 quarts more than a common "shaker pail," as 

 some very good trees will yield sap enough, some- 

 times, in twelve hours, to fill a four gallon bucket. 

 Spouts are now made of white birch, or some 

 similar wood turned and bored. For tapping the 

 trees, we use Cook's bit, manufactured by Lam- 

 son, Goodnow & Co., Shelburne Falls, Mass., an 

 illustration of which may be seen in Todd's 

 Young Farmer's Manual. These bits do their 

 work easier and smoother than the common bit, 

 but their greatest superiority for this work arises 

 from the readiness with which different sizes fol- 

 low each other, as we can begin with a 7-16 bit, 

 and when the trees begin to dry up, can follow 

 with 8-10 and again with 9-16 and 10-16, if we 

 wish, thus keeping up the flow of sap for a long 

 time. 



For hanging the bucket, we use hooks made of 

 the form and size of the annexed drawing. [While 

 the engravings were going on, this hook was un- 

 intentionally omitted.] They are made long to 

 allow the lower part to rest against the tree, and 

 do not require driving in as far as shorter ones ; 

 and here I take the liberty to say that no man 

 will use common cut nails for this purpose, unless 

 he retains a spice of barbarism in his manner of 

 doing business. By the way, there is a difference 

 of opinion about the effect of driving hooks into 

 the trees, some contending that it causes no ap- 

 preciable damage, and others that it is equal to 

 putting in an extra spout, and consequently they 

 prefer hanging on the spouts, the disadvantage of 

 which is, the spouts must be tapered longer and 

 driven harder, diminishing the flow of sap to 

 some extent. 



An inspection of some of our sugar orchards 

 will show that it is not superfluous to say that all 

 the work must be done in a neat and workmanlike 

 manner ; the spouts should point a little down- 



