MAPLE SYRUP AND SUGAR 



389 



Gathering was formerly done entirely by hand, the men going from 

 tree to tree with buckets into which the new sap was poured from the 

 pails hanging on the trees. This was a slow and laborious method and 

 with the development of larger commercial operations, especially in 

 sugar groves where the number of trees tapped range from looo or more, 

 a gathering tank of from 25 to 160 gal. capacity is placed on a sled which 



Photograph bi/ V. S. Forest Service. 



Fig. 102. — A recent development in the maple sugar and syrup industry — a pipe line to 

 conduct the sap directly from the forest to the sugar house. Note also the modem 

 covered buckets. 



is drawn about by a team. The gathering tank should be of metal, 

 preferably of tin or galvanized iron and provided with some form of 

 strainer at the top to keep out such impurities as leaves, twigs, etc., 

 and also to prevent the contents from spilling out. Haul roads are laid 

 out on a systematic basis with reference to reaching the largest number 

 of trees from the coves and draws and with reference to the location 

 of the sugar house. Pipe lines are now used to some extent in the larger 



