AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
37 
Maple Sugar Making- 
In response to our request last month, we have 
received a large number of valuable and season¬ 
able communications, all of which we would 
gladly publish did sp ice allow so much on one 
topic. We give the following articles, and in our 
next we will make room for one or two more of 
those now on hand. Correspondents will please 
accept our thanks for their valuable favors. 
To the Editor of the American Agriculturist. 
In response to your solicitation for practical in¬ 
formation relative to the making of sugar from 
the maple I offer my mite. It is well known that 
Maple Sugar is one of the staple productions of 
the Western portion of the “ Southern Tier” of 
New-York It has of course, been a matter of 
no little interest to our farmers to manufacture in 
the best manner, both as to quality, and economy, 
an article of so much importance, and many have 
promptly adopted the means and appliances which 
ingenuity has suggested and experience proved 
worthy. The first premium awarded at the late 
State Fair, was given for an article made in 
Allegany County. In offering a statement of the 
process and implements used, I give those adopt¬ 
ed and used by those that are engaged somewhat 
extensively in sugar making, and who make a 
very superior article. 
In tapping, a | or i auger bit is used, making 
the hole li or 2 inches deep. The spout is 
made of hard wood, four or five inches long, a 
hole borevl with a small bit through its length, and 
turned in a lathe, one end to fit the hole made by 
the bit in the tree, and the other with a head, over 
which the wire loop attached to one edge of the 
bucket, is slipped and held. The end of the spout 
is made quite tapering, or “ stunt” as it is some.- 
times termed, so as to fill the hole perfectly tight 
at its entrance in the bark of the tree. This al¬ 
lows all the sap to pass through the spout, and 
prevents its escape otherwise. To “ freshen” an¬ 
other hole is bored and another spout inserted 
near the first, so that the same bucket receives 
the sap from both. 
The buckets are usually made of pine, hooped 
with ash or iron, and sometimes the outside 
is painted. On one side at the upper edge of 
the bucket, a wire loop is inserted, just large 
enough to pass over the end of the spout after it 
is firmly driven into the tree, by which the bucket 
is hung. This dispenses with the sheet iron or 
tin spout, the gouge, and the nail. Many furnish 
covers to each bucket, which are made from blocks 
of pine, sawed of the proper length, from which 
thin pieces are riven with a shingle frow. On one 
side or edge of these thin pieces a notch is cut, 
through which, when properly placed on the buck¬ 
et, the sap drops from the spout. This cover ex¬ 
cludes all rain and snow, leaves and bark. When 
the “ Sugar Camp” is inclosed, (and all should 
be,) and all kinds of stock excluded, the bucket 
should be hung near the ground, but otherwise, 
they may be hung out of the reach of sheep and 
swine, and reasonably from cattle. 
The boiling is done in sheet iron pans, made by 
the tinner, usually of two or three sheets joined 
by rivets, the sides and ends turned up five 
inches, a heavy wire around the upper edge in 
the manner of a dripping pan. Iron loops are 
rivetted on at proper distances to serve as handles. 
Three of these pans placed on a well constructed 
arch, the two back pans placed each its hight 
higher than the one immediately before it, small 
fau ets placed in the two rear pans so that the 
back one may be discharged into the one next for¬ 
ward it, and that into the front one is found to be 
• great convenience. 
A large store tub, placed so that it will stand its 
whole hight above the upper or back pan, should 
be provided with a good cover, a good faucet and 
spout reaching from the tub to the pan. By the 
faucet and spout the sap may flow from the store 
tub to the upper pan, and from that to the second, 
and so to the third or front pan. The supply 
may be regulated by the faucets in each, so that the 
flow to all will be regular and sufficient. For 
gathering, a sled should be provided with a 
moderate sized tub firmly fastened upon it, which 
tub should have the upper head placed four or five 
inches below the upper end. Two 2-inch holes 
should be bored through this head, ingathering, 
a team attached to the sled passes along the roads 
that traverse the camp at proper intervals, the sap 
is taken from the buckets in pails, and poured on 
the upper head of the gathering tub, and passes 
through the holes until the tub is full. It is then 
drawn to the proper place to be discharged into 
the store tub. The discharge is through an incb- 
and-a-fourth hole in the bottom of the gathering 
tub, by a spout reaching to the top of the store 
tub. It will be seen that the ground where 
the “ camp” is built, should be uneven, so that 
the store tub may be placed above the highest 
pan on the arch, and the gathering tub when stand¬ 
ing on the sled ready to discharge may stand a lit¬ 
tle above the top of the store tub. The discharge 
from the gathering tub is closed by a long “ plug" 
which passes through one of the 2-inch holes 
in the upper head into the 1$ hole in the bottom 
The spout from the gathering tub should be well 
made,with the end receiving the discharge tightly 
covered, and a hole through the cover large enough 
to receive the discharge and not waste. This 
spout is placed on the sled-runner and easily and 
firmly secured. 
When the season is somewhat advanced, the 
weather warm, and the buds begin to grow, it is 
often difficult to make sugar. This difficulty 
is obviated by.putting a spoonful of quick lime in 
each bucket. The sap again becomes sweet, and 
the syrup granulates freely and is quite as white 
and pleasant as ever. In “sugaring off” the 
syrup is carefully strained into a medium sized 
cauldron kettle, and carefully reduced until it be¬ 
comes sugar, some adding milk, or other sub¬ 
stances to “ cleanse,” and others rejecting it en¬ 
tirely. Indeed, when covers are used on the 
buckets, the gathering and store tubs, the pans 
well placed on a well constructed arch under co¬ 
ver, and the whole process conducted with the ut¬ 
most neatness and order, the “ cleansing process” 
is quite unnecessary. 
The cost of bucket and spouts is $12£ to $15 
per hundred, according to materials and workman¬ 
ship ; pans, $3, to $5 each, according to size, and 
quality of materials. Iron bound pine buckets 
are preferable to tin, and cost much less. The 
pans made entirely of iron, in the manner 
described, are far better than those with wood 
sides, less liable to leak, easier kept clean, sweet¬ 
er, and more easy to handle. The cost for the 
same size and quality of iron is not materially 
more. 
With this suit of apparatus, perfect cleanliness 
may attend the whole process, the sap and syrup 
are not stained, embittered, nor soured by a 
combination of sap, rain, snow, bark, leaves, buds, 
coal, and ashes. An article is readily and 
economically produced, almost rivaling the snow 
in whiteness and purity, pleasant to the sight, and 
exceedingly pleasant to the taste, as I hope you 
may have the opportunity of testing, when 
“ Fair handed Spring unbosoms every grace.” 
S. Scudder. 
Randolph, Cattaraugus Co., N Y. Jan 2, 1858. 
Further on Maple Sugar Making. 
To the Editor of the American Agriculturist. 
My experience leads me to differ somewhat 
from your correspondent in the January Agricul¬ 
turist. By using spouts made of pine, with a hole 
burned through, or sumach with the pith removed, 
and properly tapered at one end to fit the hole, I 
save the labor of re-tapping or “ freshening,” for 
if the sun and air are well excluded from the in¬ 
terior surface it will not dry up or coat over; 
while tin or iron quarter circles, as recommended 
by Mr. H., leave the hole open and fully exposed 
to sun and air. The spout need not be more than 
three inches long if the buckets are hung up, except 
in case of using one bucket for two or more spouts, 
when longer ones will be useful. Pail handles, 
such as are ordinarily used on tin pails form ex¬ 
cellent and very cheap spouts where they can be 
procured, and they might be turned to order to fit 
any required bit. 
I prefer turned buckets of pine, or still better of 
cedar, the size of common water pails, fitted with 
a sheet iron “ ear ” upon the outside, to hold it to 
the tree upon whatever is driven into it, for which 
1 recommend a piece of £ or 3-16 inch wire sharp¬ 
ened at one end Properly ground, a wire can be 
driven into a tree without causing the too frequent 
“ bleeding ” which often follows where nails are 
used, and there is no head to catch the ear. This 
bleeding is not only an eye-sore, but is very inju¬ 
rious to the tree, and lessens the quantity of sap 
secured. These buckets can be procured, painted 
and eared ready for use, at any pail factory, at a 
cost of from 15 to 18 cents each, and are superior 
to tin , in that they will stand much more rough 
usage and banging about, will last longer, and cost 
only one third as much 
Pans for boiling should be made of Russia iron 
bent up six inches all round , and stiffened with a 
| inch wire round the top; and wire handles can 
be affixed to suit. Such pans will not leak, 
whereas it is nearly impossible to nail or screw 
the iron bottom to wood sides and have it keep 
tight—trial has proved this. They cost but a tri¬ 
fle more than those with wooden sides, and it is 
always cheapest to get a good, reliable article, 
even at a double price, to say nothing of the vex¬ 
ation and loss of a continual sizzle when boiling. 
The wooden sides do not prevent boiling over; 
it is the absence of heat upon the sides, and an 
iron sided pan is safer if possible than one with 
wooden sides. In addition to this pan arrange¬ 
ment, it will be found highly advantageous to set 
kettles in the arch between the pans and the chim¬ 
ney, to use the heat which would be otherwise 
wasted in heating the sap preparatory to putting 
it into the pans. One who never used this ar¬ 
rangement will be astonished at the amount of 
time, wood and trouble saved by it; and kettles 
are not objectionable when the liquid is not al¬ 
lowed to stand in them I advise setting the 
kettles higher than the pans, and having a metal 
faucet or cock inserted in them, and leading over 
into the pans, to save dipping the hot sap. 
Great care should be taken to have the pans 
set exactly level; and in everything remember that 
“better not done than halfdone.” The supporting 
bars used by Mr. H., are not necessary where a 
genuine, whole pan is used. 
In building the arch, make a wall two thirds ol 
the distance back from the front, which shall come 
up within two inches of the pan—if you have a 
strong draft, bring it up within one inch ; but be 
the draft strong or light, do not fail to build it in 
old and new arches, for it will pay for itself a hun¬ 
dred times in a single Spring. My fires had a 
strong draft, and though having never heard ol 
this wall, I built one as an experiment, and am 
