512 
of  the  sugar  season  depends  upon  the  spout  used. 
A  good  spout,  aside  from  being  easily  and  quickly 
driven  and  removed,  should  fit  the  hole  perfectly 
without  hard  driving,  which  is  injurious  to  the  sap¬ 
bearing  tissues  of  the  tree.  It  should  also  he  tap¬ 
ered,  allowing  ice  to  fall  from  it  readily,  and  per¬ 
mitting  its  use  in  holes  of  varying  size.  This  last 
feature  permits  the  reaming  out  of  the  hole  when 
they  become  dried  out  somewhat,  resulting  in  an 
increased  flow  of  sap.  A  smooth  and  simple  spout 
is  also  easily  kept  clean,  an  important  point,  in  the 
production  of  the  finest  sugar.  In  tapping,  the 
greatest  flow  of  sap  Is  usually  obtained  from  the 
side  of  the  tree  carrying  the  most  limbs.  The  bore 
should  he  made  at  a  convenient  height,  about  an 
inch  and  a  half  deep  and  slanting  slightly  upward. 
The  flow  of  sap  is  in  the  live  outer  wood  of  the 
tree  and  a  deep  hove  is  not  required.  Use  a  sharp 
hit  corresponding  in  size  to  the  spout  used.  If  the 
buckets  are  first  distributed,  tapping  can  he  done 
very  rapidly. 
FUEL  SUPPLY. — A  shed  full  of  dry  wood  is  one 
of  the  requirements  of  the  successful  camp.  This 
can  he  of  the  down  material  scattered  through  the 
woods  and  usually  quite  a  considerable  quantity 
of  the  next  year’s  supply  can  he  worked  up  by  the 
help  during  slack  periods  during  the  latter  part  of 
the  sugar  season.  It  should  he  piled  up  and  left  to 
air-dry  through  the  Summer  and  put  into  the  shed 
before  the  Fall  rains  set  In.  A  small  stable  can  be 
quite  cheaply  built  and  Is  necessary  for  the  com¬ 
fort.  and  health  of  the  team  if  the  camp  is  at  any 
distance  from  the  farm  buildings.  It  should  he 
tight  enough  to  provide  shelter  from  the  wind  and 
storm  and  should  contain  a  manger  for  feeding. 
CLEANLINESS  REQUIRED.— Cleanliness  is  an¬ 
other  essential  if  the  best  sugar  is  to  be  made.  The 
sap  should  he  strained  as  often  as  operations  per¬ 
mit.  Running  the  sap  through  a  screen  strainer 
in  the  top  of  the  gathering  tank,  then  through  a 
double  thickness  cloth  strainer  in  the  storage  tank, 
gives  good  results.  The  hot  syrup  as  it  is  drawn 
off  is  again  strained,  and  after  being  allowed  to 
settle  through  the  night  the  top  can  be  drawn  off 
and  canned.  The  result  is  a  clear,  amber  syrup 
that  retails  readily  at.  a  high  price.  Felt  strainers 
are  usually  recommended,  hut  strainers  made  from 
a  double  thickness  of  outing  or  canton  flannel  are 
much  cheaper  and  give  good  results.  In  addition 
to  the  straining  the  boiling  sap  should  he  kept  care¬ 
fully  skimmed,  removing  any  impurities  that  may 
arise.  There  are  <  rtain  mineral  substances  in 
syrup  so  line  that  they  pass  through  a  strainer 
when  hot.  but  are  thrown  down  when  the  syrup 
cools.  This  is  the  reason  for  letting  it  stand  over 
night  before  canning. 
MARKETING. — As  to  marketing,  the  product  can 
lie  sold  either  as  a  syrup,  which  should  weigh  11 
pounds  to  the  gallon  net,  or  in  the  form  of  sugar. 
Of  tin*  two  the  syrup,  perhaps,  finds  the  most  ready 
sale,  as  it  is  all  ready  for  the  table.  The  usual 
method  of  handling  the  fancy  syrup  is  in  tin  cans 
holding  a  gallon  each.  When  of  the  best  quality 
these  readily  sell  at  $L25  each.  Where  the  syrup 
is  sold  to  local  customers  they  often  wish  to  return 
the  cans  and  secure  a  rebate  on  them.  This  should 
nut  he  permit! ed,  ns  it  is  very  seldom  that  a  can 
will  he  properly  eared  for  when  emptied.  An  old 
can  will  cause  a  musty  taste  in  the  syrup,  it  being 
almost  as  quick  to  absorb  odors  as  milk.  A  handy 
package  for  sugar  is  the  covered  tin  pail.  The  same 
conditions  apply  here  that  were  mentioned  in  con¬ 
nection  with  the  syrup  can  and  no  pails  should  he 
accepted  If  returned  by  the  customers.  For  the 
same  reason  it  is  seldom  that  buckets  or  other  con¬ 
tainers  brought  in  should  lie  filled  for  them. 
ENDING  THE  REASON. — As  the  quality  declines 
toward  the  close  of  the  season  the  syrup  can  lie 
stored  in  barrels  and  sold  to  some  one  of  the  com¬ 
panies  who  make  a  business  of  buying  up  syrup  by 
the  wholesale  and  after  purifying  it  retailing  it  out. 
Settlings,  shimmings,  etc.,  will  usually  find  a  ready 
sale  if  made  up  into  vinegar,  maple  vinegar  being 
one  of  the  best.  At  the  close  of  the  season  buckets, 
spouts,  gathering  tank  and  evaporator  should  he 
thoroughly  washed  and  scalded,  and  dried  in  the 
sun  thoroughly  before  storing.  This  keeps  them 
bright  and  clean  and  a  good  scalding  at  the  opening 
of  the  next  season  makes  them  ready  to  catch  the 
first  run  of  sap.  The  smokestack  should  be  taken 
down  and  it.  together  with  the  metal  parts  of  the 
arch  should  be  given  a  good  coat  of  asphalt  urn  var¬ 
nish  as  a  protection  against  rust.  A  little  extra 
time  consumed  in  painting,  cleaning  and  making 
minor  repairs  about  the  camp  as  their  need  is  noted 
will  do  much  toward  increasing  the  service,  pro¬ 
longing  the  life  of  the  equipment  and  making  this 
part  of  the  farm  work  a  success,  rokkrt  ii.  smith. 
■Uhe  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
Orchard  Spraying  Through  Pipe  Lines 
LAN  NI  NO  TIIE  SYSTEM.— At  Fig.  182  is 
shown  a  map  of  the  spraying  system  in  use 
in  the  Albemarle  l’ippin  orchard  of  F.  II.  Schroedcr 
in  Virginia.  This  orchard  occupies  a  long  steep 
mountain  cove  and  some  adjacent  lands.  By  the 
old  system  spraying  of  this  orchard  in  a  proper 
manner  and  at  the  right  time  was  an  almost  im¬ 
possible  task.  The  system  consists  of  10,000  feet  of 
pipe.  The  highest  altitude  in  the  orchard  below  the 
lowest  is  nearly  000  feet  and  the  problem  of  se¬ 
curing  the  proper  pressures  at  different:  points  in 
the  orchard  was  one  for  an  engineer  to  solve. 
SIZE  OF  PIPE. — The  system  has  not  only  proved 
wonderfully  efficient,  but  very  economical  as  well. 
All  the  pipe  used  was  %-ineh,  except  the  lead  run¬ 
ning  up  the  Rill  to  an  altitude  of  228  feet  above 
1  lie  mixing  tank  and  power  plant;  this  is  one  inch. 
There  is  no  objection  to  the  size  of  pipe  used,  lmt 
the  writer  now  believes  that  one  half  inch  would  do. 
as  well.  The  spray  hose  lines  should  be  near,  or 
quite,  100  feet  In  length,  and  %-ineh  in  size.  This 
permits  the  lilies  of  pipe  to  he  placed  200  feet  apart 
and  the  spigots  about  160  feet  apart  on  each  line. 
Mr.  Seliroedcr  says  that  in  the  rougher  parts  of 
the  orchard  the  same  crew  can  spray  from  two  to 
three  times  as  many  trees  in  a  given  time  as  they 
could  formerly  with  the  gasoline  engine  outfit. 
OTHER  EXPERIMENTS. — Although  this  system 
may  be  new  to  many  it  Is  not  of  recent  origin.  So 
far  ns  we  know  the  first  system  was  installed  in 
an  orchard  near  Batesville,  Va.,  more  than  five 
years  ago.  by  W.  A.  P.  Moneure.  This  outfit  is  still 
in  use.  At  least  two  other  systems  are  now  in  use 
in  the  same  district.  It  has  not  yet  been  determined 
just  how  long  the  pipes  will  give  good  service  be- 
Map  of  Gravity  Spraying  System.  Fig.  182 
fore  rusting  out.  If  the  loss  from  depreciation  is 
not  over  15%  per  year  then  the  system  has  a  very 
wide  field  of  usefulness  in  the  hillside  and  moun¬ 
tain  orchards  of  the  East..  Any  fruit  grower  con¬ 
templating  tin*  installation  of  such  a  system  should 
write  to  the  Virginia  Agricultural  Experiment  Sta- 
1  ion  for  suggestions.  This  Station  has  installed  a 
similar  system  in  a  seven-acre  hillside  orchard  on 
the  Station  grounds  at  Blacksburg,  Va.,  and  is 
carrying  on  a  series  of  experiments  in  order  to  se¬ 
cure  sound  data  on  the  cost,  efficiency  and  dura¬ 
bility  of  spell  a  system :  there  being  little  or  no 
experimental  data  on  the  -subject. 
PIPES  AND  PRESSURE. — The  lines  of  pipe 
traversing  an  orchard  may  he  spaced  KiO  feet  apart 
if  a  lead  of  hose  80  to  IOO  feel  in  length  is  used. 
This  length  of  hose  added  to  the  length  of  the  ex¬ 
tension  rod,  which  is  usually  from  eight  to  12  feet, 
gives  a  working  radius  from  any  one  spigot  on  the 
spray  line  of  about  100  feet.  Three-eighths  inch 
spray  fiose  is  used.  The  spigots  are  attached  to  the 
spray  line  at  distances  of  about  150  feet.  Shut-offs 
are  placed  at  the  junction  of  the  pipe  lines.  The 
] mwer,  in  the  outfit  illustrated,  is  located  in  the 
center  of  the  orchard,  a  part  of  the  orchard  being 
228  feet  above  the  power  station,  and  a  part  of  it 
275  feet,  below,  a  distance  of  about  2,000  feet.  A 
gasoline' engine  is  stationed  at  the  pumping  station, 
and  the  liquid  forced  into  the  line  at:  a  pressure 
sufficient  to  give  from  100  to  150  pounds  pressure  at 
all  spray  nozzles  anywhere  in  the  orchard.  Where 
the  work  is  being  done  above  the  spray  pump  an 
allowance  for  the  friction  and  vertical  lift  must  he 
made.  In  other  words,  If  a  pressure  of  150  pounds 
is  desired  at  the  nozzles  *228  feet  above  the  spray 
tank,  Gn  pressure  gauge  at  the  pump  must  show  a 
little  more  than  250  pounds  pressure.  Where  the 
spraying  is  being  done  below  the  power  r*  1  o  t lie 
,  March  25,  1910. 
pressure  at  the  nozzle  will  equal  the  pressure  at 
the  pump  and  the  force  of  gravity  for  that  distance 
below  the  station.  In  this  particular  instance,  the 
pressure  in  the  lowest  part  of  the  orchard  is  suf¬ 
ficient  for  all  purposes  whatever  without  any  pres¬ 
sure  at  the  pump.  When  spraying  is  being  done 
near  the  pump  the  force  of  gravity  must  be  assist¬ 
ed  by  a  sufficient  pressure  at  the  pump.  The  exact 
pressure  necessary  for  proper  spraying  at.  various 
distances  from  the  pump  and  various  elevations 
above  and  below  have  not  yet  been  definitely  worked 
out,  but  the  Virginia  Agricultural  Experiment  Sta¬ 
tion  is  now  at  work  on  these  specific  problems. 
C,.  E.  ST  ARCHER. 
“The  Federal  Farm  Loan  Act” 
Now  Before  Congress 
[Extract  from  an  address  by  II.  f\  I’riee  before  the 
Michigan  Country  Life  Association  March  1st.  on  “The 
Present  Status  of  Rural  Credit  Legislation,”  1 
HE  act  is  a  comprehensive  one,  embodying  the 
best  features  of  the  European  land  credit  sys¬ 
tems  and  elastic  enough  to  meet  the  conditions  in 
the  different  sections  of  the  country.  Under  the 
provisions  of  this  act  the  Federal  government  neith¬ 
er  guarantees  bonds  issued  on  the  security  of  farm 
mortgages  nor  makes  any  direct  loans  to  borrow¬ 
ers.  It  does  provide  that  the  government  shall  sub¬ 
scribe  for  stock  in  the  Federal  Land  Banks  if  ne¬ 
cessary  in  the  beginning  to  raise  their  minimum  cap¬ 
ital  of  $500,000  to  establish  them. 
The  enactment  of  this  act  would  give  the  United 
States  a  rural  credit  system  superior  to  that  of 
any  other  country.  At  this  time  when  the  question 
of  national  preparedness  is  looked  upon  as  the 
most  important  issue  before  the  country,  we  think 
of  preparedness  only  in  (lie  terms  of  an  increased 
army  and  an  increased  navy,  hut.  there  is  another 
phase  of  preparedness  that  is  fundamental  to  the 
support  of  our  enlarged  army  and  navy,  and  that 
is  the  development  and  conservatism  of  our  agricul¬ 
tural  resources. 
In  my  judgment,  the  establishment  of  a  national 
rural  credit,  system  will  he  one  of  the  most  import¬ 
ant  stops  that  we  can  take  toward  national  pre¬ 
paredness.  Our  Federal  and  State  governments 
have  spent  millions  of  dollars  In  discovering  new 
truths  about  agriculture  and  teaching  them  to 
farmers.  But  these  improved  methods  cost  money 
to  put  into  operation  and  the  farmer  lacks  capital 
with  which  to  operate  Ills  farm.  Land  drainage, 
for  example,  is  generally  recognized  as  a  good  thing 
and  a  profitable  investment,  bill  it  costs  $25  to  $40 
per  acre  to  drain  land.  The  silo  is  :iu  excellent  in¬ 
vestment  on  stock  farms,  but  it  costs  money  to  build 
silos.  A  freer  flow  of  capital  to  the  fanners  at  a 
lower  rate  of  interest,  such  as  would  he  secured 
under  a  national  rural  credit  system,  would  do  more 
to  improve  American  agriculture  and  place  it  on  a 
more  economical  basis  than  anything  else  that  could 
he  done.  The  results  that  would  he  secured  would 
react  through  our  other  industries  and  Just  as  agri¬ 
culture  is  the  basis  of  our  national  prosperity,  so 
would  the  benefits  of  a  rural  credit,  system  he  felt 
through  our  industries  as  the  result  of  an  improved 
and  prosperous  agriculture. 
There  is  one  phase  of  the  discussion  and  opposi¬ 
tion  to  rural  credit  legislation  that  I  want  to  touch 
upon,  and  that  is  the  objection  that,  it  is  class  legis- 
tion.  T  suppose  that  no  important  progressive  legis¬ 
lation  has  been  enacted  that  has  not  met  this  same 
objection.  The  establishment  of  our  land  grant 
colleges,  of  our  agricultural  experiment  stations,  the 
maintenance  of  our  fanners  institutes,  all  have  met 
the  objection  that  they  were  class  legislation  for 
special  classes  of  our  citizens.  The  tariff  represents 
to  n  high  degree  class  legislation,  all  citizens  for  ex¬ 
ample  are  taxed  to  protect  a  certain  class  or  in¬ 
dustry. 
What  does  the  proposed  rural  credit  system  pro¬ 
vide?  Rutting  farm  mortgages  on  the  market  un- 
doV  the  most  favorable  terms  possible,  namely — 
under  government,  supervision,  limiting  the  loan 
that,  can  he  made  to  any  one  person  to  $10,000,  and 
providing  that  the  loan  must  he  used  to  purchase  a 
form  home  or  to  improve  it,  thus  making  it  easier 
for  I  he  American  farmer  to  become  a  farm  owner. 
Is  there  anything  dangerous  about  that?  With  our 
American  farms  rapidly  falling  into  the  hands  of 
tenants  and  absentee  owners,  (in  many  of  our  most 
fertile  sections  over  50  per  cent,  of  the  farms  are 
operated  by  tenants),  with  the  decay  of  our  rural 
schools,  churches  and  community  life  due  to  the 
ever  changing  tenant  population,  is  there  anything 
dangerous  In  legislation  that  will  make  it  easier 
for  the  American  farmer  to  become  a  home  owner? 
The  bugaboo  of  class  legislation  is  held  up  to  be¬ 
fog  the  real  issue  by  those  who  have  a  selfish  in¬ 
terest  in  maintaining  the  present  condition. 
