Vol. LIX. No. 2611. 
NEW YORK, FEBRUARY 10, 1900. 
81 PER YEAR. 
TAPPING THE SUGAR BUSH. 
A SENSIBLE AND SCIENTIFIC HOLE. 
Sugarmaker—Spare That Tree! 
CAREFUL WORK NEEDED.—There is more 
science conneoted with the boring of a small hole in a 
maple tree than appears in such a simple act. The 
time the boring should be done, its frequency, the 
size of the hole, its depth, its inclination, and its po¬ 
sition on the tree, are all subjects of importance to 
every sugarmaker, for a well-tapped sugar bush is 
analogous to a well-plowed field; that is, best results 
may be expected from the work. In its proper season, 
sap will flow from any kind of a hole, in any part 
of the tree, but much permanent damage may be the 
result if it is not properly done. No inexperienced 
person should be handed the bit and brace and told 
to “go and tap the sugar bush.” No work upon the 
farm is so completely subject to the fickleness of 
weather conditions as maple-sugar making. We are 
not slow, however, in bringing the telephone to our 
aid in this matter now, and we call for the weather 
predictions early in the afternoon of any day, and 
when we learn that there is a warm wave in the 
northwest headed this way, we feel pretty sure of 
three or four days of warm weather, and go ahead 
with the work. The following table, with the date of 
the opening and closing of my sugar camp, for the 
past 10 seasons, will serve to show at what time that 
important work is done here 'in northern Ohio, where 
maple-sugar making has reached a degree of perfec¬ 
tion that obtains nowhere else: 
Opened. 
Closed. 
1890 . 
1891 . 
.Feb. 13. 
.April 11 
1892 . 
.Feb. 22. 
1893 . 
.April 3 
1894 . 
.Feb. 27. 
1895 . 
.Mar. 23. 
1896 . 
.Feb. 27. 
1897 . 
1898 . 
.Mar. 3. 
1899 . 
.Feb. 20. 
It will be seen by this table that the date of opening 
varies much more than that of the closing. 
SIZE OF HOLE.—From the earliest pioneer sugar 
making down to within a few years past, the size of 
the hole bored in the maple tree nas steadily de¬ 
creased from that made by the inch auger, to that of 
the three-eighths bit, 
where the science of 
tapping now rests, 
and in all probability 
it is the correct size, 
for certain it is that 
with the tin spout 
and the small hole, 
more sap can be 
saved than was for¬ 
merly the case when 
the auger was used, 
and the vigor of the 
tree is much less im¬ 
paired. A few per¬ 
sons still use the half¬ 
inch bit, but they ob¬ 
tain no more sap by 
its use, and inflict 
nearly twice the in¬ 
jury to tne tree, as a 
half - inch hole is 
nearly twice as large 
as the three-eighths 
hole. The aepth to 
which the tree should 
be bored should vary 
somewhat with the 
size of the tree. The 
old forest trees, that 
yet abound in the sugar woods here, may be bored to 
a depth of two inches, but the smaller and second- 
growth trees, which are by far the more numerous, 
should not be bored to a greater depth than iy 2 inch. 
Very deep boring is a mistake. The deeper the hole, 
the greater the injury to the tree. The hole in the 
tree never fills with new wood—it always remains a 
hole in the tree, just as it was when bored. 
THE HEALING PROCESS—The most sensitive, as 
well as active part of the tree, is between the bark 
and the wood—called the cambium layer. Here the 
tree makes its growth, and forms one or more con¬ 
centric rings annually. From here, too, comes the 
most and the sweetest sap, hence deep boring does 
but little good in the way of getting more sap, or 
sweeter sap, and it inflicts a much greater injury to 
the tree. The tree proceeds to heal the wound by cov¬ 
ering it over with new growth, forced laterally across 
the hole. This usually requires about two years; af¬ 
ter that is accomplished the new wood grows per¬ 
fectly over the hole, and the wound is covered up, 
but the hole, and the injury to the tree, remain as 
long as the tree does. The effect that tapping has 
upon the tree, and the added growth, are plainly 
shown in Fig. 28, which was drawn from a stick cut 
TAPPING OVER. Fig. 27 . 
from an old forest maple. The extent and location of 
the injury that boring inflicts upon the maple are 
Shown by the darkened appearance of the wood above 
and below the hole, as well as laterally. This plainly 
indicates that no hole should be bored directly above 
or below a former boring, except at quite a distance, 
no matter how old the scar may be. It also shows 
that one may tap the tree quite near an old hole, on 
either side, and get a good flow of sap, but it would 
not be best to do so, as two or more borings, as shown 
in Fig. 29, thus made, would be likely to injure the 
tree for a considerable area 'in one place, and thus 
weaken it. 
DON’T ROSS THE BARK.—The practice is quite 
common, in many camps, of having a man or boy 
follow after the one who bores the holes, who, with a 
hatchet, rosses or rubs off the rough outer bark down 
to the “quick.” This makes ft look fine indeed, but 
it is a very pernicious, as well as injurious practice, 
and one that should never be done, unless there may 
be a rough piece of protruding bark that would be in 
the way when turning the bucket upon the spout. 
This coarse outer bark is the tree’s greatcoat, but¬ 
toned tightly about it, and giving it protection from 
Summer’s heat and Winter’s cold. It is almost a per¬ 
fect non-conductor of heat and cold and cutting 
through this is like cutting through the outer skin of* 
the body; it is sure to make a sore spot. The effect of 
rossing is shown in Fig. 26. A long crack opens above 
and below the hole, and shows for years afterwards 
and injures the tree as much as the tapping does. 
TAPPING. Fig. 29. 
TAPPING OVER.—There is more diversity of prac¬ 
tice in the methods of tapping over than in any other 
work connected with the sugar bush. I will not here 
undertake to enumerate the different methods fol¬ 
lowed, but will point out what seems to me to be the 
best plan. After we have had about two or three 
good runs of sap, and the trees begin to show a di¬ 
minished flow, we take a quarter-inch bit and bore a 
hole about 12 or 15 inches above, and four to six 
inches to one side of the first hole. We bore the hole 
at a considerable upward angle, inclining sideways 
over the center of the bucket. In this hole we insert a 
cane or reed spout. These are about six inches long, 
and look as though made of bamboo. They are very 
handy and inexpensive, being bought last year for 
about 35 cents per 100. By this method all the sap 
that runs from the first tapping is saved, and the ex¬ 
tremely small quarter-inch hole injures the tree very 
little. Some sugarmakers use a five-sixteenths-inch 
bit, but I can see no advantage from its use. It is 
surprising what an amount of sap will flow from a 
quarter-inch hole. All sap spouts should incline 
downward somewhat, but these cane spouts should 
incline much more than the tin spout on which the 
bucket hangs. This is shown in Fig. 27. The reason 
for this downward inclination is so that at the close 
of the run the sap will all drain out quickly, and not 
linger in the trough of the spout to sour. This 
method of tapping over precludes the use of covers 
to the buckets, but they have been tried here for 
years, and have been found wanting. Many who 
formerly used them have gradually abandoned them, 
and but few sugarmakers now buy them at all. I do 
not, however, decry their usefulness, but the question 
of covers or no covers has been answered in the nega¬ 
tive by a large majority of the sugarmakers here¬ 
abouts. 
SUGGESTIONS IN BORING—In tapping the tree, 
when the hole is bored to the proper depth, do not 
reverse the bit, but draw it forcibly from the hole, 
thus clearing it out and leaving no loose shavings in¬ 
side to sour. As the flow of sap is about the same in 
all parts of the tree, the tapping should be done at 
the most convenient height for the person who must 
do the gathering. To epitomize the advice given, use 
a three-eighths-inch bit, bore at a slight upward angle, 
two inches in large trees, 1*4 inch in small ones, bore 
through thick bark, if healthy, and ross off no bark 
unless it is in the way. Following these suggestions, 
it is safe to say that you will have a well-tapped sugar 
bUSh. A. R. PHILLIPS. 
Ohio. 
