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Interesting Reads |
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The wooden sap troughs and potash kettles are still in use
in some parts of the country, but enterprising sugar makers
use wooden buckets which are preferable to tin, and flat evaporating
pans, and the sugar is much improved. The sap is sometimes
conducted to the sugar house in "leaders" or small
wooden troughs, which would be improved by scalding them out
once a day to prevent souring. In like manner the buckets
ought to be scalded occasionally.
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The
trees are tapped with half-inch augers, and the hole enlarged
with a sixteenth of an inch larger bit, before the close of
the flowing season. The sap spouts are 6 or 8 inches in length,
1 inch square, or turned round having a 1/4 inch hole bored
through them. The ends are tapered off, and they are driven
into the holes of the trees so as to barely hold. If tubs are
used to collect the sap, there should be holes of about 10 inches
square cut to pour in the sap, and over them linen towels should
be laid, to strain out sticks, leaves, etc., if the arrangements
of the buckets, etc., are not so perfect as to exclude all filth,
as is desirable. |
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After
this, the sap must be kept covered. The storing tubs should
stand on higher ground than the boiling pan, so that the sap
will flow from one to the other. During the boiling, skim as
often as scum rises. It is seldom that much skimming is necessary.
When the cooled syrup is nearly as thick as good molasses, draw
it off into a tub to settle, straining through a flannel strainer.
Here any sediment will be deposited. After the syrup has settled
clear, draw it off, and boil it down again until it is thick
enough to sugar off. |
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When
the sugar is to be "caked" or "stirred,"
it must be boiled until a spoonful of it put upon snow will
be perfectly brittle when cold. The liquid sugar is taken from
the fire and when granulation has commenced, and the mass is
thickened considerably, fill the moulds rapidly. If it is to
be stirred, at the same time commence stirring, the kettle being
held firmly, and stir the mass till it has the appearance of
dry brown sugar of the shops. When the sugar is to be drained
it is usually taken from the fire before it would cool brittle,
and after standing until it granulates quite thoroughly, it
is ladled out into tubs with false bottoms, some 5 inches above
the true, 3 or 4 holes being in the false bottom, and covered
by saucers or plugged by round smooth sticks. The sugar is ladled
into the tubs, and when settled the plugs are loosened and partly
withdrawn, so that the molasses will run through. This may be
drawn off from the bottom of the tubs. |
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Editor's Note: This is a reprint of an article published
in 1864. It describes what was recommended in accordance with
the knowledge and practices of the day. While reading it, please
consider this fact. |
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Other Articles from this Issue |
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