The Farm

As the season for manufacturing naaple sugar is about at hand, i few hints on the subject may be interesting to some of the readers of your paper. And hoping that we may contribute sometbing to the general stock oí Information on the subject, we offer the following as our experience for tlie last twenty years. THE OUTFIT. The first thing in order is an outlit of utensils to work witli. The time for sap troughs has long since gone by, and the time for wooden buckets is about gone. Tin pails are nmcli the best, and can be got for 20 cents a piece. They are easily kept clean, and convenient to handle and pack away, requiring but little room for storing. Tliose patent evaporates into which tlie sap runs at one end of the pan, and the sirup out at the other, work very well as long as you stay and watch them, but if you want to leave for any length of time, you are in a bad flx. We prefer a sheet iron pan, and it is not much difference wliether of galvanized iron or not, but it should be made eight luches deep. The object in making the pan so deep is that when you want to leave you can fill the pan with sap and your furnace with wood, and leave as long as you have a mind to, without any danger of its burning. But a deep pan requires strong stays to support the bottom when full of sap. It is a good plan to have plenty of paus and capacity for boiling, so as not to have to boil nights or keep sap stored long, for it deteriorates very fast iroin the time it leaves the tree. THE FUKNACE. Next in order is your furnace, wliich ia one of the most important items in the business Of course a permanent brick furnace is best when you are located to stay ; but our experience has bepn principally in a new country, where we tap a sugar busli a few years, andthen clear up the land, and go f or a new bush ; consequently we frequently make new furnaces. Our plan is to make boxes of strong boards one foot wide and two feet high, and enough longer tlian the pans to receive tlin chimney or smokestack on the rear end, and one foot projection on the front end; set them the proper distanee apart to receive the pans, and let the pans rest one and a half inches on the furnace at eacli side. N"ow level tliese boxes witli a spirit level if you have one, if not, set on a pan and put a little water in it, that will teil when leve!. Make the boxes stationary with strong stakes, then lili the boxes with clay and pound thoroughly as it is filled in. TJse clay as moist as it usually is when dug out of the ground without any water standing about it. Of course the insides of these boxes are burned out, which sliould be done gradually so as not to dry the furnace too f ast. THE PANS It is necessary to have what we cali a forestick. For tbifl we use a piece of railroad iron, whicli will last flve or six years. It should be placed in while building tlie furnace, and should extend nearly through the furnaee at each side, and the clay moulded close around it, but better place some stone round it so as to liold it solid, it should be placed 15 inches below and 3 inches back of the front end of the pan. The object in having the furnace extend forward farther than the pan is this, we i;iKe a piece oí sneet iron long enough to extend across the furnace, and ten inches broad, turn a flangetwo ineliea brood on each edge to prevent sagging, lay this across the furnace in front of the pan so that it fits snug against the front end of the pan, to prevent aay Jire striking the end of the pan ; for if the fire is allowwl to strike the ends or sides of the pan, it will burn a brown crust which will' melt and spoil every bach of sugar. We close the front of the furnace with pie cc ( 1 theet iron, hung on a rod of iron, which lays across the furnace, this sheet iron apron or door extends within eiglit inches of the bottom, leaving space for draught, the rod extends far enough at one end to receive a wooden handle to lift it off. The lieight of the chimney depends somewliat on the length of of the furnace. A íifteen foot furnace requires about a ten foot chimney. TAPriNG. Our rule for tapping is to use a onehalf'or üve-eighths inchbit.and it makea little differenee wh ether we use wooden or metal spiles. We put two in medium and large trees, and as far apart as may be and eonvey sap to the same bucket, which is hung on a six penny nail, with nearly one half cut oiï, so it can easily be drawn out witli a claw hommer. We usually tap on the south side, but if the tree leans some other direction, we tap on tlie side that it leans to, for sap runs down liill better tlian any other wiiy. We bore about one inch deep the lirst time and renew several times during the season by boring a little deeper. GENERAL DIEECTIONS. For stoiage we use kerosene barrels. But it should always be borne in mind that, to make lirst quality sugar, sap ought not to be stored but a very short time. We should always commenee boiling as soon as there is sap enough to start with. And in conclusión we deduce the following: Have all the vessels, buckets, etc, that are used in any way about the business kept scrupulously clean by scalding and oughly washlng. Strain all tlie sap throngb a woolen clotli before it goes into the pans. Have seasoned wood, and boil to. a white foam all the time; while boiling, all the scum that rises must be closely skimmed off, wliich is generally thrown np wlien it eommences toboil. Never boil longer llian three or four hours before siruping off, for ihe longer you boil 011 a batch the more it is inclined to make the sugar waxy and dark-colored. ÍTever let it simmer under any circumstances, and when siruping down keep it foamIng to the top of tho pan all the time, and if inclined to run over have a small piece of fat pork fastened on the end of a stick, and tap it with that occasionally. Never, under any circumstances, allow any scorching on the inside of the pan. When ihe sirup will drop in a broad flake trom the side of a skimmer it is ready to take oft'. If sirup is left standing a few hours to settle, and it is nice and clear, it will need no cleansing, except to strain it through woolen while hot. Sugaring-oiï should be done in small batches, and just as quick as possible, remembering that two small batches can be sugared-olï in less time tha-n one large one Sap evaporates according to tlie SUrface of bottom, and not according to the amount in the pan. Sirup to be kept for future use should be sealed in tin cans made for that purpose, and holding from one to three gallons. It should be sealed while hot. Glass yessels are likely to break if it crystalizes. D. L. Gakver. Hart, Oceana Co., Peb. 28. The Managers of the Michigan Trotting Circuit have established the following early dates and meetings: Coldwater, Mich., May 21, 22 and 23, entries to close on May 17 ; Elkhart, Ind., May 28, 29 and 30; liattle Creek, Mich., June 4, 5 and 6, entries to close on May 28. The classes are the saine, and horses are eligible at each meeting from May l, 1879