HOW TO MAKE & MARKET MAPLE SYRUP
(Page 4 of 15)
GATHERING PAILS
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The bought or scavenged dive-gallon containers used for
collector buckets can also be fashioned into gathering
pails by the addition of a bail. These pails are used for
transporting fresh sap from the collector buckets to either
a collector or holding tank and—unless you intend to
sling them from a shoulder yoke—the bails should not
be too long. You may find yourself carrying these pails
through deep snow at times and the task will be much easier
if the containers clear the drifts. Make two pails for each
"tote" person and keep some extras on hand for friends who
drop by to share the fun.
THE COLLECTING TANK
AND
TRANSPORTING VEHICLE
You won't need a collecting tank if yours is a small,
well-placed sugaring operation where sap can be
hand-carried directly from the tapping buckets to the sugar
shed holding tanks. Few sugar setups are so compact,
however, and most require the hauling of sap in some kind
of receptacle.
A collecting tank needn't actually be a tank at all . . .
it can be any sort of container that will hold a day's run
of sap long enough to cart the liquid out of the woods.
I've even heard of one fellow who uses half a dozen milk
cans tied to his tractor.
The kind of container you come up with will depend on your
method of transportation. We'd love to haul our sap out of
the forest in a special sleigh behind a team of horses . .
. but we've settled for a less romantic means of
transportation. We use a four-wheel-drive truck with a
200-gallon tank on the back into which we bucket our maple
juice. A tractor or jeep pulling a sled, wagon or trailer
loaded with drums, tanks or five-gallon cans are other
possibilities as long as they can get through the snow and
slush.
Whatever your vehicle, make sure the collecting tank or
tanks are securely fastened and covered. Roads in the woods
are bound to be rough, there may even be inclines and a
great deal of sap—unless precautions are
taken—can splash out and be lost.
THE HOLDING TANKS
As fresh maple sap is collected, it must be stored in a
holding tank or tanks until you have enough juice on hand
to make boiling it worthwhile. The number of these tanks
that you'll need depends on their capacity and the size of
your sugaring operation. Our storage tank (a twin to the
collecting tank we use) holds 200 gallons, which is barely
adequate, and we hope to add a second holding tank of the
same size this year.
By the way, our tanks were originally used by local cherry
growers—for transporting fruit. We got them for very
little and I think similar containers are used by cherry
growers in other parts of the country. Ask around and you
may find a bargain tank or two yourself.
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