Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1876-04-21

injurious 10 health. Our correspondent
Bailey at Bridpcrt has taken the pains to
procure the following letter in reply to ques.
tions on the subject, which is submitted to
the readers Of the FARMER with the single
remark that an acid powerful enough to cat
nearly through the iron side and bottom of a
ship in several months is quite too guawing
for our "insldes.'
Perhaps Prof Seoly will tell us whether
this acid is healthy form in which to take
iron as a tonic.
BosToN, March, "a, 1876.
Dear Sir l have to-day made very par.
ticular inquiries relative to the syrup case. A
case in point to begin with. At the refinery
which stands first among us, gentleman told
me that some years ago an iron vessel loaded
with sugar was at sea great while, several
months, aud the rough passage got the cargo
wet, when the sugar thus become a sort Of
syrup; enough So at any rate, to actually
eat holes almost through some of the iron
plates composing the bottom and sides of the
ship, for although. sugar is sweet, yet when
coming into contact with many things, and
undergoing certain changes, becomes pow
erful acid, which acid eats.
Now to the mandatory. Syrup should
always be made in copper kettles, as you
know our housewives use the copper or brass
kettle for preserves, etc. You make apple
sauce in an iron pot and you will have the
inky color to pay for it. Now you know
such kettles, even for family use cost consid-
erable, aud everybody isn't able to have one,
and for those who manufacture sugars and
syrups on such an immense scale as to turn
of scores of barrels per day, you can see it
would take small United States mint to
pay for the kettles or tanks to make it in, so
they are compelled to havefshem made of
iron. After the material has been boiled,
the liquid has to stand about thirty days in
these iron tanks, though they don't allow it
to remain any longer than they are obliged
to. OF course the liquid becomes more or
less impregnated with the iron from the
chemical action of the sweet stuff upon it,
Such is the fact in relation to all nice
syrups, and nobody would ever have black
mOuthsif they didn't happen to have tea come
in contact with, them, by drinking, or other.
wise. In tea there is property known as
tannin, the same as there is in oak bark.
That is the puckery part or rank taste
which we suppose is more apparent in some
tea than in other, and you can easily observe
the action of it by taking pinch OF tea,
drop it into cup, pour boiling water upon
it, let it stand undisturbed about fifteen min.
utcs, then pour off the tea clear into clean
cup, put in teaspoonful or part Of one of
the syrup, and you will spoil your pretty cup
of bright-colored tea pretty quick. But you
need not fear any harm that we know Of
(Iron is good for the blood though we prefer
to take it in Legitimate way.)
A while ago there was great breeze
raised among the consumers Of the delicious,
and perhaps made good handle Of by drum.
mers, to cry down any goods competing with
the kinds they had to sell, arising from the
fact that some parties think in New York,
used chemicals in their manufacturing, for
what purpose don't know, unless it was to
obtain better profit or make the old ladie.
(single of COursel mad, and that very thing
did much damage, probasly, to the parties
who "cooked by more honest fire." But
such stuff we won't have anything to do with
If we know it,
JONI G.. KAULDACK, JR.