Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1878-03-06

Ihe President, colonel a. B. FRANKLIN, OF New
fame, called the meeting to order promptly at two
o. o'clock, and introduced Mr. C. NJ Fisher of Cabot,
who read the following admirable paper on
SUGAR MAKING
1t seems to me as though the subject of the
manufacture of maple sugar had been nearly ex-
hausted in the meetings of this part of the state,
and that the chances for suggesting anything new
or interesting were rather small. But | suppose
we should keep trying to improve upon each years
experience. Here little and there little is the
Injunction and it is just as true in sugar making
"a in anything else; and we have got to begin at
the bottom of the hill and work up, as we do for
an education; it is only the earnest seeker that
will ever get to the top OF the hill in sugar making
ave often hear it said that farming does not
pay; and it is no uncommon thing to hear
farmer say that it does not pay for him to raise
corn when he can buy for sixty cents per bushel;
or wheat, when he buy flour for seven or eight
dollars per barrel, and so ON. 1t is no uncommon
thing to hear farmers say that it does not pay to
make sugar and sell it for six or seven cents per
pound; and they are right every time. The
trouble with the farmers is, they do not want to
put work enough into it to make it pay Any
farmer who il willing to put his shoulder to the
wheel, and go to work with will, can make farm
ing pay thing well done is twice done, and
here is where the profit comes; and there is no
happier home in the world than the well regulated
home of an intelligent, industrious farmer.
"There is nothing that we manufacture but what
requires great skill and care on the part of the
manufacturer in order to have coed article, and
it is only the careful intelligent and industrious
man or woman that will ever manufacture the
best article Of butter or cheese and it requires as
much care and skill in the manufacture OF the
best maple sugar. Our young men, II they choose
profession go to school at the academy and col
lege many years to fit themselves for it, II they
choose a trade they spend years as apprentices
in order fit themselves to he masters OF the sit
uaton. And think that it has generally been
supposed that person who was not capable
of fitting himself for any of these places would be
likely to make a fair average farmer 1t is true
| that quite a share of our farmers are just such
men as these When young man commences
farming for himself he will have way of his
own to do the different kinds of work, and will
usually keep along much in the same way through
life. Too few try to improve, and this, think, il
the principal reason why We have so much poor
sugar in the market at the present day. Oui
fathers used TO tap their trees with an AK, cutting
down or spelling sugar place in few years; they
used To catch the sap in troughs dug out for the
purpose, and boiled it in large kettles hung be
tween logs with large quantities of split wood sci
up on end around the kettles. When the wood
was burned in two. il the brands fell outside o
the kettle it all right II they fell in they wert
6shed out with a long-handled skinner, and il
was supposed that what Goals the skinner did
not take out the strainer would In this way they
manufactured sugar of Il dark color, and con
sumers outside OF sugar manufacturing districts
have been educated TO believe that maple sugar
in order 10 be pure must necessarily be OF dari
color. have known, the past year, OF cast
where dark, dirty sugar put up by sloyenll
farmer outsold in open market, nice article pu
up in good shape by one OF our best farmers
Two years ago ! sent package of sugar ant
honey, put up in ten pound pals and cans, to
commission merchant in manufacturing villag
in Massachusetts. In about three days received
a letter from him saying, Send no more till OF
der your sugar is very nice, but | cannot max
my customers believe but what 1t is adultented.
Now, with this view OF the case, | would like t
ask, what encouragement there is for any one
young or old, to try to improveY
| nut We Will ipoh NJ tnt hNici sue " Nic ihV1
} tion before we give up, We have in all gu
villages that are scattered among these hills
class of people that want the best there ls On
doctors, lawyers, ministers and mechanics wan
some OF the best; the proprietors of our hotels
many OF them, lay in store every spring goo
supply for the use OF their tables, and they a
want the best there Is, and are willing 10 pay 70
it too; and the demand the past year has bee
much larger than the supply, and manufacturer
OF the best article will very soon have To max
more to supply the demand, or ask more for wha
, they do make. So you see that the field is larg
3 aud open to all intelligent farmers who have
disposition to take hold Of It, The great We'
= cannot compete with us very largely in the MANI
facture Of maple sugar; already large market
. opening up there for II. Tons Of 1t are shppe
. annually TO Chicago and other places In the Wes
and the demand Is constantly increasing, hay
= been informed that they are making in som
i parts of the West artificial honeycoinb and al