News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1891-03-26
The Maple Sugar Bounty.

FARMERS QUESTIONS ANSWERED-THE
POLARISCOPE DEsCRIBED-A SUNIMA-
RY OF FACTS ABOUT THE VARIOUS
GRADES OF SUGAR AND THE DUTIES
LEVIED ON THEM-THE PROBABLE
EFFECT OF THE NEW TARIFF.
A communication received by the
Free Press from a Calais resident
states that from a letter sent by
Deputy Collector Forbes to the BOs-
ton journal, in regard to the sugar
bounty, it seems that there is no
doubt that the farmer who makes
800 pounds of sugar is sure of his
IL cents. Farmers in that vicinity,
however, are not yet clear on several
points, and the correspondent asked
the following questions, to which re-
plies were received from Prof j. l..
Hills, of the experiment station:
Question.-How will the farmer know how
hard to do his sugar to stand the test of the
polariscope? Answer-This is not known
at present, but it is expected that number
OF experiments will be made this coming
spring, designed to test this question. Re
suits will be published and circulated in a
way to prove of advantage to farmers before
the season of 1892.
QuestiOn-Who will test this sugar? An
swer.-lt is pretty well known as to who will
do this work and it can be stated before
long.
sugar untilhe has 500 pounds before he can
sell and get the bounty? Answer.-Probably
not, but positive answer cannot he given.
Question.-If he is obliged to keep it, in
some cases the decrease in price will exceed
the bounty, will it not? Answer-Should
M rfi crla ri with tho first
runs. The last runs of sugar will rarely go
up to 80, but it is probable that the bounty
will be so adjusted that the farmer will also
receive it on this sugar.
Question.-Will not the reduction of two
cents per pound on granulated sugar reduce
the price of maple in the same proportion?
Answer-Should think that the effect would
be to reduce the price in considerably the
same proportion, and that the bounty was
largely designed to make up this deficiency.
THE POLARIsCOPE.
So many questions are being ask
ed by farmers about the polariscope,
it's cost, use, ETC., that the following
description will be of interest: The
polariscope is an instrument some
what resembling a telescope, so con-
structed that when a tube is put in
the middle of it filed with a solution
made by dissolving a certain weight
of the sugar under examination in a
certain quantity of water and then
is pointed at a strong light, the
light is reflected out of the tube until
a prism of crystal, called Iceland
spar, is so turned in the tube that
the light passes through and into
the eye of the observer. The moving
of &c,
and on this scale the per cent. of
sugar may be read If distilled water
is placed in the tube the scale reads
zero; if a solution of 2605 grains of
pure sugar in 100 cubic centimetres
be placed in the tube, the scale reads
100; if the same weight of sugar of
unknown quality be dissolved in the
same volume of water, the reading of
the scale, wherever it may be located
between zero and 100, will be the per
cent. of sugar present. The use of
the polariscope by individual farmers
is utterl y out of the question, both
on account of its cost and the fact
that only an experienced chemist can
understand the method of test. The
instruments are made in this coun-
try, but all that are used here are i'm
ported from Germany, those manu-
featured there being much superior.
With duty paid, a polariscope would
cost ordinarily about $175. If one
test only was made, it would take
fully half an hour, and rapid days |
work could hardly turn out more
than go tests. The task of testing |
will thus entail a vast amount of |
labor, and the exact method by
which it will be done is not known
Burlington Free Press.