The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1893-03-24
MAPLE SUGAR.

no part of which was ever in Vermont or
was ever made from the sap of sugar
naples, but all of which is the product of
city manufactures. This spurious COM
| pound is put upon the market weeks be-
fore the sap of the sugar maple begins to
| flow, each year, and five, or more, pounds
! are sold for every pound of the genuine
| that is produced. If all the people who
now imagine they are eating pure maple
sugar could be gained as customers by
the producers of genuine maple sugar,
the demand would be greater than the
supply. In 1891, it was estimated that
something like 81, 100000 pounds of pure
maple sugar were produced in the United
States, and nearly twO-thirds of this
amount was produced in Vermont. Let
the waste of Vermont maple forests be
stopped, and 100, 900, 900 or more, pounds
of nice sugar could be produced in her
sugar camps in an average year, probably
The quality of her product is acknowl-
edged to be superior to that of any other
State or country, and this fact seems to
be recognized by the manufacturers of
the imitation article; hence their use OF
the inscription, Pure Vermont Maple
Sugar" One of the greatest obstacles
in the way of the Vermont sugar pro
city sharpers. The sale of the genuine
article has suffered, not only from the
competition of these fellows, but also
from the lack of true information, among
the greater number of people, relative to
maple sugar. The crafty sharpers have
spread the statement that it is the maple
sugar producer who is dishonest and
adulterates his sugar with the product
of the sugar cane and with glucose, in
order to make it's color light The city
papers have helped spread these false
and nonsensical statements, and their
readers have been graVely informed that
only adulterated maple sugar is of a
light color, pure maple sugar being OF
dark butternut color. When the people
who buy the imitation article learn that
what they have supposed to be pure
maple sugar no more nearly approaches
the genuine, in flavor or toothsOmeness,
THAI the cheapest of oleomargarine APP
proaches the product of the gilt-edged
butter diaries, it seems reasonable to ex-
pect that their custom can be gained and
that the Vermont sugar producer can
get fair price for his product Pure
Vermont maple sugar and syrup are
iuxuries, and their value does not de-
pend upon that of the cane or beet sugar
Your sugar is too white to fool me;
maple sugar is dark and does not taste OF
store sugar." Vermont sugar pro-
ducers have often been vexed by this or
similar stories. The persons telling or
writing these stories were sincere in the
belief that the light maple sugar sent
them had been dOctored with store
sugar. or some other sweet substance
not nearly so good as, and lacking the
flavor of, pure maple sugar. Both dark
and light maple sugar is made in Yer
mont sugar places every year. Neither
the light nor the dark sugar has any
"store sugar" or any sweet foreign to
itself, mixed with it. 1t is the darksug-
ar that is likely to be impure, however;
lack of care and slovenly methods give
it its impurities.
In the earlier days the sugar maker
hewed shallow troughs from the wood
of the linden, or Eastwood, tree, and,
placing these at the foot of his naples,
he next made a slanting incision in each
tree with his AK; the trough and the in
cision were connected by wooden spouts.
If he owned a big caldron kettle, he
would select place, beside some ledge,
if possible, and cut big carrying
stick" which he would suspend from
some near tree by means OF a heavy
chain. From the shorter end of this
stick the big Kettle would be swung, and
the further end of the stick would be
secured to a tree. The sap collected in
the troughs was carried in pals to the
kettle, under which fire was kindled.
When the greater part of the water had
evaporated and thick syrup been made,
the sugar maker would take hold of the
longer end of his carrying stick" and
swing the kettle to a cool place where
the syrup would grain; and at the end
of day or two, Is or 20 pounds of moist
sugar would go into the sugar tub.
Some sugar makerg would have only a
five-pail or three-pall kettle; Others
would have several small kettles, and
these kettles would be suspended from
a pole resting in some crotched sticks.
One side of the kettles would be shelf
cred by the ledge against which they
would be swung, but the wind would
blow ashes, leaves, twigs, SCOT and other
dirt into them. Dead leaves would be
blown into the sap troughs where they
would often be left for day or longer,
soaking, and cOlOring the sap. The syr-
up would boil over and the edges of
the kettles would be covered with
charrsd sugar, some or all of which
would get into the boiling syrup. Sug-
ar made in these days was dark and had
a strong flavor.
When square or oblong iron pans took
the place of kettles, arches were built of
stone or brick, upon which the pans
were set. The daily product was in
creased, and cleaner, better sugar was
made. Evaporators have now taken the
place of the pans; the sugar makers
have been learning better methods each
year, but it is still possible to obtain
dark sugar. Put out unwashed buckets;
neglect to strain your sap or to gather it
often; leave little in each bucket to
sour the rest; boil in all the dead leaves
and twigs that fall, or are blown, into
your buckets; set your dipper, sticky
with syrup, into dirty place, and never
wash it before using; put your syrup in
to old and dark colored wooden buckets
and then leave it for days before sugar
ing it off, and in this way you can obtain
a sugar of a butternut color.
The best Vermont maple sugar is of a
rich golden color and has flavor that
pleases the daIntiest palates. A good
apparatus, vigilance and persistent clean
illness must be maintained where this
is produced. The best sap comes from
trees standing upon rocky hillsides; that
coming from trees standing upon moist
land is thin and often has poor flavor.
At the close of each season, all the sug-
ar apparatus is carefully cleaned. At
the commencement of the next season,