Bennington semi-weekly banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 1894-1902, 1895-05-03
The Maple Sugar Crop.

Inc MAPLE sugar CROP
The short production this spring of
Vermont's staple, maple sugar, IS sum
med up by the st. Adams correspondent
correspondent of the Boston Sunday
Globe. He says: 1t means very con-
siderable loss to the farmers, as well as a
disappointment to the great number of
people outside who depend upon Yer
mont's grand old naples every year to
furnish them one of the most highly
priced luxuries of the table.
Ordinarily Vermont makes about 15,-
100000 pounds of maple sugar and maple
syrup each season, or about One-thlrd OF
the product of the country. Last year
this brought revenue of at least 81, ,OOO,-
600 to the Vermont sugar makers. Fig.
ured at an average price of SIX cents per
pound for that year, the revenue on 3D.
100000 pounds was 100000. There was.
however, enough sugar sold at higher
rate to bring the figures up to the million
mark.
1t is thought by good judges that GER
tainly not more than half crop was pro-
duced this year, and that sold for un-
usually high prices.
This, of course, would not make the
average loss to the producers one-half
of the revenue of last year, but it is prob
able that the early sugar sold for much
lower prices than that which came into
the market when it was apparent that
the yield would be slight 1t is safe to
say that fully $3.50, 900 were lost to the
sugar makers this year by the scanty
yield.
There are over 10000 sugar makers in
Vermont who tap from 1000 to 1000
ha Of thnpn
1000 trees.
While not brought into serious COM
petition with any formidable rivals in
the production of real maple sugar Ver-
monters are obliged to fight an enor-
nous output of a compound advertised
to be genuine Vermont maple sugar,
which is as guiltless of the blood of the
maple as the ingenuity of the unscrupu
lOus dealers can make it. Thousands of
pounds of this stuff are sold every year
under tie name and even guarantee of
pure Vermont maple sugar" 1t may
even be found for sale in the cities
months before a maple tree has been tap
ped on the green hills of Vermont. SO
accustomed have the people become in
many parts to this counterfeit that they
even reject the pure article when it is Of
fered them on the ground that it is it
self spurious. One of their reasons for
believing that the Vermont product is
not genuine is that it is nearly white,
whereas the base mixture they are ac-
Customed to is often as dark as chOcO-
late.
AS a matter of fact, the whilest sugar
is the purest. The highest test passed
by any sugar in this State under the pro-
visions of the bounty law was 9S.2'. This
sugar was quite as white as granulated,
and was made by James Wilson of Green
boro. The lowest test was 29.2o and this
sugar was practically black.
Not only do these would-be counter
feiters boldly label their product as gen.
uine Vermont maple sugar, but they
even go so far as to print the name of
some fictitious producer with residence
in some town in this State on the label.
Another source of loss to the maple
sugar producers is the withdrawal of the
bounty. which is particularly severe this
season when even the sugar itself pro-
duces but Gcant income.
Upwards of 1900 per year was for
merly paid the farmers of Vermont in
sugar bounties. While about seven
eigbths of the sugar produced is of a
! grade high enough to receive the bounty
only $500 of the 10000 and more sugar
makers took licenses in 1894. Thus, if
all the producers had entered for the
bounty, the government would have paid
Vermont farmers in the neighborhood of
S2OO,OOOa year for the high quality of
their sugar.
But the troubles of the Vermont agri-
culturalist do not seem to end with the
Vermont maple sugar. Many farmers
are feeding western grain to their stock
because they have run out Of old hay,
and such hay as there is left over is tied
up in the hands of a few. The prospects
for the dairying interests when this fact
and the low price of butter are taken in
to consideration, are not very encour-
aging.