The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-07-23
SUGAR BILINS" LONG AGO.
MAJ. RIVALS INDUCES IN SOME
RElIINIsCENCES ON SUBJECT.

icisms of S5r. Joseph TiIlman-He
Has Been Attending These Occa-
sfOns when syrup and Sugar Are
Made for Many ears and says
That He Knows All AbOut It-Prim-
fuVe Method of Manufacture Still
Prevail in the Country, Says Mai.
RyaIN-A TNyO-ROlIer Mill, an Iron
"I<ittIe" and IA Dipper All the Ma
chinery Used.
In a. communication from Mr.. Joseph
Tuman Of Quitman, on the subject of
Sugar Refining in Savannah" published
in yesterdays Morning News, there was
subsection entitled "A Word With Maj.
q. NJ. Ryals." in which that prominent
agrlculurlst was taken to task for his
views on The subject of syrup making,
appearing in recent interview.
Mr. Tiumans jovial criticism was as fol-
lows:
Major, you have been considered one
of the most successful as well as reliable,
agriculurists in this part of the state.
You say in your interview published In
the Morning News OF the 18th instant.
that there are two many grades of
syrup" What do you mean by that, as
applied to the present advanced skill In
manufacturing syrup on the farms? May
l ask in the best humor, Have you
been taking a Rip Van Wrinkle nap. caused
from the quoting draught out Of old Rips
hagon? If your answer be yes, then that
accounts for you permitting the world 10
advance beyond what it was when you
partook of the quieting draught from the
hdgon. For it is a living fact that the
farmers have long since learned that there
IS no market TO be found for a low grade
of syrup. Hence, it pays them, whether
they use the old-fashloned open kettle
the evaporatOr or the vat and steam pro-
cess, to bring their syrup up to full stand
ard Many of whom, and doubtless all,
will soon get to using the sacchromter
so as to determine with an absolute ex-
actness the specific gravity of sugar indi-
Gated by the reative deviation of the plane
of polarization"
Mai Ryals was shown the communica-
ton from Mr.. Tillman, which he had
not until then had an opportunity to read.
The majors lips puckered into smile
as he read that part of the article that
had reference to himself.
"Wel, Im-blOWed,' he said, softly.
Here's this prominent cane raiser or
Quiuman, planting, l dare say, as much
as an acre and half of the jointed
sweetness. disa greeing, with a sweet and
amiable righteousness, with every whole
sale grocer or jobber in the state, who
ever tried to handle Georgia syrup in
large quantities. When I said that the
| evident inability of the farmers to mar
| ket any large quantity of the syrup was
| partly due to the fact that few barrels
| of it were of the same grade, there was
nothing original in the statement l sim
| ply repeated what l have been told a
| thousand times by men entirely familiar
| with the methods of marketing the prod
uct, and who knew what they were talk
! ing about.
Georgia syrup is like whisky, none of
| it is bad, but some of ii is a large sight
| better When 1 say that there are toe
many grades of the articles l know where
| of L am speaking for in the past few
| years l have seen samples of syrup innum-
! cradle, not half a dozen of which were eX-
! actly alike Ia density, color, taste or any
| Of the other attributes of the finished
! product When, then, l hear those who
ought to know say that to this fact is
! due in some measure the lack of a mar
| ket for the crop, l am disposed 20 credit
it, even when the contrary is upheld by
the Sugared Sage of Quitman.
ION his own mammoth sugar plantation
| of an ecre and a haIf, l am quite willing
| 10 believe that Mr. TGlman succeeds in
| making a uniform grade of syrup, but
| everywhere IL is not so. out in The coun-
| try the farmer himself starts on Monday
| morning to boil his syrup. On Tuesday he
| suddenly remembers that 1t Is court day
and that he is on the jury, a witness or 8
! party i'm case that is TO be tried-he al.
| ways is-stops boiling and HES himself
! away. He leaves the superintendent Of
| the sugar boiling 10 Mis-. Farmer. who
| neighbor is sick or well, or glad or sorry
ana wcnds her way across the fields to fine
out how it happened. IncidentaIy she di
| reefs that the eldest boy look after tn,
| boiling in her absence, which he does unit
he is lufed away by the superior attrac
tons of fishing as an amusement. Befor,
| the end has come everybody is either away
| or engaged in cong something else NOR,
10 his or her liking, except the little Mig
gers on the place, who are thus left In un
disturbed enjoyment of the business o
syrup making. This is no fancy sketch
but is based on reality, and when 1t is un
derstood that something like il goes on
with variants, on every one-horse farm
In the state where syrup is made one car
understand that there must he some DIFF
ference of result Wei, there is.
Nor can Mr. Tiilman rightfully accus,
me of a lack of acquaintance with tn
methods employed in boiling sugar in tn,
! interior OF the STATE, nor OF lack OF APP
probation OF all their delightful accom-
panimenls. l have been attending 'suga
bilin's' for the last thirty years, and
am frank to confess that l know NOR
about them than any other man in tn,
state-with one exception. That excep
ton is Old Bill Warren of the county o
Worth, who claims that he can make su
gar or syrup blindfolded and without III.
aid of any more scientific apparatus thar
an iron 'kittle'-nOt kettle-and a dppe
of his own manufacture, And he can
too.
"Ahw said the major with an unctuou
sigh, Il grow young again when I remem
her the sugar bilin's that l used to at
tend. For a week the youngsters on tn
place, black aud white, had been sen
scurrying across the feds In search o
| lightwood knots. A great pile OF this fue
had been gathered and placed near th
'kittle.' the cane had been cut and all wa
ready for the beginning of operations. TIL
boys and girls of the nelghborhood wer
on hand, for a sugar bilin in the coun
/ try Is the great social event of tho war