Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1905-11-07
THE MAPLE slRuP SUPPLY.
Gradually Growing Smaller = Some
Valuable Suggestions for
Sugar Makers.

The demand for genuine No. I
article Of maple strip Is growing
greater each year, and it will con.
tinue to grow In the future because
the supply will grow smaller each
year. caused by the decline Of maple
forests. The man who has a nice
thrifty maple grove. says the Ohio
Farmer, has something that will be
the source Of as much revenue for the
time upon the farm, provided the right
methods are adopted and carried into
execution. The time is forever past
when slipshod methods will go In
making maple strip. The man that
will succeed in this line Of farming
must adopt up-to-date methods, and
above all else be strictly honest al.
ways and under all circumstances
furnishing exactly what he repre-
sents his goods to be.
The successful sugar maker will In
the future have his own private GUS
toners and sell direct to them, and
as maple sirup is luxury instead Of
necessity. skill must be used in
making and putting 1t up, because
just the moment we make a filthy,
dark colored article and put It up In
an unattractive manner, II ceases to
be luxury. and we are compelled to
take the down" price for 1t: Neat.
ness, cleanliness and quickness Of
dispatch and rules that must be obs
served. and to carry them into exc
cution we must have good sugar
house. good supply OF dry wood,
modern evaporator, vessels either Of
metal or wood; IL wood, kept we'll
painted inside and out; IL metal,
painted on the outside, and at all
times the vessels, and in fact every.
thing connected with the work, must
be kept scrupulously clsan by the ire.
quent use of hot water.
People used to think that maple
strip to be pure must be dark in color
and have a strong taste, but am
glad to say that this is far from
true. use every means possible to
make it as light IN color and mild in
taste as it can be made, and 1t is
| within our power to control these
things. When sugar making comes
we have our work arranged so that
| we can devote our entire time to 1t,
and whenever the sap begins to run
we are ready to care for it, every
hour we leave it exposed to the
weather and elements we are adding
to Its color, and strongness to it's
flavor. We make it rule to begin
hauling and evaporating whenever
] the vessels contain from quart to
navigation. We also aid in making
1t light In color by evaporating 1t as
| quickly as possible, and this part Of
the work | look after myself, setting
the automatic feed SO that it will keen
the water in the evaporator just as
shallow as is possible kes. y with.
| out burning.
BY this method we are enabled TO
| evaporate much more than il the
water was kept deep in the pans be.
cause the steam bubbles form at the
4 bottom OF the water, and il it Is too
deep they burst before coming to the
surface and the work is to do over
again, while, on the other hand, il
1t is shallow they come to the surface
before bursting, the steam escapes
and the evaporating goes on very
RAPID We use a saccharometer to
test our sirup, and take 1t directly
from the evaporation, weighing eleven
pounds to the gallon, and filter il
through felt or flannel to remove the
SILICA; put it in attractive packages
and sell direct to the customer. The
only trouble is. we have not been able
In the past to make enough to supply
all our orders.