The Forrest City times., 1905-09-22
THE MAPLE SYRUP SUPPLY.
Gradually Growing Smaller - Some Valuable Suggestions for
 Sugar Makers.

The demand for a genuine No. 1 article of maple sirup 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 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 sirup. 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 a necessity. skill must be used in making and putting it up, because just the moment we make a filthy. dark colored article and put it up in an unattractive manner, it ceases to be luxury, and we are compelled to take the down price for it. Neat ness, cleanliness and quickncss of dispatch and rules that must be ob. served, and to carry them into exc. cution We must have a good sugar house. good supply of dry wood. a modern eyaporator. vessels either of metal or wood; if wood. kept well painted inside and out. if metal. painted on the outside. and at all times the vessels. and in fact every. thing connected with the work. must be kept serupulously clean by the fre- quent use of hot water
 People used to think that maple sirup to be pure must be dark in color and have strong taste, but I am glad to say that this is far from true. l use every means possible to make it as light in color and mild in taste as 1t 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 it 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 n itc CnInr etr flavor. We make it rule to begin hauling and evaporating whenever the vessels contain from a quart to a half-gallon. We also aid in making 1t light in color by evaporating it as quickly as possible. and this part of the work I look after myself, setting the automatic feed so that it wiN keep the water in the evaporator just as shallow as Is possible to keep 1t with. out burning.
 By this method we are enabled to evaporate much more than If the water was kept deep in the pans, be. cause the steam bubbles form at the bottom of the water, and if 1t Is too deep they burst before coming to the surface and the work is to do ever again. while. on the other hand, if 1t is shallow they come to the surface before bursting. the steam escapes and the evaporating goes on very rapidly. We use a saccharometer to test our sirup. and take it directly from the eyaporoator. weighing eleven pounds to the gallon. and filter 1t through felt or flannel to remove the silicia: 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.