Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1909-01-07

which does more than ell else TO lower
the price Of maple goods. II would work
to the advantage Of producers II they
should ascertain about what prices are
charged BY those in the packing business
and keep theirs as high; for very often
they could sell higher than the house
making q business Of handling such
goods, especially II they have fine prod
uct; for the same reason that fancy
dairy butter will outsell creamery butter.
No average grade can be as fine as the
best.
There should be, and l expect there
will be, several concerns located in differ
ent parts Of the state that will make il
their business the year through to handle
and put up maple goods for the trade.
To do it all at one point would require a
very large investment in q plant big
enough to do the work, and the expense
Of bringing the goods together would be
an item OF great Importance. This mat
ter will, however, work its own solution
in the future development OF the trade.
It is, nevertheless, being demanded by
dealers that the goods they buy for pure
shall be packed in the locality of produc-
ton and they are very suspicious Of any
thing put up elsewhere.
AAI N1CL euOulu Qcllu1 MuEEC ne is
to market his goods and in what form be-
fore they are made. If he has a local
trade, or consumers or retail grocers are
to have the crop, have no suggestions to
offer IS to how he shall put them up ex-
cept to advise that he put them I'D as
nearly as possible in the form they are
wanted. II the goods are to be sold eth
er as sugar or syrup to Vermont packers,
he =
as this trade wants them.
II syrup is to be made for sale to pack
ing houses, either secure storage from the
party to whom you expect to sell and fill
that or buy some good alcohol or glucose
barrels, or, better still. new barrels, or
some hve-gaIion jacketed tin cans. Do
not commit the folly. practised by 50
many each year, of putting your syrup in
gallon cans. You will lose the cost Of
your can on each gallon 30 put up and
also quite a chance Of selling. Packers
will not buy syrup in gallon cans II they
can easily avoid il, and the reason for
this Is not fancy but real. II takes q
long time to examine the quality OF 100
gallons Of syrup in gallon cans, and as
no packers send out syrup that they have
not themselves put up, it means empty
ing all Of these small cans, each one Of
which takes nearly as much time as il
does to empty a barrel of so gallons. II
also takes q good deal Of room to store
any considerable quantity in gallon cans
that are not boxed or Grated. Therefore,
the packer prefers the large package and
will pay for 1t as much or more, and
furnish storeage, than he will give for
the gallon cans. The producer loses all
be pays for the small cans and nobody is
benefited.
We frequently meet this condition.
The farmer expects to ship his syrup
away to some customer and puts il up in
gallon cans. He sells few gallons, per
haps, and then his customer fails him
and he is left with his syrup on his
hands. Such cases will occur in every
business. but the producer, for his own
interest, should avoid IS far as possible
such conditions. Ten cents per gallon
paid uselessly for gallon cans is quite q
tax on the sugar crop.
Another mistake made BY many in
packing sugar is in using the ten-pound
tin can or pail. With this as with syr-
up, I have nothing to say II the producer
has his customers to supply, but il you
expect to sell In the general market, do
not use q tin package for sugar. Some
Ave and ten-pound tins Of fine quality
can be used for the spring trade with re-
tailers and consumers, but this trade il
not large and most Of the sugar bought
in the spring is carried until fall before
selling.
Manufacturers and confectioners, as a
rule, do not like the tin package and
many will not buy 1t at any price. Sugar
in tin is more likely to sour than II
packed in wood and, unless cooked very
hard, viii be likely to have syrup form
on the top. The wood absorbs this mois-
ture and leaves the package with a better
appearance. The discount of one cent
per pound from sugar in tin from the
price in wood does not average to cover
the difference. Then again, the wood
package IL cheaper than tin. so that the
farmer who persists in filing tsn-pound
pals loses both ways. He pays about
half cent q per pound more for package
than he needs to and sells at cent per
pound less than II he had used woods
total loss of about a cent and q half per
pound. No sugar maker can afford tc
do business in this way. During the last
year we have bought OF farmers sugar in
I ten-pound pals when q loss OF s25 OF
more had to be met on account of improp
er packing. II some Of the farmers
+. would attend these meetings they might,
by needing the suggestions given, savs
enough to pay their expenses.
In a general way. ] believe that the
outlook for profitable results from thu
maple sugar industry was never so gooC
as at the present time. The product Il
becoming more firmly established eacl
year as a luxury that people desire, and
our best efforts are needed both in pro
ducing a fine quality Of goods and in rs
ing all means in our power to get thi
product to the consumers. The first pro
position is the business of the producer
and, as we are laboring with the second
\ am simply pointing out some thing
Il wherein the producer may render th
packers work more successful and add 4
his own receipts from the crop at tn
same time.
Ladies' hair work. Mrs. H. H. Bean
564 Washington st. Boston. Mass.