Part 5

Sugar. To keep maple sugar in a warm climate, store in as cool and dry a place as possible. If in tin and tightly covered it will mould and ferment on top. To prevent this the best method is to take off the covers and paste over the top of the can a piece of strong manila paper. This will also serve to keep out the ants. Tubs with covers are not as liable to ferment, but is it well to treat them in the same manner.

Syrup. Syrup should be put in air-tight packages and kept so until used. If the syrup is received packed in sawdust the best method is to leave it in the original package and store in a dark cool place, until needed for use, and if it is put up in glass be very careful to keep it from the light. If for any reason the syrup should begin to ferment, which will be known in the case of tin packages by a bulging of the head of the can called “swelled-head” it should be borne in mind that it is not necessarily spoiled as would be the case with fruit, but by heating it to a boiling temperature the fermentation can be arrested and the original flavor, to a great extent, restored. And in this connection it may be said that either syrup or sugar, which has been kept for some time, will be greatly improved in flavor by the same treatment.

IN SUGARING TIME.

HELEN M. WINSLOW, in Harper’s Bazaar.

It’s sugarin’-time up country; an’ settin’ here in town I seem to hear the “drip, drip, drip” of sap a-tricklin down Into them wooden buckets in our old sugar place, Afore Josiah died, an’ our only daughter, Grace, Insisted ’twasn’t noways safe for me to live alone Up in that old brown farm-house that long’s I live I own; An’ naught would do but I must come an’ stay along o’her, Where sugarin’ might be hayin’ time, an’ all this bustlin’ stir; Where smells o’spring, an’ tricklin’ sap, and wild flowers never come. There ain’t no chance for such things around Grace’s city home; An’ sugarin’-time no different ain’t from summer or from fall. I wisht Josiah’n me was back—a-workin’ hard an’ all.

The children on these brick paved-walks they make me think of Jim, What we had hoped would stay by us—the farm was meant for him. He died when he was twenty. Yes, there was young Josiah, Professor in a college now, with hope of something higher. An Grace, our girl, she married what they called a railroad king, An lives on Beacon Street, in all the styles that she can swing. But all the same, when April comes, I see ’em all again, Jest runnin’ wild around that farm, them three, an in All sorts of mischief daily, from early spring to fall. I wisht the hull of us was back—a-workin’ hard an’ all.

I seem to see the tossels shakin’ out up on the trees; I seem to smell the perfume of the May-flowers in the breeze; I seem to feel the summer a-coming ’crost the hills; I seem, up in the pastur’, to hear the singin’ rills; I see the mowin’ lot, an’ hear the sharpen’ of the blades; I hear the cattle lowin’; I go berryin’ in the glades; I smell the harvest ripenin’ over in the corner lot; I see Josiah bringin’ home that last new pair he bought; I remember how together, when the children went away— Grown big an’ married—by the fire we sat at close of day; An’ how together we had lived there fifty year—come fall. I wisht Josiah’n’ me was back—a-workin’ hard an’ all.

It’s sugarin’-time up country; but never once again Shall I, now goin’ on eighty, see the spring a-comin’ in The old way, thro’ the maple trees, ’crost the pastur’s brown; For I must stay—in sugarin’-time—on Beacon Street in town. The children never, as of old, shall I tuck in at night, Their little feet so tired, but their happy hearts so light. They wouldn’t go back if they could, an’ I’m too old they say; An’ sence Josiah isn’t there, I let ’em have their way.

It’s sugarin’-time up country, though, an’ memories, like the sap, Start up an’ set me longin’ for Mother Natur’s lap,— An’ him, an’ Jim,—the farm, the hens, the horses in the stall. It’s sugarin’-time up country; I’m homesick—that is all.

PURE FOOD AND DRUG LAW.

Vermont has a Pure Food and Drug law which strictly prohibits the adulteration and misbranding of food products including maple sugar and syrup. (Public Statutes of Vermont, sections 5466 to 5494 inclusive.)

Purchasers of maple products made in Vermont may rest assured that they are as represented, and made from the sap of the maple tree and nothing else. The maple sugar and syrup produced in Vermont is not only pure but it has a delicacy of flavor and aroma not found in the same product made in other localities. This fine flavor is the result of the soil and climatic conditions to be found in the State.

MAXIMS FOR MAPLE SUGAR MAKERS.

Be in readiness to get the first run.

Have all utensils thoroughly cleansed and scalded.

Employ none but competent and experienced men to tap your trees.

Cut away the rough bark, only, before tapping, leaving bark sufficiently thick to hold the spout firmly to prevent leaking.

The finest flavor and lightest color will be obtained by shallow tapping.

Gather often, boil at once. Every delay in the process of evaporating sap will injure more or less the quality of the sugar.

Always strain your sap. Use felt strainers for syrup. Boil down to 11 pounds per gallon; test by a correct thermometer, and can hot to prevent crystalizing in bottom of the can.

Give full gallon measure and ship only standard goods to your best trade.

Use a reliable thermometer. It is as indispensable in the sugar house as in the dairy.

Use tin or painted buckets and the best improved metallic spout.

The bucket cover has come to stay. Use them, they will save their cost in one season.

Join your State Maple Sugar Makers’ Association, and attend the convention.

Do not think that you know it all, for maple sugar making is a science about which you may learn something every season if you are observing.

RECIPES FOR USING MAPLE SWEETS IN COOKING; HOME CANDY MAKING, ETC.

Maple Rolls.