OTHER FARM CROPS 661 



reasons: (1) The heat can not be properly controlled with an open 

 or direct fire; steam heat should be used instead. (2) A product of 

 even grade can not be obtained. The precise completion of the 

 product for different runs from the evaporator can not be made by 

 guess work. Some means must be provided for taking the specific 

 gravity, or weight, of each "run." (3) This primitive method does 

 not provide for the removal of the dirt, except that which collects in 

 the scums and is removed with it. (4) Clarification is not com- 

 plete. The skimming may be very carefully and patiently done, but 

 without liming, the scums are not completely separated from the 

 juice, and can not, therefore, be removed. 



But fortunately most of these difficulties can be overcome with 

 very little expense, or increased cost. Steam heat may be dispensed 

 with, although a uniformly-cooked product is not likely to be ob- 

 tained throughout the season, and certainly not from year to year. 

 No matter how careful, some one "run" is sure to be more or less 

 scorched. But the specific gravity can be easily taken with a simple 

 and inexpensive hydrometer. Take a straight, dry, thoroughly- 

 seasoned hardwood stick, about one-quarter of an inch in diameter, 

 and from 12 to 15 inches long. Roll a narrow piece of sheet lead 

 around one end of the stick, or introduce a few shot into a hollow in 

 the bottom of the same. A straight piece of "switch cane" with 

 the upper joints punched out or burnt out, leaving one lower joint 

 for holding the shot, makes a splendid hydrometer. The size of the 

 cane may be as much as one-half inch in diameter. This gives 

 the hydrometer an instrument used for getting the weight or 

 specific gravity of liquids as compared to water. But it must be 

 graduated, or marked, in such a way that when dropped into a 

 liquid it will show its comparative weight. For this purpose drop 

 the stick or cane into a bottle filled with sirup which has been 

 heated to the boiling point, and regulate the amount of lead on 

 the stick in such a way that the stick stands upright, its lower 

 end being about 2 inches from the bottom of the bottle, with 

 about the same amount of stick projecting above the top of the 

 liquid. Note carefully the surface contact of the stick with the 

 top of the syrup in the bottle, and at this place make a little notch 

 on the hydrometer, or "syrup tester." After the notch is made, 

 verify its accuracy by dropping the "tester" back into the sirup, 

 and see that the notch exactly cuts the surface of the liquid. A 

 black thread may then be tied around the stick, or "tester," at 

 the notch to make it more easily seen. It is well to keep on hand 

 at least two of these "testers" at a time, so that if one is broken or mis- 

 laid the other will be ready for use. When making a run of sirup, 

 and when in the judgment of the boiler it has reached the right 

 density, or is "done," a sample should be withdrawn, and its specific 

 gravity tested while hot. When the "tester" shows it of the right 

 specific gravity it is immediately withdrawn. In this way, sirup of 

 uniform density can not only be made during the season, but from 

 year to year. Glass hydrometers, or "saccharometers," as they are 

 called when used for sugar solutions, can be had of any chemical 



