156 PLAIN AND PLEASANT TALK 



of New Orleans. The fault is in the manufacturing of it. 

 The saccharine principle of the cane and tree are exactly 

 the same. If the same care were employed in their man- 

 facture they would be indistinguishable; and maple-surar 

 would be as salable as New Orleans, and if afforded at a 

 rice, might supplant it in the market. The average 

 quantity of sugar consumed in England by each individual 

 is about thirty pounds per annum. 



MAPLE-SUGAR MAKING. Greater care must be taken 

 in collecting the sap. Old, and half-decayed wooden- 

 troughs, with a liberal infusion of leaves, dirt, etc., impart 

 great impurity to the water. Rain-water, decayed vegeta- 

 ble matter, etc., add chemical ingredients to the sap, trou- 

 blesome to extract, and injuring the quality if not removed. 

 The expense of clean vessels may be a little more, but with 

 care, it could be more than made up in the quality of the 

 sugar. Many are now using earthen-crocks. These are 

 cheap, easily cleaned, and every way desirable, with tho 

 single exception of breakage. But if wood-troughs are 

 used, let them be kept scrupulously clean. 



The kettles should be scoured thoroughly before use, 

 and kept constantly clean. If rusty, or foul, or coated with 

 burnt sugar, neither the color nor flavor can be perfect. 

 Vinegar and sand have been used by experienced sugar- 

 makers to scour the kettles with. It is best to have, at 

 least, three to a range. 



All vegetable juices contain acids, and acids resist the 

 process of crystallization. 



Dr. J. C. Jackson* directs the one-measured ounce (one- 

 fourth of a gill) of pure lime-water to be added to every 

 gallon of sap. This neutralizes the acid, and not only faci- 

 litates the granulation, but gives sugar in a free state, now 

 too generally acid and deliquescent, besides being charged 



* Appendix to final Report on the Geology and Mineralogy of New 

 Hampshire, page 361. This admirable Report is an able exposition of 

 the benefit of public State surveys. 



