Syrup Making. 27 



SYRUP MAKING. 



A fine table syrup, equal in appearance and taste to the best golden 

 syrup, and of course in every way superior to the ordinary grades of 

 molasses, may readily be made from sorghum, and is made from year to year 

 by thousands of operators throughout the country. This syrup is much 

 more desirable for family use than the best refined, for it is not only good 

 but it is pure, whilst an unadulterated refined syrup is seldom if ever to be 

 obtained at any price. 



Thousands of operators throughout the country have been obliged to add 

 to their plants from year to year to meet the constantly increasing demand in 

 the home markets. Many of them who began with small outfits — horse- 

 power mills, etc.^ — have put in steam mills and are doing a large and profit- 

 able business. To insure such success the syrup must be good. 



To make good syrup the cane must be of the best varieties, and adapted 

 to the soil and climate. Care should be taken in its cultivation. It should be 

 cut at the proper time, and the juice taken immediately from the mill to the 

 evaporator for boiling down. 



The mill, evaporator, filtering tank, coolers for the syrup and all vessels^ 

 and utensils needed, should be held in readiness before the cane is ready to 

 be worked up. The mill, tanks, etc., should be kept perfectly clean through-; 

 out the whole time of syrup making. The evaporator should be scraped 

 and cleaned every day. 



All tanks and other vessels in which the raw juice may be held, and the 

 spouts through which it may be passed, should be of galvanized iron or tin. 

 If wood is used it quickly becomes soaked and is then too hard to clean 

 thoroughly. Good wood should be provided from two to three feet long (in 

 proportion to the length of the evaporator) to secure a hot, regular fire. 



The particles of cane, dirt, etc., in the juice as it comes from the mill, 

 may be filtered out by means of a straw filter (a box or one-half barrel with 

 straw in the bottom held down by a stone makes a simple one), or coarse 

 cloth or strainer wire. The filter should be frequently cleaned, and the 

 straw, hay or gravel or cloth used be washed with water to which a little 

 lime has been added. See description of various methods of filtering; on 

 page 34- 



To make light colored syrup and syrup of the best quality, the juicd 

 must be taken fresh from the mill, filtered and properly treated with lime^ 

 and boiled down m the shortest possible time to a density of about •36°' 

 JBaume, at which point the weight is 1 1^ lbs. to the gallon. ' 



The Cook Evaporator, or, better still; the Automatic Cook Evaporator, 

 will do the entire work of defecation and condensation thoroughly. In this 

 admirable apparatus the juice passes in a continuous stream through the 

 different channels, being defecated and condensed aH the while, until it flows 

 out a beautiful and pure syrup. 



