Maple Sugar Making 
Part V. 
IlAXULAR STRUCTURE.—But the granular 
structure of maple sugar, otherwise known as 
the grain, is a highly important factor in determin¬ 
ing the quality of the product, the fine-grained sugars 
being in much the greater demand. The grain is 
influenced largely by manipulation while cooling; 
flie more the product is stirred at this point, the 
finer will be the grain. Not only this, but this stir¬ 
ring lightens the color, brings out the delicate maple 
flavor and gives the sugar an even texture til rough - 
Hahto Pods and Keans, Xalural size. Fig. '166 
out. So. in filling the pails, the sugar is stirred until 
the desired grain is reached, and then poured into 
the pails, which are then sot aside to cool. During 
the cooling the sugar contracts, settles and breaks 
away in the center, leaving an unsightly depression 
upon the surface. To remedy this a small quantity 
of fhe sugar is reserved, kept warm, and when the 
depression lias formed the pail is filled to the brim 
with this warmer sugar and shaken gently to pro¬ 
duce an even and handsome surface. 
CAKES AND WAFERS.—One of the most popular 
forms of maple sugar consists of maple sugar cakes. 
These are small sections, midway between sugar and 
confectionery, and designed to he eaten from the 
hand. The syrup is concentrated to 230 degrees or 
wore, stirred and cooled until it reaches a slush-like 
consistency, poured into molds and cooled. Maple 
wafers, the name of which signifies the form, are 
made by concentrating to 235, stirring until the de¬ 
sired grain is reached, and pouring while hot into 
little indentations upon a rubber blanket. Stirred 
maple sugar is another especially delicious forhi. 
It is made by setting the pan upon the floor and 
attacking the hot sugar with a hoe. similarly as one 
would work a bed of mortar, stirring and working 
until I he sugar is cold, hard and ^dry. If properly 
manipulated the maple flavor is fully brought out, 
and the product lias very much the appearance of 
liuht brown sugar. It is largely used in sweetening 
tea and coffee. If concentrated to 240 degrees, and 
manipulated in this manner, the product becomes as 
fine and dry as cornmeal. and is known as maple 
flour. One of the most popular methods of serving 
maple sugar for off-hand eating is in the form of 
sugar on snow. The hot sugar is poured in little 
diihiots upon pans of snow. It cools immediately, 
forming a tough, tenacious wax. very sweet, very 
i’ich in maple flavor and very highly esteemed by 
.'"iing people for eating directly from the snow, 
though not greatly appreciated by those having 
loosely-fitting artificial teeth. 
MAPLE CREAM.—But the most delicious maple 
^ugnr product of all is that of maple cream. This 
ls made by concentrating the syrup to a temperature 
01 - ' ll degreas. Small quantities are then poured 
* 1111 * fallow pans, sot upon snow and cooled, in a 
si,lie nt absolute quietude, down to a temperature of 
1 "" degrees. At this temperature it becomes 
■* thick, viscous, tenacious, translucent wax. much 
ifMMiihling glue in appearance. The pan is now 
1 imped upon a heavy bench, in a cool atmosphere, 
■ind the wax is stirred vigorously, rapidly and thor- 
"'-hp until the product reaches the consistency, 
• 'Mine and general'appearance of a high quality of 
ji'h ice cream. By this time the temperature has 
become reduced to about (in degrees. The product 
is " mv "armed sufficiently to work easily, and 
' "I'l ii either in jelly glasses or in tumblers of filler 
and holding about six ounces each. These 
1,11,1 H re acl.v retail market at from 40 to 00 cents 
Tb* RURAL NEW-YORKER 
each. It is the work of a strong and vigorous man 
to stir this wax. but the product is. I believe, the 
most delicious form of confectionery ever produced. 
C. o. ORMSBEE. 
Hahto Soy Bean as a Lima Substitute 
ISAPPOIXTED WITH LIMAS.—Few years 
lmve been more disappointing to Lima bean 
growers in Connecticut than 1010. Always an un¬ 
certain crop in tiiis climate, the Limas in 1010 proved 
money losers on many a farm. Whether it was cold 
nights, wet weather, or dry weather, gardeners do 
not agree. The fact remains that a great many bean 
growers were disgusted with the behavior of the 
Lima beans, and it may interest them to know a few 
things about the Ilahto Soy bean, which lias recently 
been mentioned as a Lima substitute. The Connec¬ 
ticut Experiment Station made a small test of these 
beans during 1010. and collected facts that are inter¬ 
esting and suggestive. Experience over a longer 
period may change conclusions, of course, and only a 
report of progress is timely now. 
SIZE AXI) HABIT.—The first, question that is apt 
to lie asked by those who are familiar with other va¬ 
rieties of Soy beans has to do with the size of the 
Ilahto. If it should be as small as many other Soy 
bean varieties, it could hardly become a Lima substi¬ 
tute. In the green state the Hahto was found to 
range in length from one-half to three-quarters of 
an inch. It thus compares favorably with small 
Limas, and because it is more flat than kidney beans 
it bears some resemblance to the Limas in shape. 
The seed used in the test was received from the 
United States Bureau of Plant Industry. It was 
Pods Showing Variable size and Shari) Point of 
Hahto Bean. Fig. 167 
planted on good land that had been manured for sev¬ 
eral years. Following soil inoculation, the plants de¬ 
veloped a growth of root nodules far superior to 
anything the writer has ever seen on common garden 
beans. At the height of the season the stalks stood 
about 3 ft. high, with some of them higher. Heavy 
winds and rain, however, beat them down somewhat. 
WEATHER AND INSECT ATTACKS.—Lima 
beans probably suffered chiefly from two causes— 
heavy rain during early blossoming and the attacks 
of the green clover worm. Plathypena scabra Fabr. 
The loss of the early blossoms had its usual result 
in the destruction of the first setting of pods. The 
green clover worm made its bow to Eastern garden¬ 
ers in July, when it ruined hundreds of acres of gar¬ 
den beans of all kinds. The Lima beans suffered 
their share of defoliation. No effect of the rains 
could be seen in the setting of pods on the Hahto 
beans, perhaps because their flowers are too small 
be easily knocked off. The clover worm attacked Soy 
beans also, but apparently injured them less than 
other beans, as no evidence appeared that the crop 
of I leans was reduced. 
FSE AS FOOD.—As a green shell beau, for use in 
the half mature state, the Ilahto has been a disap¬ 
pointment. Being smaller than the Lima at ma¬ 
turity. its size when half ripe is too small for eco¬ 
nomical use. The labor of gathering pods enough to 
furnish a meal is considerable, and the shelling of the 
beans in the fresh state is difficult. In the partially 
cooked or scalded state of the pods the shelling is 
disagreeable. Present evidence indicates that not be¬ 
fore maturity are these beans likely to prove popu¬ 
lar. At the partially dry stage, particularly after 
frost, the shells opened feadily, although the sharp 
625 
terminal prickle on every pod. which is a characteris¬ 
tic of Soy beans, proved annoying. At this time the 
beans were of full size, and they remained so. with¬ 
out drying up. for at least several weeks. The 
flavor of the Hahto bean reminded the writer at 
times of boiled chestnuts and at others of chicken 
soup. At any rate, it was distinct from the flavor of 
the common beans, although resembling other va¬ 
rieties of Soy beans. The texture, too. was different, 
seeming to be of a finer grain, and even feeling slip¬ 
pery or oily to the tongue. A bit of pork or bacon 
improved the flavor. 
ROOD QUALITIES.—If the edible quality of the 
Hahto bean appeals to the public taste, tiiis variety 
of Soy bean appears promising as a commercial beau 
for the following reasons: 
1. All the beans on a given plant are in condition 
to be cooked at one time, because those that are be¬ 
yond maturity are not lower in quality than those 
that are younger. 
2. Almost certainly this bean will be a more reli¬ 
able bearer than the Lima. The relative yield of 
the two types is yet to be determined, and it is pos¬ 
sible that the Hahto will prove deficient in this re¬ 
spect. Roughly estimated from a small plot, the 
yield of shelled beans in the mature but not dry 
state was between 900 and 1.000 quarts. 
3. The Soy bean appears to have few disease ene¬ 
mies. The clover worm, though .prevalent in 1919. 
and likely to recur in 1920. did not prevent the yield 
of a satisfactory crop, and indeed, past experience 
indicates that tiiis insect will not long lie a serious 
pest. Other insects are not common on Soy beans. 
4. The writer has not seen on common garden 
beans the extensive growth of root nodules that pre¬ 
vailed on the Hahto beans in tiiis test. If the ob¬ 
servations of others should confirm this fact, then 
tiiis Soy bean has the advantage over other garden 
beans that it either improves the land or that it may 
make a crop with less nitrogenous fertilizer. 
5. The difficulties in shelling, and the annoyance 
caused by the terminal sharp points, can certainly be 
overcome by the use of machinery. 
6. There are indications that the Hahto is less 
susceptible to the attacks of mold fungi in the beans 
during prolonged wet weather than are the other 
common beans. Not more than six moldy beans were 
found during an examination of over 2,000 beans 
from various plants. This apparent immunity to 
mold may lie due entirely to the upright habit of the 
growth, but the results are the same as if the beans 
were truly resistant to mold. 
DIVERSE TYPES.—The seed planted at the Con¬ 
necticut Station gave plants that bore beans of va¬ 
rious sizes and colors. There were at least two dis¬ 
tinct sizes of beans, the pods with the larger beans 
having usually fewer of them in each pod. In the 
fresh state many of the beans were conspicuously 
marked with red or purple, both of which became 
black in the dry beans. This variability in color does 
not recommend the bean in its present state for com¬ 
mercial canning, or even for home use in glass jars 
by particular housewives. For table use during the 
Fall the varied color and size are not objectionable. 
The conclusions drawn from this one year’s testing 
of the Hahto bean are. in brief, that tiiis variety is a 
worthy addition to the list of table vegetables; that 
it has some desirable qualities to recommend it above 
the common Limas, and that it seems especially 
promising for home and commercial canning, pro¬ 
vided that pure strains can be obtained, w. c. teltox. 
