Dawson County Geo July 19th 1862
Dear Brothers this will inform you that we are all in
common health today and I hope that this will come to hand and find
you both well Mr. J C Covington informs me that F M Crumley
is in camps too I hope that you will both write soon I have nothing
strange to write you wrote to me to send you a recpt how to make
sugar I will do it now and I am afraid you cant understand it but
I will make it as plain as I cane when the can is ripe inough for
two third of the seeds to look black and one third still green it
is ready for work take one gill of lime and pour a half gallon of
boiling juice with it in a earthen vessel let it stand as much as
half an hour then when you get your juice ready put one half pint
of this lime water in ten gallons of juice and stir it well and
let it stand a half an hour before you put it in the pot have the
pot as clear of rust as possible and greese the pot well with lard
for salty greece won’t do then start it to boiling and take
off the skim that rises at first and when the thick skim is off
make it boil so fast that it won’t make any more skim for it
wont make sugar if it is not boiled fast
(pg 2) and if you skim it all the time it won’t
make sugar when it begins to thicken put in one table spoon full
of lard and boil it to 238 degree of heat this will let some molasses
rise and the sugar will settle to the bottom for to make syrup 228
degrees of heat will doo to make sugar that will not drip boil til
you can take a little of it as hot as you can bear it to your finger
and put it betwen you teeth and when you can tell that it has a
candy appearance when you can first begin to discover that there
is a tough substance between your teeth it is then ready to take
out and in warm wether will turn to sugar in about a week when it
is first cool it is a soft candy but will turn to sugar if you will
give it time make it boil in a rage all the time you must not let
it cool down but keep it in a puff all the time so as to keep the
pot full now I have wrote all that I can think of that will be of
any advantage and if any thing should be left out or if you cant
comprehend my meaning in any perticular let me know and I will explain
it the best that I can I want you both to write to me some as you
can Times here is hard provisions high I am a going to make molasses
for the people this the prospect is good for me to make $300 worth
to my shear this year came over and see us boil it this fall I close
for lack of room.
To L F & F M Crumly
J C Crumly
Crumley family papers transcribed
and contributed by
Christine Crumley Brown