Required reading
RD: Our son has loved Rural Delivery since he was able to flip through books on his own. It has everything he loves. Tractors, vegetables, and animals! We often have to hide the newest one before he claims it as his own, or we will never get to see it. Thought you guys would enjoy seeing your little reader.

Kendra MacEachern and Gyungbo Noh
Antigonish, N.S.

(Thanks for the pic, Kendra and Gyungbo! We approve heartily, and look forward to welcoming a new RD subscriber in the next generation. You might be interested in Emily Leeson’s review of a new book called How to Raise a Reader, on pg. 46 of this issue, which discusses strategies for nurturing a love of reading at various stages of childhood. Not that there’s anything wrong with just looking at the pictures! DL)

Ideals diatribe
RD: Just opened the latest issue of RD to find another Liberal-slanted diatribe against conservative Canadian political leaders. (“Beware the Bolsheviks!” – RD March 2020, pg. 6.) It would be so nice if RD remained a country life magazine instead of a political platform for liberal ideals. Will this be the last issue of RD I buy? Hmm....

Edwin Long
Priceville, N.B.

(Duly noted, Edwin. In the future we may try to put forward some illiberal ideals, for the sake of balance. But bear in mind that the editorial represents the thoughts of just one individual, not a stance taken by RD. And there’s nothing wrong with skipping ahead to the meat of the magazine. DL)

Sappy questions
RD: If you remove ice from frozen sap, will you have a higher concentration of sugar afterwards? Is there any science to back this up? How far can you take this before you lose more than you gain? How much sugar is lost in the ice?

Trevor Mullen
Weymouth, N.S.

(You raise some timely and compelling questions, Trevor. Many of us who have engaged in backyard syrup production have wondered about this. I have not seen any peer-reviewed science on the matter, but it has been widely discussed on online maple forums, with people reporting highly variable results. It’s pretty clear that sugar concentration in sap can be increased by discarding chunks of ice, but you will be sacrificing a bit of maple sugar. Your own approach may depend on whether you are trying to save some labour and fuel, or trying to eke out every last drop of syrup. Perhaps sugar losses can be minimized by allowing some of the ice to thaw before removing the floating chunks – but where’s the sweet spot? We hope some sugar-bush warriors or high-school science teachers will write in to share their views on the topic! DL)