A tractor powers the cane mill that Davis now uses to squeeze sugar cane.  “I have an old mill that was pulled by a mule.  The mule was hitched to a long shaft and just walked in a circle, turning the mill to grind cane.  I thought I might get my wife, Ann to pull the shaft since I didn’t have a mule, but that plan just didn’t work out,” laughs Davis.

Davis enjoys explaining the syrup making process to visitors.  “First you harvest the sugar cane with machete and strip the leaves off.  It’s best if the cane has had a couple of light frosts on it.  When you get enough juice to fill the pan, you build a fire and start cooking.  Keeping the fire at the right temperature is critical.  Too hot a fire scorches the syrup, so you have to keep a water hose close by to cool the fire down,” says Davis.

Knowing when the syrup is ready to take up is a critical part of the syrup maker’s art.  Davis says he uses a skimmer to test the consistency of the syrup.  “When the syrup has cooked enough that it begins to drip off the skimmer, it’s ready to take up.  As soon as the syrup has cooked, it is drained into a large kettle and placed on a table to be dipped out and placed into pint and quart jars.”

The Davis family turns their first syrup making of the year into a festive occasion.  “Ann cooks a big batch of biscuits and sausages.  My friends, Franklin McQueen and Emmett Kelley, help me make syrup.  They are pretty good at eating those biscuits and sausage, too,” laughs Davis.