Krisch, Joshua A. "The Bloom Is On for Maple Syrup." The
New York Times.
The New York
Times, 05 Jan. 2015. Web. 08 Jan. 2015.
Kat Ungvary
Every
few years, perennial trees, such as maple trees synchronize their seed cycles.
During this time, their sap will flow quicker. Ecologists at Tufts University
stated in the journal Forest Ecology and Management that syrup and seed production
may be linked. In 2014, not many seeds were produced in maple trees, and
scientists reasoned that maple trees were saving energy to produce more
carbohydrates. In 2015, the maple trees will use the carbohydrates they made to
produce lots of sap. “It’s like every good farming story. Some old-timer who paid attention
to everything probably knew about it. But as a general rule, it’s not something
that was widely paid attention to,” Stated Matt Gordon, the executive director
of the Vermont Maple Sugar Makers Association.
Sap trees and their cycles are important because
it affects how much syrup is produced and the economy. Sap farmers make more
money in the years that more sap is produced, and less when they’re storing
carbohydrates to produce sap. “When you collect sap to make syrup, what you are
actually collecting is the stored carbohydrates of the tree. If those energy stores
are affected by seed production, we should see a link between seed production
and maple syrup production,” says Joshua M. Rapp, a biologist at Tufts and an
author of the study.
This article was very well written and detailed.
The author had multiple quotes from many different reliable sources. One thing
I could criticize the author on was it was a bit lengthy and did go a little
off topic by looking into how weather may affect the sap and seeds. Otherwise,
I think the author did a very good job.
Katherine's article was very well-written and covered a topic that is covered only rarely on this blog: it seems that flora and fauna are beginning to take hold! I don't really know much about maple trees, but I was pretty surprised by what I learned from this article: I had no idea that maples could regulate their biological functions of their own accord! If this knowledge could be used, maple syrup farms could predict when a plentiful harvest would arrive, and prepare accordingly, maximizing their profits and creating new jobs for employees hired to assist in gathering the sap.
ReplyDeleteHowever, Katherine's article was a little on the short side: it would be cool if she elaborated about how maple tree sap is gathered to set the stage for her article. All in all, though, she wrote a very nice review on a very sweet topic! (Awful pun intended)
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/06/science/the-bloom-is-on-for-maple-syrup.html?src=me
ReplyDeleteIn Katherine's review of "The Bloom Is On for Maple Syrup" by Joshua Krisch, she gave a good description of the connection between synchronized seed cycles and quicker sap flow. Another aspect I liked was how she incorporated a quote from the article about sap production. Lastly, she gave a good critique of the article, saying it was a bit lengthy.
One component that could be improved was explaining the quote she inserted from the article. The paragraph just ended instead. Also, she did not say how this information connected to herself, and I think that would have benefited the review if she did.
Overall, this was well-done by Katherine and I am excited by this because I love maple syrup.
Kat Ungvary’s review on the article about the maple syrup economy for 2015 had a few well done aspects. The first well done aspect is her use of evidence in her review. She is able to prove her points with reliable sources, such as her quote from Joshua M. Rapp. Using evidence to support your opinion results in good writing. The second well done aspect of Kat’s review is her choice of an easily relatable topic. Most people know what maple syrup is, and therefore will be interested to read the review. The third aspect of Kat’s review that is well done is her command of grammar. The lack of spelling and grammar issues makes it a much more pleasant read, and a better review.
ReplyDeleteKat had only 2 issues with her review that could really improve her review. The first issue is that she left out a lot of the “so what?” She wrote, “... it affects how much syrup is produced and the economy”(Ungvary 2). Multiple sentences in her review like these get the major points across, but gloss over the details. She could have wrote about how it will affect the economy, and why it matters to us as a society. The next issue with her review is her final paragraph. She claims that the review is very long, yet she says so little about the article it is impossible to tell whether it is bad or good. If she explains her ideas in detail a little more in her final paragraph, then it would help the reader understand her thought process better.
This article and review taught me somethings I never knew about farming seeds and sap. I learned about an economic cycle in which the trees are very strong one year, and less productive the next. This new knowledge will be handy in my future, because later in 2015 I will be heading to montreal, where high quality syrup is produced. It will be an even better time to go because of the possible discounts on the delicious maple syrup due to the surplus. The review does teach the reader a little big and get basic information across, making it a decent article read.