The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1872-07-16

good & Co. publish fourteen volumes Of
adventure by Capt. Mayne Reid, de-
signed to teach geography, Datural histo.
ry, good morals and common sense. Capt.
Ked has travelled over large part Of the
earth's service, having, though an Eng
lishman, fought 10 our army IN Mexico
and in the late unpleasantne s; but be
has been obliged to describe many things
which he has never seen, and others which
he has not sufficiently studied. Still il
his publishers would only give us a good
index of his animals and vegetables, we
would forgive all the inaccuracies. None
Of his other misapprehensions would per.
haps be so ludicrous as his sugar-making
in-Texas where the spouts are points
Of cane. From one of these, we see in a
cut, 10 desert Home" page 245, large
stream flowing as from a barrel. After
tapping the trees
"ln short time the crystal liquid be-
gan to drip from the end Of the spouts,
and then it ran faster and faster, until
small, clear stream fell into tho trough.
The first that issued forth We caught in
our cups, as the sugar water is most de-
licous to drink and it seemed as if our
little people, particularly Mary and Lou.
lisa would never say enough Harry, too
was as fond of it as they, and was heard
to declare that the sugar maple was the
finest tree in the forest, and quite match
for either bread fruits, oranges, or cocoa
palms We had brought the large ket.
tie, and fire was soon kindled and a
fire was soon kindled and crane erected
just as We had done when making our
salt. In few hours the kettle was filled
with sap and boiling over the fire.
Each Of US DOW had a separate duty
to perform. Cudjoe, with his bucket,
went from tree 10 tree, collecting the sap
as it gathered in the troughs; while Ma.
ry and kept up the fire and looked to
the ladling. When kettle of the water
was sufficiently boiled down, it was neces.
sary to pour it out into small vessels.thai
the sugar might crystaize by cooling
For this purpose we used all our plates.
dishes and cups. As soon as it cooled i,
became hard as brick, and Of very dark
color. 1t was then removed from the
small vessels and a fresh quantity poured
into them. That part part Of the sap
which would not crystalze was carefully
strained from the vessel and became mo-
lasses and these, let me tell you, are
much finer than the molasses that are
made from the suger cane-much richer
in color, and pleasanter to the palate.
Frank and Harry had their part to
periorm-which was to wall about, rife
in hand, and guard the troughs. This
was an important matter, for it is sin.
gular fact that wolves, racoons, badgers
oppossoms and 10 short, every animal
wild Or tame, will drink the sap Of the
sugar maple, and are so fond of it tina,
they will risk their lives to get at it, As
the trees we had opened stood at con.
siderable distance from each other, our
two little sentries were kept constantly
relieving one another upon their rounds. u
Capt. Reid can afford to allow some
little fun at his misconceptions, as his
books arc exceedingly popular with chill.
dren, and, though highly spiced with ad'
venture to secure this, are crammed with
as much geography and natural history
as he thinks his young readers will toler-
ate. They will save thousands of lads
from dissipation and ruin.