American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1876-06-03
Boring for Maple Sugar.

Boring for Maple Sugar.
Mr.. Sniffin sends the following to the
Philadelphia Bulletin: - .,ss,.sf =.
When bought my present place the
former owner offered, as one of the in.
ducements to purchase, the fact that
there was superb sugar-maple tree in
the garden. 1t was noble tree, and
made up my mind that would tap il
some day and manufacture some sugar
However, 1 never did SO until this year
But few weeks ago L concluded te
draw the sap, and to have what Mr.
Bangs calls ga sugar-bilin'. My wife's
uncle was staying with us, and Inviting
some friends to come and eat thesugar,
he and got to work. We took a huge
wash-kettle down into the yard. and
piled some wood beneath it, and then
we brought out couple of buckets to
catch the sap, and the auger with which
to bore hole in the tree. ~ So.
My wife's uncle said that the bucket
ought to be set about feet from the
tree, as the sap would squirt right out
with good deal of force, and it would
be pity to waste any of it.. ,,.,i1u.,i e.,
Then he lighted the fire while bored
the hole about inches deep, When,
took the auger out the sap did not fol-
low, but my wife's uncle said what it
wanted was little time, and 80, while
we waited, he put fresh armful of
wood on the fire. We waited half an
hour, and as the sap didn't come 1 con-
Guided that the hole was not deep
enough, SO began boring again; but
bored too far; for the auger went clear
through the tree and penetrated the
back of my wife's uncle, who was lean
ing up against the trunk trying to light
his pipe. He jumped nearly 40 feet,
and l had to mend him up with COURT
Then he said he thought the reason
the sap didn't come was that there
ought to be kind of spigotin the hole
so as to let it run off easily. u We got
the wooden spigot from the vinegar
barrel in the cellar and inserted it,!
Then, as the sap did not come, my
wife's uncle said he thought the ispigot
must be damned in SO tight that it
choked the flow; and, while 1 tried to
push it out, he fed the fire with some
kindling wood. AS the spigot could
not be budged with hammer, con-
cluded to bore it out with an anger,
and meanwhile my wife's uncle stirred
the fire. Then the auger broke off
short in the hole, and 1 had to go half a
mile to hardware store to get another
one.
Then I bored fresh hole, and al
though the sap would not come, the
company did, and they examined with
much interest that kettle, which was
now red-hot and which my wife's uncle
was trying to lift off the fire with the
hay-fork. As the sap still refused to
come, I went over for Bangs to tell me
how to make that exasperating tree
disgorge. When he arrived he looked
at the hole, then at the spigot, then at
the kettle, and then at the tree. Then
turning to me with mournful face, he
said:
Sniffin, you have had good deal
of trouble in your life, an it's done you
good. It's made man of you. This
world is full of sorrow, but we must
bear it without grumblin'. You know
that, of course. Consequently, now
that I've some bad news to break to
you, 1 feel IS if the shock won't knock
you endways, but III be received with
patient resignation. 1 say hope you
won't break down an give way to your
feelin's when 1 tell you that there tree
is no sugar-maple at all! erasmus
why, that's black hickory. 1t is, in
deed, and you might as well bore for
in the side of telegraph
pole!"
Then the company went home, and
my wife's uncle said he had an engage
ment with a man in Hatboro, which he
must keep right off. took the kettle
up to the house, but as it was burned
out sold it next day for 10 cents, for
old iron; and bought new one for
s12. l think now maybe it's better to
buy your maple-sugar.