The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1881-05-26
OUT IN THE sUGAR-BusH.

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newspaper allusion to the sugar bush /
want to move right out on farm and
rush around among the naples with a
neck-yoke and bucket dangling at
either end. I've been right there. What
l don't know about 'sugaring off isn't
worth the sirup to sweeten it. .
You first tap the trees. Naples are
the best, but it doesn't do any particu.
lar harm to tap few beech, ash, elm
and oak trees, SO as to brighten up the
taste of your sugar. Twenty years ago
anything was sap-bucket that would
hold sap, even down to the tea-kettle
and butter-bow IF there has been any
improvement in this particular, SO much
the worse for romance.
The sugar camp should be located
near black-ash swamp, in order to get
the benefit of frog serenades and owl
concerts. The arch for the fire should
be laid up in such manner that it will
cave in or bulge out dozen times dur
ing the season. The shanty should cost
about Is cents for lumber and Is for
work. The more it leaks the more ro-
mantle the occupants will feel.
One season when ran an Ohio sugar.
bush on shares I added just one-half
water to the sap before boiling. It may
take little longer to boil down, but the
longer it takes the more time you have
to boil eggs, gather chickens, roast pota-
toes and hunt squirrels.
Gathering the sap has many senti-
mental episodes connected with it.
There are always hillsides to climb up
or roll down, babbling creeks to drop
into and swamps to gallop over, and
where one owns his own sugar-bush he
can lug two pailfuls at time or make use
of his plug hat. No man is called upon
to break his back in order to produce
maple sugar for the public at large.
"Sugaring off, was where the fun
came in. After three or four days of
gathering and toiling and chopping and
firing and taking care Of pair Of smoke
stained eyes and cold in the head, the
contents of the sap-pan got down pretty
thick. It hastens affairs somewhat to-
boil up pound or two Of fat pork,
dozen eggs and two or three handfuls Of
leaves and sticks. These things can be
left out of the sugar, if it is for home
consumption, or left in it for general
sale. I want to say right here that
there is only one thing on earth to pre-
vent the contents Of the pan from boil
ing over, and that is horseshoe which
was picked up in the road by seventh
son. I still have large number on
hand, and will furnish them to the trade
at very low figures. Beware of the hu--
man hyena who wants to sell you a
deer's horn, a sleeps foot, a colts
ear, or a pint OF sunfower seeds in
bag. sAt s
The sugaring off is done in small
kettle. You can tell when it will wax
by dropping some on the back of your
hand. A clean piece Of elm bark, or a
big white chip, makes boss platter,
and a smaller chip makes nice ladle.
Yum It's good You sit down on a
log and poke and stir and blow and eat.
Strings Of it hang down from your jaws,
and more strings wind themselves along
your vest and clutch your coat. Over
head are the budding trees. Behind
you IS the hillside. Off to the left is a
pearly creek, and off to the right is
fal mer trying to pull COW along by the.
horns. The romance of the situation,
hits a. person right between the eyes.
There are also ticks and bugs around
the old log. A school ma'am who won't
walk two miles in the mud, climb six
fences, jump three creeks and tumble
over dozen roots to eat cents worth
of warm sugar on maple chip in SUI
gar-bush can't have the instruction of
my children. She'd wear their noses
right down sharp on the grindstone OF
reality. quad.