Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1881-03-16

silver-birches in all that forest, and in a
wonderfully short time there was another
spile fitted. Whether there would be any
need for Mr.. Wire to put sap trough under
the end Of that spile was quite another ques-
ton.
The crust was thick, and bore very well,
30 that the girls had no wading TO do in
going from one fire to another and Jim
Wire and his father worked like beavers at
emptying the sap troughs, and carrying in
the almost colorless, notwithstanding liquid
their trees had yielded them.
"Now, Jim," said Mr.. Wire at last, "we'd
better take a lot of troughs and follow them
fellers. 'Twont do to waste any sap"
Phin and Rush saw them coming, and at
once stopped work. So did Jerry Buntley,
for he had some suggestions to make about
those spiles. 1t seemed to him that some of
them were bored too small for the quantity
of sap which was expected to run through
them.
He and the others came up Just as the
gray-headed old sugar.maker stopped in front
of Jerry's first tree, and they got there in
time TO wink hard at Jim Wire. All three
Of them stepped around behind Jerry and
Mr.. Wire.
"You've sot that there Spite in Jest about
right, Mr.. Buntley," said Mr.. Wire, without
changing muscle of his wrinkled face
"but this kind of maple don't give any
sugar at this season of the year. It isn't a
winter maple; it's the kind we call an
ellum."
"Ahl Oh yes Strange l didn't no
tice it,"
doesn't yield anything but brown sugar
common brown sugar. It's all right,
though. l declar'"
He was looking at the shell-bark hickory
now, and that specimen Of Jerry's work was
hard pull on his politeness.
It's changin' world. Things isn't what
hickory nowadays"
fact. ! kind O. didn't look up to see what
it was"
"And We couldn't ha' told by the bark
of course not. I'd say-now-there-w
-exactly-nobody amt never too old tc
Farm. Beech, Eastwood, ellum, blackwell.
nut, birch-if thar'd been saxafrax, he'd
ha' gone and tapped it for root-beer."
There was an explosion behind them Just
then, for the three other boys gave it up the
moment they saw it had been too much fol
old Mr.. Wire.
"Put troughs to all on 'em, Jim" said the
latter, solemnly recovering himself. Z" Stop
your ignorant, onmannerly laughin'. Mr.
Buntley, jest you come back to the kittles
and tell me over ag'in what you was a-sayin
about surrup."
Jerry was beginning to understand the
tree joke, but he could not see why Phir
Meadows should roll Rush Potts and jim
Wire over in the snow the way he did, for
he said to himself:
"Its mistake any man would make
One tree is just like another. wonder
how MIR. Wire tells them apart | thinl
l will ask him before we go to the house..
| So he did, and the old man answered hin
with cast-iron politeness that he knew hi
trees, just as he did his dogs, by their bark
| When the day in the sugar bush wa
over, however, and when, after supper, tn,
fun in the house began, with a round dozeI
more of country boys and girls to keep i
up, Jerry heard all sorts of things. Thu
| syrup, carried in and boiled down in tn
kettles over the kitchen fire, was cooled OIL
the snow, and every other way, into "hick
DRY sugar." "birch candy" "elm taffy,
"beech twist" and all sorts OF uncommon
sweetness, and Jerry overheard Mrs. Wire
saying to Hannah Potts;
"You don't say Did he really tap ZEN
all He looks as if he might know suthin'
too Mebbe he was jokin'."
All the rest were, except old Mr.. Wire
and when the sorrel span was brought GU
to take home the sleigh-load that came from
Lenders Mills village, he said to Jerr,
Buntley;
"No man amt never too old to Farm, an,
it wasn't knownin' too much made me stoop
shouldered. Thar's heap O. sense in wha
you told me about that new way Of settlin
surrup."
Nevertheless, Jim Wire went around tn
next morning and took away all the trough
from under the trees which had not yielded
any sap, and put them where they wer
likely to do more good.-Harper's Youn
People.