Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-06-06
hUM PICKING AS A TRADE
AN EXTENSIVE INDUSTRY IN THE
 ACKNOWLEDGES.

scahty Income by Gathering the
 Toothsome Dainty-His simple Out
 fit for the Work-The Prices Paid for
 the Product.
 One of the industries carried on ip Northern New York during the winte, season is that of gathering spruce gum, and very few people know how exten- siVe It Is, or how many people depend on It .1 to help out scanty living. which ire quently has to be obtained in half 8 dozen different ways. The Adirondack gum piekers are found among farmers, mechanics, lumbermen, guides, and even some of the young and robust maidene who dwell on the borders of the woods.
 Most of the people along the edge of the woods in Lewis, St. Lawrence and Franklin counties live after the manner of the first settlers who came to this part th or the state eighty years ago. Many of them dwell in log houses, and have a small patch of cleared land sufficient to Keep COW and half a dozen sheep.
 work in the lumber camps for all ex- cept teamsters and log drivers begins in the fall and ends in February, so that there are several months of the summer ana winter before him for other employ- ment. These are devoted to picking the gum, making maple sugar and cultivat- ing the clearing.
 When the spruce.trees are being felled and cut i'll lengths for the mill the best Jumps of gum on them go into tho work mans pockets. to be sold the next time he goes out to the clearings. In this way he adds several dollars to his in come every month. The time when pick ing can be prosecuted to the best advan- tage Is when the snow has been settled by'a thaw, and then frozen hard enough to bear the weight of a person without snoWshoes. When the snow Is in this condition travelling through the woods Is about as easy as tramping around on 0 house floor. A good crust that will hold person in the woods, however Is 0 rarity during most of the winter months, and snowshoes are generally necessity Outside of them the outfit is simple A long, light pole with short steel point or blade fitted in one end Is used to loosen the Jumps of gum from the standing trees. Sometimes those who make a business of gum picking have tin cup or funnel made to fit over the end of the pole, about six inches below the blade. to catch the gum as 1t falls. This appli- ance Is called 0 gum cup, and Is parfic- ularly useful when the snow Is soft. If there Is a crust on the snow the Jumps can be picked up without much trouble after they fall to the ground. The gum cup Is supplemented by 0 light axe, and II the picker Is to remain away for sev- erel days food and blankets are added.
 Thus equipped, the seeker after gum starts out and begins close examina- ton of all the spruce trees within the range of his vision as he passes thr00gh the woods. Spruce trees are very plenty in the Adirondacks. but there Is no more than one out of every hundred that the gum picker cares anything about. The tree he seeks has small, dark streak running from the butt to the top. This indicates seam or Assure in the timber, and along this seam the gum has exuded and crystalized in large lumps These he proceeds to gather regardless of the ownership of the tree, for gum, like game, Is common property in the north woods. It frequently happens that the best part of the product remains among tho branch out of reach. In such a case the tr.J is cut down without the least hesitancy and the gum picker gath CTS the rest of the crop by the aid of his 'toad-stabber," large, stout, clasp knife that Is carried in the pocket Three pounds to tree Is a big yield The gum picker, however, will seldom cut down tree near home, because If left 1t will keep right on yielding it's precious product for years.
 The quantity of gum a person can gather during a season depends not so much on his assiduity in prosecuting the search as 1t does on his knowledge of the woods and the location of the best belts of spruce timber. On this account the old guides are the most successful, be- cause they note the best places in sum- mer and reserve them for their winter vlsitations. At the best man cannot get wealthy out of the business. An old guide living in St. Lawrence county says that he gathered 143 pounds last year, which was. moro than he had ever before heard of single person getting in the same length of time. All of the back woods stores take gum in exchange for merchandise, or If preferred they will pay cash. The price runs from 75 cents to Sl.25 per pound. according Do quality. manufacturers. Many drug stores keep spruce gum just as it comes from the tree with the exception that the moss and bark are scraped off Only the larger Jumps are sold in this way, and they command the best price. The best quality Is of an amber color and quite clear.
 Gum that Is not sold in the lump Is melted and run in molds. The small sticks turned out in this way are such as retail for a penny each. The melting process affords an opportunity for mixing with other stuff; hence only small Quan- tity of pure spruce gum Is put up In that way. Pitch from the white pine that grows in the Adirondaeks is an article that can be used successfully in the pro- cess of adulteratiop. Boiled down to the right consistency. 1t makes good ohew- ing gum. the average gum chewer will think 1t Is clear spruce. North Carolina resin can also be used to make another grade of chewing gum, but 1t Is not sweet and pleasant enough to suit the popular taste.
 Manufacturers of chewing gum in part of the state say they find ready sale for tho entire product of their factories in the cities of Now York and Brooklyn, the New York market being supplied from other quarters. They pay many hundreds of dollars to the gum pickers every year. and their business proves a blessing to many poor families. The av- erago cash income of the laboring man living along the borders of tho woods Is less than $250 per year Nearly every body engages in numbering, which Is carried on only about six months of the twelve, as 1t will be seen that If Q man has 6 family to support he must hustle around pretty lively to get the neces- saHies of life. In such cases, $50 or S75 earned by gathering gum goes long way toward keeping the wolf from tho door.-N. Y. Times.