Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1894-11-12
GUM GATHERING,
How Pickers Labor for Chewers Dur
ing the Winter Months.
1t is Growing Scarcer Each Year and the
Prices are. Going Up.


"Gum is becoming scarcer every wear. j"
said II. 4. Bowditch. of Bowditch. Web
ster q Co, yesterday, TO journal man
who was looking over display of several
hundred pounds in the store of this firm.
Gathering gum is quite business by it
self and is carried on much more systemat-
lcally than is generally supposed. The
gum picker is a busy fellow, and. like the
hotel proprietor at some pleasant seaside
resort, has only few months for his bust
ness. When the woodsmen enter the for
ests in the fall the gum pickers follow and
continue in the woods till spring time
There are men who make practice of
nipping from the spruce this material
known as gum and do nothing else. They
follow the choppers through the woods
and when the trees are felled pluck from
the trunk all the gum they may find
Beside gathering it from the trees cut
down to make logs the picker shells it
from the standing tree, but this is much
harder method, although in many cases
larger Quantity is procured, because none
is lost, as in the case where the spruce is
falling and rolls against other giants of
the forest, stripping it at times of several
quarts of its gum deposits, providing
there is well filled seam in the tree In
collecting the Jumps of gum from the
standing spruce the picker has an appara-
tus specially arranged for the purpose. 1t
consists of long pole upon the top of
which is little sack that will hold about
two quarts of gum. Back of this sack is
Il piece of iron or steel made like ham
mer and works upon pivot, while
cord is attached to the end and extends to
the foot of the pole The picker places
the top of this picking machine along the
gummy seam of the spruce and by opera
ting the little hammer by means of the
cord is able to clip off the Jumps of gum
into the sack. located under the top OF the
hammer Sometimes from one tree a
bushcl of gum is picked, but not very often
is the gatherer fortunate in finding so pro-
ductive a spruce, and is quite contentcd
in plucking from "a pint to half bushel
from each.
When the days picking is finished all
return to camp, and, sitting around the
open fire in the evening, clean this gum
piece by piece, some requiring quite a
large amount of scraping while other
pieces need but little Quite often the
picker will find Il spruce with Il large
seam from the trunk to over half the
length of the tree, while bullying from
each side will be bright, clear Jumps of
choice gum. He also finds trees with
large Jumps projecting from the side,
while in this spruce not a seam can be
found Great punches of gum are fire.
quently found on the trunk of the tree,
There are different kinds of gum the
choice which cOmposcs the clear and best
Jumps, what the picker terms bright.
Then comes the second grade, consisting
of the assortment next to the choice,
while the third grade is disposed of at Il
low figure and is made into a patent gum.
A figure head of the gum pickers is the
middle man, who is general manager SUI
perintends the work, and sells the gum.
From one posse of pickers this middleman
often handles over 1000 pounds in sea
son. Often he makes IA deal with the
pckers, by supplying them with food
and clothing, and finding market, the
profits being shared. You will under
stand that the gum is always toted sever
al miles through the woods to reach
point of transportation.
The most gum handled by Bowditch,
Webster & Co., who are probably the larg
est dealers in this section, is received from
Aroostook county Canada, and New
York state. Gum not being manufac-
tured article is free of duty. The Au-
gusta firm mentioned in this article
handled over 2200 pounds last year. When
candy sold for If cents a pound an even
change was made for a pound of gum.
During the summer, if you have ever
visited the forest and observed the spruce
YOU have doubtless noticed that the gum
was of sticky nature; it is then that 1T
forms for the next winters gum gatherer,
and when the cold weather comes it grad
ually hardens Bowditch, Webster u
Co. of this city have shipped gum to
every state in the Union and even across
the great herring pond to France Eng
land, Italy, Australia and other places
No patent gum has as yet surpassed the
flavor of the spruce, and as long as these
trees stand will the gum chewer cling to
IFS urOduct,