Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1895-01-09
GATHERING SPRUCE GUM.

GATHERING SPRUCE GUM.
Tons of j. Collected Each Winter and
Millions Of Chews In a Ton.
Gathering gum is quite q business
by itself and is carried on much
more systematically than is general
ly supposed. Tie gum picker is a
busy fellow, and, like the hotel pro-
prietor at some pleasant seaside re-
sort, has only q few months for his
business. When the woodsmen enter
the forests in the fall, the gum pick
ers follow and continue in the woods
till springtime There are men who
make practice of nipping from tho
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.
Besides gathering it from the trees
cut down to make logs the picker
shells it from the standing tree, but
this is much harder method, al
though in many cases a larger guam
ttiitty IS procured, because none is lost,
as in the case where the spruce is
falling and rolls against other giants
Of. the forests, stripping it at times
Of several quarts of it's gum deposits,
provided there is Q well filled scam
il the tree. In collecting the Jumps
Of gum from the standing spruce the
picker has an apparatus especially
arranged for the purpose. It con-
sists Of a long pole, upon the top of
which is a little sack that will hold
about two quarts of gum. Back of
this sack is a piece of iron Or steel
made like q hammer and working
upon pivot, while cord is attach
Cd to the end and extends to the foot
Of the pole The picker places the
top Of this picking machine along
the gumny seam of the spruce, and
by Operating the little hammer by
means of the cord is able to clip off
the Jumps of gum into the sack To-
Gated under the top of the hammer.
Sometimes from one tree a bushel of
gum is picked, but not very often is
the gatherer fortunate in finding so
productive a spruce, and he is quite
contented in plucking from pint to
half a bushel from each.
When the day picking is finished,
all return to camp and sitting around |
the open fire in the evening clean
this gum piece by piece, somerequir-
ing a large amount of scraping, while
other pieces need but little. Quite
often the picker will find a spruce
with a 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
the spruce not seam can be found.
Great lunches Of gum are frequently
found on the trunk of the tree.
There are different kinds of gum.
The choice is the clear and best
Jumps, what the picker terms bright.
Then comes the second grade, con-
sisting of the assortment next to the
choice, while the third grade is dis
posed of at a low figure and is made
nto q patent gum. A fgurehead of
he gum pickers is the middleman,
who is general manager, superin-
ends the work and sells the gum
FROM one posse of pickers this mid
lleman often handles 1900 pounds
n g season. Often he makes a deal
With the piclzels by supplying them
With food and clothing and finding
] market, the profits being shared.
You will understand that the gum
s always toted several miles through
he woods to reach point of trans
)ortation.
The most gum handled by dealers
Il this section is received from
lroostook county, Canada and New
york state. Gum, not being manu-
actured article, is free of duty An
augusta firm handled over 1920 .
ounds last year When candy sold
or Il cents a pound, an even ex-
hange was made for a pound of
UNI. During the summer, if you
ave ever visited the forest and OBJ
erved the spruce you have doubt 1
oss noticed that the gum was of 7
ticky nature. tits then that it forms /
II the next winters gum gatherer,
nd when the cold weather comes it |:
radually hardens. No patent gum |.
as as yet surpassed the flavor of /!
le spruce and as long as these II
'ees stand will the gum chewer cling
, its product. -Kennebec journal. 7
Lady Commercial Ito her husband, n
no is rather cold to her)--John, =
h