The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1909-04-01
THE OLD SAP HOUSE.

/ LIE OLD OAR I1OCSE.
These spring days in the city with
their sudden cold winds, the spatters of
rain, the unexpected sunshine, recall
those earlier days of mine cup in Maine. -
Especially when l see the sign Pure
Maple Syrup do l think of the days spent
boiling down sap up in the maple orchard
back of the house. That was before the
days of evaporators and all the parapher-
MALTA of modern sugaring off. We used
to make little syrup in the spring,
some twenty-five or thirty gallons, per-
haps seventy-five now and then in a
good season, just to get limbered up for
the springs work, just for the joy of
Nature was waking from her winters
nap. We didn't make business of it as
we raised our corn or hay OF potatoes,
but we had a little leisure just at that
season of the year and the syrup was an
extra" We rioted in sweets for a
while. There We're Leather aprons -
and sap sugar. out doors, and hot bis
cult or griddles and maple syrup indoors,
and it is wonder in these days how our
digestion worked so we'll as it did.
Boiling down sap had plenty of hard
work to it, but it was fun We had a
good grove, sap house. plenty of uten-
sils, and we took care to get up some dry
wood in the fall. We Just waited for
the first indications of a run in the spring
We had cut and hauled and sawed and
split our winters wood. The snow had
drifted deep in those days in February
and early March, but now came signs of
thaw. A few crows had made their
appearance and their conversation with
each other seemed quite general at that
so warm, the air felt so balmy, that we
ventured to hope that spring was near
We We're quite sure we heard a robin,
and went up to the sap house to look over
things. That night it froZe quite hard
and we found a crust the next morning.
What do the boys and girls living in cities
know about the possibilities and advan-
tages and, well, yes, deceits of crust?
When it covers some two or three feet
of snow it makes walking good. And as
it seemed warm in the sunshine, and hav-
ing little else which we wanted to do, We
thought we would tap few trees. But
the sap wouldn't run. 1t was too early.
Still we let the sap pals hang.
Then came another snoWstorm-a little
worse than any before. The roads were
so drifted we could not move sled with
out shovelling. And then a blow which
sent the snow scurrying over that crust
back into the woods and into the cuts
along the road, and making the old barn
groan as if in pain. Winter was vicious
at the end. The next morning broke
clear and serene. Only light zephyrs
famed the snowdrifts. The sun was
warm and we hurried off up to the maple
orchard to empty those pals of snow
To our delight we found the sap was run
ming. The season had begun.
| am afraid we did not spend any too
much time that morning breaking out
roads. We just scratched a track along
where the road ought to be- We would
let the sun get IN some work while We
hurried back to tap some more trees.
The snow was pretty deep in the woods
and we had to struggle along from tree
to tree and it was not long before the
wisdom born of experience GAINED our
enthusiasm. We would wait until the
next morning when there would be a
crust before we did any more of that
work. In the meantime, We would break
out road through the maple orchard to
haul up our sap, we would get out our
sap pans, and make ready.
Somehow the next morning was rather
disappointing. Spring again had retreat
ed before winters rude protests. 1t was
cold, but there was a crust and we went
on tapping our trees just the same.
| remember our varying emotions of
disgust and hope as the changeable spring
days came along, but the sun grew warm
er, the keen cold winds became less Wig
orous and, one morning before we reach
ed the grove we heard the drops of sap
ringing in the pals. The sap was run
ming merrily, the snow began to soften,
the brown patches in the pastures had
begun to show and then grow larger and
the sap season was in full swing
We gathered the sap in the morning
when there was crust. We went from
tree to tree, filed a hogshead on our
horse sled, and then hauled it down to
the sap house. All this is different now.
Spouts run down the hill to a reservoir
and there is no more hauling sap, but in
my time that furnished part of the ex-
element of the day. The road was rough,
the snags began to show up, corner
with bad slew made careful driving to
get round it very necessary to avoid a
spill.
In the sap house we were boiling down.
Big cordwood sticks made roaring fire.
They save wood now in their evaporators,
but we did not then. The boiling sap had
fascination for me. How it dubbed,
and rolled away to the corners of the
pan. And along in the afternoon when
the sap had been gathered for the day,
and the sap in the pans was almost syrup,
there were always few of us sitting
around the pans discussing the ever
burning question of how much longer we
must boil it before we finished it off in a
small pan on the stove in the corner
A neighbor or two would drop in to
see how 1--WE were making it." We set
tied the affairs of the nation, the town,
and the new neighbor, then and there
We wondered, and expressed our views,
why south wind stopped the run. We
discussed in various ways the necessity
of freeze at night and thaw in the
daytime to make good run. And va
rious other weighty matters were talked
over while we watched the pans boiling
and struggling and foaming before us.
Then we took off our syrup, finished it
!, off on the stove, turned it into gallon
cans, ready to send to the village. 1t
} was the genuine article which we sent
, away whatever happened to it after
wards. Is it my taste or has maple syrup
degenerated? The exquisite flavor of
, that first maple syrup in the spring has