Year: 1876

Philadelphia Bulletin.


Mr.. Sniffin sends Us the following:


When bought my present place the
former owner offered. as one of the in
ducements to purchase, the fact that
there was superb sugar-maple tree in
the garden. 1t was noble tree, and
made up my mind I would tap it
some day and manufacture some sugar.
However never did so until this year,
but few weeks ago I concluded to
draw the sap, and to have what Mr..
Bangs calls a sugar ssbilin.' My
wife's uncle was staying with us, and
inviting some friends to come and eat
the sugar, he and l got to work. We
took huge wash-kettle down into the
yard and piled some wood beneath it,
and then we brought out a couple of
buckets to catch the sap, and the auger
with which to bore hole in the tree.


My wife's uncle said that the buck
ct ought to be set about feet from
the tree, as the sap would squirt right
out with good deal of force, and it
would be 4 pity to waste any of it.


Then he lighted the fire while I
bored the hole about inches deep.
When took the auger out the sap
didn't follow, but my wife's uncle
said what it wanted was 4 little time,
and so, while we waited, he put fresh
armful of wood on the fire. We wait
ed half an hour, as the sap didn't
come I concluded the hole wasn't
deep enough, so began boring again ;
but I bored too far, for the auger wen
clear through the tree and penetrated
the back of my wife's uncle, who was
leaning up against the trunk trying to
light his pipe. He jumped nearly
40 feet, and I had to mend him up
with court-plaster.


Then he said he thought the reason
the sap didn't come was that there
ought to be a kind of spigot in the hole
so as to let it run off easily. We got
the wooden spigot from the vinegar
Then, as the sap did not come, my
wife's uncle said he thought the spig.
OF must be jamed in so tight that il
choked the flow; and, while tried tt
push it out, he fed the fire with some
kindling wood. AS the spigot could
not be budged with a hammer, l con
cluded to bore it out with an auger
and meanwhile my wife's uncle stirred
the fire. Then the auger broke of
short in the hole and had to 20 hall
mile to hardware store to gel
another one.


Then I bored a fresh hole, and al
though the sap would not come, thu
company did, and they examined with
much interest that kettle, which wa!
now red-hot, and which my wife's un
Gle was trying to lift off the fire with
the hay-fork. AS the sap still refused
to come, I went over for bangs to tel
me how to make that exasperatin1
tree disgorge. When he arrived hi
looked at the hole, then at the spigot
then at the kettle, then at the tree
Then turning to me with a mournfu
face, he said:


''Snnffin, you have had a good dea
of trouble i'll your life, an it's dom
you good. It's made a man of you
This world is full of sorrow, but w
must bear it without grumblin'. Yo'
know that, of course. Consequently
now that I've some bad news to breal
to you, feel s if the shock won


knock you endways, but IL be receive'
with patient resignation. 1 say hop
|you won't break down an give way t.
lyour feelin's when 1 tell you tina
there tree is no sugar-maple at all


Grashus why that's black hickory
} It is indeed, and you might as wel


bore for maple.sugar in the side OF
telegraph pole 7"


Then the company went home, an
my wife's uncle said he had an engage
: ment with a man in Hatb0ro, whic
he must keep right off. l took tn
kettle up to the house, but as it wa
+ lbnrned out sold it next day for