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Show caps Kunnin ' 4 By ELMO SCOTT WATSON " VjO YOU remember those charming D sketches of old-time farm life which Charles Diulley Warner published In a book under the title of "Being a ... mm. Boy"? One of them, you will recall, rVWK was about "The Sugar Camp" and in it he said: ' 'As I remember the New England boy (and I am very intimate with one), he used to be on the qui vive In the spring iNfor the sap to begin running. I think he discovered discov-ered it as soon as anybody. Perhaps he knew It by a feeling of something starting In his own veins a sort of spring stir in his legs and arms, whlch tempted him to stand on his head, or "throw a handspring, If he could find a spot of I ground from which the snow had melted. The isap stirs early In the legs of a country boy, and shows itself in uneasiness In the toes, which t sugar. Boiling the sap In an Iron kettle over By ELMO SCOTT WATSON . r"m -,-":m S. an Pen fire- ln a little while thoSO yun9"- O YOU remember those charming . V t V ters wMI be pouring the thick sirup out on D sketches of old-time farm life which f J Ait iv ) ! the snow to make "maple sugar wax." Charles Diulley Warner published In f f f ' 1 4- The 8U9ar houS 3 Vermont maPle a book under the title of "Being a "sjjfl Hi't'l! X sunar camp, i. , ...I.' Boy"? One of them, you will recall, ?J Vk 1 5- First he "taps" the tree with an auger, rojnW was about "The Sugar Camp" and h H'ftJf,s A V ? T ' then he drives in a "spile," then he hangs In it he said: xj t ,VV' V'"' a bucket on it, and Nature does the rest! ' ''As I remember the New England Wi''-jA!2.y ;.Si'; I ' boy (and I am very Intimate with :p f.fy&.$& one), he used to be on the qui vive In the spring hAm' t SSMffTNs. ivfor the sap to begin running I think he di cov "i ' Vh' V , yj" T fT'NX . ered it a soon a ainbody I'erlnp he knew .Cv A '"A J It by a feeling of something starting In his own lY , ICZ YYi -7Y. 1 K li i. veins a sort of spring stir in hi leg and arm , iVT & "I M IK nA i ' 1 If V' V whkh tempted him to stand on hi head, or P I TWT I - V "4 !. t 11 ' v- " V "throw a hand prlng, If he could find a spot of NV i Vs. W I is iH 4 i ' " " If - W ground from which the snow had melted The -Yl fc 4 - ' A i sap stirs enily In the leg of a country boy, and V1 lL Nii Ki -ityt h "v, ,v , s.,os itself in uneasines, in the toe, wh.n . 1 'fl ML Vtf tff 1 get tired of boot', and want to come out and x . ' touch the soil ju t as soon as the sun has , " -" , n warmed it a little The country boy goes bare v..- Ms. ' v " - "; ; foot ju t a naturally as the tree burst their S'V sa bud , which were packed and varnished over ln " i J t Sts- a the fall to keep the water and the frost out. f5fxi4 "Perhaps the boy has been out digging Into the v x , - (jL.) i: maple trees with his jack knife; at any rate, V Sy America. After telling how the boy comes run- " he is pretty sure to announce the discovery as ' ning to the house with his excited announce- jj. he comes running Into the house in a great r X t 'tlgJC""' "?r "IA ment of "Sap's runnln' !" he continues: a state of excitement as If he has heard a hen 4fps,P -ri1t "And then, indeed, the stir and excitement be- cackle in the barn with, 'Sap's runnin' !' " kt t Sm The sap-buckets, which have been stored Yes, "sap's runnin'" in the New England i 4 C x Ia"- 'n "ie Earret over the wood house, and which, states, in New York, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, ln iifr$k i f f ' ' v ' tlle Dy nas occasionally climbed up to look at fact, wherever hard maples are native to the 5-"v:f J1 llfr C wlta ano'ner boy, for they are full of sweet sug- IjSoiL On hundreds of farms ln those states blue -V"" M Ift" rg -4 1 gestions of the annual spring frolic, are brought -I smoke, curling up into the air above the trees 4 ijjT S?'n.I.S ' M down and set out on the south side of the house in a "sugar bush," tells the passerby that the v"' JtX J an(J scalded. The snow Is still a foot or4wo deep S "sugar camp" is in operation and that here is -iL? v!; I ia tne w00('s. arjd 'ne ox sle Is got out to make i being produced those two finest of all native Ji f irt J t I a road to tne suSar camp, and the campaign be- 1 sweets, maple sirup and maple sugar. And If Cf? ( J I 4 , gins The boy is everywhere present, superintend-, B that passerby has ever known the joys of maple 0 jili ' 1DS everything, asking questions, and filled with $ sugar time, the sight of that smoke and the t" $ 'jf I '''''111 a desire to help tlie excitement. smells which drift toward him from the sugar .J" S I "IQ -'le nrs': Pace t'le men g about and tap camp will make memories tug at his heartstrings ( 4 " ? 7t.' ! f" a tlle trees dr've In the spouts, and hang the J and it will be difficult for him to pass on by. ' J ! ' buckets under. The ;boy watches all these op- For as Charles Dudley Warner says: "In my f 4' ''V.j, X 3 entions with the greatest Interest. He wishes day, maple sugar making used to be something 'JtZ . that sometime when a hole is bored In a tree between picnicking and being shipwrecked on a Wfejjs' ? a J 4 "''iV? tbat tlie sap woulli sPout out in a stream as it 0 fertile island where one should save from the Y&txX; 4 5, , oes wl'en a cider barrel is tapped; but it never'' wreck tubs and augers, and great kettles and J x " ' t l" If T" does only d1"0?3! sometimes almost in a Ii pork, and hen's eggs and rye-and-Indian bread, i " stream, but on the whole slowly, and the boy 1 and begin at once to lead the sweetest life In "r -g ' learns that the sweet things of life have to be 0 the world. I am told that it Is something dif- '7 ' ' patiently waited for, and do not usually come ferent nowadays, and that there is more desire 3-$$ j - " 1 f otherwise than drop by drop. ' to save the sap, and make good, pure sugar, JXJS v ' ti -S' "Then the camp is to be cleared of snow. and sell it for a large price, than there used s5-tii6' The snaDty is re-covered with boughs. In front t to be, and that the old fun and picturesqueness l 42 of lt tw0 enormous 'gs are rolled nearly to- - of the business are pretty much gone. I am told s v&is!L gether, and a fire Is built between them. Forked 'j that It is the custom to carefully collect the , g sticks are set at-each end, and a long pole Is sap and bring it to the house, where there are ' Ji 'ffi Y Em laid on them, and on this are hung the great built brick arches, over which it is evaporated . f ,,,,. ... )f ..... . jv cildron kettles.:-The huge hogsheads are turned 1 in shallow pans; and that pains are taken to keep " " ' '"" " ' right side up, and cleaned out to receive th'i J tlie leaves and sticks and ashes and coals out sap that is gathered. And now, If there" I's-'a'.' '' get tired of boots, and want to come out and touch the soil just as soon as the sun has n warmed lt a little. The country boy goes bare- foot just as naturally as the trees burst their buds, which were packed and varnished over In f the fall to keep the water and the frost out. Perhaps the boy has been out digging into the i: maple trees with his jack knife; at any rate, J! he is pretty sure to announce the discovery as jj. he comes running Into the house in a great state of excitement as if he has heard a hen cackle in the barn with, 'Sap's runnin'!"' Yes, "sap's runnin' " In the New England states, in New York, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, In fact, wrherever hard maples are native to the I soli. On hundreds of farms ln those states blue -I smoke, curling up into the air above the trees in a "sugar bush," tells the passerby that the :5 "sugar camp" is in operation and that here is i being produced those two finest of all native I sweets, maple sirup and maple sugar. And If B that passerby has ever known the joys of maple f sugar time, the sight of that smoke and the smells which drift toward him from the sugar camp will make memories tug at his heartstrings J and it will be difficult for him to pass on by. For as Charles Dudley Warner says: "In my day, maple sugar making used to be something between picnicking and being shipwrecked on a fertile island where one should save from the wreck tubs and augers, and great kettles and Ii pork, and hen's eggs and rye-and-Indian bread, I and begin at once to lead the sweetest life ln 0 the world. I am told that lt is something different dif-ferent nowadays, and that there is more desire to save the sap, and make good, pure sugar, and sell it for a large price, than there used t to be, and that the old fun and picturesqueness - of the business are pretty much gone. I am told 'j that it is the custom to carefully collect the sap and bring it to the house, where there are f built brick arches, over which it is evaporated 1 in shallow pans; and that pains are taken to keep the leaves and sticks and ashes and coals out , vi u ; ana uiat me sugar is clarified ; and that, i, in short, it is a money making business, in which 1 there is very little fun, and that the boy Is not - allowed to dip his paddle into the kettle of I boiling sugar and lick off the delicious sirup. The prohibition may improve the sugar, but it is cruel to the boy." Those words were written more than half a - century ago ("Being a Boy" was first printed in 1S77 and Houghton, Mifflin and Company of ; Boston got out a second edition 20 years later, i illustrated with photographs by Clifton Johnson, John-son, "lovingly taken from the real life and heart of New England," which aid ln preserving the charm of those truly "good old days"). If Charles S Dudley Warner were alive today he would find . that ln some places where maple sugar is made ' tlie "fun and picturesqueness" are gone even t more than they were when he wrote. For ln-' ln-' stance, ln the state with which, more than any J other, we associate thoughts of maple sugar, I there's a man, known as the "champion sugar ' maker of Vermont," who has devised an Intricate system of Iron pipes leading from every one of the trees in his maple grove to huge evaporators ln the sugar house, and this network of pipes, more than 23,000 feet in length, sends a steady ; stream of sap Into the place where it is converted con-verted Into maple sirup and maple sugar. j But, despite this example of modern efficiency t applied to a business rich In tradition, there still are sugar camps ln many places where the sap drips through "spiles" made of sumach or alder ' Into wooden sap buckets (just like the ones . made famous by President Coolldge during his administration) ; where it Is collected into great ; wooden tubs or barrels on sleds, drawn by a yoke of oxen or a team of plodding horses ; where it is boiled down ln great iron or copper kettles; where they still hang a piece of fnt , salt pork by a string from the pole over the ket-' ket-' tie so that lt is about two inches from the top edge to keep the sap from boiling over; and where they will let you dip some of the bubbling sirup out of the kettle and pour It on the snow' where it forms almost- immediately that delicacy all ci.-iirn.'uv-j ma,ile supir wax. No, not all il-i' fun am! pictii'C8mwm-s has been taken ' r ""!. s-'i.ir lime by moii.-rn methods and v. -faiii.ii'd notions" of eiiirit-nry in production, i. ;ke so many oilier ii'"ois In our national diet, I we owe tne aauition or mnpie sirup ana mapie sugar to the Indians. There is an Interesting legend about the way the red man discovered maple sugar. According to the story, a certain Woksis, a mighty hunter, was out one day In search of game and his diligent squaw, whose name was Moqua, was busy embroidering a pair of moccasins to surprise him when he came back home. But she knew, as all wives know, that in addition to a surprise she had to have an evening meal awaiting her lord. So she hastily cut off a piece of moose meat and set it to boil in the water which ran from the maple tree at the door of her tepee since the tree was nearer than the spring. Then she bent so interestedly over her embroidery that she forgot all about the moose meat and the sweet water boiled away into a thick, brown sirup and formed a crusted sweetness around the meat. When Woksis returned, he graciously accepted the moccasins with their bead-embroidered bears but he exclaimed with delight when his teeth sank into the daintiest morsel that he had ever tasted. Eagerly he devoured the meat and called for the kettle so that he could lick it clean. Then he went out in his new moccasins saying never a word about them and told all his tribe how Kosekusheth, the heaven-sent instructor, had taught his Moqua how to make a delicious food by boiling the juice of maple. Soon this knowledge spread to all the tribes and every spring saw them gashing the sugar maples with their hatchets and gathering the sap ln containers made from birchbark. It was then boiled in earthen pots (and later, after the coming of the white man), in Iron kettles which they obtained from traders, Into which heated stones were dropped to facilitate tlie boiling. The early settlers were quick to appreciate appre-ciate this toothsome native delicacy and in many a pioneer home maple sugar was the only sweetening sweet-ening ever used. But they Improved upon the Indians' method of making it mainly In the matter of cleanliness and maple sugar time became be-came one of the traditions of American farm life. For a description of that delightful period in the farm year one can do no better than to refer to Charles Dudley Warner again, and see it, as he saw It, through the eyes of Young 1. Two Girl Scouts from Manhattan learn the Joys of maple sugar time In their national camp at Pieasantvllle, N. Y. 2. "Drip! Drip! Drip!" Maple trees are a-trickle near Keene, N. H. 3. The old fashioned way of making maple sugar. Boiling the sap in an Iron kettle over an open fire. In a little while those youngsters youngs-ters will be pouring the thick sirup out on the snow to make "maple sugar wax." 4. The sugar house in a Vermont maple suoar camp. 5. First he "taps" the tree with an auger, then he drives in a "spile," then he hangs a bucket on it, and Nature does the rest! America. After telling how the boy comes running run-ning to the house with his excited announcement announce-ment of "Sap's runnin'!" he continues: "And then, indeed, the stir and excitement begin. be-gin. The sap-buckets, which have been stored in the garret over the wood house, and which the boy has occasionally climbed up to look at with another boy, for they are full of sweet suggestions sug-gestions of the annual spring frolic, are brought down and set out on the south side of the house and scalded. The snow Is still a foot or4wo deep in the woods, and the ox sled Is got out to make a road to the sugar camp, and the campaign begins. be-gins. The boy is everywhere present, superintend-, ing everything, asking questions, and filled with a desire to help the excitement. "In the first place the men go about and tap the trees, drive in the spouts, and hang the buckets under. The ;boy watches all these operations op-erations with the greatest Interest. He wishes that sometime when a hole is bored ln a tree that the sap would spout out in a stream as it does when a cider barrel is tapped; but it never'' does, lt only drops, sometimes almost in a stream, but on the whole slowly, and the boy learns that the sweet things of life have to be patiently waited for, and do not usually come otherwise than drop by drop. "Then the camp is to be cleared of snow. The shanty is re-covered with boughs. In front of it two enormous logs are rolled nearly together, to-gether, and a fire is built between them. Forked sticks are set at-each end, and a long pole is laid on them, and on this are hung the great caldron kettles.:-The huge hogsheads are turned right side up, and cleaned out to receive the' sap that is gathered. And now, If there" Is'-'a'. good 'sap run,' tne estaonsnmem is unper .iuii way. .:' ; "The great :fire .that is kindled up is never let out, nigiit or day, as long as the season lasts. Somebody is always cutting wood to feed it; somebody is busy most of the time gathering in the sap; somebody is required to watch the ket-. ties that they do not boil over, anil to-Ull, them. It Is not the boy, however ; -he Is too busy with things in general to be of any use In details. "He likes to boll eggs with the hired man in the hot sap; he likes-to roast potatoes In the ashes, and he would live in the camp day and night If he were permitted. . . . The great occasions oc-casions for the boy, though, are the time of 'sugaring off.' Sometimes this used to be done in the evening, and lt was made the excuse for a frolic in the camp. The neighbors were Invited In-vited ; sometimes even the pretty girls from the village, who filled all the woods with their sweet voices and merry laughter. . . . "At these sugar parties everyone was expected to eat as much sugar as possible; and those who are practiced In It can eat a great deal It is a peculiarity about eating warm maple sugar that, though you may eat so much of it one day as to be sick and loathe the thought of it, you will want lt the next day more than ever. At the 'sugaring oft' they used to pour the hot sugar upon the snow, where it congealed, without with-out crystallizing; Into a sort of wax, which I do suppose is the most delicious substance that was ever invented. And lt takes a great while to eat lt. It one should close his teeth firmly on a ball of lt, he would be unable to open his mouth until un-til it dissolves. The sensation while lt is melting is very pleasant, but one cannot converse. "The boy used to make a big lump of it and give lt to the dog, who seized It with great avidity, and closed his jaws on It, as dogs will do on anything. It was funny the next moment to see the expression of perfect surprise on the dog's fnce when he found that he could not open his jaws. He shook his head; he sat down In despair; he ran 'round ln a circle; he dashed into the woods and back again. He did everything every-thing except climb a tree and howl. It would have been such a relief to him if he could have howled! But that was the one thing he could not do." by Western Newspaper Union. |