VERMONT MAPLE SUGAR 171 



pect that Vermonters do and have since the State 

 was first settled. No State has given to the na- 

 tion more sturdy, dependable, keenly vitalized, 

 strong-souled men and women than this, from 

 the days of Ethan Allen down, and it may be that 

 deep draughts from the potent purity distilled by 

 the rough-barked, rock-rooted maples has more 

 to do with it than we know. Maple syrup ought 

 to be recommended to the schools. I believe it 

 would increase scholarship and promote ethics. 



The gray grove was like a temple of white still- 

 ness as we went from tree to tree. The only 

 sound was the crunch of soft snow and the splash 

 of sap within the barrel, a cool sound like that 

 of sea waves curling on the rocks. A pair of 

 white-breasted nuthatches ran deftly among the 

 branches and seemed to respect the hush of the 

 place, calling to one another in tiny tones that 

 only emphasized the quiet. Here was the gray 

 column of a beech, its smooth trunk looking as if 

 carved out of mottled marble. There stood a 

 yellow birch with a fringe of flaxen curls. But 

 for the most part the growth was of maples alone 

 and with little underbrush, so that we looked be- 



