MEMORIES OF THE 



it. It held just sixteen quarts — no sixteen-to-one affair, either — 

 and was always full to the ears. 



The work of tapping was extremely hard, as each tapper 

 had to carry a large bucket of '* spouts " or spiles, which were 

 made of sumac with the pith punched out, or cedar eight to 

 fourteen inches long bored with a gimlet — the making of which 

 was another boy's job; a three-quarter-inch bit, and brace which 

 was a clumsy wooden concern; a shovel to clear away the snow, 

 and an ax to break old dead limbs and chunks with which to set 

 the buckets firm and level. Sometimes the tapper did both the 

 boring and drove the spiles, which was the more important part 

 of the work and required some skill, as well as good judgment 

 where to bore, avoiding old cuts and wounds, so as to insure the 

 best flow of sap; while another, usually the boy, tagged on with 

 the load and ''set" the buckets. Later on we wired our buckets 

 with a loop or ear to hang them, and drove a spike with a 

 beveled point, made from the backs of old scythes, under the 

 spouts and hung them thereon. Still later we used a short, 

 cast-iron spile and hung the buckets upon it. 



The work of tapping was doubly difficult and hard if the snow 

 slumped — and it usually did in good sap weather. It then be- 

 came an all day of wallowing in the wet snow over our boots, 

 and sometimes, in going over logs, we got in clear to our waists. 

 With tow-strings we tied down our pants, but they, as well as 

 boots, were soon completely soaked. 



When the tapping was done, the next work was breaking out 

 the roads around through the woods for gathering the sap. 

 This was hard and serious work for the horses, who frequently 

 caulked and cut themselves or their mates. When the snow 

 was very deep and made it too hard and dangerous for the 

 double team, we used one horse, hitched to a large pung sled 



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