74 SPORT IN NORTH AMERICA. 



to have any pretensions to being a sportsman. I 

 understood the look, and hastened to assure the 

 Canadian Nimrod that I had been, from my youth 

 upwards, an enthusiast iu all sporting matters, and 

 that among my occupations in the States I included 

 sport and adventurous expeditions. 



" Well then," said he, " if you are as fond of it 

 as you seem to be, I can put some capital sport in 

 your Avay.^^ 



" Of what kind ? " 

 . " I must answer you by a question : have you 

 ever tasted maple sugar? If not, here are some 

 samples, and you may try them." 



I thanked my new friend, and assured him that I 

 was perfectly well acquainted with the article which 

 he had mentioned, which was the sap of the Canadian 

 maple. 



" The great maple forests, where the sugar is 

 gathered, are not only in Upper and Lower Canada, 

 but also in the States of Michigan, Maine, New 

 Hampshire, Wisconsin, Missouri, Pennsylvania, and 

 Illinois, The finest plantations, indeed, are in the 

 last-mentioned State, and the sugar harvest there 

 is the most important. If you would like to see 

 it with your own eyes, I will be your guide, and 

 you may rely upon it you could not have a better 

 one.'' 



" I must confess to you frankly, my good friend," 

 I replied, " that in spite of the pleasure it would 



