68 THE VEGETATIVE FUNCTIONS OF PLANTS 



thawing and freezing. During this season, in many parts 

 of the country, it is customary to "tap" the trees, by 

 boring a small hole into the trunk far enough to enter the 

 wood, and then insert a wooden or metal "spiggot" or 

 spout, through which the sap flows out and is caught in 

 pails. It is then " boiled down," either in the sugar bush 

 or in the house, until the water has passed off in large 

 quantities as steam, leaving a thickened maple syrup in 

 the kettle or evaporating pan. If the boiling is continued 

 the syrup, when cooled, becomes maple sugar. The saps 

 of the sugar-cane and of the sugar-beet are, as is well 

 known, the source of the ordinary sugars of commerce. 



