59 

 jharna" being sold simply as "droppings." These three nights 

 are the periods of activity in the tree, and after these 

 three it Is allowed to remain for three niglits at rest, when 

 the same process again begins. Of course, every tree in the 

 same grove does not run in the same cycle. Some are at their 

 first, some at their second nlg?it and so on ; and thus the 

 ovmer Is always busy. 



Since every sixth day a new cut is made over the previous 

 one, it follows that the tree gets more and more hewed into as 

 the season progresses, and towards the end of the season, the 

 exuding surface may be, and often is, as much as 4 Inches below 

 the surface. The cuts are during the whole of one season 

 made about the same place, but in alternate seasons, alternate 

 sides of the tree are used for the tapping ; and as each sea- 

 son's cutting is thus above the previous season's, and on the 

 opposite side, the stern of the tree has, if looked at from the 

 side, a curious zigzag appearance. The age of a tree can, of 

 course, be counted up by enumerating the notches and adding 6 

 or 7, the number of years passed before the first year's notch. 

 When they are 46 years old they are worth little as produce- 

 bearing trees. 



As to the produce of one tree, one may expect from a good 

 tree a regular average of 5 (about §. gallon) per night 

 (excluding the quiescent nights). The colder and clearer the 

 weather the more copious and rlcr: the produee . In the 

 beginning of November tapping has begun. In December and 



