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A MARCH CHRONICLE. 



Pierce the bark anywhere, and out gushes the clear, 

 sweet liquid. But let the wind change to the south, 

 and blow moist and warm, destroying that crispness of 

 the air, and the flow slackens at once, unless there be 

 a deep snow in the woods to counteract or neutralize 

 it, in which case the run may continue till the rain sets 

 in. The rough- coated old trees, one would not think 

 they could scent a change so quickly through that wrap- 

 per of dead, dry bark an inch or more thick. I have 

 to wait till I put my head out of doors, and feel the 

 air on my bare cheek, and sniff it with my nose; but 

 their nerves of taste and smell are no doubt under 

 ground, imbedded in the moisture, and if there is any 

 thing that responds quickly to atmospheric changes it 

 is water. Do not the fish, think you, down deep in the 

 streams, feel every wind that blows, whether it be hot 

 or cold ? Do not the frogs and newts and turtles under 

 the mud feel the warmth, though the water still seems 

 like ice ? As the springs begin to rise in advance of 

 the rain, so the intelligence of every change seems to 

 travel ahead under ground, and forewarn things. 



A " sap-run" seldom lasts more than two or three 

 days. By that time there is a change in the weather, 

 perhaps a rain-storm, which takes the frost nearly all 

 out of the ground. Then before there can be another 

 run, the trees must be wound up again, the storm must 

 have a white tail, and " come off" cold. Presently the 

 sun rises clear again, and cuts the snow or softens the 

 hard frozen ground with his beams 5 and the trees take 



