“Yes, so you said before; but how do you do it? Explain the whole affair to me.”
“Why, ma’am, we pick out the maple-trees which are about a foot wide at the bottom of the trunk, as they yield most sugar. We then bore a hole in the trunk of the tree, about two feet above the ground, and into that hole we put a hollow reed, just the same as you would put a spigot in a cask. The liquor runs out into one of these trays that we have been digging out.”
“Well, and then what do you do?”
“We collect all the liquor every morning till we have enough to fill the coppers, and then we boil it down.”
“What coppers will you use, then?”
“There are two large coppers in the store-room, not yet put up, which will answer our purpose very well, ma’am. They hold about a hogshead each. We shall take them into the woods with us, and pour the liquor into them, and boil them down as soon as they are ready. You must come and see us on the boiling-day, and we can have a frolic in the woods.”
“With all my heart,” replied Mrs Campbell. “How much liquor do you get from one tree?”
“A matter of two or three gallons,” replied Malachi; “sometimes more and sometimes less. After we have tapped the trees and set our trays, we shall have nothing more to do for a fortnight. The Strawberry can attend to them all, and will let us know when she is ready.”
“Do you tap the trees every year?”
“Yes, ma’am, and a good tree will bear it for fifteen or twenty years; but it kills them at last.”