. Ruth of Boston; a story of the Massachusetts Bay colony . 142 RUTH OF BOSTON Do you know how the sap is taken? Well, first ahole is bored in the trunk of a tree, about as high fromthe surface as will admit of placing a bucket beneathit, and into this * small wooden spout, or spigot, isdriven. Beneath the spout is placed a bucket or tub,and into this the sap, coaxed up from the roots bythe warmth of the sun, drops, or runs, very slowly. Master Winthropsserving men made holesin many trees, and then,when the work had beendone, went about gather-ing the sap out of thebuckets or tubs, intocasks,
. Ruth of Boston; a story of the Massachusetts Bay colony . 142 RUTH OF BOSTON Do you know how the sap is taken? Well, first ahole is bored in the trunk of a tree, about as high fromthe surface as will admit of placing a bucket beneathit, and into this * small wooden spout, or spigot, isdriven. Beneath the spout is placed a bucket or tub,and into this the sap, coaxed up from the roots bythe warmth of the sun, drops, or runs, very slowly. Master Winthropsserving men made holesin many trees, and then,when the work had beendone, went about gather-ing the sap out of thebuckets or tubs, intocasks, which werehauled from place toplace on a sled, exactlyas Mistress Winthrop,Susan and I had soon as a cask has beenfilled, a huge fire is builtnear at hand, and over itis hung a large kettle, muchas if one were counting on making soap. In thisthe sap is boiled until it is thick, like molasses, incase one wishes to make syrup, or yet longer if sugaris A SUGARING DINNER 143 Of course it is necessary to taste of the syrup veryoften to learn if it has been cooked enough, and thisportion of the work Susan and I did until we felt muchas flies look after they have been feasting on molasses,and have their wings and legs clogged with sweetness. I do not mean to say that we besmeared ourselveswith it; but we ate so much while tasting to learn if thetcooking was going on properly, that I felt as if I hadbeen turned into a big cake of sugar. When the sap is thick enough to sugar, as it iscalled, it is poured into pans of birch-bark, whereit cools in cakes, each weighing two or three pounds. A SUGAR IN c, DINNER : We enjoyed ourselves hugely until well after noon,when we were so weary and sticky that it was apositive relief to hear Mistress Winthrop propose thatwe go back to her dwelling, and there what do youthink we found ? No less than twenty people from Boston, amongwhom were Susans mother and mine, had all comeout for what is called the s
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