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AS indicated
in the opening of the previous chapter, the inhabitants, taking advantage
of the ideal sugar weather which had arrived, all began to "tap." The
McNabb family had a very large bush, and ever since the boys had grown
strong enough to attend to the work, they always tapped a large number of
trees. It was no small task, and although they usually succeeded in
earning something by their labours, still it was often doubtful if it
really paid. This spring, however, would probably be the last in which the
work could be carried on extensively, as both Colin and Jamie would be
gone with Willie, and only Wallace would remain to do the work of the
farm, which, according to the will of the late Mr. McNabb, was to become
the property of the eldest son on the death of his mother. There was
therefore no incentive for the other boys to remain on the homestead, and
their mother, realising that the place offered no future, did not feel it
right to prevent them leaving to seek their fortunes in the world.
All the boys, Willie included,
turned in with a will this spring and assisted in the sugar-making. In the
first place a large number of additional troughs to hold the sap were
required. These were made out of young ash trees, about nine or ten inches
in diameter. With the aid of great oaken wedges and mallets, these young
trees were split down the centre, and then cut into lengths of about three
feet.
They were hollowed out with an axe,
and when finished, each would hold three-quarters or more of a pail of
sap. After the troughs were prepared, the work of tapping the trees had to
be proceeded with. In those early days the process was quite different
from that of to-day. Instead of using an auger, a concave gouge sharpened
on one end like a chisel was used. This was driven into the tree about
half an inch, and then a cedar spile, split by means of the gouge and
trimmed and sharpened at one end (so that it was an exact fit for the
opening in the tree), was driven into the aperture. Then the operator,
with mallet in hand, would drive the gouge into the tree about three
inches above the spile. Withdrawing it, he would reverse it and drive it
in again, so as to form a junction with the fresh cut. By prying out the
bark and wood within these two cuts, an opening was formed in the tree
from which the sap would trickle. Adjusting the trough so that the sap
trickling down the spile would fall into it, the operation was complete.
Then a "camp" or boiling-station had
to be established at some central point in the bush, where the sap had to
be boiled down and reduced to either syrup or sugar, as was desired.
At the boiling-station, one or more
large barrels or hogsheads were required in which to store the sap. In
addition to this, another barrel was needed for
gathering
the sweet material. This barrel was usually fastened
tightly to a "trauvoy" or "jumper."
To this a strong horse was attached,
and through deep snow or shallow, one of these well-trained animals hauled
the "jumper," dodging trees and stumps, and obeying the directions of the
sap-gatherer, who lifted the small troughs, emptied the contents into the
barrel, and continued at this till it was full, when he drove to the
boiling-station, emptied his barrel into one of the hogsheads, and started
off again.
Just as soon as all the barrels and
receptacles provided were filled, the boiling-down process began. For this
purpose, two large trees about ten feet apart were chosen. Then two stout
saplings (iron wood preferred), forked at one end and about five feet in
diameter and fifteen feet long, were procured. These were sharpened at the
unforked end and inserted in holes prepared for their reception in the
frozen ground. The forked ends leaned against the two big trees, and a
strong crosspiece extended from fork to fork. By this means a perfectly
strong and reliable bar was secured, from which the coolers in which the
sap was boiled could be suspended by means of strong chains. Then two
great backlogs would be rolled on either side of the coolers, between
these the dry firewood was placed, and in a few minutes a roaring blaze
would be doing its subtle work underneath the coolers. As the sap was
steadily reduced, the attendant replenished
the coolers from the hogshead close
by. It did not take long, with two or three large boilers and a roaring
fire, to reduce a hogshead of sap to syrup.
There was always the greatest danger
when the sap was well reduced, of the contents boiling over and thus
wasting the precious fluid. To avoid this, a very simple and effective
expedient had been discovered. A piece of fat pork, tied to the end of a
stick plunged into the bubbling caldron, would immediately cause the
boiling syrup to subside and avert all danger of loss. Consequently, if
the attendant found it necessary to leave the boilers for a time, he just
fastened a piece of pork to a stick and tied the latter to the handle of
the cooler, so that the pork would be an inch or so below the rim of the
cooler. In this way insurance against loss was secured. |
