umn change, as you
see, to crimson or orange. It somewhat resembles the English oak in its
trunk, branches, and the great mass of foliage which it carries. Its
wood is very heavy, and is often used in the manufacture of beautiful
articles of furniture, as well as for ships, mills, and other mechanical
purposes. But the principal value of this tree is found in its sap; and
by the mysterious, but always wise distribution of Nature, it seems to
have been given to the people of the temperate and colder latitudes, in
place of the sugar-cane--which, as you know, flourishes only in hot and
tropical countries.

"`Each maple,' continued my wife, `will yield annually from three to
four pounds of excellent sugar; but to do this, it should be tapped
early in the spring--for the sap does not run in the summer or winter.
It runs, however, in the autumn--though not so freely as in spring--but
we must hope that we shall be able to draw as much from ours as will
supply us until spring comes round again.'

"`But, mamma,' broke in the inquisitive Harry, `when and how shall we
get the sap?'

"`I suppose, Harry, you wish for separate answers to these two questions
which you have put so closely together. Well, then--our best time to
draw it will be after the very first frost which makes its appearance.
It has been found that the sap yields best when the nights are clear and
cold, and the days dry and warm.

"`The manner of extracting the sap, and the process of making the sugar,
are both very simple. In the first place, we must make a great many
little troughs--one for every tree we intend to tap. These are used to
supply the place of vessels, which of course we have not got. The
farmers of the United States, who make maple-sugar, also use these
troughs--as they will often have several hundred trees running at the
same time, and it would be rather expensive for a backwoodsman to supply
himself with so many vessels from either the potter, the tinman, or the
cooper. But the troughs, which are easily made, answer the purpose just
as well; and Cudjo here is able to make them for us.

"`After the troughs nothing more is needed, except a few joints of the
cane which grows here all around us. An auger-hole must be bored in
each of the trees, about three feet from the ground. Into each of these
holes a single tube of cane must be inserted, so as to form a spout to
conduct the running sap into the troughs below. We shall then have
no