hem. That part of the sap which would not
crystallise was carefully strained from the vessels, and became
molasses; and these, let me tell you, are much finer than the molasses
that are made from the sugar-cane--much richer in colour, and pleasanter
to the palate.

"Frank and Harry had their part to perform--which was to walk about,
rifles in hand, and guard the troughs. This was an important matter,
for it is a singular fact that wolves, raccoons, badgers, opossums, and,
in short, every animal wild or tame, will drink the sap of the
sugar-maple, and are so fond of it that they will risk their lives to
get at it. As the trees we had opened stood at a considerable distance
from each other, our two little sentries were kept constantly relieving
one another upon their rounds.

"The sap continued to run for several days; and, of course, we were kept
busy during all that time. Had it been in the spring-time, we should
have been employed for weeks at it, as it then runs longer and more
freely. We were favoured with a smart frost every night, which was a
fortunate circumstance, as the water did not gather during the cold
hours of the night--otherwise we should have found it impossible to
guard the wild animals from our troughs.

"All these nights we slept by the fire, where we had made a regular
camp, as is usual in the backwoods of America. We only went to the
house when it was necessary to get some article that was needed. We had
put up a little tent, made out of our old wagon-tilt, to cover us; and
the place we called by the name which is in use among the backwoods
farmers--that is to say, a `sugar camp.' We found this out-of-door life
very exciting and agreeable, camping thus in the thick shady woods with
the great majestic trees towering over and around us--listening at times
to the light breeze, as it rustled their golden leaves--or lulled into a
pleasing tranquillity by the songs of a thousand birds. At night,
however, the music was not so sweet to our ears. Then we heard the
barking of wolves, the mournful `coo-whoo-a' of the great horned owl,
and the still more terrifying scream of the cougar. But we kept up a
crackling, blazing fire all the night, and we knew that this would keep
these fierce creatures at bay.

"At length our work was done. The sugar-water flowed each hour more
slowly, and then ceased altogether; and we broke up our camp. When we
had returned to our house, and collected our many-shap