Maple syrup was one of the few luxuries of the early settlers. The boys of the families looked forward to the season of its manufacture with fond anticipation. The methods employed were of a rude character.

It the latter part of February the work of preparation was begun. By the aid of the gimlet and jack knife, wooden conductors were made to carry sap into troughs, which were used instead of the tin pails of the present time. The troughs were made from logs of basswood, about three and one half feet in length, and fifteen to eighteen inches in diameter, split into halves, which were hollowed with an axe, and subjected to heat to close the pores of the wood to prevent leakage.

When the period for active operation arrived, the troughs and conductors were distributed to the trees of the sugar orchard. Small holes from four to five inches deep were bored into the trees, three to four feet from the ground, into which the conductors were driven.

The clumsy troughs were placed to receive the sap as it ran from the trees, which was generally gathered in the morning, and poured into a receptacle placed at a central point.

Two or more iron kettles were suspended from a horizontal pole far enough from the ground to allow a hot fire beneath them, which forced the water off, leaving the syrup for the delectation of family and friends.