be as particular as possible in the directions for it. The season for getting the liquor from birch trees, sometimes happens the latter end of February or beginning of March, before the leaves shoot out, as the sap begins to rise; and this is according to the mildness or rigour of the weather; and if the time is delayed, the juice will grow too thick to be drawn out, which should be as thin and clear as possible. The method of procuring the juice is by boring holes in the trunk of the tree, and fixing fossets made of elder; but care should be taken not to tap it in too many places at once, for fear of hurting the tree. If the tree is large, it may be bored in five or six places at once, and place bottles to let it drop in. When you have extracted a proper quantity, three, four, or five gallons from different trees, cork the bottles very close, and rosin or wax them till you begin to make your wine, which should be as soon as possible after you have got the juice. As soon as you begin, boil the sap as long as you can take off any scum; and put four pounds of fine loaf sugar to every gallon of the juice, and the peel of a lemon cut thin; then boil it again for near an hour, scumming it all the while, and pour it into a tub; when it is almost cold, work it with a toast spread with yeast, and let it stand five or six days, stirring it twice or three times a day; then take a cask that will contain it, and put a lighted match dipped well in brimstone into the cask; stop it till the match is burnt out, and then tun your wine into it, putting the bung lightly in till it has done working; bung it very close for about
three
