1. Sugar was extremely expensive for early Nebraska pioneers, so they substituted what they could, when they could. A thrifty substitution came from a common product all grew and used - the lowly corn cob. After the corn {Maize} was eaten, the cobs (sometimes cut up and smashed) were boiled to extract remaining sugars. Bigger operations cut up the stalk as well. After 30 minutes or so boiling, the cobs and stalk pieces were removed and the water continued to be boiled and tasted until a suitable "sugar water" was obtained. Experience provided the boiling cutoff. 2. In early spring, a small wooden pipe was pounded into the South side of Birch, and of course Maple trees. "Spring Tonic Water", about a gallon a day was harvested from the Birch which was usually consumed as quickly as possible while it is cold. Both Maple and Birch were boiled down towards a strong sugar liquid, and there were some who kept both in this fashion to pour over their food, pancakes and such. When in Alaska, I had several birch on my property and would always prepare 3 of them for the tonic water which is truly magnificent. I used a 1/4 copper pipe stub with a notch to hang an empty 1 gallon plastic milk jug from. When the water stopped flowing, I removed the copper stub and filled the hole with a piece of birch twig which I pounded in. By the end of summer, the bark grew back to almost cover the hole. In the spring of one year, I tapped at least 10 Birch trees and decided to make Birch Syrup. I can tell you that it takes a tremendous amount of tonic water to produce only a small bottle of syrup, and it's not an economical venture if you use anything other than wood to boil the big pot. It also takes a tremendous amount of time to keep the process running smoothly, and since I had to work at the time, I stopped it after one pint jar. I went to the dairy people in Fairbanks and bought new 1 gallon milk jugs plus caps for 10 cents each, capped and sold them to the local "Trading Post" near my home for $2.00 each, $20.00 a day, and he sold them for $4.00 each. I greatly expanded the operation and made lots of nickels over a 4 year period until everyone realized that they could get their own tonic water for nothing. In the end all I had left was a box of 4 inch 1/4 inch copper pipe pieces which I sold as salvage for 55 cents a pound. Tom