This wooden tap was used by early American settlers. It put holes in the tree to access the syrup. But unlike the Native American method, the trees had enough time to heal between harvest seasons and didn't die.

Although the exact origins of the maple sugaring process have never been verified, Native American tribes are credited as the first to boil down sap to create syrup and maple sugar.

During the recent Maple Syrup Time program at Camp Lutherlyn, Heath Gamache, assistant director of the Lutherlyn Environmental Education Program, told of one legend surrounding the process of boiling down sap.

The story references the Anishinabe tribe of the Great Lakes region.

The tribe's god, Gitchee Manitou, sent his servant Manabozho to see the people as they prepared for winter.

When he found the tribe, they were lying among a cluster of maple trees, drinking maple syrup, which poured directly from broken branches.

Concerned the tribe had become lazy and did not gather supplies for the winter, Manabozho dumped water into the trees, thinning out the syrup into watery sap, which was only sweet at the end of winter.

From that point on, the Anishinabe had to boil the sap. Although the exact origins of the maple sugaring process have never been verified, Native American tribes are credited as the first to boil down sap to create syrup and maple sugar.

During the recent Maple Syrup Time program at Camp Lutherlyn, Heath Gamache, assistant director of the Lutherlyn Environmental Education Program, told of one legend surrounding the process of boiling down sap.The story references the Anishinabe tribe of the Great Lakes region.The tribe's god, Gitchee Manitou, sent his servant Manabozho to see the people as they prepared for winter.When he found the tribe, they were lying among a cluster of maple trees, drinking maple syrup, which poured directly from broken branches.Concerned the tribe had become lazy and did not gather supplies for the winter, Manabozho dumped water into the trees, thinning out the syrup into watery sap, which was only sweet at the end of winter.From that point on, the Anishinabe had to boil the sap to reduce it to the sweet syrup.Before program participants tapped maple trees at Lutherlyn, Gamache showed participants V-shaped gashes in a tree, an example of the method Native Americans would have used to obtain sap.Although the method led to a sap flow, the large gashes often killed the trees.Since the tribes had no access to firesafe pots, sap was collected in hollowed logs and buckets made of birch bark. Hot stones were added to bring the sap to a boil and reduce it to syrup.Since the tribes were limited in their means of storage, they often boiled the sap down and allowed it to crystallize into dense blocks of sugar that were easier to store.

Gamache said with the arrival of early American settlers, wooden taps or spouts were created and sap was boiled in iron kettles over hot flames.The taps made use of small holes to reach the sap, allowing the trees to "heal" between sugaring seasons."Not only were the methods different (than today)," said Gamache of the maple sugaring process. "The reasons for doing it were different."He explained early Americans used maple sugar as an inexpensive substitute for cane sugar, which had to be imported.According to a timeline created by the Massachusetts Maple Producers Association, the first metal spout was patented in 1859 by Eli Mosher.Metal taps, also called spiles, are still used at Lutherlyn and feature a hook to attach a bucket to hold the sap.Though metal taps are still common, Gamache noted some maple product makers use plastic spouts or a series of plastic tubes that connect a tree directly to a collection tank or to the sugar shack where the sap is boiled down.The newer method improves efficiency for producers who often tap more than a thousand trees.Technology for boiling down sap has also changed. Once cooked in a kettle over open flames, evaporating tables, which feature several channels of sap set over a wood-burning or oil stove, are used by some hobbyists and small producers.At the Leader Evaporator company's Web site, one of the top sellers of equipment for maple sugaring, a hobby-sized evaporating table, is sold for nearly $900.Fortunately for hobbyists, old methods of boiling over a flame are still viable and less costly than investing in professional equipment.Gamache noted that while early Americans used sap to save money, producing syrup commercially today can be expensive. "Everything is different about maple syrup," he said.

Native Americans used methods similar to this to get maple syrup from trees. The V-shaped gashes were a good way to get syrup, but it often resulted in the death of the tree.

This metal tap is used today at Camp Lutherlyn. While it doesn't differ much from the early-American method, it does have a hook for a bucket to hang from.