Who taught us how to make maple syrup?
Native Americans taught the European settlers how to make maple syrup. They would cut a gash in the tree and collect the sap in containers made of tree bark. All the sap collected was poured into a trough, where they would drop hot stones into it to boil off the excess water. The thick fluid that was left in the trough was the syrup. We still use the same basic principles to make maple syrup. Here at the College of Environmental Science and Forestry’s Heiberg Forest, we tap the sugar maple trees by boring a small hole in the trunk and inserting a small tube called a spile. When inserted properly, the spile does not harm the tree. In the early days of sap gathering, people hung pails under the spiles and let the sap drip into them. It was hard work to collect and consolidate the sap from the pails because they were heavy. They also leaked and wasted valuable sap. In addition, the pails were difficult to keep clean and free of insects. Today, sap collection is easier and cleaner. We run
