Maple syrup is obtained by boiling down the maple sap, commonly called "maple water". In spring, when the sap runs abundantly through the trees, the trunks are tapped to collect the precious liquid. Holes of about 1 cm in diameter and 3 cm deep are drilled for plastic spouts to be aptly inserted. The spouts are coupled to a network of long tubes connected to bigger ones, called collectors, which let the sap flow all the way to the camp and be discharged into huge containers (see illustration hereby).