Each spring, the native community moved from their winter hunting grounds and set up camp in a sugar bush. Each woman in the household had her own sugar hut surrounded by a bush of sugar maples.

By watching the native peoples, Canada's early settlers learned how to tap maple trees and boil the sap down to make syrup. They experimented with native methods and improved upon them. Instead of gashing the bark, settlers drilled holes in the tree, pushing wooden spouts, or spiles, into the holes. They hung buckets from nails below the spiles to protect the buckets from strong winds or animals. They also used iron pots over open fires to evaporate the water.