about midday
They carried buckets to collect the sap that had already run into the shiny two-quart cups which were used to collect it . First an incision was made through the bark and into the wood of the tree . Into this incision was thrust a whittled plug that had a shallow gutter cut in its upper side , and notches from which the bail of the two-quart cup hung . Into the cup the sap dripped rapidly -- especially about midday , when the sun was warmest . They tapped only about a quarter of the grove belonging to the old ladies , for that numbered as many trees as could be handled at once . Pail after pail of the thin sap was brought in and emptied into one of the two big cauldrons , under which a steady fire of hickory and beech was kept burning . Later the fire was started under the second pot , while the contents of the first one was allowed to simmer down until the sugar would `` spin '' , when dipped up on the wooden ladle and dropped into a bowl of cold water .