</noinclude> The spigot is inserted into tap hole to direct the sap from the tree into the bucket. The bucket hangs from it. In the old days these could be made from elderberry branches, as that species of tree has a pithy center in the branches and is easily removed to make a channel for the sap to flow through. They can also be made from 1/2 inch dowel with a hole drilled in it. Metal versions are far more common today than wooden ones, and plastic spigots are more common than metal ones, as they allow the syruper to run plastic tubing from tree to tree to greatly reduce the labor involved in sap collecting. [[File:Maple syrup evaporator - Beaver Meadow Audubon Center.jpg|thumb|300px|Evaporator]] <noinclude>
