"'In the settlements of the Hudson Bay Company tents are made of the
bark of this tree, which for that purpose is cut into pieces twelve feet
long and four feet wide. These are sewed together by threads made of the
white-spruce roots; and so rapidly is a tent put up that a circular one
twenty feet in diameter and ten feet high does not occupy more than half
an hour in pitching. Every traveler and hunter in Canada enjoys these
"rind-tents," as they are called, which are used only during the hot
summer months, when they are found particularly comfortable.'"

[Illustration: IN THE BIRCH-BARK CANOE]

"Well, that's the funniest thing yet!" exclaimed Malcolm. "'Rind-tents'!
I wish I could see one. Did they have any in Maine where you were,
Miss Harson?"

"No," was the reply, "I did not even hear of such a thing there, and to
see it you would probably have to go far to the north. The English
birch, which is found also in many parts of Europe, is put to a great
many uses; the leaves produce a yellow dye, and the wood, when mixed
with copperas, will color red, black and brown. An old birch tree that
is supposed to be giving an account of itself says,

"'How many are the uses of my bark! Thrifty men who sit beside the
blazing hearth when my branches throw up a clear bright flame, and
follow the example of their fathers in making their own shoes and those
of their families, tan the hides with my bark. Kamschadales construct
from it both hats and vessels for holding milk, and the Swedish
fisherman his shoes. The Norwegian covers with it his low-roofed hut
and spreads upon the surface layers of moss at least three or four
inches thick, and, having twisted long strips together, he obtains