THE LAPLAND ALFS. 13 



stone, on account of the weight. They 

 have also hemispherical bowls, with han- 

 dles, generally made of the hard knotty 

 excrescences of the birch. These are often 

 large enough to hold four or five cans, (of 

 three quarts each,) and formed so neatly, 

 that any one would believe them to be turn- 

 ed. Into these they pour what is to be 

 served up at their meals. Plates they have 

 none, but in their stead boards, of an ob- 

 long shape, are used for meat ; which, pre- 

 vious to its distribution among the guests, 

 is served up in round pails. Closely plat- 

 ted baskets, or tubs, always circular, are 

 used to keep cheese in. There is moreover 

 an oblong barrel, for the purpose of holding 

 jumomjolk {vol, 1. p. 273). 



Within the tent are spread on each side 

 skins of reindeer, with the hairy part upper- 

 most, on which the people either sit or lie 

 down, for the tent is not lofty enough to 

 allow any one to stand upright. In the 

 centre of the whole is the fire-place, or a 

 square enclosure of low stones about the 



