DENSMOBD] PLANTS AS FOOD 309 
of the lodge. They were suspended by strips of green bark, later 
by chains and iron hooks made by blacksmiths. The smaller kettles 
were placed over the ends of the fire, and usually were hung on 
wooden hooks made of tree crotches, ironwood being frequently used 
for this purpose. 
To add to the comfort of the lodge, a double shelf was fastened to 
the side of the framework for holding small articles. This was 
placed near the door, where it could conveniently be reached by the 
mistress of the lodge. 
The capacity or size of a sugar bush was not estimated by the 
number of maple trees but by the number of “taps,” as it was not 
unusual to make two or three taps in a large tree. Nine hundred taps 
was an average size. The number of taps was reckoned by hundreds, 
the larger camps being mentioned as having 1,200 or 2,000 taps. 
The season of sugar making began about the middle of March and 
lasted about a month. It is said that the best sugar was made when 
the early part of the winter had been open, allowing the ground to 
freeze deeper than usual, this being followed by deep snow. The 
first run of sap was considered the best. A storm usually followed 
the first warm weather, and afterwards the sap began to flow again. 
This sap, however, grained less easily than the first and had a slightly 
different flavor. Rain produced a change in the taste and a thunder- 
storm is said to have destroyed the characteristic flavor of the sugar. 
The procedure of moving to the sugar camp depended somewhat 
upon the condition of the lodge. If repairs with sheets of heavy 
bark were needed, it was customary for the men to go early to the 
camp. The following account presupposes a lodge with birch-bark 
rolls as its roof covering. If such a lodge were in use the women 
went first to the camp, making their way on snowshoes through the 
forest. On their backs they carried the rolls of birch bark for the 
roof covering. These rolls were carried perpendicularly by a pack 
strap across the forehead. They were not heavy, but towered high 
above a woman’s head. 
Arriving at the camp, the women shoveled the snow away from 
the sugar lodge and soon made themselves comfortable. A ladder of 
tree branches was among the articles stored during the winter, and 
placing this against the framework of the lodge they ascended and 
spread their rolls of birch bark on the roof. On the platforms in 
the interior of the lodge they spread cedar boughs, if such were avail- 
able, and on these were laid rush mats, over which were spread 
blankets and warm furs. The storehouse was opened, the great rolls 
of birch bark being turned back, one at a time, until beneath the 
weather-worn coverings were seen the heaps of bark dishes, makuks, 
and buckets, white outside and warm yellow within, others a soft 
gray or dulled by age to a rich mahogany color. (Pl. 32, a.) The 
