DENS MORE J 



PLANTS USED IN ARTS 



389 



and tied. This sort of makuk was used for storing fish, over which 

 maple sugar was sprinkled. This preserved the dried berries or fish, 

 and it was easier to get at the contents in this type of makuk than 

 in the sort used for maple sugar. 



Fwrmels or cones. — These varied in size from the tiny cones filled 

 with hard sugar and hung on a baby's cradle board and the some- 

 what larger cones similarly filled for the delectation of children to 

 the large funnels made of heavy bark and sewed with split roots 

 that were used chiefly for pouring hot fat into bladders for storage. 

 Spoons made of bark were also used. (PI. 32, c.) 



Dishes crnd trays. — For temporary and household use the birch-bark 

 dishes were not always stiffened and bound at the top. The dishes 

 for common use were made of birch bark folded and fastened with 

 one or two stitches at each end. (PI. 32, b, at right-hand end.) 

 These were tied in bunches of 10 for packing or storage. The com- 

 mon size was about 10 inches long and 5 inches deep, though smaller 

 and larger ones were frequently made. The shallow trays are more 

 often seen with better finish, the superfluous bark being cut away 

 at the ends, the overlapping edges sewed with split roots and the 

 top finished with a stiff piece of bark, firmly sewed in place. Slip- 

 pery elm bark was sometimes chewed and applied like gum to the 

 inside of the seams on birch-bark containers to make them water- 

 tight. The largest trays were those used for winnowing wild rice. 

 Somewhat smaller trays were used for various household purposes, 

 including the carrying of coils of basswood fiber for making into 

 twine. An old and rarely seen form of birch-bark dish was round, 

 about 9 inches in diameter and 3 inches deep. The bark was adjusted 

 in folds around the sides and the dish or tray was finished at the 

 upper edge with two rows of sweet grass. 



Cooking utensils. — It was possible to make a cooking utensil from 

 green bark in which meat could be cooked. A Canadian Chippewa 

 said that he had clone this himself, making the container with either 

 side of the bark outward. He said that he filled it with water and 

 " put it right on the fire, 1 ' that the part above the water might burn 

 but the part below the water would last so long that the meat would 

 be cooked. He said that he had heard of the putting of hot stones 

 in the water in such a dish to heat the water, but he had not done 

 this himself. 



Coverings for dwellings. — Sheets of bark were sewm together with 

 basswood fiber (not twisted) and made into the " birch-bark rolls " 

 used as covers for dwellings, the sheets of bark being placed hori- 

 zontally. Sticks across the ends of the roll kept it from tearing. 

 These rolls were used most frequently on the tops of the wigwams, 

 or lodges with frames of bent poles, but were also used on the conical 



