way of mice and, to some extent,
insects. In many parts of Africa the corn of the harvests is placed in
closed baskets or wicker-work frames, and hung from the branches of
trees. In some of the hilly districts of India we may see little
grain-huts, the shape of bee-hives, which are raised upon posts. The
natives of the Madi country, near the head of the Albert Nyanza, in
Central Africa, make similar granaries of plastered wicker-work, which
are supported upon four posts and have a thatched roof. The same people
have also another kind of wicker-work granary, which looks like a huge
cigar stuck point-downwards upon the top of a post four feet high. In
reality the post is about twenty feet long, and extends through the
whole length of the cigar-shaped body. About four feet from the ground a
number of long reeds are bound upon the pole, so that they stand out
somewhat like the spokes of a wheel. The ends of these reeds are bent
upwards towards the pole, as if they were the ribs of a half-closed
umbrella turned upside down, and wicker-work is woven in and out of them
so as to form a basket. This is filled with corn, and by means of other
reeds and wands the basket is extended upwards to within a few feet of
the top of the post. When the whole of the basket thus formed is loaded
with grain, a little roof or cap of reeds is made round the top of the
pole, like the cover of an open umbrella held upright, and this roof is
brought down until it meets the basket below, to which it is joined. In
this manner the grain is enclosed in a cigar-shaped basket, which is
raised a few feet from the ground.

The Nubians make little cylindrical grain-vessels of clay, which they
seal up, and place upon the top of tall stones. Many of the tribes of
Southern Africa build up clay store-vessels of various shapes, which
they raise from the ground by means of posts. One tribe, the Golos,
fashions its clay grain-holder in the shape of a drinking-cup. This is
poised upon a central post, and kept in its place by means of wooden
props. A pointed roof, which may be lifted off like a lid, is placed
over it, in order to keep out the rain or any intruder from above.

THE SUGAR MAPLE.

The Sugar Maple belongs to the same family of trees as our common maple
and sycamore. It grows in Canada and the northern parts of the United
States. Most of the maples contain a large amount of juice, which flows
freely when the stem of the tree is cut. In the Suga