Bark Boat

3 small twigs, about 5 inches in length 20 thin pieces bark, enough to cover the sides of the egg carton Rubber cement 

1 8V2 X 11-inch piece construction paper Needle with a large eye 1 piece string, 10 inches long 1 twig, 6 inches long 

1 piece thin rope or twine, 24 inches long Craft glue or homemade Natural Glue, p. xiv 1 small piece modeling clay the size of the tip of your thumb or you can make your own salt clay (see page 99). 

Place each twig into the slits crosswise so that you will have three tiny benches in your canoe. 

Cover the outside of your boat with rubber cement and stick bark on all sides. Let dry. 

---

Put some rubber cement on the bottom, flat part of the clay, and place it in the middle of your boat. Let all the glue and rubber cement dry well. When you are done, see whether your Bark Boat will float in your sink or in the bathtub. 

Activity Homemade Paper, p. 4 Activity Nature Journal, p. 9 Activity Twig Trivet, p. 12 Activity Nature s Vase, p. IS Activity Bark Boat, p. 18 Activity Leaf Literature Art, p. 2S Activity Rock Your World, p. 29 Activity Rock Racers, p. 32 Activity Rock n Desk Set, p. 35 Activity Pebble Pendant, p. 36 Activity Muscle Man, p. 42 Activity Garden Chimes, p. 43 Activity Shadow Box Collection, p. 45 Activity Homemade Soil, p. 48 Activity Soil Sampler, p. SO Activity Sunrise, p. 55 Activity Glittering Sand Castle, p. 58 Activity Sandman, p. 61 Activity Potpourri, p. 67 Activity Plant Painting, p. 69 Activity Color and Print Eggs, p. 74... 

Bark of birch and other trees has been used to make canoes and shallow-draft boats in many parts of the world. Large pieces of bark are usually stretched over a wooden framework, and the seams are sealed with plant resin or pitch. 

Pliny states that there was a fabulous story of the Greeks sailing in quest of tin to the islands of the Atlantic and of its being brought in barks made of osiers covered with hides. There is nothing incredible in this as Pliny seems to imagine, for in an earlier book he had already mentioned that the British used boats of that kind —... 

There were a number of traditional aboriginal uses of jack pine (Maries et al., 2000), some of which are inner bark and needles processed to yield poultice to treat wounds and frostbite pitch chewed as a medicinal dried cones used in tanning of hides roots used to make baskets, and fish hooks made from knots. The wood was used for cabins, boat planks, fishnet floats and fiielwood. Though less effective than spruce (Picea) pitch, pine pitch could also be used for caulking. 

---