Bushing a Tent means the burying of bushes in the soil so far as to leave only their cut ends above the ground, to which a corresponding number of tent-ropes are tied.

Tent-poles.—­When a tent is pitched for an encampment of some duration, it is well to lay aside the jointed tent-pole, and to cut a stout young tree to replace it:  this will be found far more trustworthy in stormy weather.  If the shape of the tent admits of the change, it is still better to do away with the centre pole altogether; and, in the place of it, to erect a substantial framework of poles, which are to be planted just within the rim of the tent, and to converge to a point, under its peak.  A tent-pole can be lengthened temporarily, by lashing it to a log, with the help of a Toggle and strop (which see).  A broken tent-pole can be mended permanently by placing a splint of wood on either side of the fracture, and by whipping the whole together, with soft cord or with the untwisted strand of a piece of rope.

To prevent Tent-poles from slipping.—­When the tent is pitched in the ordinary way on a smooth rocky surface, there is considerable danger that the foot of the pole may slip whenever a gust of wind or other sudden impulse sways the tent.  This danger is to be obviated on precisely the same principle as that by which builders secure their scaffolding-poles upon the smooth footways of a street:  they put the foot of each pole into a bucket, filled with sand.  As the base of the bucket is broad, the scaffolding is much less liable to slip, than if the narrow bases of the poles had rested directly upon the pavement.

To tie Things to Tent-poles.—­To hang clothes, or anything else, upon a smooth tent-pole, see “Clove-hitch.”  A strap with hooks attached to it, buckled round the pole, is very convenient.  The method shown in the sketch suffices, if the pole be notched, or jointed, or in any way slightly uneven.  Bags, etc., are supposed to be hung upon the bit of wood that is secured to the free end.  Convenient pegs, made of bits of wood roughly sharpened, may be driven into the tree, if any, when the encampment is made.

Preparations for a Storm.—­Before a storm, dig a ditch as deep as you can round the outside of the tent, to divert the coming sheet of surface-water, and see that the ditch has a good out-fall.  The ditch will also drain the floor of the tent, if the rain should soak in.  Even a furrow scratched with a tent-peg, is better than no ditch at all.  Fasten guy-ropes to the spike of the tent-pole; and be careful that the tent is not too much on the strain, else the further shrinking of the materials, under the influence of the wet, will certainly tear up the pegs.  Earth, banked up round the bottom of the tent, will prevent gusts of wind from finding their way beneath.  It is also a good plan to prepare a small hole near the foot of the tent-pole, with a stone firmly rammed into the bottom, into which the tent-pole may be shifted, as soon as the strain of the tent, under the influence of the wet, becomes dangerous to its safety.