The poles should not be made of any weak wood liable to split or break, but of tough elm, hickory, ash, or bamboo.
For small tents of about five feet high they need be only one to one-and-a-half inches thick.
For heavy tents of over ten feet long and over six feet high, they have to be at least two inches thick. Bamboos are generally tougher than wood, so need not be quite so stout.
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TENT PEGS.
Tent pegs may be easily made of wood, but should be of a tough kind that does not split easily. They are generally made in the shape shown below, about ten inches long.
You can also get them of iron, but these, though they do not break, do not hold quite so well in the ground, and are heavy to carry. Aluminium ones are lighter, expensive, and inclined to bend.
Then you can use stones or logs instead of pegs, and what I like best of all is half a dozen canvas bags filled with earth or stones and buried in the ground as anchors. These can be used equally well in sandy, muddy, or stony ground, where ordinary pegs would never hold.
These bags are easily made during your winter evenings, and can be used for carrying your kit from camp to camp. They also make useful buckets and washing basins. They should be made of stout duck or canvas.
The top edge of this canvas should be folded over and stitched in order to give strength.