ARCADIA 



287 



which was served, will lung be remem- 

 bered. The only cold part of the pro- 

 gram was that spent in the observa- 

 tory, but in spite of the severe cold 

 the boys thoroughly appreciated the 

 opportunity to view the heavens 

 through the large telescope. The bod- 

 ies viewed which were of the greatest 

 interest were the planets, Jupiter and 

 Saturn, with their moons, the incon- 

 ceivably great Orion nebula and the 

 wonderful double star, Castor, of the 

 constellation Gemini. Nature study is 

 of primary importance in scouting, and 

 if the Scout loses sight of this fact and 

 fails to appreciate the necessity of liv- 

 ing close to and in constant harmony 

 with nature, he is losing his bearing 

 and should consult his compass at once. 

 It would be difficult to overestimate 

 the value of the Scout to the army or 

 the body with which he is connected. 

 It is his duty to go out and reconnoiter, 

 to observe, to see things and study con- 

 ditions and then return and report on 

 his findings. The boy is not a real 

 Scout, neither is he worthy of the name 

 Scout, unless he is capable of actually 

 performing his Scout duties. It is with 

 this in view and the desire to make 

 scouting mean more to the boys, to 

 help them the better to improve the 

 opportunities offered by scouting, and 

 in turn to make their best contributions 

 to scouting and to the good of those 

 with whom they come in daily contact, 

 that these conferences are to be held. 

 The Scouts of this vicinity are to have 

 an opportunity to carry out their na- 

 ture study program under conditions 

 which are most favorable, and fortu- 

 nate indeed will be those who partici- 

 pate. The ArcAdIxA. at Sound Beach 

 with Dr. Edward F. Bigelow, its head, 

 is the headquarters for all the nature 

 study work of the Boy Scouts of Amer- 

 ica, and with its excellent equipment 

 and the hearty cooperation of Dr. Big- 

 elow, the Scouts are to have an oppor- 

 tunity for nature study which far sur- 

 passes that of any other groups in the 

 country. 



5jC Jp 5|% J|» 5|* 



By the Scout Naturalist. 



The plan proposed for the Scouts of 

 Sound Beach, other parts of Greenwich 

 and Stamford is one that should be 

 adopted by Scouts in every locality 

 that has a central clearing office. This 

 may be the local Scout office or some 



other place conveniently located, and 

 some one should be in charge of the 

 work who has at least a fair knowledge 

 of nature. As has been stated before 

 the duty of the Scout is primarily to 

 see and to hear. That is the meaning 

 of the root word, escoute. In the army 

 a scout is one who goes out to obtain 

 information, to see, to hear and to 

 learn by every possible means. Scouts 

 are sent in even- direction. They are 

 assigned to specific duties, to recon- 

 noiter, to investigate, to be alert in 

 every respect. Nature study work 

 should be much on the same plan. In 

 every community things are happening 

 at all times. These should be investi- 

 gated and reported. For example let 

 us take the conditions as they arise at 

 ArcAdiA, the home of the Scout Natur- 

 alist, and show what this new plan is 

 expected to accomplish. 



Only a few days ago we were asked 

 by telephone, "Is a wild cat good to 

 eat?" When we answered, we asked 

 the speaker why he desired the infor- 

 mation. It appears that in Stamford a 

 hunter lives who had been in the woods 

 in the northern part of the state and 

 had shot a wild cat. What should he 

 do with it? No one seemed to know. 

 Comparatively few persons saw the 

 cat. Two Scouts should have been 

 assigned, preferably one of them a 

 photographer, and the other with 

 ability to sketch the teeth, the claws 

 and other parts of the animal. At the 

 next nature convention (and, by the 

 way, these conventions should be held 

 periodically, say once in three months) 

 a full report should have been made, 

 including statements from the books, 

 inquiries as to the habits, dwelling 

 places and other particulars of the wild 

 creature. 



At about the same time a deer was 

 reported to have attempted to jump 

 over an iron fence surrounding a fine 

 estate and had become impaled on the 

 spear-like pickets. In that case a 

 photographer did take a picture. A 

 copy of that photograph should have 

 been secured and other details obtained 

 by definitely assigned Scouts. In the 

 City of Stamford a wild deer ran 

 througdi the street and into a saloon. 

 The police assisted in capturing the 

 animal which was then taken into the 

 suburbs and released. Military scouts 

 would have had a method of reporting 



