BOY SCOUTS AND FORESTS 



105 



The Camp is Ready, 

 the tents, well floored to prevent dampness, are up and the cosily blanketed cots are ready to go under 



CANVAS. 



includes everything that creeps or flies 

 or runs. A covering of new snow 

 becomes a fascinating book upon whose 

 pages are traced the pranks, the 

 squabbles and struggles of the woods 

 folk. Then, too, there are numerous 

 games to which the woods form the 

 best setting. The pursuit of big game 

 by marking the trail with tracking irons 

 fastened to the shoes of the boy chosen 

 to represent the quarry, limitless varia- 

 tions of the reenactment of our ances- 

 tor's struggles with robbers and Indians, 

 and minature models of the war games 

 played by the army make up the 

 admirable collections of contests com- 

 piled for the use of Scouts by the 

 National Headquarters. 



It is the chase, the mimic warfare 

 with robbers or Indians, the hidden 

 camp, and roaring fire that appeal to 

 the boy's imagination and develop in 

 him the rugged primitive virtues upon 

 which the superstructure of our modern 

 life is built. 



The permanent camp is even better 

 for this purpose than the short hike and 

 every Boy Scout organization has come 

 to realize that camping out in the woods 

 gives an opportunity to educate, or 

 draw out, the boy in a way that no 



other surroundings will. Scout and 

 Scoutmaster come closer together and 

 gain mutual respect in the common 

 performance of camp duties and pleas- 

 ures. As an illustration of how per- 

 manent camps are conducted in the 

 woods the camp maintained by the 

 Washington Branch may be cited. 

 This was located on the shores of Chesa- 

 peake Beach in a grove of timber. 

 The organization owned a tract of 50 

 acres at this point which furnished an 

 excellent place for the Scouts to be given 

 practical instruction in the identifica- 

 tion of tree species and the tending of 

 woods. Another year it is planned to 

 start a nursery in order that the boys 

 may learn something about setting out 

 trees. Nearly every local organization 

 now maintains a similar camp, and 

 although a stretch of water in which the 

 boys can swim is essential the presence 

 of woods is equally important. There 

 are so many Scout activities which 

 can only be carried on in a forest that a 

 Boy Scout camp is always located as a 

 matter of course in or near woods. 



Another illustration of the large role 

 which life in the woods plays in the 

 scheme of Scout instruction is indicated 

 by the first and second class Scout 



