CAMPS FOR BOYS. 



121 



from other habitations to secure immunity 

 from too frequent visitors, and yet it should be 

 near enough to hotel accommodations to ena- 

 ble anxious mothers to visit their sons without 

 too much trouble and delay. It should be so 

 far away from shops and other village attrac- 

 tions that applications for leave to go to town 

 will not be made for trivial reasons. The lo- 

 cation should be, if possible, on a sandy or 

 gravely formation with sufficient slope pref- 

 erably to the south cr southwest to insure 

 good drainage. Pure and abundant drinking- 

 water is essential, and a large body of water, a 

 lake rather than a river, is qcite as necessary. 

 The ordinary forest growth of a mountain re- 

 gion is desirable in the immediate vicinity. 

 Spruce, hemlock, pine, and cedar do not gen- 

 erally gro\v where there are natural malarial 

 conditions, and judicious thinning out will let in 

 enough sunlight to dissipate too dense a shade. 



In the matter of shelter, there is a wide di- 

 versity of practice. Some of the camps have 

 substantially built log-cabins, others rely upon 

 tents, others upon regular frame buildings, and 

 still others use portable houses, such as were 

 described in the "Annual Cyclopaedia" for 

 In all cases there should be some sub- 

 stantial shelter within reach, available for gen- 

 eral purposes at all times and for social resort 

 and refuge in case of prolonged storms. 



For many reasons, tents are to be preferred 

 for quarters. The best is the ordinary army 

 regulation wall - tent costing, with a fly or 

 double roof-covering, about twenty-five dol- 

 lars. Such a tent affords ample quarters for 

 two, and may be made to accommodate four, 

 but this is not desirable. "When properly set 

 np and cared for, a tent is proof against the 

 heaviest rain and will stand against any wind 

 of ordinary violt-nce. 



One obvious advantage in the use of tents or 

 of easily portable houses is. that they are ex- 

 posed to the elements only during the period 

 when actually in use. When the summer is 

 over, they are securely stored, and they are as 

 good as ever when the next season opens. 



Where permanent structures are used the 

 tendency is naturally toward greater luxury 

 than is compatible with true camp -life, and 

 the health of pupils is not unlikely to suffer 

 in consequence. Colds are almost unknown 

 among soldiers in the field ; but in barracks or 

 permanent quarters they are by no means ex- 

 empt. Floors should be provided for all tents. 

 If made in panels say two panels to each tent 

 they can be easily removed and stacked for 

 the winter. 



The mess-hall, as it may be called for lack of a 

 better name, need be nothing more than a stout 

 frame building, thoroughly weather-proof and 

 capable of withstanding any wind. Two rooms 

 are desirable a dining - room and a sitting- 

 room but it is possible to make one room an- 

 swer for both purposes. The mess-hall should 

 be raised well clear of the ground, so that wind 

 and weather can sweep underneath during the 



winter months. In the case of an established 

 camp, where a large part of the equipment is 

 -arily left on the ground, some perma- 

 nent custodian is indispensable, for even in the 

 wilderness valuable property may prove tempt- 

 ing to maurauders. 



The daily routine of the camp must depend 

 largely upon circumstances, which differ more 

 or less in all cases. There should, however, 

 be regular hours for rising, for meals, and for 

 retiring, as well as for the study-hour, if there 

 is one. In a general way, the daily calls of a 

 military camp may be followed, beginning with 

 reveille and ending with tattoo and taps. If 

 possible, a bugle should be used, but, if not. a 

 whistle is a fairly good substitute. Different 

 calls may be devised for the different offices of 

 the day. The use of some such instrument in. 

 preference to a bell, a gong, or a tin horn, is, 

 of course, simply sentimental, but discordant 

 noises seem sadly out of place amid sylvan 

 surroundings. Immediately after reveille, 

 blankets and bedding should, in pleasant 

 weather, be hung out to air, and all hands fall 

 in for police duty, sweeping out tents, and, in 

 general, putting the camp to rights for the 

 day. At a suitable interval after breakfast, an 

 hour or so may be set apart for study; but 

 study from books is properly subordinated to 

 the study of nature, to learning the thousand 

 useful things incident to a self-reliant life in 

 the open air. The successful management of 

 such a camp calls for a combination of quali- 

 ties by no means common. The superinten- 

 dent should, in the first place, be thoroughly 

 in sympathy with boys, otherwise he can not 

 enter into the spirit of the situation. He must 

 possess that quality of moral force which com- 

 mands ready obedience and is capable of en- 

 forcing authority. He must, moreover, be a 

 good "all-round" athlete, familiar with boats, 

 a good swimmer, handy with tools, and even 

 capable of teaching a boy to mend his own 

 clothes or repair a damaged tent. 



The object of a summer camp is not instruc- 

 tion in the ordinary lines of learning. It is 

 designed to develop the individual resource?, 

 to cultivate helpfulness, and enable a boy, 

 should he ever be left figuratively or actually 

 upon a desert island, to make the best of the 

 situation. As little restraint as possible is ex- 

 ercised, but gentlemanly manners are at all 

 times required, and more attention is paid to 

 the manly qualities of truthfulness, honor, and 

 mutual helpfulness than to the learning of 

 schools. The following is an extract from the 

 circular of one of the most successful of exist- 

 ing camps, indicating the outfit required for 

 each pupil : 



Three suits of underclothing suitable for summer. 



Three suits of pajamas simply made. 



The usual toilet-arti 



An old thick overcoat, an old jacket, a colored 

 flannel shirt, and a pair of slippers will be found serv- 

 iceable. 



One Norfolk jacket, with two stout pairs of knee- 

 trousers. 



