CAMP 



1085 



CAMP 



better to gather too much than to leave the 

 cooking at a critical stage or get up before 

 daybreak to hunt for wood to keep the fire 

 going. 



As a general rule hardwoods are the best 

 for camp fires. Hardwoods make a slow-burning 

 fuel which yields lasting coals, whereas soft- 

 woods give a quick, hot fire that soon dies out. 

 The following woods burn scarcely at all, if 

 they are wet or green: aspen, black ash, bal- 

 sam, box-elder, sycamore, tamarack and poplar. 

 Chestnut, red oak and red maple burn slowly 

 when green. All soft pines crackle and embers 

 are likely to shoot off. Some of the hardwoods, 

 such as sugar maple and white oak, shoot off 

 long-lived embers and must be watched for 

 some time after the fire has started. The best 

 of firewoods is hickory, either green or dry. 

 It makes a hot fire, and burns down to a bed 

 of coals which keep an even heat for hours. 



Shelter. If the weather is clear and fine, no 

 camper will want a shelter. -Man has not yet 

 produced anything more restful than a bed 

 of pine boughs under a clear, star-lit sky. 

 But there are many days, even in summer, 

 when some protection is advisable. If the rain 

 is not falling too hard or the wind is not too 



METHOD OF PREPARING A SHELTER 



strong, there is no better shelter than a pine 

 grove. The needles which have fallen to the 

 ground make the softest of beds, and the 

 interlaced branches overhead keep off the rain. 

 The simplest shelters suitable for a tempor- 

 ary camp are made of brushwood. These can 

 be made in any shape to suit the preferences 



of the campers, but the lean-to is the only 

 practical brush camp if there are more than 

 three persons in the party. Two crotched sticks 

 should first be driven upright into the ground, 

 about eight feet apart, and a stout sapling 

 laid across them; the sapling may also be laid 

 in the crotch formed by a branch of a standing 

 tree. On this cross-piece should be leaned a 

 number of saplings or poles, the lower ends 

 of which may be secured by sticking them 

 into the ground or by rolling a log against 

 them. On this framework should be laid 

 boughs of hemlock or spruce, or other heavy 

 brush, which should be lapped like shingles, so 

 they will shed the rain. If the shelter is built 

 on sloping ground a trench should be dug at 

 the back and sides to carry off the rain. 



Many campers carry portable tents or water- 

 proof canvas sheets which can be stretched for 

 shelter. These are good, the only objection 

 to them being that they are heavy and are an 

 unnecessary addition to a pack which is prob- 

 ably heavy enough. Tents, however, are essen- 

 tial to comfort, if the camp is to be permanent. 

 For different kinds of tents and their uses, see 

 TENT. 



Camp Discipline. Camp life is an intimate 

 association of people, and probably nothing else 

 so fully discloses strength and weakness of 

 character. Especially in a large camp there is 

 likely to be some difference of opinion on all 

 matters. If these differences are merely 

 friendly, no harm is done, but there is always 

 the possibility of serious misunderstanding or 

 quarrels. For this reason the most successful 

 camp is invariably one in which all the mem- 

 bers submit cheerfully to an informal disci- 

 pline established by one or two of the older 

 and more experienced members. For example, 

 if one of the" campers wants breakfast at 

 eight and all of the others want it at seven, 

 the advocate of a late breakfast should yield 

 without argument. If most of the party want 

 to spend a day fishing, a minority should not 

 spoil the sport by grumbling about partridges 

 or ducks. If the camp is very large, it may 

 sometimes divide into several parties one for 

 fishing, one for hunting, one for tramping, etc. 



In summer camps for boys and girls disci- 

 pline means submission to rules which the camp 

 counsellors or masters have adopted. Certain 

 hours of the day should be fixed for meals, 

 for swimming and bathing, for cleaning camp, 

 etc., but some time should also be left free. 

 Each member should do a required share of 

 the work. Shirkers, whether they are young 



