THE NIDIOLOGIST 



Ideas for Campers and Cruisers. 



WHAT do we go camping or cruising 

 for ? To get rest, a change, recrea- 

 tion, in other words. If one has 

 means and time, then the object may be simply 

 fun. Sport may be the aim and camping only 

 incidental to it. In any event, it is very im- 

 portant to live well, have good things to eat, 

 and they must be well cooked to do us good. 

 The out of-door life is conducive to the crea- 

 tion of a good appetite, and if that same longing 

 is not satisfied, then all nature loses its charm 

 and everything seems " stale, flat, and unprofit- 

 able." A vacation cannot be enjoyed if one is 

 ill; and if there is not properly cooked food to 

 be had, how can anyone remain well ? A walk- 

 ing trip pure and 

 simple does not 

 include much, if 

 any, camping. A 

 night maybe spent 

 on the top of a 

 mountain, or some 

 choice spot may 

 be visited which 

 is too far from 

 civilization to be 

 " done " in one 

 day. In such cases 

 blankets and pro- 

 visions are carried 

 to tide over the 

 time one is ab- 

 sent from a base 



of supplies. The usual way is to plan a day's 

 journey to bring one out at a lodging house of 

 some sort by sunset. The articles contained in 

 the pack or basket, suspended by straps over 

 the shoulders, are only those which are abso- 

 lutely necessary, for every ounce tells. When a 

 longer stay than one day is planned, a " guide " 

 is employed to fetch and carry, and a head- 

 quarters camp is established, from which short 

 expeditions are made without burdens. 



More comforts and conveniences can be 

 taken when the journey is made in a wagon — • 

 perhaps it is a buckboard or a ship of the 

 plains. Likewise, the skiff, Adirondack boat, 

 or canoe will enable the camper to take a con- 

 siderable amount of baggage with him, even if 

 " carries " are to be encountered. 



A yacht supplies the comforts of a home to 

 the cruiser, wherever he may be, if it is well 

 appointed; and even the little " single-handers," 

 which are so common now along the whole line 

 of the Atlantic coast, afford a comfortable bed 

 and good board to the knowing ones who sail 

 them. 



A compact and light cooking kit is a prime 



necessity to the single-hander, canoeist, skiff 

 sailor, Adirondack boatman, horseman, and the 

 tramp, and it is my present purpose to touch 

 upon a few points in regard to it. 



An open wood fire serves as a kitchen range 

 to those who camp along shore or in the woods. 

 The only things about it that have to be carried 

 are the matches with which it is started, and it is 

 perhaps unnecessary to remind the experienced 

 reader that they must be kept dry at all times, 

 and therefore should be stored in a watertight 

 receptacle. A small fire, with little flame, which 

 soon burns down to a bed of hot coals, is the 

 best. Experience alone will teach one the proper 

 wood to select, and much depends upon a prop- 

 er selection of it. 



Two rods of iron (j inch square section) 



three feet long, 

 having six inches 

 of each end turned 

 at right angles, 

 forming a flat i — i, 

 and three straight 

 pieces of the same 

 sized iron two feet 

 long, form to- 

 gether a capital 

 support for cook- 

 ing utensils over 

 an open fire. The 

 tw'o I — 1 irons are 

 run a few inches 

 into the ground, 

 parallel to each 

 other and eighteen 

 inches apart. The straight pieces are then laid 

 on top. The fire is between the two uprights 

 and under the crosspieces on which the frying 

 pan, coffee pot, and cooking things rest se- 

 curely. These irons take up little room and 

 are quite light, and unquestionably convenient. 

 There are many canoeists who carry oil stoves 

 with them, and one or two have been known to 

 cruise with sheet iron collapsable affairs. An 

 oil stove is out of place in a region where fire- 

 wood can easily be obtained. On salt water it 

 is allowable, and even necessary, and it is in 

 quite general use aboard single-handers. Char- 

 coal is a good and economical fuel and can be 

 used in a small sized and light (apology for a) 

 stove like the one of iron and asbestos invented 

 and used by Mr. Dolge. When you have done 

 cooking, water is poured over the fire, and the 

 unconsumed charcoal can be used again. Al- 

 cohol is too expensive to use for general cook- 

 ing, but a little of it can be carried and used in 

 the very compact force flame lamps that are 

 now sold. This little lamp will be found con- 

 venient on rainy days when all the wood is wet, 

 or at times when something hot is needed in a 



