274 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



COLLECTING AND CAMPING AFOOT 



By A. S. HITCHCOCK 



SYSTEMATIC AGROSTOLOGIST, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



Tp VEKY naturalist wishes to spend a part of his time in the field, 

 -I— ^ observing, taking notes and making collections. It often hap- 

 pens that such field work can be done best by camping. Methods em- 

 ployed by field naturalists while camping vary according to the char- 

 acter of the country and according to the objects to be attained. 



It is the purpose here to give a few hints concerning traveling on 

 foot, and carrying a light camp outfit on the back as a pack. These 

 hints are based upon considerable experience with this method of camp- 

 ing in various parts of the United States, and are given with the hope 

 that others may find them an aid in planning similar trips. This kind 

 of camping can be of service only when the necessary collecting outfit 

 and specimens collected are comparatively light in weight and when 

 the area of the region to be covered is considerable. In my own work I 

 can use this method because I am collecting only grasses which are 

 easily prepared, and because I wish to cover in a single season a wide 

 area, usually several states. I wish to travel quickly by railroad or 

 other regular transportation, from one locality to another, often two or 

 three hundred miles apart, spending one to five days in each place. It 

 does not pay to outfit with wagon or pack animals for so short a time 

 and one is not sufficiently mobile when stopping at hotels. With a light 

 outfit one can start into the field as soon as he arrives at a station, thus 

 saving much time. If more than five days is required for a given ex- 

 cursion, I am in the habit of taking a pack animal to carry my outfit, 

 as I can not conveniently carry in a pack provisions for more than that 

 number of days. 



In calculating the details of an outfit one must first determine the 

 weight he is able or willing to carry. If the weight carried is too great 

 the mobility is too much reduced. Yet enough in the way of food, 

 clothing and bedding must be carried to prevent too much risk to the 

 health from short rations and exposure. The problem before us is to 

 adjust the factors so that the result may represent a maximum effi- 

 ciency. I endeavor to keep the total weight of my outfit within fifty 

 pounds and we may assume in general that a man should limit his 

 pack to a third of his own weight. With this weight I count on walk- 

 ing fifteen to twenty miles a day over ordinary roads or trails that do 



