BOOK NOTICES. 



3*5 



index' and a substantial cloth binding, with 

 a flexible back, complete what may justly 

 be regarded as a model popular handbook 

 of American oology. Published by The 

 Landon Press, Columbus, Ohio. Price, 

 $2.25. 



"CAMPING AND CAMP OUTFITS." 



The following is published only after earnest solicita- 

 tion by the writer, who feels he is serving the interest 

 of the buyer rather than the author. The latter consents 

 with reluctance to allow the use of his columns for such 

 a purpose. Having had some experience in the woods 

 and in the mountains, I feel I am benefiting the prospec- 

 tive camper by telling him where to find the especial 

 information he needs when he goes with rifle and rod 

 for a month or 2 of rest and pleasure. 



W. H. Nelson. 



The author of the book bearing the above 

 title has conferred an invaluable favor on 

 all those who, weary of the hurly-burly of 

 business life, or in need of healthful recrea- 

 tion, wish to spend a while in the woods, 

 heart to heart with kindly Mother Nature. 



The old hunter, who has learned from 

 lengthened experience how to take care of 

 himself when out in the woods, may not 

 especially need such a guide and counselor, 

 but the man who has it all to learn will find 

 himself very much a debtor to its author if 

 he provide himself in advance with a copy 

 of the book. 



Its array of information is extensive, and 

 its arrangements compact, while its style is 

 at once terse and attractive. 



Just how few are the indispensables of 

 comfortable life one finds himself surprised 

 to learn. The multiplied elaborations of 

 civilized life tend to make us helpless when 

 restricted to a few things, but it is astonish- 

 ing how little we really need to make us 

 supremely comfortable, and therefore su- 

 premely happy. 



To do justice to such a book in the lim- 

 its of an article such as is now offered is im- 

 possible. The only real way to show the 

 worth of the work is to place a copy of it in 

 the reader's hand some day when he is 

 weary, and the spirits of the woods are 

 whispering to him ; then steal away and 

 leave him to devour it at his leisure. 



A few brief selections taken here and 

 there from the pages, like snatches of food 

 from a groaning table, will be all that can 

 be attempted here. 



" The first and most important question 

 at the outset is ' what to wear.' To start 

 with, let your maxim be all wool. Not a 

 thread of cotton should be worn, at least 

 next the skin, winter or summer, at home 



or abroad Many persons say 



they cannot wear wool next the skin in 

 summer because it produces an unendurable 

 itching ; but if they will exercise a reason- 

 able amount of perseverance they will find 

 the skin soon becomes accustomed to the 

 woolen garment, the itching subsides, and 

 the ensuing sensation is one of the most 

 solid comfort imaginable." 



This is unembellished fact. Never was 

 there a greater mistake than in believing 

 that linen or cotton is cooler and lighter 

 than wool. Saturated with perspiration the 

 cotton or linen sticks to the body like a 

 postage stamp to an envelope, hindering the 

 movements of the body, and obstructing 

 that respiration which is necessarily per- 

 formed by the skin*, if health is to be re- 

 tained. 



" A man may get wet in woolen garments 

 a dozen times, and suffer less from colds or 

 rheumatism than from once wetting in cot- 

 ton. . . . Select, then, for your sum- 

 mer outing, light-weight woolen under- 

 wear, including socks of the finest quality of 

 wool, and outside shirts of heavier material 

 of any color you fancy. The modern 

 yachting or tennis shirts are good Tor sum- 

 mer, but for autumn or winter hunting trips 

 get heavy navy shirts The out- 

 side shirts should have wide collars, which 

 in- chilly weather may be turned up, and 

 have a scarf tied outside of them, adding 

 greatly to the comfort of the wearer. 



" Coat, trousers, and vest of almost any 

 woolen goods may be worn, but plenty of 

 pockets are essential. 



" A heavy, bulky overcoat should not be 

 taken into the woods. Instead put on, if 

 needed, an extra shirt. It will protect you 

 equally well, and will not burden you with 

 its weight, nor hinder your movements. 



" . . . . For headgear in summer or 

 winter a medium light-weight felt hat, brim 

 medium width; for extreme cold weather a 

 thick-knitted woolen cap, to come down 

 over the ears; but no fur cap," etc., etc. 



It seems hard to find a place to quit, 

 where every line is full of interest, and bulg- 

 ing with information. But one cannot re- 

 produce the whole. 



A defence against mosquitoes. Who has 

 not anathematized those cussed tormentors? 

 They are proof against climate and disease, 

 inhabit with equal success every portion of 

 the globe, from the reeking fens of the 

 tropics to the icy mountains of Greenland. 

 They sing their damnable song with equal 

 melody on the stagnant bayou of Louisiana, 

 or at snow line on Pike's Peak. 



" I have tried nearly all lotions as a de- 

 fense, but the best preparation is made as 

 follows : " Here follows the prescrip- 

 tion, a point of information above price to 

 the denizen of the woods in summer. 



" This mixture has a good body, an odor 

 like a tan-yard, and can be relied on to cure 

 any case of mosquitoes this side of New 

 Jersey." 



For this one item of information every 

 hunter will arise, and call its giver blessed. 



BEDDING. 



"........ But the boss camp bed for all 



times and all places, especially if you are to 

 sleep alone, is a sleeping bag. I have used 

 one for many years, in all my outings, and 



