70 
FOREST AND STREAM 
February, 192i 
ATTACHING TENT GROUND 
CLOTHS 
T" HOSE wlio like to have a ground 
cloth in their tents will be glad to 
know of a handy way of attaching' it to 
the walls of the tent and still have them 
snake and bug proof. 
Add lips to the ground cloth as in Fig. 
3, one inch in depth, along the inner 
edge of which snaps are sewn about a 
foot apart, as shown in Fig 3. 
Add a three-inch sod piece to your tent 
walls, and along the inner side of this 
place the other half of your snaps to 
match those attached to your ground 
cloth, as in Fig. 2. 
Next place the edge of the lip on the 
ground cloth to that of the sod piece, as 
in Fig. 1 “A,” in which “x” is sod piece 
and “y” is your ground cloth. Fold over 
the edge of your ground cloth toward the 
wall of your tent, as Fig. 1 “A-B-C- 
D-E” and snap down. The fold will 
make your tent, tight. 
E are depending upon the 
friends and admirers of our 
old correspondent Nessmuk to 
make this department worthy of 
his name. No man knew the woods 
better than Nessmuk or wrote of 
them with quainter charm. Many 
of his practical ideas on camp- 
ing and "going light" have been 
adopted by the United States 
Army; his canoe has been preserved 
in the Smithsonian Institution; and 
we hope that all good woodsmen 
will contribute to this department 
their Hints and Kinks and trail- 
tested contrivances. — [Editors.] 
The same method can be used for in- 
serting a netting of bobbinet cheese- 
cloth or some other material. 
H. L, New York. 
THE USE OF THE SKI 
F or the novice it is well to practice 
walking on skis some time before 
coasting down hill is tried, and then se- 
lect a low grade or incline. In walking 
the important thing to remember is to 
keep the skis parallel and not too far 
apart. This is done by keeping the knees 
rather stiff at first and not lifting the ski 
from the snow. The body should be 
slightly inclined forward and the heel 
lifted with each step. 
After you have tried this until you are 
sure you can proceed without a spill, try- 
running slowly and lifting the ski slightly 
as each foot is brought forward. You 
will note that as the foot is lifted the 
front end of the ski lifts up and prevents 
it from sticking into the snow. Try a 
slow run’ at first and gradually increase 
your speed. Try making a curve path 
slowly after you have become more or 
less proficient at running. 
The direction of a turn is controlled 
by the toe of the foot turning the ski 
slightly in the direction that you wish 
to turn. If toward the right, the right 
toe is turned first followed with the left 
toe turn ; a little less turn of the right 
foot as it is on the inside of the arc and 
has a bit shorter turn than the left foot, 
which is on the outside of the arc and 
has a little longer distance to travel. 
Some persons find that a pole is an 
aid to walking and you might try the use 
of a pole about five or six feet long, ac- 
cording to your height. A wooden 
washer six inches from the pointed end 
will prevent the pole from going too 
deep into the snow. It is well to have 
the pointed end of the pole iron-tipped if 
you are to use it on hard snow crust. ij 
Unless you are experienced at skiinglj 
I would not advise the use of a pole when] 
coasting down hill. In case of a spill 
being evident it is well to free the foot ^ 
quickly from the ski and have no pole to 
interfere with any of your movements, j 
Several severe accidents have occurred ' 
by the novice getting struck with the 
pole or entangled with it in the case of 
a spill when coasting. For walking, the 
pole is a decided help but not for coast- ' 
get very far apart on a coast. In case of 
a right or left turn you will find that 
