July, 1919 
FOREST AND STREAIM 
349 
MOSQUITO SMUDGE 
O NE of the best smudges to repel mos- 
quitoes is made from a fallen cedar 
log, dry, but not rotten. Cut strips of 
bark about six feet long and make a 
bundle of them and tie them together 
with strips of the white inner bark of 
a growing cedar tree. Ignite one end 
of this and let it smudge in the tent like 
a cigar. The smoke is very fragrant and 
agreeable — the best kind of incense for 
the out-door man. When the mosquitoes 
are routed let it burn all night at the 
tent door and none vnll enter. You will 
find it well worth the trouble and time 
it takes to collect the material for this 
pleasant and efficient smudge. 
FIRE LIGHTING WITH A GUN 
T ake a bit of rag, the cloth lining 
from a hat, coat or anything that is 
handy. Rub powder into it well, then 
load it into a cartridge or shell. Fire 
it among a pile of dry leaves and have 
s)me small wood shavings ready to catch 
the blaze before it ceases to glow. 
W. R. J., Alaska. 
A DEVICE TO SAVE LEADERS 
I N joining a gut leader to a snelled hook 
the tendency is to loop them so tightly 
that it is hard to take them apart again. 
Very often the loops are a little brittle 
and break easily when they are creased 
t:o much, especially if you have forgot- 
ten to soak them well before you started 
fishing. In order to ease this strain it is 
a good idea to insert a small piece of 
wood, about one-eighth inch in diameter 
The piece of wood in place 
in the manner shown in cut. This will 
effectually prevent any cutting tendency 
when a strain is put upon the line and 
will prolong the life of both the snelled 
hook and the leader. 
When you want ti change the hook 
it is a much easier operation with this 
little wooden buffer in place. Little 
things count for much sometimes and 
provoking incidents often mar the per- 
fect day on lake or stream. 
H. C. P., New York. 
TO FASTEN A SINKER 
T his simple way of fastening a sinker 
to a line is no doubt known to many 
fishermen, but for the benefit of thos^ 
who do not know it the following kink 
will be welcomed for the very easy way 
it can be applied. Double your line and 
run the loop through both eyes of the 
sinker. Slip the hook with line attached, 
through the loop which can be made as 
large as required, and pull it tight. 
That’s all there is to it. 
You can take it off just as easily or 
raise and lower it by simply loosening it 
a little and taking up the slack. I have 
seen fishermen waste a lot of perfectly 
good line when attaching or detaching a 
A simple way to fasten sinker 
sinker, by the cutting and tying method 
when this device might have not only 
saved the line but no end of time and 
trouble as well. 
H. G. H., New Jersey. 
HOW TO ACQUIRE QUICKNESS IN 
WING SHOOTING 
A GOOD way to acquire quickness in 
wing shooting is to practice using 
the gun fifteen minutes every day in the 
house. Practice throwing it up to your 
shoulder, both eyes open and pointing 
it at any small object in the room. Then 
look with one eye along the barrel to 
verify your correctness of aim; then 
follow two imaginary birds, first to the 
left, then to the right, pull the trigger 
at some object in passing and see that the 
motion of following is not checked. 
When you think that you are toler- 
ably perfect in this action try snapping 
a cap, quickly, at a lighted candle at 
ten feet distance, also at one suspended 
by a string, to which you can give a pen- 
dul)us motion. When you can blow the 
candle out five times out of six, there is 
little more to be learned. 
This may be all very old to most men, 
but the younger generation of sportsmen 
will do well to follow some of the stunts 
that helped the older shooters. 
An Old Subscriber. 
RAIN INDICATIONS 
I F on a fine day dust suddenly rises in 
a revolving spiral column. If stars 
are unusually numerous and the Milky 
Way very clearly definied, with surround- 
ing sky dark. If there is a misty ap- 
pearance over the stars. If field spar- 
rows wash vigorously in a puddle. If 
flies are persistently troublesome, look 
out for thunder as well as rain. If 
swallows fly closely to the ground. If 
before sunrise the sky is suffused with 
red (except in frosty weather). If the- 
sun late in the day shines through a 
gray, watery haze, it will rain during the- 
night. If the sun at setting has a tintecf 
halo around it. If the moon has a halo 
around it, especially if some distance 
from it. If there is a rainbow in the 
morning. If small, dark clouds float be- 
low lighter ones, moving faster than the 
latter. If in the morning there are low- 
hanging, smokelike clouds. If there is 
no dew in the morning. If after a rain 
drops still hang on the twigs instead of 
immediately drying. These are all in- 
dications of rain. 
They have been tested many times and 
found true to form by outdoor men of 
many generations. After all, Nature 
does warn us of her approaching moods 
and it behooves us to watch her closely. 
Seneca. 
SAVE THE FROG 
\ 7ERY often, when casting with a live 
V frog, the hook pulls out of the bait 
and the frog is lost. Here is a way to 
make it secure and to relieve the strain 
on the frog’s lips. Loop a piece of string 
over the hook and bring it around un- 
der the frog’s fore legs, tying it securely 
around his body. It is a very simple 
little kink but it is well worth knowing 
and will save a lot of trouble for the bait 
caster and prolong the life of the un- 
fortunate frog. Sometimes frogs are 
hard to get and it is very annoying to 
lose one. With this safety first method 
in use one frog can be used many times. 
No doubt the wily bass will note the im- 
proved method of handling the frog and 
will be quick to fall for such a tempting 
and lively lure. 
H. F. H., Ohio. 
