TROPICAL FORESTS 
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canvas or rubber blanket under the branches of trees and shrubs 
and shaking the water off the leaves. 
The rattans, palms with long slender segmented stems that 
look like a bamboo vine (see fig. 14), and other large climbing 
vines carry water absorbed by their roots. Throughout tropical 
America the so-called “water vine” is well known from this use. 
To get water, make two cuts, the first a deep notch high up, the 
second near the ground, where the water will flow. As flow 
ceases, make further deep cuts down from the first. 
GETTING OUT OF THE WOODS 
Tropical forests are regions of heavy rainfall. In some cases 
this may be continual throughout the year ; in others rains come 
only during certain seasons. In wet forests there usually is 
little undergrowth except along the banks of streams where it 
generally is very heavy, but in the so-called dry forests where 
the rainfall is seasonal the bush may be so thick that you have 
to hack your way through it wherever you go. In all of these 
forests, streams or their dry beds are plentiful. As in our own 
country, following a stream down is certain eventually to lead 
you to human settlements, and the larger the stream the sooner 
they will be reached. Streams also lead to the coast and that 
is where you want to go, arriving as soon as possible. If you are 
in the mountains, it is probably better to follow the ridges as the 
stream beds are often precipitous. 
If you follow a stream you will not only be provided with 
water, but with such edible creatures as crabs, shrimps, mollusks, 
and fish. If it is a large stream build a raft and float it down. 
Use soft woods, the lighter the better, for the raft. Lash the 
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