May 31, 1913 
FOREST AND STREAM 
687 
Complete Physical Development by 
New Methods of Rowing 
By A. L. WOOD, M.D. 
meiit. One 7 x 7 is fully large enough for two 
to sleep in and will hold all your duffle in case 
of rain. 
One made of balloon silk is the best kind 
to carry, but is rather expensive. We have used 
what is known as a miner’s tent of drab colored 
canvas and found it satisfactory for a cheap 
tent, but very heavy. 
A good way to preserve matches from 
water is to dip a bundle of twenty-five or so in 
melted paraffine and mold them into a cake. 
They may then be pulled off one at a time. 
You will notice we have not mentioned a 
coffee pot, strainer, etc. We used a very good 
brand of prepared coffee in powder form, which 
eliminated all those articles. 
The Government maps are essential and can 
be procured by writing to the U. S. Geological 
Survey Department, Washington, D. C. They 
are five cents a piece, payable by money order 
or cash. The ones needed for this trip are 
named Old Forge, West Canada Lakes, Raquette 
Lake, Blue Mountain Lake and Long Lake. You 
will find these of great service, as all the carries 
you will have are clearly shown, together with 
the lakes, rivers and towns. 
The first thing to do after arriving at Old 
Forge early Sunday morning is to find the old 
native that rents canoes. He is a very fine 
affable old gentleman, and has a large variety 
of canoes, any of which may be rented for $5 a 
week. You can also hire a pack basket and a 
yoke for fifty cents extra. These two things 
you must have. 
After making these arrangements and finish¬ 
ing your breakfast at the hotel, you are ready 
to start your trip. 
As no stores are open at Old Forge, you 
will have to start without provisions. We found 
that the best plan was to paddle up to the head 
of Fourth Lake and put up at a hotel over 
night. The distance through First, Second, 
Third and Fourth lakes is a good twelve-mile 
pull, and for the first day out is enough. 
Monday morning pack your city clothes in 
your suitcases, and the hotel proprietor will 
gladly keep them for a nominal fee until you 
return. It would be impracticable to take your 
cases along with you. 
If you don’t care to put up at a hotel, 3'ou 
will have to camp on Third Lake, as Fourth is 
covered with hotels and private residences. 
Starting out Monday morning, you paddle 
through Fourth Lake Inlet to Fifth. The water 
here is likely to be very shallow, and the current 
strong enough to warrant about five minutes’ 
hard work to buck through it. 
Fifth Lake is nothing but a small pond with 
the carry at its head. This, your first carry, is 
about one-quarter mile over a broad highway 
and causes but little trouble. It is much better 
to make the carries in two .trips, taking the 
canoe and paddles the first trip and the packs 
the second. You will find this rather hard work 
at first, but after two or three carries have been 
made, you will get accustomed to it. You need 
have no fear about leaving your property right 
out in the open, for no one touches or molests 
it in any way. 
At Sixth Lake you will find a provision 
store, and here you lay in your first supplies. 
There is a store at Fourth Lake Inlet, but as 
{Continued on page 695.) 
R owing is one of the most perfect of all 
methods of exercise for the physical de¬ 
velopment of the body when practiced 
according to the following directions. As usual¬ 
ly practiced, rowing is a valuable exercise, but 
it is imperfect, bringing into action and develop¬ 
ing only certain sets of muscles, while by the 
new methods in connection with the modified 
old, nearly every muscle of the body is brought 
into action and strengthened, and the functioning 
of all the bodily organs greatly improved. 
The above remarks apply to rowing in a 
boat on a lake or other body of water where 
the great benefits of perfect freedom of action 
in all directions, pure air free from dust, life- 
giving sunshine and beautiful and interesting 
surroundings to stimulate the mind, aid in im¬ 
proving health and perfecting physical develop¬ 
ment. 
Rowing on a machine indoors is good when 
nothing better can be obtained, but is of slight 
value compared with the other. 
Some will naturally ask what are the bene¬ 
fits of the new methods of rowing. Besides 
being the most perfect single method of physical 
development for the entire muscular system, it 
equalizes the circulation of the blood through¬ 
out the body, which is one of the most important 
conditions for health, thus preventing conges¬ 
tions and inflammations, with all their serious 
consequences. It most effectually purifies the 
blood by compelling the inhalation of large quan¬ 
tities of pure air into the lungs where it comes 
in contact with the rapidly circulating blood to 
which it imparts its life-giving oxygen. 
It is one of the most valuable remedies for 
all forms of indigestion, dyspepsia, constipation, 
torpid liver, etc. It is a very important means 
of soothing, quieting and strengthening the ner¬ 
vous system and promoting sound sleep. It pro¬ 
duces a free action of the skin, thus helping to 
eliminate certain poisons and waste matters from 
the body. 
By increasing the action of the skin it re¬ 
lieves the kidneys of part of their work and 
thus acts to prevent disease and disorganization 
of those vital organs. It enlarges the chest, 
strengthens and develops the lungs, and is one 
of the best methods of guarding against that 
great enemy of man, consumption. 
It is also an important agency in curing 
consumption in the first stages of its existence. 
To obtain the greatest benefit from rowing, 
the following directions must be carefully fol¬ 
lowed : 
The old and prevailing style of rowing back¬ 
ward should be performed in the following man¬ 
ner : The body should not be bent, but held 
erect with the chest well in front. In bending 
forward and backward the motion should be en¬ 
tirely at the hip joints. This position of the 
body allows free action of the lungs, which is 
very important and a vital requisite for secur¬ 
ing the best results. 
In beginning this stroke the hands should 
be pushed as far forward as possible with the 
arms extended, at the same time forcibly, and 
as fully as possible, expelling the air from the 
lungs. Then make as long a stroke as possible, 
bending the body far back and pressing the feet 
firmly against a rib of the boat or other sup¬ 
port, at the same time filling the lungs to the 
fullest extent, inhaling through the nose. Never 
breathe through the mouth, but always through 
the nose. 
Mouth breathing is a very injurious habit. 
It dries the membranes of the mouth and throat 
and allows the dust and germ-laden air direct 
access to the lungs, and if the air is cold, it 
chills the delicate lining tissues. 
In breathing through the nose, the air filters 
through the hairs in the nostrils, the object being 
to remove the dust and germs, and becomes 
warmed in passing through the long, tortuous 
channels of the nose on its way to the lungs. 
Deep breathing, which should always accom¬ 
pany any form of rowing, should be constantly 
kept in mind. Until the habit is fully estab¬ 
lished, it is a good plan to repeat mentally when 
exhaling or breathing out, the word “breathe” 
and when inhaling the word “deep.” 
It is well to change the manner of breathing 
occasionally by inhaling whi-e bendmg forward 
and exhaling while bending backward. 
When commencing this deep breathing prac¬ 
tice, which is one of the greatest benefits of 
rowing, it may bring on a slight feeling of diz¬ 
ziness. In such case stop and rest until it 
passes away. 
Breathe deep. Breathe deep. Acquire the 
habit and continue it through life. It is a habit 
everyone should acquire. It is one of the most 
efficient means of promoting health of body and 
mind, of increasing one’s stock of vitality and 
of insuring a vigorous, long life. 
In commencing rowing, begin with modera¬ 
tion, as should be done with any new exercise, 
and increase the amount as the strength in¬ 
creases. As soon as you begin to feel tired, 
stop and rest. 
It is well to vary backward rowing by alter¬ 
nating the strokes. While one hand pulls on 
the oar, the other pushes. This gives a twisting 
motion to the body and brings other muscles into 
action. It is especially good in cases of indi¬ 
gestion, constipation and torpid liver. Inhale 
with one stroke and exhale with the other 
Breathe deep. 
After rowing five minutes more or less, ac¬ 
cording to one’s strength in each of the above 
ways, change to the next described mode of 
rowing, which is the best of all for physical 
development, although one cannot row quite as 
fast. 
Aside from its value as an exercise, it has 
the great advantage of going forward instead of 
backward, enabling the rower to see where he is 
going without turning his head around and look¬ 
ing behind him. Many accidents can be avoided 
by this style of rowing. 
