February, 1918 
FOREST AND S T RE A M 
101 
'AN 
Mp pT 
Mir Jr I 
Mil 
cd by the United States Army; 
his canoe lias been preserved 
in Smithsonian Institution; 
and we hope that all 'good 
woodsmen will contribute 
■ their Hints and Kinks and 
trail-tested contrivances. For 
• the best idea sent in next 
month will be given a copy of 
Nessmuk’s classic book Wood¬ 
craft that is now in press. 
trunk. 'The ring on the trap chain is 
slipped over these. When an animal pulls 
it catches on these but can’t come off. It 
is best to use a green brush so there will 
be no danger of snapping it. 
On prairie country a rock or chunk of 
wood of sufficient size and weight serves 
the purpose as well as the brush. 
Of course in some cases a stake is neces¬ 
sary, but fewer animals will escape if a 
drag is used when handy. 
C. H. Freese, Kansas. 
A Convenie nt Lantern Crane 
jp OR use in camp or tent a good lamp 
bracket can be made out of forked 
branches, as shown in the illustration. 
Care should be taken in the selection of 
material. Branches with tough bark are 
Strip of bark 
A Brook Trout “Flapjack” 
HEN small trout are fried crisp and 
brown without breaking them to 
pieces in frying, the bones can be taken 
out easily. If you are not careful in turn¬ 
ing such tender fish you are liable to have 
| scrambled fish, and removing the bones will 
| be troublesome. I hit upon a method of 
! frying the usual run of small brook trout 
six or eight inches long, so that each fish 
i; comes from the pan whole. 
Dress the fish and roll in flour or corn- 
meal, then place them in a hot pan with 
plenty of grease so that they will not stick 
I and burn. The trick is to place each fish 
so the tail overlaps the head of the one 
next to it. Lay the fish close together so 
that they touch and overlap one another, 
with the largest ones in the center of the 
pan where the greatest heat is. 
Fry over a small bed of coals until well 
browned on one side. Gently loosen them 
from the pan with a knife, and you will 
find that they are stuck together with* the 
! flour coating, and the overlapping tails of 
each fish. You can turn them over the 
same as you do your flapjacks, with one 
quick swing. If you have worked well the 
fish should not separate in the air. Fry 
on the other side and serve. After a few 
trials you will be able to cook your small 
trout without hardly breaking their skins. 
The appearance of the cooked fish and the 
convenience in eating them will win you 
to this method. I am sure you will never 
be satisfied with scrambled trout again. 
Lyle Smith, Seattle, Wash. 
safest, as the greater part of the weight 
comes on the bark. Cedar is good, also 
hemlock. After cutting the forked stick 
of the required shape and dimensions for 
the place where it is intended, trim it to 
;represent Fig. i in the illustration. The 
long strip of bark which is Jeft attached to 
one end of the fork is whipped back and 
tightly secured to the fork with wire or 
cord as in Fig. 2. This contrivance is espe¬ 
cially handy for a tent pole, as the arm 
can be made as long or as short as de¬ 
sired according where the light is to fall. 
Joe Ballenger, South Carolina. 
Simple Way to Brown Biscuits 
IN your December issue C. L. J. suggests 
1 a method of browning biscuits on the top 
without burning them on the bottom. I 
am glad to find somebody who has dis¬ 
proved the oft-repeated statement that one 
must not expect to brown biscuits with 
a reflector. The secret lies, as C. L. J. 
indicates, in having a bright flame in front 
of the baker, not a mere bed of coals. He 
also describes a method of altering the 
angle of reflection to secure the desired 
result. May I add a simpler method 
which I have tried with much success? 
Biscuits naturally burn on the bottom be¬ 
fore they brown on the top. An even 
baking surface can be secured by blanket¬ 
ing the lower reflecting surface with a flat 
rock or even a piece of green wood when 
the bread is approaching the condition of 
“done.” This allows the upper surface to 
keep on working as long as one wishes in 
order to put the right tint on the tops of 
the biscuits. Arthur L. Wheeler, Pa. 
The Pudding Stick in Camp 
A LONG handled spoon is very handy 
in camp, but is a nuisance to pack. I 
always make a pudding stick to use for 
stirring cereal, soups, stews and any kind 
of “mulligan.” Take a piece of hard wood 
about 18 inches long, shape one end round 
and the other broad and flat like a small 
paddle. Do not use cedar or soft wood 
unless you like that flavor. Throw it away 
when changing camp and make a new one. 
I. Smith, Maine. 
To Protect Against Snow Blindness 
r J" 1 HIS suggestion of mine will prepare 
for the intense glare of the snow. The 
idea is not a new one by any means, for it 
is used by the Esquimaux of the far north 
to guard against snow-blindness. To con¬ 
struct this glare shield procure two small 
pieces of wood and fit them together so 
there will be only a narrow slit between. 
These may be placed over the eyes like 
spectacles and fastened with a deerskin 
thong (a common cord will do) behind the 
head. The range of vision will then be 
very narrow, but all the glare will be shut 
out. Details are shown in the rough sketch 
below. 
The Esquimaux and Indians also were 
accustomed to darken the skin all about 
the eyes with soot. This mitigated the 
glare of the wide, white snow fields, and 
is a good hint to remember in case glare 
shields are forgotten. If anyone has had a 
touch of snow blindness, he will know that 
it is a danger to be dreaded and guarded 
against. J. O. Stella, New Jersey. 
