548 
FOREST AND STREAM 
September, 1918 
rial you desire for that tent, whether light¬ 
weight waterproofed duck, or khaki or bal¬ 
loon silk. Silk is naturally the very best 
and will last a long time, shedding the 
water perfectly. But it costs in propor¬ 
tion, it should be remembered, all the way 
from fifteen to twenty dollars the tent, 
even in the smaller sizes. However, if two 
persons buy such a tent together, splitting 
even on the purchase price, the cost Is cut 
down. This I think is by far the better 
system. Many go camping alone, but a 
companion is a blessing. Thus, if you 
have the money to spare by all means get 
the silk tent. It will give you the height 
of comfort and will always prove efficient 
and trustworthy. Don’t, however, buy a 
too large tent 
two ingredients should thoroughly dissolve 
in the water before immersing the tent ma¬ 
terial. It should therefore be mixed and 
stirred well. The shelter tent may then 
be soaked in this for some tme, and then 
hung up to dry (though not in the sun) 
without wringing the water out of it. 
When this is thoroughly dry you will find 
that it is waterproof. In fact I prefer this 
method to the paraffine system. 
Do not be afraid to embark upon making 
your own tent. It will not hurt you; costs 
little; and will make you more appreciative 
of what a tent is and what it is to be used 
for. Canvas is hard to get because of 
army demands, but light weight muslin will 
serve and is easier to work with. 
On a trip, whether canoeing or hiking, 
fish should always be counted on as a part 
of the daily fare. Other necessities are 
coffee or tea—tea is by far the most sim¬ 
ple, and it is suggested. But if you are 
going to use coffee see to it that you have 
the pulverized coffee, or the prepared 
coffee. All you have to do with this is to 
put some in a cup and pour hot water over 
it and it is ready for use. Along with the 
coffee or the tea, sugar is a practical ne¬ 
cessity. Dried fruits should not be for¬ 
gotten. Beans are excellent, and one 
should bring along some powdered soups 
for a change, though this is not absolutely 
necessary. Discard milk powders and egg 
powders if you can, and drink your coffee 
or tea without 
This tent is very easy to erect 
That is often the 
trouble with 
many shelter- 
tent men. They 
get the tent too 
large. Get it 
large enough, 
but not too large. 
They come in 
many sizes, and 
you can thus se¬ 
lect as you will. 
Many tents are 
made of close 
woven stuff (it 
is cross woven 
in fact), on the 
military tent 
plan. I have 
never had any 
trouble with this 
form, and it is 
not treated to 
any waterproof¬ 
ing material. 
These khaki 
tents, without 
waterp r oof- 
ing, are excep¬ 
tionally good, if 
they are clcse- 
woven and can 
thus actually ex¬ 
clude the rain. This most of them do. 
Other tents may be had in light material, 
treated to waterproofing. The one good 
thing about the light tent, which depends 
upon waterproofing, is that it is light, and 
makes a very tiny roll. Khaki, untreated, 
is heavier. Where lightness is very much 
in demand, see to it that you carry the 
lightest tent possible. 
In this day of ingenuity many persons 
make their own shelter tents and anyone 
with a little painstaking can construct one 
if they will apply themselves to study. For 
instance, the Forester tent is easily made, 
but this is only one of many. In fact you 
can take light weight muslin and make a 
tent that weighs no more than two or three 
pounds, by waterproofing it, either with 
paraffine or with alum and sugar of lead. 
I think the sugar of lead and alum treat¬ 
ment is virtuous. This system has been 
used a great deal, and, I may say, leads 
over all the others. To get the best results 
put two pounds of sugar of lead and one 
pound or more of pulverized alum in a tub 
or wash-boiler. Over this pour about two 
pails of water, soft-water preferred. These 
A model that uses the inside pole 
or Tc 
Co comb.nca lo Jo rr* 
fttdqc fenl - Fia Z 
Small, but with ample room for two 
A cleverly arranged shelter tent 
milk. One of the 
best things that 
I know of that 
one can take 
along on hiking; 
or canoeing trips 
is the so-called 
bouillon cubes, 
which usually 
come put up 
twelve to a box. 
One of these 
cubes dissolved 
in water makes 
a very nourish¬ 
ing dish, equiva-; 
lent to so much 
of meat in bulk 
from which the 
precious juices 
have been taken 
out and which, 
in evaporated or 
reduced form, 
composes these 
cubes. In mak¬ 
ing your soups if 
you will add twc 
or three of these 
cubes you will 
find that it is im¬ 
proved one hun¬ 
dred per cent 
N the question of foods for the shelter 
tent man, whether on the canoe trip or 
on the hiking trip, we come down to 
absolute necessities. In the first place or¬ 
dinary flour means slipshod work at mak¬ 
ing bread or anything along that line. The 
self-raising flour answers the question. 
Why? This: the self-raising flour contains 
everything necessary in bread or flapjack 
making. All you have to do is to add the 
given portion of water and fix out your 
flapjacks or your thicker portion of “bread” 
which may be nothing more or less than 
a large portion in the frying pan. You 
make your bread, etc., more or less right 
in the frying pan, unless you are on a 
canoeing trip when a reflector baker can 
be used alongside of the campfire and real 
bread constructed. Even here the self- 
raising flour answers the question to a T. 
The next of the necessities is a grease 
wherein you can fry, also flesh that you 
can eat. Here the bacon and salt pork 
solves that question. You can either take 
all of one kind or take both—salt pork and 
bacon, as you see fit. But one or the other 
I deem necessary. It gives you grease. 
To this soup may also be added fish 01 
meat chopped up to suit your taste. 
Don’t forget the bouillon cubes. They 
are an excellent and very handy ration. 
N' 
OW we arrive at the most interest¬ 
ing part of all—how much in weight 
of provisions to take along. Re¬ 
member that it all depends upon how long 
you are going to be out; whether upon a 
canoeing trip or a hiking trip, or whether 
two or four are going to make up the 
party. In the case of the canoeist we car 
leave him out just now because, at least 
partially, his means of transportation art 
simplified, and he may take more as he 
chooses. We will therefore consider the 
man who carries his home and food on hi: 
back. And, as has been suggested, twc 
men make a good team for the purpose 
Thus fifty pounds of provisions should dc 
two men very well on a three week trip 
that \vould be twenty-five pounds to the 
man of provisions to carry, but of course 
it must be remembered that fish are tc 
form a part of the daily fare, and, in sea 
(continued on page 550) 
