"Wawayanda Whirlwind," "The Maskwa," "The Wyanoka Log," "Kinoe Kamper."
Some of these papers are printed and others are mimeographed and sold to the campers at five cents a copy. Most of them, however, are written in a book and read at the camp fire.
Agriculture
Where a camp is located so as to be near a farm, opportunity should be given city boys to study soil, rotation of crops, gardening, etc. In cooperation with the Department of Agriculture and under the leadership of a student of an Agricultural College, an experiment in raising vegetables may be tried in long-term camps. A plot of ground may be plowed and harrowed, and sub-divided into as many plots as there are tents, each tent to be given a plot and each boy in the tent his "own row to hoe," the boy to make his own choice of seed, keep a diary of temperature, sunshine, rainfall, when the first blade appeared; make an elementary a.n.a.lysis of soil, use of fertilizer and other interesting data. Prepare for an exhibit of vegetables. Whatever the boys raise may be cooked and eaten at their table. Free agricultural bulletins will be sent upon application to the United States Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. Farmers"
Bulletin 385 tells about Boys" Agricultural Clubs.
Forestry
The subject of forestry is akin to camping. Much valuable instruction may be given boys regarding the forests of the locality in which the camp is located, kind of land, character and use of woods, how utilized--conservatively or destructively--for saw timber, or other purposes, protection of forests, forest fires, etc. Send to United States Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C., for Forest Service Circular 130, "Forestry in the Public Schools;" Farmers" Bulletin 173, "A Primer of Forestry," Part I; Farmers" Bulletin 358, "A Primer of Forestry," Part II.
Scoutcraft
The Handbook of the Boy Scouts of America is full of information regarding knot tying, signalling, tracking, use of compa.s.s, direction and time calculator, etc., which every boy should know. Scoutcraft would furnish recreational education for scores of boys.
Record Books
Boys like to carry home some permanent record of personal achievements while at camp, autographs of fellow campers, etc. A rather unique record is used by the boys at Camp Wawayanda. The ill.u.s.tration shows the card which was used. "A Vacation Diary," in the form of vest pocket memorandum book, bound in linen, is published by Charles R. Scott, State Y. M. C. A.
Committee, Newark, N. J. Price, 10 cents.
Kites
Scientific kite flying is one of the best things a boy can indulge in.
Hiye-Sho-To, a j.a.panese, gives this interesting information about kites.
"To all j.a.panese the kite is symbolic of worthy, soaring ambitions, such as the work upward to success in school, or in trade, and so on. When a child is born, little kites are sent up by modest households to announce the arrival. Kites are also flown to celebrate birthdays. To lose a kite is considered an omen of ill-luck."
"For the control of a box kite, I prefer the lightest steel wire to a cord. This wire is about the thickness of an ordinary pin, with a tensile strength at the point of breaking of quite three hundred pounds. In handling a kite with such a wire-ground connection, a boy should always have rough gloves on his hands, that the wire may not cut them.
"Having a kite of this kind, or even two and three, so that on a single wire he can keep sending them higher and higher into the atmosphere, a boy can begin what we were wont to call in Yeddo our "kite education." First, he can make himself his own weather prophet. Self-registering thermometers are no longer very expensive. He can wire one of these to his kite, and, by knowing the length of wire he has in hand and the amount he pays out while the kite is up, ascertain just what the air temperature is 200 feet, 500 feet, 1,000 feet, 3,000 feet above him.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Box Kites]
"There are wind gauges of cheap construction, moisture gauges which will note the coming of rain, small cameras that will automatically take pictures while the kite is in the air, that may be attached to these kites, and from the work of which valuable information may be obtained."
The following instruction for making a box kite was given in "The American Boy," April, 1909.
"Any boy can make a box kite. The material used may be any tough, light wood, such as spruce, cypress, ba.s.s-wood, or cedar. Cut four pieces 42 inches in length, and sixteen pieces 18 inches in length. The cuts show clearly how they are to be put together. Use glue and small brads at every point. The bridle cord is fastened 6 inches from each end of the box. This is best done before the cloth is put on the kite. Light cheese cloth may be used, and should be secured with glue and small brads at the last lap.
When the cloth is in place paint it with thin varnish or glue to fill up the meshes and stretch it.
"The reason why box kites made by boys have a tendency to lie down flat on the ground is that they are not proportioned correctly. The proportions given here are correct. The painting, decorating, and tinting are matters of personal taste and skill."
The principle of kite flying is simple. Air is a fluid like water, but on account of the many changes of temperature, to which it is subjected, it constantly changes its density and is found to consist of layers or strata. These layers are not all flat and parallel, but take every variety of shape as the clouds do. In flying a kite you simply pull it up one of those layers just as you would pull a sled or wagon up a hill. Always run facing the wind.
Aeroplanes
Aeroplane season is now a calendar event in the boy"s life. Many boys are engaged in building these fascinating little ships of the air. "The Boy"s Book of Model Aeroplanes," by Francis A. Collins, Century Co. ($1.20 net), gives complete directions how to build these marvellous new toys. Form a club and conduct an "Aviation" meet during the season. Spon and Chamberlain, 123 North Liberty Street, New York City, sell a complete full-sized set of drawings for building three model aeroplanes. Price, 50 cents.
Parachutes
[Ill.u.s.tration: A Parachute Idea]
The parachute, in its various forms, has always been a favorite with boys.
The idea is to make an umbrella-shaped contraption out of tissue paper and a stick, so that when it descends from any considerable height it will open out and float slowly to the ground. This part is easy enough. The trouble has always been to get it up in the air high enough to repay one for his efforts in making it. The idea that a common sling shot had propelling power sufficient for this purpose led to experiments which proved that the idea was a happy one. The combination of sling shot and parachute makes a very fascinating outdoor amus.e.m.e.nt device. Every time you shoot it into the air you try to make it go higher than last time.
To make the parachute, get a tough stick about two feet long and whittle it to a shape similar to Fig. 2. The bottom must be heavy enough to fall first so that the parachute will fall in the right direction to be opened out. You can weight the end by tying a piece of lead or a spool on it. Cut your tissue paper to a shape shown in Fig. 2 and place a thread through every scallop. If the paper tears right through, a good plan is to reinforce the edges of the circle by pasting a strip of tough paper or muslin all around. A parachute made of silk or any fine mesh cloth will be much more lasting, but not quite so buoyant.
The sling shot is made with a rubber band, some string, and a forked stick. The greater its propelling power, the more successful will the toy be.
Box Furniture
Instead of using for firewood the boxes in which groceries, etc., are shipped to camp, have the boys make useful camp furniture from them. Get the book, "Box Furniture," by Louise Brigham: The Century Co.; price, $1.50. It tells what to do with boxes, and how to make all sorts of convenient furniture.
Camp Clock
Mark the ground around the camp flag pole with white stones or stones whitewashed, like a sun dial. The sun"s rays will cast the shadow of the pole so that the time of day may be accurately ascertained. (See ill.u.s.tration.) In the handbook of the Boy Scouts of America is the following description for making a Sun dial or Hunter"s Clock: "To make a sun dial prepare a smooth board about 15 inches across, with a circle divided into 24 equal parts, and a temporarily hinged pointer, whose upper edge is in the middle of the dial. Place on some dead level solid post or stump in the open. At night fix the dial so that the 12-o"clock line points exactly to North, as determined by the North or Pole Star. Then, using two temporary sighting sticks of exactly the same height (so as to permit sighting clear above the edge of the board), set the pointer exactly pointing to the Pole Star, that is, the same angle as the lat.i.tude of the place, and fix it there immovably. Then remove the two sighting sticks."
[Ill.u.s.tration: Camp Clock]
SUN DIAL OR HUNTER"S CLOCK Some Quotations to Burn or Paint on the Sun Dial.
"My face marks the sunny hours, What can you say of yours."
"Grow old along with me, The best is yet to be."
Translation of motto on Cathedral Sun dial, St. Augustine.
"The hours pa.s.s and we are held accountable."
The ill.u.s.tration shows how to locate the North or Pole Star.
F. O. Van Ness gives the following directions for making a pair of moccasins:
[Ill.u.s.tration: Sioux Moccasin]
Fig. 1. Place foot on leather or canvas and draw outline of foot. Turn same and make pattern for other foot.
Fig. 2. Distance GB equals length of foot plus one inch; distance AC equals width across instep plus one-half inch; cut DF halfway between B and G; cut EG halfway between A and C. Cut piece reverse of this for other moccasin. Place B of Fig. 2 to B of Fig. 1, and sew overhand with wax cord the edges from B to A and B to C, bringing A and C of Fig. 2 together at A of Fig. 1. Sew AG to CG.
Fig. 3 is the tongue and DF of Fig. 3 is sewed to DF of Fig. 2. Cut pairs of half-inch slits a, b, c, d in Fig. 2, and run lace through.
Hammock-Making
For the afternoon "siesta" make a "rough-and-ready" hammock, by taking apart a flour barrel or sugar barrel, and in the end of each stave bore a three-quarter inch hole with a heated poker, or bit and auger. Then lace thin rope (clothes line is good) through the holes. This can be accomplished easily by noting method of lacing in figure "A." The stay-blocks "B" should be 12 inches long. Figure "C" shows hammock ready for use.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Rough and Ready Hammock]
A Toboggan
Get a cheese box. Knock in the end very carefully, so as not to split it, pull out all the nails and lay it flat, and you have a piece of very thin board about 4-1/2 feet long and 11 inches wide. Next take a piece of inch plank of same width as the cheese box, and three feet in length, and to this fasten the unrolled cheese box by using small lath nails, letting one end curl up over the plank. To the edge of this protruding piece of cheese box tack a narrow strip of wood. Tie a heavy cord to its ends, run the cord through the two hooks screwed into the planks and draw down the end until it is curved just right. The ill.u.s.tration shows how it is made.