The way to find which way the wind is blowing, if there is only very light breeze, is to throw up little bits of dry gra.s.s; or to hold up a handful of light dust and let it fall, or to suck your thumb and wet it all round and let the wind blow over it, and the cold side of it will then tell you which way the wind is blowing.
Weather Bureau
The U. S. Department of Agriculture Weather Bureau publishes a "Cla.s.sification of clouds," in colors which may be had for the asking. If you are near one of the weather signal stations daily bulletins will be sent to camp upon request, also the weather map.
A set of flag signals run up each day will create interest. The flags are easily made, or may be purchased.
Keep a daily record of temperature. A boy in charge of the "Weather Bureau" will find it to be full of interest, as well as to offer an opportunity to render the camp a real service. He will make a weather vane, post a daily bulletin board, keep a record of temperature, measure velocity of wind and rainfall.
If you have lost your bearings and it is a cloudy day, put the point of your knife blade on your thumb nail, and turn the blade around until the full shadow of the blade is on the nail. This will tell you where the sun is, and decide in which direction the camp is.
Points of Compa.s.s
Face the sun in the morning, spread out your arms straight from body.
Before you is the east; behind you is the west; to your right hand is the south; to the left hand is the north.
A Home-made Weather Prophet
For a home-made barometer you need a clean, clear gla.s.s bottle. Take one drachm[1] each of camphor gum, saltpetre and ammonia salts, and dissolve them in thirteen drachms of pure alcohol. Shake till dissolved. Then pour in bottle and cork tightly. Hang the bottle of mixture against the wall facing north, and it will prove a perfect weather prophet. When the liquid is clear it promises fair weather. When it is muddy or cloudy it is a sign of rain. When little white flakes settle in the bottom it means that the weather is growing colder, and the thicker the deposit the colder it becomes. Fine, starry flakes foretell a storm, and large flakes are signs of snow. When the liquid seems full of little, threadlike forms that gradually rise to the top, it means wind and sudden storm.
[Transcriber"s Footnote 1: Dram, drachma; drachm; U.S. Customary System equal to 1/16 of an ounce or 27.34 grains (1.77 grams). Apothecary weight equal to 1/8 of an ounce or 60 grains (3.89 grams).]
U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE WEATHER BUREAU. EXPLANATION OF FLAG SIGNALS,
[Ill.u.s.tration: Flags]
No. 1, alone, indicates fair weather, stationary temperature.
No. 2, alone. Indicates rain or snow, stationary temperature.
No. 3, alone, indicates local rain, stationary temperature.
No. 1, with No. 4 above it, indicates fair weather, warmer No. 1, with No. 4 below it, indicates fair weather, colder.
No. 2, with No. 4 above it, indicates warmer weather, rain or snow.
No. 2, with No. 4 below it, indicates colder weather, rain or snow.
No. 8, with No. 4 above it, indicates warmer weather with local rains.
No. 3, with No. 4 below it, indicates colder weather with local rains.
No. 1, with No. 5 above it, indicates fair weather, cold wave.
No. 2, with No. 5 above it, indicates wet weather, cold wave.
Forecasts made at 10 A.M., and displayed between 12 and 1 P.M., forecast the weather for the following day until 8 P.M.
FORECASTING THE WEATHER 245
Plant Barometers
The dandelion is an excellent barometer, one of the commonest and most reliable. It is when the blooms have seeded and are in the fluffy, feathery condition that its weather prophet facilities come to the fore.
In fine weather the ball extends to the full, but when rain approaches, it shuts like an umbrella. If the weather is inclined to be showery it keeps shut all the time, only opening when the danger from the wet is past.
The ordinary clover and all its varieties, including the trefoil and the shamrock, are barometers. When rain is coming, the leaves shut together like the sh.e.l.ls of an oyster and do not open again until fine weather is a.s.sured. For a day or two before rain comes their stems swell to an appreciable extent and stiffen so that the leaves are borne more upright than usual. This stem swelling when rain is expected is a feature of many towering gra.s.ses.
The fingers of which the leaves of the horse chestnut are made up keep flat and fanlike so long as fine weather is likely to continue. With the coming of rain, however, they droop, as if to offer less resistance to the weather. The scarlet pimpernel, nicknamed the "poor man"s weather gla.s.s,"
or wind cope, opens its flowers only to fine weather. As soon as rain is in the air it shuts up and remains closed until the shower or storm is over.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
Talk About the Weather--Charles Barnard. Funk & Wagnalls Co., 75 cents. A little book of valuable hints and suggestions about the weather and the philosophy of temperature and rainfall in their relation to living things.
Woodcraft--Jones and Woodward. C. Arthur Pearson, Ltd., 35 cents. Contains an excellent chapter on weather lore in addition to a ma.s.s of valuable information on woodcraft.
Bulletin of the U. S. Weather Bureau, Washington, D. C,
[Ill.u.s.tration: The Library, 1,200 Volumes Given by the Boys.--Camp Becket]
CHAPTER XX--RAINY DAY GAMES AND SUGGESTIONS
DELIGHTS OF A RAINY DAY ACc.u.mULATED ENERGY HANDKERCHIEF TUSSLE POTATO JOUST TERRIER FIGHT CIRCLE BALL LEG WRESTLE HAND WRESTLING ROOSTER FIGHT SHOE AND SWEATER RACE PEANUT RELAY RACE INTERESTING TESTS BIBLIOGRAPHY
We knew it would rain for the poplars showed The white of their leaves, and amber grain Shrunk in the wind and the lightning now Is tangled in tremulous skeins of rain.
--Aldrich.
Rainy days break the monotony of continuous sunshiny days. There is nothing that is so fascinating to a boy in camp as listening to the patter of the rain drops upon the roof of his canvas house, especially at night, if he is snug and warm in his blankets and the tent is waterproof. A rainy day is the kind of a day when the chess and checker enthusiasts get together. Games are rescued from the bottom of the trunk or box. Ponchos and rubber boots are now in popular favor. Thunder and lightning but add to the boys" enjoyment. What indescribable excitement there is in the shivers and shudders caused by an extra flash of lightning or a double fortissimo roll of thunder! There is also the delight, of playing in the puddles of water and wearing a bathing suit and enjoying a real shower bath.
To some boys it is repair day, rips are sewed up, b.u.t.tons sewed on clothing, and for the initiated, the darning of socks. In camps with permanent buildings a big log fire roars in the fireplace, the boys sprawl on the floor with their faces toward the fire, and while the rain plays a tattoo[1] upon the roof some one reads aloud an interesting story, such as "Treasure Island," "The Shadowless Man," "The Bishop"s Shadow," or the chapters on "The Beneficent Rain" and "When the Dew Falls," from Jean M.
Thompson"s book, "Water Wonders." It all depends upon one"s viewpoint whether rainy days are delightful or disagreeable.
[Transcriber"s Footnote 1: Signal on a drum or bugle to summon soldiers to their quarters at night. Continuous, even drumming or rapping.]
Surplus Energy
Boys are barometers. Restlessness is usually a sign of an approaching storm. The wise leader senses the situation and begins preparing his plans. If the rain is from the east and comes drizzling down, better plan a several day program, for after the excitement of the first few hours"
rain, the boys begin to loll around, lie on the cots, or hang around the kitchen and develop a disease known as "Grouchitis." During the first stages of the disease the boys are inactive and acc.u.mulate an over-supply of energy, which must find an outlet. Here is where the leader plays an important part in handling the case; he provides an outlet for the expenditure of this surplus energy by planning games demanding use of muscle and the expenditure of energy and noise. The big mess tent, or dining hall, is cleared and romping games are organized.
The games suggested are adapted for rainy days and selected from a catalogue of several hundred games.
RAINY DAY GAMES
Few sports are better calculated than a potato joust to amuse boys on rainy days. It has all the joys of a combat, and yet, try as he will, there is no possibility for any boy to become rough.
Potato Joust
In the potato joust each warrior is armed with a fork, on the end of which is a potato. The combatants take their position in the center of the playroom, facing each other. They should be separated by not less than three feet. Each must lift a leg from the floor (see ill.u.s.tration, next page). The fighters may use their own discretion as to which leg shall be lifted from the floor and may hold it up with either hand they prefer. A small cushion placed under the knee will add materially to the comfort of the contestants.
The battle is decided by one of the warriors knocking the potato from his opponent"s fork. Toppling over three times is also counted as defeat. If one of the knights is obliged to let go of his foot in order to keep his balance it is counted as a fall. Every time the battle is interrupted in this way, either of the contestants is at liberty to change the foot he is resting upon. If one of the warriors falls against the other and upsets him, it is counted against the one who is responsible for the tumble.
You are not likely to realize on your first introduction to a potato joust the amount of skill and practice required to really become expert in handling the fork. A slight turn of the wrist, a quick push and the practised knight will defeat the novice so deftly, so easily that you are amazed.
Move your fork as little as possible; long sweeping strokes are more likely to throw off your own potato than to interfere with that of your opponent.