Boys' Life/Volume 1/Number 1/Things All Scouts Should Know
THINGS ALL SCOUTS SHOULD KNOW
THE PARAGRAPHS FOLLOWING EXPLAIN MANY
LITTLE USEFUL THINGS WELL WORTH KNOWING
A CAMP NIGHT-LIGHT
The simple contrivance that is known as a camp night-light, is one that often proves handy for camping out. It is formed of a small tin without a lid, and half filled with fine earth.
Upon this are melted any odd ends of candle, until a fair thickness of tallow has been so obtained. A thin, dry stick, neatly wrapped round with a piece of say, calico, is then pushed down through the tallow and earth, right down to the bottom of the tin. When this wick is lighted, the camp night-light sheds a modest but useful glow all around.
And, of course, there is no oil to get dangerously upset or, spilling about, to spoil things.
SOAP AND WATER
When camping out, anything that adds to the convenience of the washing arrangements is much to be desired. An enamelled iron washbasin, we know, will hold water right enough. But if, for want of other support for it, we are compelled to set the basin on the ground—well, stooping down to wash one's hands and face becomes something of an acrobatic performance, and is far from being a comfortable process.
Here is illustrated a camp washstand that any Scout can put together in something like the proverbial "two minutes."
Three straight sticks are wanted—Scout staves will do admirably. These, as we see, are passed through a hole cut in a piece of board—a circular, square or, indeed, any shaped board will do—and are so converted into a useful tripod. On top of this, the basin is placed, nice and level, and, if properly adjusted, quite firm in position.
The piece of board that unites the tripod makes a handy shelf for soap, toothbrush, etc. And, if one of the legs of the tripod is provided about half as long again as the others, there is a quite serviceable rod upon which to hang, and to dry, our towel.
Taken to pieces for the purpose of conveyance, this item of "home-made" camp furniture, of course, occupies but little space, and is of next to no weight. And on the day of striking camp, the washstand, if not mainly composed of Scout staves, will come in very handy for firewood.
FLATTENING NAIL POINTS
There is a right and a wrong way of doing everything, even to flattening down a projecting nail.
The usual way this is done is shown in Fig. 1, and, although it may be flattened down a little more than is shown in the illustration, the method is wrong and the point is always liable to catch in everything it comes into contact with.
The proper way to flatten the nail down is to place some thin circular object, such as a piece of wire (A), under the projection when hammering down. This has the effect of turning the point round so that when it is finally hammered flush with the wood (Fig. 3), the point will be driven in, instead of being dangerously turned out.
ONE WAY OF DINING IN CAMP
Provided the soil is dry and not loose or uneven, a very good mess table for use in camp can be made as follows:
Dig a fair sized oval trench, about two feet deep, leaving an oblong space in the centre, which forms the table, and then sit round on the ground, with your legs in the trench, and your plate of food in front of you, as shown in the illustration.
TO CAP A CORK
This is the most effective method for tying down the cork of a bottle. It is exactly the way in which champagne corks are wired.
Take half-a-yard of string, double it, and at the doubled end make the knotted loop B. Pass the two ends of the string round the neck of the bottle and knot them at E.
Take end C, and, passing it over the cork, slip it through loop B as shown at A. Pull end C tightly back over the cork, and knot it with end D close down to E.
Doing that will securely imprison even the most fiery and frothsome ginger-beer that ever was "up."
DO IT NEATLY
Many Scouts, no doubt, find it difficult to keep a jersey, or sweater, neatly and securely rolled. Here is a method which will overcome this difficulty, and make it quite easy to strap the jersey on to the belt.
First lay it out flat, as in Fig. 1, folding over the collar B, at the neck. Then fold over the body, A, three times, as shown by the dotted lines.
The jersey should then assume the appearance of Fig. 2.
Next turn the sleeve, C, over the body. A, as in Fig. 3, and then pull the arm, D, over the body and other sleeve, turning it inside out for that purpose, after the fashion in which you roll a pair of stockings together.
The result, as shown in Fig. 4, is a neat oval roll, which can be easily and comfortably strapped on to your belt.
Mother: "I think Jack's voice ought to be cultivated abroad."
Father: "Anywhere would suit me, except at home."