BOY SCOUTS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14786, 19 March 1910, Page 11

BOY SCOUTS.

Iho Duncdni Central troops, under Scoutmaster fergusson, held their weekly parade 011 \ve«ne»,lay lust; there being 'a good muster of ccouts, who were instnicteu m gencial fccout craft. A visit wiis paid this troop by. Scoutmaster Can- and !-or««ajUmajor iiroad. °

'ihe An<tei-6on's' : Bay troop/ under Chief scoutmaster Grainger, held ' tlieir weekly piirin.lt: on Tuesday las;, tiieie. being a gooj attendance. The Scouts were instructed in. ju-jilsu exercise, signalling, lirst-ak! work, ami general Mailt. There was a good muster of the Anderson liay Scouts under Sergeant, \\. Patton,. Cmef Scoiit-mnsiei-Urainger being absent on Saturday afternoon. The parade was held in the vicinity oi Tomahawk, and, being met by the Scutii Dunedin troops, some gcod scouting work was done.

, The -Valley troops held their weekly meeting on' Tuesday last, there being a good attendance of Scouts. The cvenm'"was taijon up with general Scout work. ° In Scouts' camps the tents are not pitclidd in lines mid streets, as in military camps, but are <iotted about, 50 or 100 yards apart or, more, in a big circle round the Scout!' master's tent, which, with the mess marquee, if there is one, is generally in the centre. Water supply: If there "is a spring or stream, the best part-of it must strictly bo kept clear and clean for drinking water. Further down stream a place may be appointed for .bathing, washing dotlici, and so on. The. greatest' carc is' always taken by Scouts to keep their drinking water clean., otherwise tliev are likely to get sickness among tliein. . * .v I All water has.-iri ~/ai'ge number of tiiiy animals Hosting about soli cit too email to be seen without the help of a microscope. Some of theni are'ijoi'soiioiu, sonic are not; you can't tell whether,,tho,'poisonous.ones are-there, so.the safest way, is to-ki!i;them all before you drink any water; and the way to kill thcm is'to. Boil the water and let 'it cool again before drinking it. Kitchens: The-cooking lire/is made lo leeward, or down, w'ind of . the camp, so "that the smoke and sparks, from.:tiie iiio don't blow into che .tents. Old -Scouts always t.nkn special care to l-c-c-p chc kitchen particularly clean, as if scraps are ioft ijing about, flies collect and smells arise which are very likely to slightlv-poison the food while it i-5 being got rca<ij for a wo.il, and this beings sickness to iho Scorns. Big small pit a couple of feet. deep near iho kitchen and tlirou- all refuse that won't burn- into this,'ami fill, the pit with earth every night. Payment: Another point io remember is that wheji you use it {aimer's ground you ought to repav liini for llic iisp of it. If you do not do this with money you car do it. in otter ways. You caii and ought to do odd jobs that are useful to liini. You can lucnd his fences or gates, or herd-his cows, cut thistles, or dig up weeds, and so on. You should always !x; doing godd'turns both to-the farmer and to the people living near your camp, so that, they will be glad to have you tlicro. Note to Parents.—Camning-out is the great point in'"scouting'' which appeals to the boy, and is the opportunity in which to teach him self-reliance and resourcefulness. besides giving him healtn and development. Many parents who have never had experience, of..camp, life themselves look upon it with misgivi'iigi. and possibly likely to bo too Tough aikl risky'for their boys: but when they «e their lads return well sot tip and full of health and happiness outwardly. and moralK' improved in the whits of practical ' manliness and comradeship, thev cannot fail to appreciate the good which comcs from snob an outing, t ' Owing to there bcini some misiindwstanding regarding the holiday it has W>e'n decided to postpono the field day until a later date. / Mr K Can- was presided w'lli his Scoutmaster's comims'-ion last week.