BOY SCOUT NOTES

Taranaki Daily News, 30 September 1929, Page 7

BOY SCOUT NOTES

WORLD-WIDE HAPPENINGS t CZECHOSLOVAKIA AT JAMBOREE. HINTS FOR CAMPERS.

(By

“Scouter.”)

Czechoslovakia sent 150 scouts to the world jamboree. The Czechs wear a khaki uniform and their badge consists of the arrowhead surmounted by a black dog’s head. The dog’s ' head is the symbol of the old defenders of Bohemia', the previous name for Czechoslovakia. The movement has made great strides .since the war and now numbers 23,000. The Czechs are ardent campers, using a pyramid-shaped tent, the walls being made of wooden slats. These , make a fairly solid structure and are ideal for permanent camp sites. The following clipping is taken from a Scout paper and should be read by all scouts who are intending to camp this summer. It is an ideal guide to good camping and contains very practical and useful camp knowledge. The Birch Bark Roll of Good Camping. —The ideal camp site is situated on fairly high dry ground, well sheltered from the winds but open to the sun. It has an abundant supply of dry wood, drinking water, a safe bathing place, and is not too far from where provisions can be had. .Tents should never be pitched under trees because, in addition to the danger of falling branches in case of wind, tho large drops falling from the trees after rain are worse than the rain itself. Never sleep with your tent flaps laced righj up; it is unhealthy. When driving tent pegs into the ground do not at first drive them too far for some of them may have to be altered later on. They should be driven at a slight angle- and never with the back of an axe. The .camp kitchen should be situated well away from the sleeping tents and should be roped off in the form of a square. Only those on cooking duty should enter this enclosure. There should be a table on which the food is prepared and a rack for the pots and pans. The axe should always be stuck into the chopping block when not in use. A supply of wood should be kept under cover for use on a wet morning. Don’t build a bonfire for cooking. Plenty of hot ashes are better than volumes of flames and smoke. Seo that all food is kept under coyer away from flies and dirt, A hanging larder is a useful and very essential gadget and can be made from a box and some butter muslin. This can then be hung in a cool shady place away from the reach of dogs. THE CHIEF’S WEEKLY SCOUT YARN The Chief, in speaking of the hundreds of letters he received on.his birthday, tells, of one present he received from the 14th Rotterdam troop of Y.M.C.A. Boy Scouts. It Was a delightful album of photographs, which told a story in a succession of scenes in camp. It was the story of a tenderfoot called “Lazy-won’t-work” (L.W.W.). The story showed how L.W.W. overslept and had to be hauled out of his blankets and dressed by the rest, of the patrol. Then, when he washed, he was too lazy to use soap, so they soaped him full and freely and then dossed him with a bucket of water. When he cried, instead of pity the patrol gave him three cheers as the first crybaby they had had in the troop. As he would not play he had to run the gauntlet of the troop, which made him cry again. And they simply laughed at him. He sulked and was too lazy to eat, so after some days he died of hunger and was buried amidst the crocodile tears of the patrol, who were glad to be rid of him. HAWERA TROOP. The troop committee of the Hawera troop has provided the troop with a football and basketball for use at the Friday club evenings. The following game is suggested by “Scouter:— Punch football.—To play it, two sides, A and B, must be picked, each side having a goalkeeper. A goal is made at' each end of the room by two chairs, while chairs for the players are placed in two rows down each side of the room, forming rows a little wider than the goals. The players other than the goalkeepers must be seated to play, A and B players being placed alternately. The ball is bounced into play in -the middle of the room and tho object is to punch the ball with- closed fists through the goal. The ball must be kept on the floor, and if any player - rises from his chair, a penalty punch is allowed the opposing side. The goalkeeper must not leave his goal. Camp bread-making.—Usually in New Zealand we camp so near to a town that fresh bread is procurable, but the cooking of bread or damper should be undertaken by all those who wish to become first-class Scouts. This can be done in camp either with or without an oven. For quickness an oven is usually dispensed with, although a fine camp oven can be made in the following way. Obtain a large biscuit tin with lid attached. In the side of a bank dig out a hole large enough to take the tin, leaving about two inches between the back of the tin. and the end of the hole. A flue hole should now be driven down from the top of the bank until it meets this space at the end of the tin. A space large enough for a fire-place is now hollowed out under the tin connecting with the flue at the back of the oven. °The fire-place should not- be quite as wide as the tin and should. leave a ledge along each side sufficient to support the tin. In order to create a better draught for the fire the chimney can be increased in height by building up a sod chimney. In this oven scones, bread or cakes can be made or meat roasted. . On the other hand, a camp oven is one of the essentials for good camp cooking as they are ideal for baking or roasting. In using a camp oven it is well to remember that, not being ventilated, they heat up quickly and become terrifically hot. On one occasion “Scouter - ’ was anxious to give the boys in camp a treat. Hot girdle scones were on the menu and the camp oven was used. Plenty of hot embers

wCTe piled around and on top of the oven. The econes were mixed and put in the oven, but we never discovered whether what we took out again was really the scones or pieces of ashes which had fallen in. But even this little incident does not condemn the camp oven, merely proving at that time our lack of knowledge of the correct heating. To make bread without an oven the simplest way is to make a long sausage of dough and twist it spirally around your' scout stave. Now hold. it over the glowing embers,’ slowly turning it until it is baked a crisp brown twist. I would here suggest a few hints, as usually in this test I have found boys whose twists have been sticky masses of dough burnt and smoked biack on the outside. First of all have the stave or stick long enough to keep away from the fire. Don t expect the twist to cook in a few seconds. Don’t have a roaring fire. Have no flames or smoke, but only a small heap of glowing hot ashes. Rub dry flour on the stavc° before twisting dough on it and when cooked the twist will slip off without break: ig. Another very good way is as follows: —Make a stiff dough with the following ingredients: 1 tea-cup flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 teaspoon baking powder. Make a frying pan hot and grease it well, put in the dough and stand it by the fire. In a few moments the dough will rise and stiffen. Then prop the pan up until it is almost upright on its side in front of the fire and so cook one s;de of the flat loaf. Then turn it over and cook the other side. You can see whether it is properly cooked by shoving .a splinter of wood through it, and if this comes away without any dough sticking to it the loaf is bakeci through. The Government of the United States of America recently passed a bill authorising the loan of equipment to the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America for use at the jamboree. The equipment included 5000 blankets, 1600 cots and numerous tents. . Holland sent a contingent of 700 scouts to the jamboree. “De Nederlandsche Padvinders” wear green shirts and khaki corduroy shorts. Their badge is the arrow head and scroll with the motto “Waakt.” Egypt was represented by only 15 scouts. They were easily distinguished by their red turbush (hat) and their distinctive badge, which consists of three lotus flowers on a yellow , background. Greece had a contingent of 100 boys. - Their badge is the arrowhead superimposed with an eagle and three stare. Senior Patrol-Leader Lyle Brewer has the honour of being the first Scout in Kaponga to pass the tenderfoot test. The following cubs have passed for their, tenderpat? badge:—Peter Bertie, lan Brewer, Follett Carrington, Le'o Carrington, Graham Dawson, Geoffrey Fallows and Ronald Knight. The weekly parades of the troop continue to be well attended and much good work is. being done. Several Scouts have acquired their uniforms and it-is hoped that all will be so equipped in order that the investure service can soon be held. The troop hag obtained two small footballs and these have proved a boom to the troop for general exercise, and indoor games-. ,