Camping For Boys Part 12

Daniel 1:8; 6:4-10.

Lesson 2. To Help Other People at All Times. Exodus 3:1-11.

Lesson 3. To Obey the Scout Law. Exodus 20:3-17; Luke 10:26, 27; Matthew 7:12.

THE SCOUT SALUTE AND SIGN Lesson 4. Judges 12:6; Acts 4:12; Galatians 6:14.

THREE CLa.s.sES OF SCOUTS THE TENDERFOOT Lesson 5. Luke 5:1-11.

THE SECOND CLa.s.s SCOUT Lesson 6. Have at Least One Month's Service as a Tenderfoot.

2 Samuel 15:1-6.

Lesson 7. Signalling. 1 Samuel 20:20-22; 35-39.

Lesson 8. Lay and Light a Fire. Fire Lighting Contest.

1 Kings 18: 22-24.

FIRST CLa.s.s SCOUT Lesson 8. Signalling. Daniel 5: 1-31.

Lesson 9. Go on Foot to a Given Point and Return and Give a Report of the Trip. Numbers 13:1-3; 17-21; 23-33.

Lesson 10. Produce an Article of Carpentry, Joinery or Metal Work. 2 Chronicles 2:11-16.

Lesson 11. Bring a Tenderfoot Trained in the Points Required for a Tenderfoot. John 1: 40-42.

THE SCOUT LAW Lesson 12. A Scout's Honor is to be Trusted. Genesis 39:7-10.

Lesson 13. Loyalty. Esther 4:8-16.

Lesson 14. A Scout is a Friend to All, and Must NEVER BE A Sn.o.b.

Luke 9:46-48.

Lesson 15. A Friend to Animals. 1 Samuel 17:12-16.

Lesson 16. Obey Orders. Jonah 1:1-3.

Lesson 17. Cheerfulness and Willingness.

Acts 16 :25; Phillippians 4:11-13.

Lesson 18. Thrift. Matthew 6:19-21.

THE GREAT SCOUT MASTER Lesson 19. Matthew 23:10.

Novel Bonfire

The author experienced something very unusual one Sunday afternoon in a camp where he was invited to speak. The talk was on "Trees or Growth," one of the studies of the course described. During the talk a number of things were referred to that enter into the growth of a tree which either mar or hinder it from becoming a symmetrical, beautiful tree and a similar comparison was made regarding a boy's growth. The question was asked of the boys, "What are some of the things which interfere with a boy's growth physically, mentally and morally?" A number of things, such as smoking, swearing, impurity, etc., were given, and finally one of the small boys piped up "reading dime novels." His answer was received with howls of derision, especially from the older boys. "Hold on," I said, "let's discuss the matter; if dime novels are good for a boy's growth mentally, we want to know about it, but if they are detrimental to this particular kind of desired growth, of course, we want to cut it out." The discussion brought out the fact that a number of the boys had smuggled a lot of this kind of literature into camp and were just loafing through their time in the woods, gloating over the wonderful and daring escapades of Wild West heroes. The boys finally decided that their mental growth was r.e.t.a.r.ded by such reading. Then came the question, "What are you going to do about it?"

"We don't usually have a bonfire on Sunday," I said. "I am inclined, however, to ask your leader for a special dispensation and we will have one.

You are to furnish the fuel, your leader the kerosene oil and I will provide the match. The fuel is to consist of all the dime novels in the camp." "Whew!" "I know it will take grit to do this, but it is a test of your sincerity and determination to progress along right lines." "We're game?" yelled the boys, "and we mean business."

The start was made for the place where the bonfires were usually held. By the time I reached the spot, the boys were coming from their tents with bundles of novels. Every boy was requested to tear each novel in half and throw it upon the heap. When everything was ready, the boys uncovered and in the silence that came upon the group, the match was struck and the flames began to leap upward, until finally, all that remained was the small piles of ashes. For the majority of the boys it meant the burning up of the dross and the beginning of better and n.o.bler thinking. I shall always remember this novel bonfire. This is what I mean by making Bible study and camp talks effective.

Reading

Sunday afternoon is the time for reading good, wholesome stories. Take the boys out into the woods where they can squat under a big tree, or if the day is warm seek the cool shelter of the tent and while the boys are lying down read a short story or several chapters of a story like "Dr.

Grenfell's Parish," by Norman Duncan, "Just Boys," by Mary Buell Wood, "Some Boys I Know," "Chapel Talks," or "The Story of Good Will Farm," by George W. Hinckley. If the group is made up of older boys who like to discuss life problems, read a chapter or two from Robert Speer's excellent books, "A Young Man's Questions" and "Young Men Who Overcame." Make sure that whatever you read has the uplift note. The real purpose of the afternoon's reading should be that of instilling in the boys' minds some of the cardinal virtues of Christian character.

Don't moralize; let the story do its own moralizing. Boys are hero worshippers. If the hero or the heroic appeal of the story is of a sane type and not abnormal there will be created naturally within the boy a desire to emulate the good deeds of the hero in the everyday life of the camp, which is much better than the parrot-like vocalization unfortunately many times encouraged by well-meaning men.

Chapel

A pile of stones made to serve as an altar or pulpit, a chapel having the branches of a friendly pine as its roof and under which are built a reading desk and seats of white birch, a cathedral with towering columns of pine and cushions of pine needles, a rocky sh.o.r.e along the ocean--all are places where boys have heard the appeal for right living and responded with an earnest decision that marked an advance step in their moral and religious growth.

Make much of the music at these outdoor services on Sunday. A choir of men and boys responding in the distance to the hymns of the camp boys, in antiphonal manner, a cornetist playing a hymn in the distance, make an impression never to be forgotten.

The great test of camp life is not the fun the boy had, or his gain in weight, height or lung capacity, or the friendships formed, or his increased knowledge in woodcraft, but his advancement in character-making and gain in spiritual vigor.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS HELPFUL IN THE PREPARATION OF BIBLE STUDY LESSONS:

Lessons from Life (Animal and Human)--Thomas Whittaker. Macmillan, $2.50.

Sermons in Stones--Amos R. Wells. Doubleday, Page & Company, $1.00.

Parables from Nature--Mrs. Gatty. Colportage Library, 15 cents.

A Good Bible Dictionary and Concordance.

BOOKS UPON THE RELIGIOUS LIFE OF Boys:

The Boy and the Church--Eugene C. Foster. The Sunday School Times Co., 75 cents net.

Starting to Teach--Eugene C. Foster. a.s.sociation Pres., 40 cents.

The Child and His Religion--George E. Dawson. University of Chicago, 75 cents net.

Religion in Boyhood--Ernest B. Layard. E. P. Dutton and Company, 75 cents net.

CHAPTER IX--FOOD--ITS FUNCTION, PURCHASE, PREPARATION, COOKING, SERVING

GOOD COOKING FOOD CHARTS DIGESTION CHARTS TABLE OF WEIGHTS AND MEASURES PURCHASE OF FOOD GROCERY LIST THE STEWARD COMMISSARY DEPARTMENT THE COOK LIST OF FOODS WEEK OF MENUS A FEW HINTS TABLE ETIQUETTE GRACE AT MEALS SERVING DISH WASHING

We may live without friends, we may live without books, But civilized man cannot live without cooks.

Good Cooking

The normal boy sums up life in two words of three letters each: "F-u-n"

and "E-a-t." As long as there is plenty of fun and plenty to eat, he thinks life is worth living, and he is not so far from the truth, for it is only when the fun of living dies within us, and our digestive apparatus refuses to do its function that we "become of all men most miserable." A boy will put up with all sorts of inconvenience but rebels at once at poor food and bad cooking. The good nature, congenial atmosphere, and contentedness of camp life is largely due to good cooking. Economize in every other way, but think twice before cheap cooks are employed or a cheap grade of food purchased.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Where They Eat to Live]

A good cook will economize, he knows what to do with left-overs and how to prepare menus of variety. The quant.i.ty of swill soon reveals the worth of the cook. In a large camp a hundred dollars may easily find its way into the garbage can because of cheap cooks and poor food. A growing boy demands relatively more of the tissue-building kind of food than a grown person, because the body is being built up. When the full stature is reached the tissue-building part of the food is only required to take the place of that worn out each day. Professor At.w.a.ter has told us that the boy of fifteen or sixteen requires ninety per cent of the food ration of the adult man engaged in moderate muscular work. Boys at twelve require seventy per cent.

Vegetables, fruits, cereals, bread, nuts and meats furnish the essentials.

Sugar and fat have only part of them. Coffee and tea have no food values except for the milk and sugar added. They tend to check certain normal secretion in the body and should not be used during growth.

Food Charts

The United States Department of Agriculture publishes a series of fifteen food charts of exceptional value. Leaders and cooks will find them helpful in providing and planning the food for the boys. Boys will be interested in the information given and the attractive form of presentation. The set costs $1.00. Send to Superintendent of Doc.u.ments, Washington, D. C. The following table is a condensation of the facts given on the charts, and will help in planning menus: