sy to paddle or pole, and will stand rough
water. These canoes are good for general use on the trail.

The prices of a _good_ canoe range from twenty-eight dollars to forty
dollars. One may go higher, of course, but the essentials of the canoe
will be no better. A lower price means, as a rule, not so good a boat.

=Paddles=

Girls and women generally require shorter paddles than men, as they do
not have the same reach of arm, and you can take your choice of lengths.
For the stern the paddle should be longer than for the bow. Paddles are
made of red oak, maple, ash, spruce, and cherry. Some authorities prefer
spruce for ordinary usage, but in rough water and in shooting rapids a
harder wood is best. The weak part of a paddle is where the blade joins
the handle, and this part should not be too slender. If you use spruce
paddles keep them smooth by trimming away all roughness and keep them
well shellacked, else they may become water-soaked. Paddles range in
price from one dollar and fifty cents to three dollars.

[Illustration: Canoeing on placid waters.]

=Accessories=

A strong, healthy girl will no more need cushions and canoe-chairs than
a boy, but a back rest is not always to be despised. It is well to
have a large sponge aboard for bailing and for cleaning.

At a portage or "carry," the canoe is carried overland on the shoulders,
and though some guides scorn to use a carrier, others are glad of them.
There are several styles, one being the neck-yoke carrier, another the
pneumatic canoe-yoke. The pneumatic yoke, when not inflated with air,
can be rolled into a bundle three by six inches, and when inflated it
can also be used for a canoe-seat, a camp-seat, and even for a pillow.
Its weight is two pounds and the catalogue price is three dollars and
twenty-five cents.

=Care of the Canoe=

Even the strongest canoe should be well cared for. To leave it in the
water for any length of time, when not in use, is to run the risk of
damage and loss. A sudden storm will batter it against shore, send it
adrift, or fill and sink it. A canoe should always be _lifted_, not
dragged, ashore, and it should be turned upside down on the bank with a
support in the middle so that it will not be strained by resting only on
the ends.

=Getting in the Canoe=

Never allow any one to get into your canoe or to sit on it when it is
out of the water. That is harder on it than many days of actual use.
When you are to get aboar