by your family, which
would not be the case if, like George Washington, you began your
lessons in woodcraft on the favourite cherry tree.

Almost any kind of wood will burn when it is dry, but it takes
experience to know the kinds of trees that will burn when they are
green. If there is no dry wood in the neighbourhood, and we are
obliged to cut a tree down to get our supply, it is very important to
pitch our camp somewhere near the right kind of a tree and not be
obliged to carry our firewood a long distance. The best "green wood"
for the campers' fire is hickory, although birch is excellent. Hickory
is also the best dry wood. Other trees that will burn well when green
are cedar, white ash, locust or white oak. There are comparatively few
places, however, where dry wood is not available and of course it is
always best to avoid such a place.

3. The camp site should be in a fairly open spot. Thick woods and
underbrush are either hot or "damp" cool. If you can find a site that
is shaded during the heat of the day so much the better. It is unwise
to pitch the tent under a tree that stands alone on account of
possible danger from lightning. If your tent is shaded by a tree be
sure there are no dead limbs to blow off and wreck it during a storm.

Be sure that the drainage is good, so that in case of heavy rains, the
water will run off and not flood the camp. It is very important if
your camp is along some river or stream to be high enough to avoid the
danger of sudden floods. This can usually be determined by talking to
some one who knows the country. You can also tell it by studying the
previous high water marks in the trees. In case of floods there are
always some wisps of straw, pieces of brush, etc., caught and held by
the limbs of trees after the water settles back to its former level.
It is a good chance to practise your woodcraft by trying to find them.

Damp locations are very bad. The higher we can get, the drier it will
be. We avoid both fogs and mosquitoes. Usually there is some prominent
place that will give us a good outlook and where the breezes can reach
us.

There are both good and bad points in pitching our tent on the site of
a former camp. As long as the former campers have not scoured the
surrounding neighbourhood for firewood nor have left a place littered
up with all sorts of rubbish and garbage to draw flies and vermin,
they may have fixed up things around the camp site to save us work and
to ad