ween is a steel baking pan
held in place by grooves. This oven can be moved about at will to
regulate the amount of heat and furthermore it can be used in front of
a blazing fire without waiting for a bed of coals. Such a rig can
easily be made by any tinsmith. A very convenient folding reflector
oven can be bought in aluminum for three or four dollars. When not
used for baking, it makes an excellent dishpan.

[Illustration: A reflector camp oven]

The standard camp oven that has been used by generations of pioneers
and campers is the Dutch oven. It is simply an iron pot on short legs
and is provided with a heavy cover. To use it, dig a hole in the
ground large enough to hold it, build a fire and fill the hole with
embers. Then scoop out a place for the pot, cover it over with more
embers and ashes and let the contents bake.

For the boy who wants to go to the limit in depending on his own
resources, the clay oven is the nearest to real woodcraft. This is
made in the side of a bank by burrowing out a hole, with a smoke
outlet in the rear. A hot fire built inside will bake the clay and
hold it together. To use this oven, build a fire in it and when the
oven is hot, rake out the coals and put in your bread or meat on flat
stones. Close the opening with another stone and keep it closed long
enough to give the oven a chance. This method is not recommended to
beginners who are obliged to eat what they cook, but in the hands of a
real cook, will give splendid results. The reflector oven is the best
for most cases if you can carry it conveniently.

The kind of a cooking equipment that we take with us on a camping trip
will depend on what we can carry conveniently, how much we are willing
to rough it and what our stock of provisions will be. One thing is
sure--the things that we borrow from home will rarely be fit to
return. In making a raid on the family kitchen, better warn the folks
that they are _giving_ us the pots and pans instead of merely
_lending_ them. Very compact cooking outfits can be bought if one
cares to go to the expense. An aluminum cook kit for four people, so
made that the various articles nest one into the other, can be bought
for fifteen dollars. It weighs only ten pounds and takes up a space
of 10 x 12 inches. Such a kit is very convenient if we move camp
frequently or have to carry our outfit with us, but for the party of
boys going out by team it is not worth the expense. You will need
several tin