Harper's Outdoor Book for Boys

“Let your meat boil for more than an hour, or until it begins to fall from the bones. Add potatoes, pared and quartered, an onion sliced, salt, pepper, and a thickening made of flour and melted butter, to be stirred in gradually.

“In making a meat soup provide plenty of meat, and do not be afraid to let it boil. It is hard to boil it too much, and three hours is not too long. When nearly done, scrape a potato into the soup for thickening, and season with salt and pepper.

“To cook rice, let a cupful soak overnight. In the morning pour off the water in which it has soaked, place it in a kettle of cold water, and boil it slowly, without stirring, until the kernels are soft. Remember to salt it. Rice is good with condensed milk, sugar, butter, or syrup. It is good to add to your soups and stews, and it is particularly good when added to the batter from which you make your griddle-cakes.

“To make mush stir corn-meal into boiling water; season with salt. Eat hot with syrup. Save what is left over, and fry it next morning. The same rule applies to hominy.

“These are the rudiments of camp-cookery. Not an extended bill of fare, but I think you will find it appetizing and nourishing.”

And the boys agreed with him.

The Care of a Gun

Aside from the pride and satisfaction which every sportsman should take in keeping his favorite weapon bright and free from spots, inside and out, it pays to keep a gun clean. The residue left in the barrel after firing contains acids, which will soon eat “pits” or spots in the metal, and when once started, it is almost impossible to prevent them increasing in size and number. When badly pitted, the recoil is increased by the roughness in the barrel. A gun can be cleaned by the following directions: The cleaning-rod should have at least three tools—a wool swab, a wire scratch-brush, and a wiper to run rags through. Have plenty of water at hand—warm if you have it, if not cold will do nicely. Put a swab on the rod, and some water in a tin basin or wooden pail. By placing one end of the barrel in the water, you can pump it up and down the barrel with the swab. When it is discolored take fresh water, squeeze out the swab in it, and repeat the operation, until the water comes from the barrel as clean as it went in. If the gun has stood overnight, or longer, since using, it is best to put on the scratch-brush after the first swabbing, and a few passes with this will remove any hardened powder or leading. The next step is to fill the wiper with woollen or cotton rags, and dry the barrel thoroughly. When one set becomes wet take another, until they come from the barrel perfectly dry. Then stand the barrel on end on a heated stove, changing it from end to end, taking care that it does not become overheated. By the time it is well warmed up, the hot air from the stove will have dried out every particle of moisture left in the barrel. If no stove is at hand, the last set of drying rags used must be plied vigorously up and down the barrel until it becomes quite warm from the friction. Drying is the most important part of cleaning, and if the least particle of moisture is left in the barrel it will be a rust spot the next time the gun is taken from its case. The gun may now be oiled, inside and out, with sewing-machine oil or gun-grease, which can be had in any gun store. The woollen rags used for greasing soak up a great deal of oil, and should be dropped into the gun-cover for future use.

In regard to the safe handling of guns, almost all rules centre in that of always carrying the gun in such a way that if it should be accidentally discharged it would do no harm. If this rule is borne in mind, and strictly obeyed in the beginning, it becomes a habit and is followed intuitively. The gun may be carried safely on either shoulder, or in the hollow of either arm, with a sharp upward slant. When momentarily expecting a bird to rise, and obliged to have the gun cocked, it should be carried across the breast with a sharp upward slope to the left. This is the only way the gun should be carried cocked. A breech-loader is so easily unloaded that there is no excuse for getting into a wagon or boat, or going around a house, without unloading. Never hand a loaded gun to any one who asks to look at it. Whenever you pick up any kind of a gun to examine it, always open it to see if it is loaded, and the habit will grow so that you will do this almost without knowing it. It seems needless to say never pull a gun towards you by the muzzle through a fence or out of a boat or wagon, yet the violation of this rule is the cause of more accidents than anything else. Never climb a fence with your gun cocked.

In learning the art of shooting on the wing—and this is the only way in which a shot-gun should be used—the following suggestions may be of some help, but no amount of printed directions can teach you to shoot. Practice is the best teacher. Nine out of ten young sportsmen shoot too quickly. A game bird rises with a startling whir of the wing (and sometimes when least expected), which gives the idea that he is making much greater speed than he really is. Beginners are apt to become excited, and throw up the gun anywhere in that direction, and blaze away with no definite aim. For this reason it is best to begin with blackbirds, rice-birds, and rails.

In almost every shot it is necessary to hold ahead of the bird, to allow for the time it takes to explode the cartridge and throw the shot to the bird. Even in this short space of time a cross-flying bird would be safely out of the shot circle if you aimed right at him. If a bird flies straight away from you, neither rising nor dropping, you should aim right at it. If flying straight across, you should hold well ahead of it. If quartering, still hold ahead, but less.

Many will ask how far to hold ahead, and this is a difficult question to answer accurately, as we have no means of knowing just how far ahead we do hold. One might say six feet and another six inches. What might appear to be an inch at the muzzle of the gun might really be a foot in front of a bird forty yards away. It must be learned by experience, and when accustomed to it the aim will be taken almost instantly, governed by the direction of flight, the speed of the bird, and the distance from the shooter.

It is best to ask permission of the owner to shoot over his land. You will seldom be refused, and will frequently be given permission to shoot over land which is posted “No Shooting.” The land-owners know that it is the lawless hoodlums who do them damage.

Every true sportsman strictly obeys the game laws, and it is to his advantage to do so, although in many States the laws are practically a dead letter. Shooting out of season has nearly killed the game in many localities, when it would still be abundant if the game laws had been observed.

Snares and Deadfalls

The ways of trapping are as various as the ingenuity of savage or civilized man can devise. I like best the traps that one can make. They seem to give the animal a fairer show; they develop our own constructive faculties; and the nearer we can get to the savage way the more fun it always is. Steel traps have a place that wooden traps can never fill; but give me something that I can make with my own hands, with the simplest tools, out of whatever materials the spot affords where the animal lives.

Of all the animals in this country there is none that affords less harmful sport than the rabbit—more properly hare—of which there are several species. Its wonderful powers of increase enable it to hold its own, as far too many of our best and most valuable animals do not. Furthermore, rabbits are very easily trapped.

Every one knows its little trail, as broad as one’s hand, through the bushes or broom-hedge, or its footprints as it hops over the clear snow. Here, where the path goes under a fence-rail, it has stopped to gnaw. The rabbit follows this path in season and out, though in the far North, where the snows keep piling and piling up, its little road may change with each successive snowfall. Trappers there put out a large number of snares, setting them right in the middle of these paths. In Fig. 1, No. 20 soft brass or copper wire is used—a piece say twenty inches long being bent into an oval or round noose some four inches through, the end being twisted around a convenient limb or root, or stick thrust into the snow over the path, and the space on each side bushed in with evergreen twigs, so that the rabbit will be sure to pass through the noose. Snares are easily taken up and set somewhere else after each snowfall. The best way is to rig the noose to a spring-pole (Fig. 2). The spring-pole that I have seen the Indian trappers make is simply a pole lashed to the side of a convenient sapling, the heavy end being high in the air, while the short end is caught under a stake with a crotch or little limb sticking out, driven into the ground at the side of the path. A “twitch-up” is a sapling bent down, but this generally needs to be held down in another way. On each side of the path a stake is firmly driven into the ground. About seven inches from the ground, and on the sides which face, a deep notch is cut into each stake, and a stick flattened at each end is placed across, like the letter H. The sapling is bent down, a strong cord fastened to the end, and tied around the middle of the cross-piece. The noose dangles below, clearing the ground by two inches (Fig. 3). If the pole is strong enough it lifts the game into the air out of reach of predatory animals. All stakes bearing strain of pulling must be firmly driven into the ground, or in wet weather they will pull out.

Rabbits, as gardeners know, are fond of carrots and other vegetables, as well as apples. There are many ways of rigging a snare with bait. The trap is arranged so the rabbit puts its head through a noose, and springs the trap as it touches the bait. One of the best traps I know of this kind is called, in northern Vermont, a “French twitch-up” (Fig. 4). This trap can be made at home, and carried and set wherever needed. It is made as follows: Take a board about twenty inches long and ten inches wide. Measure off eight inches from one end, and with a pair of dividers describe a circle five inches in diameter. Around this circle bore holes three-eighths of an inch in diameter an inch apart, through the board, and drive in pegs five inches high. Five inches from the other end bore a larger hole, and set up a square peg (or a round one with flat side) seven inches high. Procure a half-inch stick long enough to reach from the centre of the circle of pegs to the upright and three inches beyond it. Screw this stick fast to the upright at a point two inches from the board—loosely, so it will work up and down, sharpening the end inside the pen, and cutting a notch on the upper side at the other end as shown in Fig. 4. Cut another notch near the top of the upright post, and fit into the two notches a half-inch stick with chisel-shaped ends. This arrangement resembles very closely the figure 4. A strong cord from the middle of this short stick leads to the spring-pole at a point about a foot from the end.

A noose of fine, soft wire or plaited horse-hair is fastened to the end of the spring-pole, and laid evenly around on the tops of the circle of pegs, which must be of an equal height. An apple or a carrot is speared upon the sharp end of the bait-stick. The rabbit smells the bait, puts its head over the fence and through the noose to take a nibble. When it touches the bait-stick, up goes the noose, and it is caught. But the snare on top of the little fence is likely to fall or be rubbed off, so a deep, sharp notch must be made into the top of every peg into which the noose fits. This is undoubtedly a Yankee improvement on a very old device. Formerly there was no pen and the noose was laid on the ground.

One of the very best traps for rabbits is a kind used in the South (Fig. 5). How often on a frosty morning would one’s heart thump as one came into view and looked to see if the trigger was up and the door was down!

It is made of rough boards twenty to twenty-four inches long, one being an inch shorter, and all at least six inches wide, nailed into a long box. The rear being closed up with a board, and the top being an inch shorter, there is room for a door which slides up and down. Two thin strips are nailed upright to the front of the side-pieces, to keep the door from falling outward; small cleats inside complete a channel, in which the door slides easily up and down. Then with an auger or bit two holes are bored into the top five-eighths to one inch in diameter, one hole being nine inches from the front, the other nine inches to the rear of the first. Into the one next the door a stake is set up about ten inches high, with a crotch at the top. Then a stick eight inches long and as thick as a lead-pencil is cut; five inches from one end a cut is made half-way through, and a deep notch taken out the short end. This is dropped, notch upward, into the other hole. A stiff stick eighteen inches long is then cut, a string tied to each end, and then balanced in the crotch. The door is raised five inches, and one string tied to a nail in the top. The other string is tied to the upper end of the trigger, the notch of which is caught on the under side of the top board. The trap thus set is placed at right angles to the path, not directly in it. Foolish Bunny comes along. A good hole is something a rabbit is ever on the lookout for. Here is a new one; he will look into it and see what it is like. It is not necessary to put even a carrot or an apple inside. He crowds in, butts his head against the trigger at the end, up it goes, down drops the door behind, and he is fast. The trigger must be set under the front edge of the hole, otherwise the rabbit will not be able to push it from him.

Instead of a box, a section of a hollow log, called in the South a “gum,” may be used, two stakes being driven in front to hold the door. Fig. 6.

The muskrat is an abundant animal about ponds, ditches, and the banks of sluggish streams. It is easily trapped. They remind one of little beavers, and if their fur was not so very common it would be more highly prized, for it is really soft and fine. If one can find their runway (a path eight or nine inches wide along which they travel from place to place) one can always capture them by the same kind of trap that an Indian sets for beaver and otter, as well as for musquash. He calls it the “kilheg’n.” Fig. 7.

Drive two stakes two feet or more high and at least an inch thick into the ground three inches apart at one side of the path. Opposite these two sticks drive in two more, and lay a stick across between them, pushing it down nearly level with the path for a bed-piece. Then get a pole of any length whatever, lay the butt end across the path on top of the bed, hewing the sides flat, if necessary. See that it rests evenly on the bed, and keep the other end in place with a stake driven on each side. This pole is called the “fall.”

Lash each pair of stakes together at their tops with rope or tough bark or withe, to prevent spreading, and lay a stiff stick across. Cut a half-inch straight stick and lay it on top of the bed, lashing one end loosely to the stake, leaving the other end free to rise and fall. This is the trigger. Now for the “crooked stick.” It is a stick as long as from the bed to the cross-piece, and has a sudden bend at the upper end. Often one can find a small sapling an inch through with just the right bend at the end. Notch it as shown in Fig. 8. Tie a stout cord or withe around the fall, raise the same nine or ten inches, lay the crooked stick over the cross-piece, and tie the withe fast. Then bend the other end of the crooked stick towards the ground, and catch the top of it behind the trigger, which is raised just enough (two inches) for the purpose. When the rat comes along it steps on the trigger, freeing the crooked stick, whereupon the fall drops and pins the creature there. Heavy weights should be piled upon the fall alongside the path, and the sides should be brushed in to keep the animal from going around. No bait is required for this trap.

Alongside of their pond on a level spot contrive another trap (Fig. 9) in the following manner:

Take a flat stick, about two inches wide, lay it on the ground, and close to one end drive an upright stake on each side. Let them stand some six inches high. Then, beginning close to the two stakes, lay a two-foot stick at right angles, its end resting on the first one. Alongside of this lay another stick a little shorter, continuing thus, and making each successive stick shorter, until the end of the sticks is reached, thus forming a three-cornered platform, which is then weighted with heavy stones. Construct a figure 4 (Fig. 9 A) out of sticks as thick as one’s finger, making the bait-stick eighteen or twenty inches long. Set the figure 4 under the platform at the very end of the stick, the bait-stick passing between the upright stakes. Bait with a carrot, a parsnip, apple, etc., and a rat should be there in the morning.

If the trap does not lie flat on the ground place sticks under it. This same trap, baited with a fowl’s head or a bird or meat, is also useful as a skunk-trap, being placed in the woods near their burrows.

The mink is another common animal, and it is found by almost every brook-side. It is a great traveller, following the stream, feeding upon fish, and picking up a bird or mouse whenever opportunity affords. For a trap I take two round poles six to eight feet long, and about three inches thick at the butt. On a level spot, never more than a few feet away from the water, I drive a stake firmly into the ground, and lay the two poles, butts together, one on top of the other, against the stake, and drive two more stakes on the other side about six inches apart. Sometimes when the ground is soft two stakes (Fig. 10) should be driven in front instead of one. A stick a foot long will serve equally well for the bed-piece. Then a pen or house is built of stakes, or long chips, or stones, or pieces of board in the form of a V or Π, about nine inches tall, eight inches deep, and six inches wide. Then two sticks are prepared—one three inches long and half an inch thick, called the “standard” (Fig. 12), the other eight inches long, and of the same thickness, called the bait-stick, one end being sharpened, the other flattened. The bait, the head of a fowl or fish, is tied to the sharp point of the bait-stick. The fall is raised, the standard set sideways on the flat end on the bait-stick, and the fall lowered, until it rests on top of the standard, the bait-stick being inside the house. As the sticks are arranged, the mink, entering over the bed and under the fall, will have to give quite a pull before dislodging the standard on which the fall rests. So take a peg, cut a notch into it near the top deep enough to secure the bait-stick, and drive it into the ground inside the pen and close to one side. Now the standard can be set much nearer the outer end of the bait-stick, and the moment the bait is tugged at, the bait-stick flies from under the notched peg, and down comes the fall. The bed may be hewn to an edge on top, and the parts of the trap should work without a hitch. A stone, or board, or sheet of bark, or a handful of evergreen boughs should be laid over the house, not only to keep the animal out, but also the rain and snow from the triggers which may freeze up and stick fast. Two pegs driven into the ground at the end of the fall will hold it in place, and, like every deadfall, it should be heavily weighted with logs as shown in Figs. 10 and 11.

There are many different ways of building traps with this simple bait-stick and standard—a combination in general use in the fur countries. Some are made large for fishers, and set on logs and high stumps for sable or marten. In Canada, where the snow is very deep, I have seen long lines of sable-traps on stumps seven feet from the ground, the other end of the fall resting on another stump of the same height. In such cases a tree is cut for the purpose, and by a skilful way of chopping, the stake in front of the trap is left standing as part of the stump, and the chips are sharpened and driven into the top of the stump for the house.

Again, a hollow is chopped into a tree, a stake driven in front, and the bait-stick thrust inside.

There are many other deadfalls in use. Among the most deadly is what may be called the “wigwam.” It is thus constructed: With a hatchet or an axe break some small sticks, and driving them into the ground in the shape of a crescent build the bait-pen or house. Bring them together at the top as in Fig. 13. Next cut a green stick about four inches in diameter and about eight feet long. Lay in front of the pen, directly up against it. Peg it firmly there by driving wooden pins against it at the ends. So much done. Now get another stick of the same length and lay it on top of the first pole. Fix it in position by driving pins against it as in Fig. 14. When this is finished take two small, round sticks or twigs, cut one about five inches in length, and the other near ten inches, or the depth of the bait-pen. Raise the top log and lay the longer of the little round twigs on it, with the end on which the bait is to be placed on the inside. The ends of the little twig must be round. Set it on end, with the upper end resting on the upper log and the lower end resting on the first little stick as in Fig. 15.

When an animal comes to get the bait he has to put his fore-legs into the pen, and the minute he touches the bait the upper log falls, catching him in the centre of the back. Skunks can be easily caught this way without the least smell. Spikes may be driven through the upper log for large game. Fig. 16 is a variation of the same idea.

Woodchucks or ground-hogs will be attracted to a trap by baiting with their favorite food; but they soon go into winter quarters, from which they do not emerge until spring. There are special traps for other animals and birds. Good judgment, knowledge of the appearance and the food and habits of the bird or animal are necessary to success in trapping, as well as an eye quick to recognize the signs of the game, particularly their runways.

Traps in cold countries need not be visited oftener than once a week, but if they are near home most boys like to go to them every day. Skinning can best be done at home. The curing of skins is a matter of great importance if the fur is to be sold, for dealers will only pay for good fur properly prepared. It must be “prime”—that is, from November to the middle of April (water fur a fortnight later) the inside of the skin will be white and the fur thick and glossy; at other times it becomes dark and thin and the fur poor. Muskrats, mink, sable, foxes, weasel, opossum, and skunk require to be cased—that is, without any cut down the middle. Wolf, badger, raccoon, bear, beaver must be open. The manner of preparing cased fur is to make a cut around the ankles, then a slit down the back of the leg to the tail, the skin to be peeled off the legs and the root of the tail to be put into the end of a split stick and the core pulled right out. Then the skin is pulled off over the head. In the case of certain animals, like the mink and muskrat, there is a scent-bag near the tail which is liable to get cut, with unpleasant consequences, so the best trappers prefer to remove the hide by commencing at the lips and peeling it off through the opening of the mouth, making no other cut in the skin save at the legs, when the skin is opened by a cut from leg to tail as at the start. The muskrat may be stretched on a pliant stick three feet long, bent into a bow, and the skin, fur inward, pulled over it. The legs are slitted and caught over notches in the side, and one end of the stick is bent squarely across and fastened either into the split top of the other or into a notch, and the loose middles of the skin tied up to the cross-piece. Fig. 17 b.

For mink, etc., never use a single board—it may tear the skin—but make a double stretcher (Fig. 17 a). Take a half-inch board of pine or cedar, two feet long and three inches wide, and taper it to two inches at one end and shave the outside almost to an edge. The board is then split in half with a saw; where no saw is at hand the two pieces are whittled out separately. The stretchers are now put into the skin, and the legs pulled out as far as they will go and tacked in place, or a slit made in each and the leg hooked over a notch in the edge of the stretcher. Then a wedge two feet long, an inch wide, and tapering to a point is inserted between the stretcher, and driven down until the skin is as tight as a drum-head. The middles are then tacked fast, and a square-pointed stick inserted into the tail. If the boards threaten to collapse, two short sticks with ends lashed together pushed over them will keep them flat. The tail-piece (Fig. 18) shows a mink-skin properly stretched. A fox-stretcher will be exactly twice the dimensions of the mink-stretcher; others in proportion. The raccoon, bear, etc., is skinned by a cut from chin to tail, cuts being made up the legs at right angles to the cut, and stretched upon a square frame (Fig. 17 d) by means of a lacing of cord or tough bark. Formerly all open skins were stretched on the hoop-stretcher (Fig. 17 c), but now only the beaver is treated that way.

Skins must never be dried in the sun nor by a hot fire. Nor should any preservatives whatever be applied, not even salt, until ready for tanning. All fat should be removed, taking care for knife-cuts.

The most delightful season in the woods, throughout the northern and middle parts of the United States, is during the summer months, and in the South right up to Christmas; while in other parts of the country, through southern Texas and California, the woods are attractive all through the year.

Brush-houses, sylvan retreats, and tree huts of various kinds are made by boys all over the country, and some very unique and original ones are often constructed from simple and inexpensive materials. Everything from the back-yard “lean-to” and the tent of sheets to the tree huts that are inaccessible when the rope-ladder is drawn up may be made by boys who are at all handy with tools, and a well-built tree hut is an ideal place in which to spend one’s vacation days.

The following ideas and suggestions may be of service, and they have all been tested in practical experience.

A Low Twin-tree Hut

A very serviceable twin-tree hut is shown in Fig. 1, and it can easily be constructed, at a small cost, from ordinary boards and timbers. If it is built high up in the trees it is doubly secure from invasion, for the ladder can be drawn up when the owners are at home and it will be a difficult matter for outsiders to enter.

To properly build this hut select a location between two trees six to eight feet apart. The trees should have comparatively straight trunks at least fifteen inches in diameter, and no cavities at the base nor indications of decay.

With an axe clear off the brush and small branches for twenty feet up from the ground at the inside of the trunks, or where the hut is to be located. From a lumber-yard obtain four or five pieces of spruce or other timber two inches thick, eight inches wide, and sixteen feet long. Saw off and nail two of these pieces to the trunks of the trees eight feet above the ground, first cutting away some of the bark and wood of the trunk to afford a flat surface for the timbers to lie against on each side. Six-inch steel-wire nails will be required for these anchorages, and under the timbers and lying flat against the tree-trunks bracket-blocks two-by-eight inches and fifteen inches long are securely spiked to lend additional support to the cross-timbers.

Cut two timbers six feet long and two others the length of the distance between tree-trunks. In the six-foot pieces cut notches at the under side as shown in Fig. 2 C C. Into these the ends of bracket-timbers D D will fit. Cut the ends of the timbers forming the square frame so that they will dovetail as shown in Fig. 3. Spike the six-foot timbers to the tree-trunks so that they will rest on the first two timbers that were nailed to the trees, and from the two-by-eight-inch wood cut four brackets D D, and spike them fast under each cross-timber so each tree will appear as shown in Fig. 2. Place the remaining two timbers in position so that the ends will fit into those fastened to the trees, and nail them fast as shown in Fig. 4.

In Fig. 5 the first timbers can be seen spiked to the tree-trunks, where they are supported by the fifteen-inch blocks nailed fast below them. The cross-timbers are shown at A A, and the last ones, forming the frame that are let into dove-tailed joints at the ends, are shown at B B. Cut two more timbers E E, and lay them across the supporting timbers, nailed to the tree, so they will fit inside the front and back timbers B B, where they are to be well secured with long nails. The floor frame will then be complete.

From two-by-three-inch spruce construct a frame seven feet high at the front, six feet at the back, and spike the side timbers F F, forming the top, to the inside of the tree-trunks as shown in Fig. 5. The bottom of the uprights are to be mounted on the corners of the floor frame as shown in Fig. 4, where four long nails will hold them securely in place.

Cut two timbers and arrange them in an upright position at the front thirty inches apart, where the door will come, then half-way between the floor and top of the framework run a timber all around except between the door timbers. This will add a strengthening rib to which the sheathing boards can be nailed, and will also make one more anchorage to the tree-trunks. The side-rails should be spiked to the tree-trunks in a corresponding manner to that of the top or roof-strips. From a lumber-yard obtain some four, six, or ten inch matched boards, planed on both sides, and use them for the floor and sheathing.

The roof may be made from the same kind of boards, and over them a thickness or two of tarred paper is to be laid and fastened down at the edges and seams with small metal washers and nails that can be had where the paper is purchased. This will make the roof water-tight, for a season at least; and if it is given one or two coats of paint it will preserve the paper so that it may last for several years.

Two or three windows twenty-four inches square may be placed in the back and sides of the hut above the middle rib; and a door of boards held together with battens, as shown in the illustration, is to be made and hung with long, stout strap-hinges. A knob lock or a hasp and padlock will keep the door closed when the hut is unoccupied. When in use a wooden button will hold the door shut from the inside.

A ladder of hickory poles and cross-sticks should be made twenty inches wide and provided with loops at the top that will fit over large nails driven in the door-sill, so as to keep it from slipping when it bends under the weight of a boy.

Where the rungs join the side-rails of the ladder the union is made by lashing the cross-sticks fast with tarred rigging or stout cotton line. If a flexible ladder is preferred ropes may be used in place of the side-rails to which the rungs are lashed fast. When the owners are at home the ladder can be drawn up and hung on nails driven in the front edge of the roof. If a rope-ladder is used it can be drawn in and rolled up.

Inside of the hut, at either end, a seat eighteen inches wide should be built in about sixteen inches up from the floor. These seats can be used as bunks if desired. Some narrow shelving should be arranged over the windows and fastened there with brackets, on which small things may be kept.

A small table may be made from some ends of the sheathing boards and two-by-three-inch spruce sticks; and boxes may be used for seats, or small benches can easily be knocked together as shown in Fig. 6 A. Under the table a ledge twelve inches wide is to be attached to the lower cross-rails that connect the legs as shown at Fig. 6 B.

A wall-nest may be made from a shoe-case in which four or five shelves are arranged as shown in Fig. 6 C. A door made from the box-cover is attached with hinges, and a catch or hasp will keep it closed.

A High Twin-tree Hut

Twelve or fifteen feet above the ground, and built in between the trunks of two stout trees, a high tree hut is shown in Fig. 7. Larger and more substantial trees must be selected to build this hut in than the ones for the low hut, and as a rope-ladder will probably be used a landing-deck or piazza should be built at the front of the hut.

While this hut is built between two trees it is also built against them, as the trunk of each tree can be partially enclosed in the hut. The under cross-timbers that support the floor frame are to be attached to the trees the same as described for the low tree hut, and on these the other timbers are laid and fastened as shown in Fig. 8. The main timbers extend beyond the outside of the trunks, and the supporting and floor timbers enclose each trunk. At the front the frame is carried forward two feet more than at the back, allowing this much for the width of the deck. The uprights are arranged somewhat differently also, as they are bound at the top to scantlings that butt into the trunks. Fig. 8 A A.

Instead of a flat roof like the low hut, this one is to have a pitched roof, the supporting timbers of which are attached to the ridge-poles B B, which are fastened to the tree-trunks in the same manner as the under cross-timbers. This construction is clearly shown in Fig. 8, where the location of each upright and cross-piece is indicated.

A rail is run along the front and one end of the deck, and is fastened at the top of four uprights of two-by-three-inch spruce, the lower ends of which are securely nailed to the front stringers as the illustration shows.

In place of the supporting brackets D D that are let into the timber C at Fig. 2, longer brackets or props are caught under the floor timbers and braced at the lower end against the trunks, where an additional anchorage or support is made by a stout block which is securely spiked to the trunk underneath each bracket end as shown in Fig. 8 C C. The frame is then enclosed as described for the low hut, and windows and a door are mounted as shown.

A long, stiff ladder may be used to climb up, but a more interesting ladder can be made of rope and hickory rungs. By means of a thin rope attached to the bottom rung the ladder can be hauled up to the deck so that it is out of the reach of other boys; and being fastened at the top, no one can remove it or pull it away as they could a stiff ladder.

A rope-ladder is made of stout clothes-line and hickory rungs lashed together securely with strong line as shown in Fig. 9. The rungs are of straight hickory with or without the bark on, one inch and a quarter thick and twenty-four inches long. Near the end of each rung a notch is cut on both sides for the rope to lie in, as shown at the upper end of Fig. 9, and each union is to be very securely bound with the line so as to prevent slipping.

The ladder is hung on stout wooden pegs driven into the deck through holes one inch and a half in diameter. An extra rope is to be carried from the top rung up over the pegs and down again, where a wrap is taken over one or two rungs; then it is lashed fast to the other ropes with the stout line as shown in Fig. 10.

Bunks and furniture can be made for the interior, and any other convenient accessories to the comfort and pleasure of the boy owners may be added as need arises.

A Single-tree Hut

In the spreading branches of a large oak-tree a very snug roost can be made high above the ground as shown in Fig. 11 (frontispiece).

This single-tree hut is twenty-five feet above the ground, and below it is a landing from which the rope-ladder is dropped. From this landing to the piazza or deck of the hut a stiff ladder is made fast both at top and bottom, and an opening in the floor of the deck will allow room to climb up on the deck.

As very few trees are alike it would be difficult to give a plan for the floor timbers among the out-spreading branches; but from the plans shown for the twin-tree hut some idea of the construction can be had for single-tree huts.

The main tree-trunk will, of course, have to project up through the hut, and the location in the tree should be selected so that out-spreading branches will form a support to the lower edges of the floor frame as may be seen in Fig. 12, the plan of a low tree hut.

A peaked, a mansard, or a flat roof can be placed on the hut, depending on the main trunk to give it support; and if the space in the tree will permit, a deck across the front and both sides will be found useful. The floor timbers should be well braced to the main trunk of the tree with long and short bracket-pieces or props. These will help greatly in making the hut steady in the tree, and where the lower ends are attached to the trunk large spikes should be well driven in. Cleats or blocks can be nailed fast under the ends also, as they will help to support and strengthen the anchorage.

Water and food can be kept cool by suspending them in a shady place. Water in a porous jug or earthen pitcher will keep very cold if hung in the tree branches where the air can freely circulate around it. Keep fire away from the tree huts, and do not light any matches nor burn candles, for if once a fire is started nothing will save your hut. It is too high to reach with a bucket, and, located as it is, a perfect draught will fan a small flame into a raging fire in no time.

A Low Single-tree Hut

It is not always best to build a hut in high trees, nor is it possible to do so in every case, because there may not be any high, large trees at hand strong enough to support a hut. For younger boys a low tree hut is preferable, so that if a possible misstep should result in a fall it would be less harmful than from a high tree. An apple or maple tree often affords a good support for a low tree hut, and if the trunk is substantially heavy a house similar to the one shown in Fig. 12 (page 358) can easily be constructed. The tree should be large enough to bear the weight of the house without straining it, particularly in a storm or high wind.

The general construction of the frame is shown in Fig. 12. The frame should be of two-by-three-inch spruce and the flooring beams can be of two-by-four-inch spruce or other timber. One or two windows and a door may be arranged in the hut, and tar-paper tacked on the roof will make it water-proof.

Access to the hut can be had by means of a ladder made from two-by-three-inch spruce rails with hickory rungs, or two-by-one-inch hard-wood sticks securely nailed to the rails.

A Brush-house

In nearly every part of the country where there is low ground one may generally find a high growth of plant life having a long stalk, with the greatest number of leaves at or near the top. Artichokes, cat-tail reeds, wild sunflower, and the stronger species of flag have stalks and reeds sufficiently strong from which to make the sides and roof of a hut or small house such as Fig. 13 depicts.

This growth is often ten feet high, and will have a straight and uniform reed at least seven or eight feet up from the ground before the thick top foliage reduces it in size. This last should be cut away and the smaller under branches and leaves trimmed off, leaving a comparatively straight shaft from six to eight feet long. This will be limber enough to be woven basket-fashion, and quite stiff enough to hold the thatching of meadow-grass or cat-tail reeds.

To build a brush-house like the one shown in the illustration, four sticks are to be set in the ground about six feet apart, forming a square. These should be eight feet long and sunk two feet into the ground, the upper ends being bound together with rails two inches wide and an inch thick.

A pitch can be given to the roof by cutting off the rear posts six inches and leaving six inches more of the front posts out of the ground, thereby allowing a pitch of one foot to the six-toot length of roof. This slant is not necessary, however, and the roof may be flat if it is easier to make.

From the reeds a basket framework with eight-inch meshes is to be woven, as the boys are doing in Fig. 14. Three of these frames are to be made for the sides and rear of the hut, and at the front, above the doorway, a smaller one is to be made to cover the space between the front posts.

The ends of the cross-reeds are to be bent around the end upright reeds as shown in Fig. 15, where they can be bound with string or tied with grass. The window openings in the side frames are made by cutting out a section of one or two uprights and turning the cross-reeds back and tying them. At the doorway two upright sticks are driven into the ground and a rail nailed across their upper ends.

To this wooden frame the front reeds may be attached, and the skeleton hut or house is then ready to be thatched with long, dry grass or dried cat-tail reeds. The thatching is done by interweaving long grasses or reeds between the cross-reeds in a vertical position as shown in Fig. 16. The thatching material should be from eighteen to twenty-four inches long so that it can be interwoven between three cross-reeds as shown in Fig. 17, where a few strands of grasses are placed in position to give an idea of how to weave the grass.