Chapter III: How to Become a First Class Scout (2)

Most of you cannot choose your own dwelling, but whether you live in a house, a cottage, a flat, in rooms, or even in one room of a house, you can do a very great deal to keep it healthy and pure.

Fresh air is your great friend; it will help you to fight disease better than anything else. Open all your windows as often as you can, so that the air may get into every nook and corner. Never keep an unused room shut up. Disease germs, poisonous gases, mildew, insects, dust, and dirt have it all their own way in stale, used-up air. Air does not flow in and flow out of the same opening at the same time any more than water does, so you want two openings in a room—an open window to let the good air in, and a fireplace and chimney to let the stale air out, or whether there is no fireplace, a window open both at top and bottom. The night air in large towns is purer than the day air, and both in town and country you should sleep with your window open if you want to be healthy. Draughts are not good, as they carry away the heat from your body too fast; so if your bed is too near the window, put up a shelter between it and the open window and cover yourself more. At least one window on a staircase or landing should always be kept open, and also the pantry and the closet windows.

_Tidiness._—Half your time will be saved if little things are kept tidy. Have a place for everything, and have everything in its place. If you are not sure which is the right place for a thing, think “_Where, if I wanted it, should I go to look for it?_” That place is the right one. Get into the habit of always making a ball of any string you get and collect them.

War must be waged against rats and mice, or they will invade you and loot everything. If you have no mouse-traps, put a newspaper over a pail of water, break a hole slightly in the centre in the form of a star, and place a bit of cheese on the centre tips of star to entice the mouse. Let the paper reach to the floor, not too upright, for the mouse to climb up. Try putting broken camphor into their holes; they dislike the smell. Fly and wasp traps are made by tying paper over a tumbler half-filled with water and beer or molasses. Break a hole in the paper, and fit in a tube of rolled paper about one inch long and one inch across.

_Damp_ is never healthy, and you can prevent it to a great extent by letting plenty of fresh air go through your house and rooms which have been shut up.

When you see signs of damp, try to find out the cause; it may be put right. A pipe or gutter may have got blocked, or there may be a loose shingle, or the water pipes may be leaking.

In countries where there are mosquitoes people are very careful not to allow any water to lie near their houses, for the poisonous mosquito breeds in stagnant water. Sunflowers planted near a house help to keep the soil dry; also low bushes and plants. Consumption and other deadly disease germs flourish in damp, ill-aired houses.

_Sunlight_ is a great health-giver and disinfectant, and the more of it you have in your house the better. Long ago people used to shut out the sun and air for fear their curtains and carpets would fade, but it is far better that the sun should fade your curtains than that the darkness should fade you. Cases of consumption are rare in dry, sunny houses.

Nurseries and bedrooms should have plenty of morning and mid-day sun.

Motto: “_Tidy as you go_.”

_Cleanliness_ in every part of the house is most necessary, especially kitchen and refrigerators. Do not let dust or rubbish collect anywhere, behind furniture or pictures, under beds, or in cupboards. If we realised what horrid things we may collect from pavement or street dust on our skirts and shoes, we should be much more careful about the dusting of our rooms.

Do not allow dogs, cats, or birds to be where they can touch your food or your cooking utensils; animals have diseases too. Flies, gnats, and fleas are most dangerous pests; they feed on decayed and diseased things, and may carry poison on their feet and leave it on your food. Keep them out of your house, and especially chase them out of your kitchen and larder. Any bad smell in a house is a danger signal; find out its cause, and get rid of it.

(S.T.)

Be sure your drinking water is pure. If you are at all doubtful about it, _boil it well_—that is, for not less than fifteen minutes. Water cisterns should be often cleaned out. See that all drains, sinks, and closets are in good order. A very poisonous gas called sewer gas comes from bad drains, and typhoid, diphtheria, etc., are caused by drinking bad water and bad drainage. The gas does not come up if there is a “trap” full of water in the pipe; that is a curve in the pipe where water collects. Let water run down all sinks once or twice a day to rinse the pipes. To sum up, “Remember that nearly all the _dangers_ to health in a house or room begin with a D, and these dangers or destroyers are:

“Darkness.
“Damp.
“Dust.
“Dirt.
“Doubtful drinking water.
“Defective drains.”

Against these destroyers, which bring debility, disease and even death, the Scouts’ defences are:

“Sunlight.
“Fresh air.
“Cleanliness.”

_Housewifery._—Every Scout is as much a “housewife” as she is a girl. She is sure to have to “keep house” some day, and whatever house she finds herself in, it is certain that that place is the better for her being there.

Too many odds and ends and draperies about a room are only dust-traps, and rugs or carpet squares, which can be taken up easily, are better than nailed down carpets. Keep all the furniture clean and bright. Fresh air, soap, and water are the good housewife’s best allies. Bars of soap should be cut up in squares and kept for six weeks before being used. This hardens it and makes it last longer.

In scrubbing boarded floors, the secret is not to deluge the floor; change the water in the pail frequently.

In the work of cleaning think out your plan beforehand, so as not to dirty what has been cleaned. Plan out certain times for each kind of work and have your regular days for doing each thing.

_Pasteboards and Deal Tables._—Scrub hard the way of the grain. Hot water makes boards and tables yellow. Rinse in cold water and dry well.

_Saucepans._—New saucepans must not be used till they have first been filled with cold water and a little soda, and boiled for an hour or so, and must be well scoured. After bowls or saucepans have been used, fill them at once with cold water to the brim; this will prevent anything hardening on the saucepan and will make cleaning easier.

Swimming

_Swimming._—Every 1st Class Scout ought to be able to swim. It is not only for her own amusement that she should do so, but so that she will not cause other people to risk their lives in rescuing her when she gets into difficulties in the water, and that she may be able to help those in distress. British girls are behindhand in learning to swim—it is very different in Norway and Sweden, or in America, where nearly every girl can swim.

Where a doctor says swimming is bad for her, or there is no possible means for her learning, such other badges that she does not hold may be accepted instead towards qualifying the Scout for her 1st Class.

No Scout can be of real use till she can swim, and to learn swimming is no more difficult than to learn bicycling.

All you have to do is at first to try and swim like a dog, as if trying to crawl slowly along in the water; don’t try all at once to swim with the ordinary breast stroke that swimmers use, because this only lets your mouth go under water every time. When paddling along like a dog get a friend to support you at first with a pole or his hand under your belly.

Any of you who cannot swim as yet, and who fall into the water out of your depth, remember that you need not sink if you take care to do the following things. First, keep your mouth upwards by throwing the head well back. Secondly, keep your lungs full of air by taking in long breaths, but breathe out very little. Thirdly, keep your arms under water. To do this you should not begin to shout, which will only empty your lungs, and you should not throw your arms about or beckon for help, else you will sink. So the main thing of all is to keep cool and force yourself to remember and to carry out these things.

CHILD WELFARE

There always are and always will be children to be care of. Perhaps there is no better way for a girl to help her country than to fit herself to undertake the care of children. She should learn all she can about them, and take every opportunity of helping to look after these small Boy and Girl Scouts of the future. Many girls are already doing this and are realizing that the Child Welfare badge is one of the most important in the whole list for a Scout to win.

Health Habits

Children are trained to regular habits in three ways; first, by having meals at fixed hours; second, by having regular times for sleeping and waking; and third, by being taught when young to be clean and regular in their daily clear-out. They must have plenty of healthful, peaceful sleep and the earlier they go to bed the better for their brains and nerves in after life. The bedroom must be airy and quiet; the windows kept open.

Bath

Nobody can be healthy unless he is clean, and cleanliness is one of the first habits you want Baby to form. So he should have a daily bath. The temperature for his bath should range from 80° to 98° and you should be able to read the bath thermometer as well as the room thermometer. Before you undress Baby get together everything that you will need for the bath and dressing; your hand basin of warm water, soap, soft wash cloths and towels, comb and brush, etc., and his clothes laid out in the order in which you will put them on.

It is handier as well as safer to begin baby laid on a table or bed rather than on your lap. He should of course have under him a soft towel or canton flannel. First wash his head carefully and rub it dry gently. Do the outer parts of his ears and let no water get inside them. The nose may be cleaned with a bit of cotton rolled to a point and the nails should be carefully cleaned. Then put him gently in the tub. Some people soap the baby first, and a soapy little baby wiggles, so hold him very firmly and comfortably, supporting his head all the time he is kicking and splashing in the tub. After you lift him out be careful to dry all the creases in his little body. It is perfectly proper for a baby to cry as much as twenty minutes every day till he begins to talk, and he may take his bath time for doing it, so don’t scold him. A baby can be kept sweet and clean by a daily sponge bath.

Food

The baby needs proper food to build up his body. Milk is his only food for the first months of his life and even up to three years he takes mostly milk.

For the first eight or nine months of a baby’s life mother’s milk is the best food for him, and if he is unfortunate enough to have to take his milk from a bottle you will have to learn the best kind of bottle to use and how to prepare it. Baby is very particular about his milk being fresh and good.

Punctual feeding makes good digestion and even if he wants that extra nap it is better to wake a healthy baby to give him his meal at regular hours, than to let his digestion get out of order. Some babies are very punctual and feel it keenly if you do not feed them at the fixed hour. They will very likely let you know it too, and woe betide you if they find you have not properly boiled the bottle after each meal to sterilize it. Between meals a little drink of water which has been boiled and cooled (sterile water) will wash out his mouth as well as refresh him. Do not give a baby too much food at a time, and keep him on plain food. This applies to you as well as to baby. When the digestion is not right the appetite will not be good. Digestion makes the food you eat ready to be turned into muscle and bone and brain, and indigestion means that you have not used up the food you ate and therefore you have those uncomfortable pains in the middle of the night. Eat only the foods you know you can digest comfortably.

By the time a child is two years old, he should have a well varied though simple bill of fare. This may include cereals such as well cooked oatmeal and cream of wheat, soft boiled eggs, fresh juice, (beef) milk puddings, milk toast, baked potatoes, apple sauce and chicken broth.

Clothing

Children’s clothes should be warm but light, and where possible should hang from the shoulders. The legs, particularly the ankles, should be kept warm and the feet dry.

Sunshine, Air and Exercise

Give a baby plenty of fresh air, out of doors if you can, avoiding drafty places. It gives him a better appetite, makes him sleep sounder and also helps to give him rosy cheeks, a sign of good red blood.

Be careful that sheet and blankets do not get over a baby’s head; as this weight causes suffocation, so pin the covers to the side of the bed and let him have fresh air while he sleeps.

No self respecting baby would ever by himself contract the “pacifier” habit and he should never be given a pacifier. This article thrust into his mouth makes the upper jaw protrude, carries germs into a baby’s mouth, sometimes causes adenoids, is ugly to look at and finally doesn’t really pacify.

It does a baby good to lie down and kick about. Crawling and climbing exercise his muscles. Don’t let a baby walk too soon. Bow-legs come from standing and walking while the bones are soft; also from under-nourishment. But if a child wants to walk, let him make the effort; he will not pull himself up unless he wants to try his muscles. Childhood is a time to form the body; it cannot be altered much when you are grown up. Playtime should not come directly after feeding or before sleeptime.

Illnesses

What will you do when you suddenly find that baby is ill? To call in the doctor is the first thing, that is, if there is a doctor. But when there is no doctor! You will at once think of all the First Aid you have learned, and what you know of home nursing. Drugs are bad things. You may lay up trouble for a child by giving it soothing drugs and advertised medicines which sometimes make the baby stupid and may cause constipation. Never neglect the bowels if they become stopped up. This upsets digestion, poisons the baby and may help to bring on convulsions or other serious illnesses. If a child is suffering from a convulsion, lay him flat with his head on a pillow. Pat his head with cold water and put a hot bottle at his feet. If the convulsion continues put him in a warm bath of about 106° which is as hot as is comfortable for your bare elbow, but you must not keep cold cloths on his head. Use very gentle artificial respiration not trying to straighten the arms. Of course you will keep a baby away from anyone who has a contagious disease.

You can very easily train a young child to obey, but after three years old it becomes more difficult unless a good start has been made. Children expect you to be just. If you are good tempered and patient a child will stand a good deal of firmness, but slapping and scolding ruin young tempers. Answer a child’s question without ridicule. He is feeling his way in this great big world, and you once asked foolish questions, too.

Proficiency Badges

Whenever I see a Scout coming along I feel at once a friendly interest in her, but when she comes nearer that interest either increases or goes off a bit when I look at her right arm and see on it badges—or no badges.

Every Scout, as soon as she has passed the Second Class tests, can go in for proficiency badges. These badges are not intended for swagger, but to show that you can do things. On the left arm you will wear those badges which mean that you are good at work that is useful to other people, and these are the important badges; while on the right arm the badges show the sort of Scout that you are, that is whether you are efficient or not in different branches of Scout work.

There are a very large number of badges on the list which you can go in for, but it does not mean that you are to try and get them all, but rather that you may look through the list and find out which are most likely to suit you and then to go in for one or two of those. The most important of all the badges are those for nursing. They are important to the Scout herself, because through practising this work she can most easily carry out the Scout law of doing good turns to other people, and these would be good turns which really are useful. Also by knowing how to nurse she can do good work for her country.

_The Value of Nursing._—In the great war hundreds and hundreds of women have gone to act as nurses in the hospitals, for the wounded and have done splendid work They will no doubt be thankful all their lives that while they were yet girls they learnt how to nurse and how to do hospital work, so that they were useful when the call came for them. But there are thousands and thousands of others who wanted to do the work when the time came, but they had not like Scouts been Prepared, and they had never learnt how to nurse, and so they were perfectly useless and their services were not required in the different hospitals. So carry out your motto and Be Prepared and learn all you can about hospital and child nursing, sick nursing, and every kind, while you are yet a Scout and have people ready to instruct you and to help you in learning.

Child nursing is also very important, because so many girls are wanted now to help mothers in looking after their children. Such a large number of babies die every year from being nursed by girls who have never taken the trouble to learn what they ought to do with children. Babies are delicate little things, and a very little act of carelessness or want of knowledge of what to do often causes the death of one who might otherwise have grown up to be a valuable citizen for the country. On becoming a Scout you promise to Be Prepared to do your duty in every possible way, and one very important way is that of nursing children as well as grown ups; and therefore I hope that you will learn as quickly as possible how to carry out this duty and so to carry out your work as a Scout in the proper spirit. Therefore I recommend you to take as the most important ones, the Ambulance Badge, the Child Nurse Badge, and the Home Nursing; after which you can look through the list and pick out others for which you feel that you are particularly keen, or for which there are instruction classes for Scouts that you can attend. Set those badges up before you and do your best to win some of them.

_Where to wear the Badges._—The First and Second Class Badge is worn _on the left arm_. It should be placed about half-way between the elbow and the shoulder strap, so as not to be covered by the shoulder knot.

The Ambulance, Home Nurse, and Child Nurse Badges are also worn on the left arm, just below the Second and First Class Badges. All the other Proficiency Badges are worn on the right arm. They are sewn on as they are won, starting at the bottom of the sleeve, just above the cuff, and growing upwards in couples as the Scout becomes more and more proficient.

The War Service Badge is worn above the right-hand breast pocket.

The Attendance Stars are worn in a horizontal row just above the left-hand breast pocket.

_The War Service Badge._—Is granted to Scouts who have done special service for their country during the Great War. It is worn above the right breast pocket.

Golden Eaglet

To secure this honor a Girl Scout must win the following badges: Ambulance and First Aid, Clerk, Cook, Child Nurse, Dairymaid, Matron, Musician, Needlewoman, Naturalist, Home Nurse, Pathfinder, Pioneer, Signaler, Swimmer, Athletics, Health or Civics. (In case a swimming badge is impossible two badges not already earned may be substituted.)

Life-Saving Medals

These are worn on the right breast and are awarded as follows:—

_Bronze Cross (Red Ribbon)._—Presented as the highest
possible award for gallantry. It can only be worn where
the claimant has shown special heroism or has faced
extraordinary risk of life in saving life.

_Silver Cross (Blue Ribbon)._—For gallantry, with
considerable risk to herself.

_Badge of Merit (Gilt Wreath—White Ribbon)._—For a
Scout who does her duty exceptionally well, though
without grave risks to herself.

_Thanks Badge._—It is the privilege of any Scout, of
whatever rank, to present this Badge of Thanks to any
one who does a Scout a good turn. It entitles the
wearer to make use of the services of any Scout at any
time, but does not constitute membership.

Hockey a Fine Game

I should like to see everything that calls itself a girl playing it. Yet there are thousands and thousands of girls who have never yet even seen it played—much less played it themselves.

I should like all of them to play it, not only once but regularly, and this is why.

Because it gives them health and strength through active exertion in the open air; it gives them a jolly time and lots of excitement, happiness, and laughter; it makes them quick with eye, hand, and foot; it makes them all good pals together; it teaches them to take hard knocks without winking such as at other times would make them faint or swear.

It teaches them to play unselfishly and to pass the ball on. It gives them pluck, it gives them hope, for even when things look bad there is often the possibility of winning by an extra effort. They learn to stick to rules and to obey orders, to play fair and to stop sneaking, underhand play.

In a word, they learn to play the game for their side and not for themselves.

Well, that is just what our soldiers at the front are doing, playing the game nobly for their country at no matter what danger to their own life or limb.

It’s just what we want of all Americans in the future—women as well as men—to think of their country and other people first; to obey the laws and play the game for the good of others bravely and hopefully, without caring what hard knocks they get themselves.

Could not some of you who can afford to play hockey yourselves managed to help some other girls to play it too?

Think what joy it would bring into their lives, what health and brightness you could offer them and what good and friendly citizens you could make them.

A Scout Is a Lady

_What is a Lady?_—This is what I saw the other day in the Subway. The seats were all crowded when a smart-looking girl got in. A wounded soldier with a bandaged foot and a walking stick stood up rather painfully and offered her his seat. The girl plumped herself down comfortably and she did not give him a look or even a word of thanks. A pale woman then rose and said to him, “I can stand better than you; you got hurt for me,” and made him take her place.

One of these two women was a lady. Can you guess which?

The Frogs in the Cream

Oh, there is one more thing that hockey teaches. Often you lose a game, but you do not therefore lose your temper or lose your happiness for, as a Scout, you at once cheer the winners and forget to be put out by it.

But you don’t lose every game. Very often it will look as if it was going against you and there seems little chance of winning when, just near the end, the other side give out or get careless, and by sheer sticking to it you win a goal or two in the last few minutes and come out victorious in the end.

Well, it is sticking to it which is so tremendously valuable, not only in the game, but also for getting on as a Scout, and afterwards in getting on in life.

Two frogs, out for a walk one day, came upon a bowl of cream, into which they fell. Thinking it a new kind of water and that it was hopeless trying to swim, one was drowned through having no pluck. The other struggled hard to keep afloat. Just when he felt he _must_ give up a curious thing happened. In his struggles he had churned up the cream so much that he found himself standing safe on a pat of butter!

If you learnt nothing else from Scouting than this little story of the frogs, try, at any rate, to remember that; and when you feel you are failing at your job just think of it; remind yourself of the frogs—and stick to it.

Happy Housemaids Singing Hymns

Someone asked me the other day why it is that housemaids, when they are at work, are always droning most dreary hymn tunes. Well, I couldn’t say exactly why they do it, but I like to hear it, because people who sing at their work evidently don’t find it a drudgery or irksome.

I was at a great aeroplane factory the other day, where the manager had encouraged his men in their spare time to form a band, and he supplied the funds for helping them to get instruments, music, etc.

When they began to get rather good at it they, like all amateur musicians, began to fancy themselves, and said that they would like to get some high-class classical music to play.

But he said: “Not a bit of it, I want you to play all the tunes that you can get, provided that they are jolly ones.”

Then he used to make the men march to their workshops with their band playing, and for the rest of the morning, instead of working sullenly and grudgingly at their machines, the men were whistling and singing the tunes that were running in their heads, and the work consequently was better done and more of it was got through than would otherwise have been possible.

So the wretched Girl Scouts, when they are forced to play these dull games and to do the terrible hard work of Scouting, need something to cheer them up. All they have to do is to learn a few jingles and to sing them, stamp, bang, or whistle them as they go along, and they are sure to feel the better for it.

Patrol Leaders

When you come to be a Patrol Leader you must remember that you are really taking up a very responsible and important position, because you are going to be in charge of a number of girls under you, who will form their characters entirely under your example and guidance, and if you choose to be a slacker they will become slackers, if you choose to be a good Scout they will all become good Scouts, or nearly all of them. That is very much dependent on you yourself. So don’t become a Patrol Leader merely for the swagger of it or the sake of wearing an extra badge or two, but really think whether you are fitted to lead those girls, and take it up with the best of your ability to make good Scouts of them. You have got to _command_ your Patrol; well, you can only command others if you have their confidence, and you can only have their confidence if you have confidence in yourself; you can only have confidence in yourself by knowing your work thoroughly and well. You should therefore study the handbook, learn all about Scouting, what it aims for, and then how you can carry out the instructions given; practise the things yourself that are shown you, know that you can do the different things well; and then you will be able to have confidence in yourself, your Scouts will obey your orders, and so you will be able to carry out the training of them and their discipline perfectly well. You lead entirely by your own personal example, don’t forget that; that is what tells, and that is the easy way to gain success; not only the easy way, but it is the _only_ way.

As a Leader you must be the best at carrying out the Scout Law in your Patrol, the others will follow you in it; you must be the captain also in all the games; you must be the first in every venture; you must be the one to suggest good games, good ideas, good thoughts. If you are the first in every way like this your girls will follow your leads and you will have good discipline among them. Your aim should, of course, be to make your Patrol the best, and if every Patrol tries to be the best in the Troop, you may be sure that that Troop will be a very good one amongst other Troops.

You should take counsel among your Scouts as to what they fancy themselves at, and then challenge another Patrol to have a competition in that particular line, whatever it may be, whether Signalling, or Ambulance Work, or playing a game of Hockey, or baseball, or anything you like; but continually challenge other Patrols to beat you at your own game, and then practise your game well and make yourselves efficient at it, so as you do not get beaten. For every game the whole Patrol should form the team. Don’t have one or two good players and the rest no use at all; and don’t have individual competition, one girl against another, but always try and have your Patrol as a team, then the worst will try and make themselves better in order to play up the average of the lot, and so play for the good of the Patrol and not of themselves. If possible, give each of your Scouts her own job to do in the Patrol. You may find one good at one thing, another good at another; well, urge her to do her particular job, and to do it well for the benefit and honour of the Patrol. You will have one little difficult point that you must keep an eye on; when you are trying to lead the Patrol and at the same time to show them the way, don’t forget that you must not do the work of other girls. Give each one her job and see that she does it, but don’t do it for her, or else she will always be leaning on you and expecting you to do it.

A Patrol can specialise, that is, all members to take one special badge, or a bit of ribbon will do, that a Patrol may be a Despatch Riding Patrol, or a Signalling Patrol, First Aid Patrol, a Home Helping Patrol, or even an Entertaining Patrol. All the members of the Patrol win a certain Proficiency Badge, then that Patrol may be recommended by the Captain to have the honour of wearing that badge on its flag. I have known a great deal of good to come of a Patrol challenging a Patrol in another Troop to some sort of competition, and then going to visit the other Patrol or inviting them to visit themselves at their own headquarters and entertaining them and having their competition and making great friends with them; this leads to very good feeling between different Troops, and is very useful, because you can often pick up ideas from Patrols of another Troop better than you can from one of your own Troops. In camp a Patrol is a very useful unit because a whole Patrol can just pitch into one tent or probably into one room or barn, or wherever it may be, and there the Patrol Leader’s duties are very responsible, because she has to keep order in her own tent and see that it is properly kept clean and tidy.

Example of an English Display

_A Scout Hostel._—Scene: Inside a Scout Headquarters, fitted with bed, stretcher table, cooking stove, cupboard, Scout Law, etc.

Patrol at right of stage learning electricity and telegraphy.

Patrol at left of stage bathing, dressing, and feeding model baby.

In centre Brownies learning a dance; all under their Patrol Leaders to demonstrate the method of instruction in the Scouts.

After short demonstration one of the telegraph Scouts stops all work by saying that she has intercepted a wireless message saying “Air raid coming on.”

Patrols immediately fall in under their leaders, one as stretcher party and the other as first-aiders, with haversacks, etc., and march out to render assistance to police, etc.

Brownies, meantime, clear up the place, make bed ready, get out lint and bandages, etc., from cupboards, boil up kettle, put away electrical apparatus, etc.

Re-enter Scout leading a fat old lady, telling her she will be quite safe here. Old lady very flustered and very grateful. Brownies take charge of her, giving her a chair, and make her comfortable. As the Scout goes out the old lady calls after her and tells her she has dropped her handbag somewhere in the street. Doesn’t know where, dare not go out to look for it, but hopes that the Scout will; which she does smilingly.

Wretched woman with baby and crying children brought in next by another Scout, and made comfortable by Brownies. Fussy old gentleman, cantankerous old woman also come hustling in, led by Scouts, some lost children are brought in howling, also any number of other characters can be devised among your actors, including one man who will insist on making speeches against the Government for not stopping these raids.

When the room becomes full of them they all keep talking at once of their various grievances, and the children howling; bombs are heard without (bang of a drum or box full of old tins dropped), at each side of which all shriek, are silent for a moment or two, and then recommence their jabber.

Finally, half the Scouts having returned, they set to work to prepare food and hand it round to the people, which very soon quiets them, except the speech-maker, who seizes the opportunity of the others becoming quiet to make his speech with greater fervor. The Scouts stop him by putting a sack over his head and bundling him into a corner.

Then the stretcher party bring in an injured person, who is bandaged and put to bed. Others have slight wounds bound up and treated, and the Scouts then set to work with rugs and blankets and make beds on the floor for the whole party.

They then all go to bed comfortably on the floor.

Two Scouts remain on duty, the others lying down to sleep also.

(_Curtain._)

Hints as to Camp Orders

_In going into camp it is essential to have a few “Standing Orders” published, which can be added to from time to time, if necessary. These should be carefully explained to patrol leaders, who should then be held fully responsible for their Scouts carrying them out exactly._

_Such orders might point out that each patrol will camp separately from the others, and that there will be a comparison between the respective cleanliness and good order of tents and surrounding ground._

_Patrol leaders to report on the good work or otherwise of their Captains, which will be recorded in the Captain’s books of marks._

_Bathing under strict supervision to prevent non-swimmers getting into dangerous water. No girl must bathe when not well._

_Bathing picket of two good swimmers will be on duty while bathing is going on, and ready to help any girl in distress. This picket will be in the boat (undressed) with bathing costume and overcoat on. They may only bathe when the general bathing is over and the last of the bathers has left the water._

_Orders as to what is to be done in case of fire alarm._

_Orders as to boundaries, grounds to be worked over, damages to fences, property, good drinking water, etc._

_No Scout allowed out of bounds without leave._

_No boy allowed inside bounds without leave._