Part 32 (2/2)
The ordinary clover and all its varieties, including the trefoil and the shamrock, are barometers. When rain is coming, the leaves shut together like the sh.e.l.ls of an oyster and do not open again until fine weather is a.s.sured. For a day or two before rain comes their stems swell to an appreciable extent and stiffen so that the leaves are borne more upright than usual. This stem swelling when rain is expected is a feature of many towering gra.s.ses.
The fingers of which the leaves of the horse chestnut are made up keep flat and fanlike so long as fine weather is likely to continue. With the coming of rain, however, they droop, as if to offer less resistance to the weather. The scarlet pimpernel, nicknamed the ”poor man's weather gla.s.s,”
or wind cope, opens its flowers only to fine weather. As soon as rain is in the air it shuts up and remains closed until the shower or storm is over.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
Talk About the Weather--Charles Barnard. Funk & Wagnalls Co., 75 cents. A little book of valuable hints and suggestions about the weather and the philosophy of temperature and rainfall in their relation to living things.
Woodcraft--Jones and Woodward. C. Arthur Pearson, Ltd., 35 cents. Contains an excellent chapter on weather lore in addition to a ma.s.s of valuable information on woodcraft.
Bulletin of the U. S. Weather Bureau, Was.h.i.+ngton, D. C,
[Ill.u.s.tration: The Library, 1,200 Volumes Given by the Boys.--Camp Becket]
CHAPTER XX--RAINY DAY GAMES AND SUGGESTIONS
DELIGHTS OF A RAINY DAY ACc.u.mULATED ENERGY HANDKERCHIEF TUSSLE POTATO JOUST TERRIER FIGHT CIRCLE BALL LEG WRESTLE HAND WRESTLING ROOSTER FIGHT SHOE AND SWEATER RACE PEANUT RELAY RACE INTERESTING TESTS BIBLIOGRAPHY
We knew it would rain for the poplars showed The white of their leaves, and amber grain Shrunk in the wind and the lightning now Is tangled in tremulous skeins of rain.
--Aldrich.
Rainy days break the monotony of continuous suns.h.i.+ny days. There is nothing that is so fascinating to a boy in camp as listening to the patter of the rain drops upon the roof of his canvas house, especially at night, if he is snug and warm in his blankets and the tent is waterproof. A rainy day is the kind of a day when the chess and checker enthusiasts get together. Games are rescued from the bottom of the trunk or box. Ponchos and rubber boots are now in popular favor. Thunder and lightning but add to the boys' enjoyment. What indescribable excitement there is in the s.h.i.+vers and shudders caused by an extra flash of lightning or a double fortissimo roll of thunder! There is also the delight, of playing in the puddles of water and wearing a bathing suit and enjoying a real shower bath.
To some boys it is repair day, rips are sewed up, b.u.t.tons sewed on clothing, and for the initiated, the darning of socks. In camps with permanent buildings a big log fire roars in the fireplace, the boys sprawl on the floor with their faces toward the fire, and while the rain plays a tattoo[1] upon the roof some one reads aloud an interesting story, such as ”Treasure Island,” ”The Shadowless Man,” ”The Bishop's Shadow,” or the chapters on ”The Beneficent Rain” and ”When the Dew Falls,” from Jean M.
Thompson's book, ”Water Wonders.” It all depends upon one's viewpoint whether rainy days are delightful or disagreeable.
[Transcriber's Footnote 1: Signal on a drum or bugle to summon soldiers to their quarters at night. Continuous, even drumming or rapping.]
Surplus Energy
Boys are barometers. Restlessness is usually a sign of an approaching storm. The wise leader senses the situation and begins preparing his plans. If the rain is from the east and comes drizzling down, better plan a several day program, for after the excitement of the first few hours'
rain, the boys begin to loll around, lie on the cots, or hang around the kitchen and develop a disease known as ”Grouchitis.” During the first stages of the disease the boys are inactive and acc.u.mulate an over-supply of energy, which must find an outlet. Here is where the leader plays an important part in handling the case; he provides an outlet for the expenditure of this surplus energy by planning games demanding use of muscle and the expenditure of energy and noise. The big mess tent, or dining hall, is cleared and romping games are organized.
The games suggested are adapted for rainy days and selected from a catalogue of several hundred games.
RAINY DAY GAMES
Few sports are better calculated than a potato joust to amuse boys on rainy days. It has all the joys of a combat, and yet, try as he will, there is no possibility for any boy to become rough.
Potato Joust
In the potato joust each warrior is armed with a fork, on the end of which is a potato. The combatants take their position in the center of the playroom, facing each other. They should be separated by not less than three feet. Each must lift a leg from the floor (see ill.u.s.tration, next page). The fighters may use their own discretion as to which leg shall be lifted from the floor and may hold it up with either hand they prefer. A small cus.h.i.+on placed under the knee will add materially to the comfort of the contestants.
The battle is decided by one of the warriors knocking the potato from his opponent's fork. Toppling over three times is also counted as defeat. If one of the knights is obliged to let go of his foot in order to keep his balance it is counted as a fall. Every time the battle is interrupted in this way, either of the contestants is at liberty to change the foot he is resting upon. If one of the warriors falls against the other and upsets him, it is counted against the one who is responsible for the tumble.
You are not likely to realize on your first introduction to a potato joust the amount of skill and practice required to really become expert in handling the fork. A slight turn of the wrist, a quick push and the practised knight will defeat the novice so deftly, so easily that you are amazed.
Move your fork as little as possible; long sweeping strokes are more likely to throw off your own potato than to interfere with that of your opponent.
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