Camping and woodcraft - Scoutmastercg.com

198 CAMPING AND WOODCRAFTsmall air-tight canisters. It loses strength rapidlyafter a tin has been opened. If jou are a connoisseuryou will never be tempted more than onceby any condensed coffee or substitute.Tea is a better pick-me-up than coffee or liquor.Even if you don't use it at home, take along onyour camping trip enough for midday meals. Teatabloids are not bad, but I advise using the realthing. On a hike, with no tea-ball, I tie up enoughfor each pint in a bitof washed cheesecloth, loosely,leaving enough string attached whereby to whiskit out after exactly four minutes' steeping.However it may be with you at home, leadinga sedentary life, you probably will find that teaand coffee do you a world of good when workingheartily out-of-doors.There are exceptions, to be sure ; but old campaignersgenerally will agree with Dr. Hutchinsonwhen, having discussed the necessary solids for asoldier's ration, he says this:"But is even this dietetic trinity of bread, beef and su-^•^ar, with greens and dessert on the side, sufficient? Theresults of a hundred campaigns have shown that it is not.Man is not merely a stomach and muscles — he is also abundle of nerves; and they require their share of pabulum.In the early days ^he nerve-steadier in the soldier's dietused to be supplied in the form of grog, beer, wine, whisky;^nd up to about one hundred years ago alcohol in someform was considered to be an absolutely indispensable partof thearmy ration." Gradually, however, and by bitter experience, it wasrealized that alcohol's way of steadying and supportingthe nerves was to narcotize them, which practically meanspoison them; that it gave no nourishment to the bodyand, instead of improving the digestion and utilization offood, really hindered and interfered with them. Manmust have something to drink as well as to eat; but what^an be found as a substitute?" About two centuries ago two new planets swam intoour human ken above the dietetic horizon — tea and coffee.They were looked on with great suspicion at first,partly because they were attractive and partly becauseihey were new. They were denounced by the Puritan be-