Camping and woodcraft - Scoutmastercg.com

TENTS FOR FIXED CAMPS 37Figure 3 shows one of Edgington's tropical tentswith such a fly (similar ones are made in this country).Note the liberal air-space between fly andtent. The shelter outside the tent w^alls is usefulFig- 3-— Tropical Tentfor baggage, dry wood, dogs, etc. Such a fly weighsand costs about as much as the tent itself. For securityin a wind, the '' storm set " should be used(Fig. lo).Sod-Cloth.— If a tent is not to be floored andfitted with a base-board, it should have a sod-cloth.This is a strip of 8-ounce canvas, about 9 incheswide, that is sewed all along the bottom edge of thetent walls, both sides and ends (Fig. 16). Whenthe tent has been set up, this sod-cloth is turned inon the floor and weighted down with poles or stones.Its function is to keep out insects and draughts thatotherwise would enter through the numerous gapsthat are left between tent pegs. The bottom edgeof a tent is the worst possible place to get ventilationfrom; one might as well seek to ventilate ahouse through cracks in the floor. Banking the tentinside with leaves and earth is a poor substitute fora sod-cloth. It will not stay tight for an hour, andthe earth rots the canvas.Ground-Sheet.— In a small tent that often isshifted from place to place, a ground-sheet to cover•iic floor and lap over the sod-cloth is a good thing