[Illustration:  Camp Hayo-Went-Ha dishwashing]

Cleanliness must be insisted upon.  Never leave anything unwashed until it is used again.  The eating from dirty and greasy plates, forks, knives, and spoons will result in disease.  No matter what system you use, do not let down on dirty dishes.

A FEW HINTS

Soup

“Soup makes the soldier,” said Napoleon I. Bones should never be thrown away, but cracked and placed in stock pot, covered with water and let simmer.  This makes “stock” which is the foundation of all soup.

All green vegetables should be washed well in cold water and put in boiling salted water, and boiled slowly until tender.  All white and underground vegetables should be cooked in boiling unsalted water, the salt being added at the last moment.

Potatoes take from twenty to thirty minutes to boil.  In boiling and roasting allow about a quarter of an hour for every pound of meat.  The fire should be medium hot.  Boiled fish should be cooked ten minutes to each pound.

Water

Water is the only true beverage.  Forming as it does three-quarters of the weight of the human body, it is of next importance to the air we breathe.  Milk is a food and not a beverage.

Onions

Peel or slice onions in water and you will not shed tears.

Egg Test

To test the freshness of an egg, drop into cold water.  If the egg sinks quickly it is fresh, if it stands on end it is doubtful, and quite bad if it floats.  The shell of a fresh egg looks dull; a stale one is glossy.

Mending Pots

A pot may be mended by making a paste of flour, salt and fine wood ashes. 
Plaster it on where the leak is and let it dry before using.

Table Etiquette

A mother complained that her boy, after being in camp for two weeks, returned home speaking a new language, particularly at the dining table.  If he wanted milk, he called for “cow,” butter was “goat,” biscuits were “sinkers,” meat was “corpse,” and there were several other terms and phrases peculiar to camp life.  He had to learn all over the ways of decency and reasonable table refinement.  There is no plausible reason why this should be so in a boys’ camp.  Grabbing of food, yelling for food, upsetting of liquids, and table “rough-house” will be largely prevented by the system of seating and of serving.  The most satisfactory way is to seat by tent groups.  Have as many tables as you have tents.  Let each tent leader preside at the head of his table, and serve the food in family style.  The leader serves the food, and sees that the boys observe the same delightful table life in camp as at home.

Grace at Meals

Grace should be said before each meal, either silently or audibly.  In the morning the hymn on the following page is sung by the boys at Camp Becket, followed with bowed heads in silent prayer: