Show az A R 0 N AO W of W 01 M t more than once I 1 have heard a tired MOO boy exclaim gee I 1 think that it was that much work to sharpen an ax know the names of af awildo few olty boys the comman trees at sight much less are they able to distinguish between pine buruca and hemlock boards unless they see the fruit on the trees T HEN a boy has spent a seal yv bonat eon at a good summer camp it leaves leavea an impression on his mind that time will note not eradicate at the close ot of the season he has had bad the fun that ho he wanted to have ho he has taken his part in n the games and contests he has bai climbed mountains and sailed on takes lakes and streams he bo has cruised with tile the fellows and shared their pleasures and hardships and he has returned home oiled filled with the memories of gorgeous feasts of midnight pranks of adaven tures turea on sea and on land ot of encounters with friend and with toe and of 0 moments bhea tho the success or failure allure of a ba battle tile depended solely on his strength hla his skill and his fits valor the In influence quence left on a childs char bar acter by a summer thus spent cannot 0 but be important in the first place the child Is away from his bla P parents a ts abilay aay from those to whom ha to la accustomed to go for sympathy and advice he is placed on his bis own resources in a manner quite quae new and si strange range A camp la Is not at all like a boarding school where there are regular duties and a fixed routine for each activity of the day the summer camp means tun fun freedom frolic and a chance to do nothing it if one wishes the boarding school means order di discipline e restraint and hard work at all times therefore 1 when a boy finds himself at a camp for the first time in laible ahls life he ta is often at a loss lose to know what to do because he Is often left to his own choice ho has many new problems which must be thought out alone ile he has come to camp to have a barrel of fun and hw he means to have it his first firs tim impulse Is to maxe mak e friends with everybody and especially with the coun it is quits quite right that ho he should do this arid and it la fa the especial duty of the counsellors coun to have a watchful watch tu fu sye ye out for the new boys to see that they do not get homesick or tire of the camp because of inactivity k ten of camp life cannot but have its effect on the character of lads who are just beginning to feel the first impulses to do things that they have read about in books there ahre are no boys so bad that there is not some good in them and there are no boys in camp so good that there is no bad in them and some of it Is pretty sure to cro crop out before summer Is over in many boys boya this badness has baa been lurking for fop years it has not shown itself because of lack of opportunity the boys camp Is 14 one of the places where the inherent badness in a lad has an opportunity to itself without serious injury to the boy but camp life is of such a nature that these are not of frequent occurrence B before a bad habit habl has been fixed on the boy he be to 18 brought to a halt and having been shown that ho he has been doing wrong he be learns a valuable lesson leeson the average summer camp Is not c sunday school it la Is not intended for such on the other band the directors of these camps are for the most part christian gentlemen having high ideals A proper respect for the sabbath day is required not only for the eez good of the boys but also alo out of respect for the felings of the people whoa who live in elble bible the children are invited to ko go ab church after which they take walks go in bathing read tell stories etc usually a song service of a more or less religious nature la Is held in the evening often one of the directors delivers an address in the main ball of the camp some som of the influences that are brought forcibly to bear upon the youths are afe those which put a a premium on honor truth patten patience generosity forgiveness usefulness politeness sturdiness pluck and the like A camper who Is lacking la ia any of these qualities to la soon made to feel the need of them greatly to his benefit it does a boy a world of good to mix with a lot of other boys boya ot of his own age observing as lie ha usually will their and bad lualta the educational advantages of camp life are only less important tb than an are the moral advantages for tho the most part the school books are closed but nature Is wide open book knowledge li Is of great value but practical knowledge Is often of more value in camp boys often get their first fir st practical knowledge of money values here first they manage their own allowances low lowan ances coa and learn what it Is to go broke till the next allowance Is distributed d tri buted bitted they aften compete with the native boys of the village in their efforts to earn small sums of money to 16 ilde them over or to enable them to buy coveted treasures this Is a very good experience for any boy I 1 have noticed that during the second year nt at camp a boy takes better care of ills his things than he does during the first year bear this may be due to io the fact that near the end of the first sebson his clothes especially tile hla trousers wore were in bad condition due to carelessness aud as no new ones were nere forthcoming fart coming the lad became more oi or less self conscious about his tipp appearance baranc greatly to the delight of his bis companions Som sometimes etimos a boys boya shoes go wrong and the parent knowing where the fault Is makes him get on the beet he can till he be reaches home at camp children learn from necessity to mera mend sew on buttons sharpen tools and best of alf air they faey learn how bow important it Is to keep tools sharp by pra practice clice in turning the grindstones grindstone they do not know the difference between a pear and an apple tree in most mo at camps boys learn to make these distinctions in camp boys and girl learn to wash dishes to be economical with food and to like food that they would not previously eat at home I 1 have hav known camp life to change a boys appetite completely so ao that on going home he be was glad to eat such wholesome foods as boiled rice and indian meal mush which ho he would not touch before camping life will not make a child expert at any particular trade or occupation cu but it serves to show him how much skill is required in doing much of the work usually performed by the laboring classes whenever a boy tries to perform any manual labor his hie respect for it increases ile he has a try at rowing swimming sailing balling fishing running an engine repairing a boat and sometimes in building small email boats ile he learns the use ot of tools common to country people who are more independent of plumbers carpenters maso masons na etc than city people are perhaps one of the most important jassons bessona for a child to learn Is respect for labor when a boy has hoed fi a few hills of born he be instinctively remarks that he would hato hate to keep that up all day it if he follows the hay cart for an all hour he realizes that raking after is not all sport when ha be balies a shovel and attempts to assist in digging a trench or aroln he be suddenly realizes why those laborera laborer whom he has seen in jq t city at th the same kind of work seemed to take their time about it after live five minutes of that work he learns learna just where his backbone is located there are many other educational advantages which are incidental to camp life such as practice in singing speech making editorial work on the camp paper literary enteria entertainments laments etc the camp paper though seldom more than a simple manuscript to is often a very ingenious pro production du action in which the editor together with the camp artist succeeds in bringing home to the lads some wonderful biad alta of news as well as some healthful truths tats social advantages of camp life aro are many and varied the tha close rela tion in fit which boys live at camp invariably results in the formation ot of permanent friendships |