Scouting, Volume 18, Number 6, June 1930 Page: 161
145-180, [4] p. : ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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in
CAMP
v./vo'
WiSKT urf®c
r"T—■;
U^yBB?
"ffl
' ■
Above:
A "home made'
snake cage
At the right:
Frogs above
and toad below.
Two simple
cages. (Note
typed labels on
table.)
IT should be constantly remembered that boys and grown men,
too, like to see themselves reflected in many of the living
creatures which are brought to their attention. It is enlightening
to stand within earshot of a group of boys examining a bull frog
in a large, comfortable glass terrarium. The things noted about
the frog usually have to do with direct comparison, or with
obvious similarities. Boys are not as far removed from frogs as
might be supposed! This is what a typical group will say:
"Look at his eyes! I'll bet he can see as well as you can!"
"Do you see his throat moving in and out? Maybe that's how
he breathes. I wonder if he has an Adam's apple?"
"Boy! What a mouth! Did you see him snap that worm ?
I could look right down to his toes! If we had mouths that big,
we could swallow a soup plate!"
These happen to be actual comments over-heard in a camp
museum. They tell quite a story and contain many a hint for
the wide-awake nature councilor. The mere fact that three boys
without the slightest, background of nature knowledge were suffi-
Camp museum chart exhibit sent by Kanohwahke Lake Boy Scout Camps
to Second International Jamboree in Denmark
ciently interested to volunteer original remarks about the placid
bull frog, pointed the way to a logical start for any instruction
that one might wish to make upon amphibians in general. This
instruction whether verbal or by way of label, or diagrammatic
chart could deal with the feeding habits of frogs, with their
method of breathing and with their ability to escape from enemies.
Then by simple stages one could tell of their developments from
the egg through the tadpole to the adult, solemn frog.
It has been said that a good biography of any human being is
only well written when the reader forgets the importance of the
depicted personality in his interest in the book as a whole, and
in the story in particular. In such a case, the "book is the
thing."
Well, the life story of any animal may be fully, if not more,
interesting than that of any human. Animals also have their
biographies and fascinating ones, too. One need only read Wil-
liam Beebe, John Burroughs or Frank M. Chapman to discover
this. These compelling writers are capable in that they never
fail to arouse human interest in practically all that they have to
say. I believe Mr. Beebe could write as thrilling a biography
of an angle worm as the most distinguished biographer could
of Julius Caesar! This is not an extravagant statement either,
in view of what Charles Darwin discovered about angle worms!
Of course, all of our nature councilors can not be William
Beebes. They can, nevertheless, follow suggestions of other na-
turalists and gradually devise a teaching system of their own.
If, by using a frog as a tangible example, the nature leader is
able to build up his story to include other amphibians, and then
reptiles, birds and finally mammals, he will indeed be considered
a valuable officer in his camp.
THE equipment necessary for the maintenance of a camp
museum is simple in the extreme. Cages, to contain one
specimen each of the more common and easily cared for inhabi-
tants of the nearby countryside, are quickly and inexpensively
manufactured. Food for the temporary captives is not always
so readily forthcoming. In a pamphlet called "Trailside Con-
versations," I gave a list of some common animals exhibited in
an out-of-door museum, together with food they accepted. There
have been so many requests for copies of this "menu" that I take
the liberty of giving it to you, in part:
Small cheese
boxes equipped
with sliding
glass doors,
make excellent
cages for small
snakes, sala-
manders and
insects.
PICKEREL FROG
Earthworms
Pickerel frogs
Tadpoles
Salamanders
Newts
Spring Peepers
Beetles
Grubs
Flies and Ants
BULL FROG
Prionid and other Beetles
Tadpoles
Green and Pickerel Frogs
American Toad
Salamanders
Newts and Efts
Dragon-fly
(Continued
BOX TURTLE
Beetles
Earthworms
Meat loaf
Chopped beef
SNAPPING TURTLE,
WOOD MUSK AND
SPOTTED
Earthworms and
Meat loaf
Chopped beef
GARTER SNAKE
Garter snakes
Frogs
RIBBON SNAKE
Garter snake
Frogs
on Page 170)
Page 161
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Boy Scouts of America. Scouting, Volume 18, Number 6, June 1930, periodical, June 1930; New York, New York. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth310833/m1/17/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum.