Page:Handbook for Boys.djvu/178

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Campcraft
157

"When the grass is dry at night
Look for rain before the light."

"When the grass is dry at morning light
Look for rain before the night."

Clear

When the dew is on the grass
Rain will never come to pass."

A heavy morning fog generally indicates a clear day.

East wind brings rain.
West wind brings clear, bright, and cool weather.
North wind brings cold.


Direction of the Wind

The way to find which way the wind is blowing is to throw up little bits of dry grass, or to hold up a handful of light dust and let it fall, or to suck your thumb, wet frail around and let the wind blow over it, and the cold side of it will then tell you which way the wind is blowing.

Weather Flags

The United States Weather Bureau publishes a "Classification of Clouds" in colors, Which may be had for the asking. If you are near one of the weather signal stations, daily bulletins will be sent to camp upon request; also the weather map.

A set of flag signals run up each day will create interest. The flags are easily made or may be purchased.

Keep a daily record of temperature. A boy in charge of the "weather bureau" will find it to be full of interest as well as offering an opportunity to render the camp a real service. He will make a weather vane, post a daily bulletin, keep a record of temperature, measure velocity of wind, and rainfall.

How to Get Your Bearings

If you have lost your bearings, and it is a cloudy day, put the point of your knife blade on your thumb nail, and turn the blade around until the full shadow of the blade is on the nail. This will tell you where the sun is, and decide in which direction the camp is.

Face the sun in the morning, spread out your arms straight