Page:What to do for Uncle Sam; a first book of citizenship (IA whattodoforuncle00bail).pdf/172

168 means a great deal to every American boy and girl. It gives us the beautiful woods, materials for building almost everything from the floors in our homes to the wings of an aëroplane, and food from the streams.

It is very strange but the greatest number of forest fires start from picnics, automobile parties, and camping parties. The forester in his tower on the mountain looks abroad over the woods and valleys for such fires. They are so easily prevented that Uncle Sam’s boys and girls ought to organize themselves into fire brigades to prevent forest fires in the summer. Some states require you to have a permit before kindling a fire in the open air for burning brash or rubbish. This is not necessary if the bonfire is in a garden or a ploughed field, or a street that is a safe distance from a wood lot or the woods. It is never safe, though, to kindle a fire on another’s property unless yon ask the owner of the land if you may. A camp fire must be very carefully covered before you leave it, and lighted matches should never be dropped in the woods.

Any boy who owns a fine, sharp jack-knife feels like using it when he goes out for a hike or on a picnic. There are a great many things that can be made with bark; baskets, little canoes, and picture frames. It is fun, too, to cut one’s initials