Those who object to the use of iron tent pins possibly do so because they have always used wooden ones. The Clyde tent pin is of in. galvanised iron, 10in. long, with a ring at top end (A in Figs. 156 and 157) large enough to admit the finger, thus enabling them to be easily withdrawn from the ground and fastened together in a bundle.
The inserting of a wooden peg necessitates the use of a mallet or any stone lying about handy ; their wear and tear necessitates frequent renewal, and their insertion is difficult in stony ground. The use of iron obviates all difficulties of these kinds. The tent poles G and H are each in one length, according to height of tent at ridge pole. They are of 1 4in. yellow pine. The ridge pole varies in length according to length of tent. It is likewise of 1 lin. pine, and is jointed like a fishing rod at its centre, so as to be handily stowed below. This joint is made of a strong brass tube 10in. long, one half of the ridge pole being inserted for five inches, and fastened to the brass tube by a couple of screws, while the other half of the pole fits exactly into the remaining five inches.
To erect the tent, stretch the ground sheet fiat on the ground and fasten it close down by means of the pins, and let them be angled inwards, as in Fig. 154. The roof and walls will now be lying in a heap. Next pass the ridge pole through the hole specially prepared for it at D in Figs. 154 and 155, then insert tent-pole pins through the holes at each end of ridge pole, and keep back end pole close to the end of tent, leaving front pole 12in. or 18in. clear from the door (see Fig. 153). Then commence at either end, and stretch guy ropes, and press pins closely down to the ground, the pins being angled inwards. If properly set and strained, the roof and wall will sit as flat as a board. The material used is either bleached or unbleached calico, and, to render it waterproof, it should be coated over, when erected, with two coats of boiled oil and terebin (extract of turpentine tree), one gill of the latter to two quarts of the former being a good proportion of mixture. The tent as shown by drawings was actually designed to accommodate two canoeists, and is of the smallest suitable size which it is advisable to make. Similar though larger
ones are in use, in which four can sleep comfortably, with baggage inside.
One very good and general plan is, when several canoeists are camping together, to carry a small tent, like the one described, specially for holding baggage, and to be used as the kitchen of the camp.
Novices in camping have often great difficulty in selecting a suitable and simple cuisine. The best known is the Russian lamp, or Rob Roy cuisine. In the north it is accredited with the euphonious name of the " Devil," on account of the roaring propensities of the blast when burning. The Clyde Canoe Club have no speciality in cuisines.* One simple arrange ment is to have a copper pot with frying-pan lid, which can hold inside it a five-wick lamp, handle, and legs for pot to stand on. For cooking purposes it is seldom used, except in wet weather, as there is always sufficient dry drift wood to be found along the shores above high-water mark to make a fire large enough to cook for the camp. A half-gallon tin of methylated spirit is carried; and as such a commodity is seldom procurable among the western isles, it is used as little as possible. The tent, with poles and pins, weighs about 181b. ; it can be erected in three minutes, by two canoeists, and, for a cost complete of 2/. 28., is within reach of all canoeists who care to order it from any sailmaker, or cheaper still if they make it themselves.
Some tents are made with roof sloping down to where the ground sheeting should be, and have no walls, no floor beyond a separate water proof ground sheet. These tents are never dry, and, not being waterproofed, they secrete the rain, and are thus objectionable companions when packing up in a hurry in the morning. The rain possibly does not penetrate as it falls, but when touching the inside it at once trickles on the hand. The majority of special canoes are designed to suit the waters they are intended to be used on, but the same can never be said of tents, which are suitable anywhere.