through the canvas, as it is impenetrable by currents of air. In order to make a tent comfortable for a sick person it should have a large fly forming a double roof with an air space between, a wide awning in front where the patient can sit during the day, a board floor laid at least a few inches above the ground, and the sides boarded up two or three feet from the floor. Many modifications of the ordinary tent have been made for the purpose of obtaining a well ventilated canvas shelter.
Gardner Tent. The Gardner tent[4] is conical in shape with octagonal floor area, with an opening in the center of the roof and one at the bottom between the floor and the sides. These openings act like a fireplace and produce a constant upward current of air through the interior. "The floor is in six sections and can be bolted together. It is made of 1×4-inch tongued and grooved boards supported eight inches above the ground on 2×4-inch joists. Around the edge of the floor is a wainscoting of narrow floor boards four feet in height. There is no center pole, as the tent is supported by an eight-sided wooden frame. The roof and sides are of khaki colored duck. The lower edge of the canvas walls are fastened several inches below the floor and one inch out from the wainscoting on all sides. This leaves an opening through which a gradual inflow of air is obtained without causing a draft. The opening in the center of the roof is one foot in diameter and is covered with a zinc cap." The cap is raised or lowered by a pulley attachment.
Tucker Tent. The Tucker tent is similar to the Gardner in that it is supplied with ventilation in the wainscoting near the floor and in the center of the roof. It is rectangular rather than octagonal in shape and is made in two sizes—one, eight feet wide by ten feet long, and the other, twelve feet wide by fourteen feet long. It has a wooden floor, wooden base and canvas side, with window openings on each side. "The canvas above the base in the front is attached to awning frames so that it can be raised or removed altogether for the free entrance of air and light." The roof and fly are made of 12-ounce army duck.
La Pointe Tent. The La Pointe tent is similar to the Tucker tent. It is a canvas cottage with doors, windows and floor. The top is made of canvas, with a fly which projects two inches on all sides. The windows have a wire netting and canvas shutters, the canvas being so arranged that it can be pulled up as a curtain, or extended as an awning. Its cost is $85 to $100.
Army Tent. A simple ordinary tent is the United States Army tent. There are two different styles, one with closed corners and one with open corners. It is made of army duck with poles, stakes and guys, and costs according to size. A small tent eight feet four inches long and six feet eleven inches wide would cost $7.50, and lumber for floor about $2.00 extra. This tent is easily put up, care being taken to select a dry soil, places where the water stands in hollows after a rain should be avoided. A small trench about one foot deep around the tent will help in keeping the soil dry.
Tent Cot. For experimenting in outdoor sleeping a tent cot is a very simple arrangement. It consists of a plain canvas cot with a frame supporting a small tent. Ventilation is secured by openings at both ends; also at the side where the patient enters. These openings are covered with flaps which can be opened or closed. It is light, weighing from twenty to fifty pounds, and its position and exposure can be conveniently changed. The cost is $9.
Knopf's Half Tent. Another simple arrangement is Knopf's half tent.[5] It consists of a frame of steel tubing covered with sail duck and secured with snap buttons on the inside. It is used for patients sitting out of doors. The reclining chair is placed in the tent with its back to the interior. Its weight helps to hold down the floor bracing attached to the frame.
Sleeping Porches
One of the most important arrangements for outdoor sleeping is the sleeping porch. To be convenient, it should have an entrance from a bedroom, and, when possible, from a hall; for every outdoor sleeper should have, during cold weather, a warm apartment in connection with his open air sleeping room. The best exposure in Illinois is south, southeast or east. Sleeping out should be a permanent thing during all seasons. The sleeping porch must be kept neat and attractive. A cot placed between the oil can and the washtub on a dingy back porch is very dismal and bound to have a depressing effect on the sleeper.
It costs very little to arrange an ordinary sleeping porch provided you have the porch to begin with. If a porch is fairly deep and sheltered on two sides by an angle of the house, sufficient protection for moderately cold weather can usually be obtained by canvas curtains tacked to wooden rollers. These can be raised and lowered by means of ropes and pulleys, the bed being placed so that the wind will not blow strongly on the patient's head.