Whatever style of tent is chosen, it is well to pay a fair price and obtain a good quality of material and workmanship. The cheaper tents are made of heavier material to render them waterproof, while the better grades are fashioned from light-weight fabric of close weave and treated with a waterproofing process. Many of the cheaper tents will give fair service, but the workmanship is often poor, the grommets are apt to pull out, and the seams rip after a little hard use. All tents should be waterproofed, and each provided with a bag in which to pack it. An ordinary tent may be waterproofed in the following manner: Dissolve ¹⁄₂ lb. of ordinary powdered alum in 4 gal. of hot rain water, and in a separate bucket dissolve ¹⁄₂ lb. of acetate of lead—sugar of lead—in 4 gal. of hot rain water. The acetate of lead is poisonous if taken internally. When thoroughly dissolved, let the solution stand until clear, then pour the alum solution into a tub and add the lead solution. Let the solution stand for an hour or two, then pour off the clear water and thoroughly soak the fabric in the waterproofing mixture by rubbing and working the material with the hands. Hang the cloth up without wringing it out.
The Forester’s Tent is Quickly Erected by Using Three Small Saplings, One along the Ridge, and One on Each Side of the Opening to Form a Crotch for the Ridge Pole
The Ranger’s or Hiker’s Tent Comes in Halves. Each Half may be Used Independently as a Lean-To Shelter for One Man, or Both Joined Together to Make Room for Two Persons
The Canoe or Protean Tents Are Good Styles for the Camper Who Travels Light and Is Often on the Move, and They can be Quickly Set Up with a Single Inside Pole
How to Pitch a Tent
It is, of course, possible to pitch a tent almost anywhere, but for the sake of comfort, it is well to select a site with natural drainage. Many campers dig a shallow trench around the tent to prevent water from running in during a heavy rain. This is a good idea for the permanent camp, but is not often necessary if the soil is sandy or porous, or where a sod cloth is used.
It is rarely necessary to carry the regular poles to the camping ground, and they may be omitted excepting when en route to a treeless region. The wall and other large tents may be pitched in several ways. In some places the woodsman cuts a straight ridge pole, about 3 ft. longer than the tent, and two crotched uprights, 1 ft. or more longer than the height of the tent. The ridge pole is passed through the opening in the peak of the tent, or fastened to the outside of the ridge with tapes sewed to the cloth. The two upright stakes are then firmly planted in the ground, one at the back and the other in front, and the ridge pole is lifted and dropped into these crotched supports. Set up the four corner guys first to get the tent in shape, then peg down the side guys and slide them taut so that all of them will exert an even pull on the tent. Another good method for setting up the side guys is to drive four crotched stakes, each about 4 ft. long, somewhere near 3 ft. from each corner of the tent, and drop a fairly heavy pole in the rest so formed, then fasten the guy ropes to this pole. When a sod cloth is provided it is turned under on the inside, the floor cloth is spread over it and the camp duffel distributed along the walls of the tent, to hold it down and prevent insects and rain from entering.
To overcome the disadvantage of placing the poles in the center of the entrance, the uprights may be formed by lashing two poles together near the top to make a crotch and spreading the bottoms to form a pair of shears. Poles may be dispensed with entirely, providing the tent is ordered with tapes for attaching a rope to suspend the ridge of the tent between two trees. In a wooded country this manner of setting a tent is generally preferred.
Where a wall tent is used in a more permanent camp, it is a good plan to order a fly, a couple of sizes larger than the tent. This should be set up by using separate poles and rigged some 6 or 8 in. higher than the ridge of the tent, thus affording an air space to temper the heat of the sun and also serving to keep things dry during long, heavy rains.