Some Simple Facts Concerning Woodcraft Which Will Enable Wanderers in a Forest to
Get Their Bearings and Find Their Camps.
With the coming of vacation time, men's thoughts turn to woods and streams, and there is a general rush for "the tall timber."
That many will wander far afield and lose themselves in "trackless forests" is inevitable, but there is a sure way of finding oneself which is well worth remembering, for it is a serious matter to be actually lost in dense woods.
Find a mature tree that stands apart from its fellows. Even if it is only slightly separate it will do. The bark on this tree will be harder, drier, and lighter in color on the south side. On the north it will be darker, and often at the roots it will have a clump of mold or moss.
On the south side of all evergreen trees, gum which oozes from wounds or knotholes will be hard and amber-colored; on the north side this gum is softer, gets covered with dust, and is of a dirty gray.
In fall or winter, trees which show a rough bark will have nests of insects in the crevices on their south side.
Hardwood trees—the oak, the ash, elms, hickories, mesquits, etc., have moss and mold on the north. Leaves are smaller, tougher, lighter in color, and with darker veins on the south; on the north they are longer, of darker green, and with lighter veins. Spiders build on the south sides. In the South, air plants attach themselves to the north sides. Cedars bend their tips to the south.
Any sawed or cut stump will give you the compass points, because the concentric rings are thicker on the south side. The heart of the stump is thus nearer to the north side. All these things are the effects of the sun.
Stones are bare on the south side, and if they have moss at all, it will be on the north. At best, on the sunny side only a thin covering of harsh, half-dry moss will be found.
On the south side of a hill the ground is more noisy underfoot. On the north side ferns, mosses, and late flowers grow.