IN all the hilly and mountainous States there are tracts of forest lands
and waste lands of no use to the farmer and of no use to settlers, but
such places offer ideal spots for summer camps for boys and naturalists,
for fishermen and sportsmen, and here they may erect their cabins (_see
Frontispiece_) and enjoy themselves in a healthy, natural manner. These
cabins will vary according to the wants of the owners, according to the
material at hand and the land upon which they are built. By extending the
rafters of the roof, the latter may be extended (_see Frontispiece_) to
protect the front and make a sort of piazza which may be floored with
puncheons.
The logs forming the sides of the house may be allowed to extend so as to
make a wall or fence, as they do on the right-hand side of the
Frontispiece, thus preventing the danger of falling over the cliff upon
which this cabin is perched and receiving injury or an unlooked-for
ducking in the lake. They may also be extended as they are on the left, to
make a shield behind which a wood-yard is concealed, or to protect an
enclosure for the storage of the larger camp utensils.
In fact, this drawing is made as a suggestion and not to be copied
exactly, because every spot differs from every other spot, and one wants
to make one's house conform to the requirements of its location; for
instance, the logs upon the right-hand side might be allowed to extend
all the way up to the roof, as they do at the bottom, and thus make a
cosey corner protected from the wind and storm.
The windows in such a cabin may be made very small, for all work is
supposed to be done outdoors, and when more light is needed on the inside
the door may be left open. In a black-fly country or a mosquito country,
however, when you are out of reach of screen doors, mosquito-netting may
be tacked over the windows and a portière of mosquito-netting over the
doorway.