Teeth
A would-be recruit came up to an Army recruiting officer to he enlisted. He was found to be a sufficiently strong and well-made man, but when the doctors examined his teeth they found that these were in bad condition, and he was told that he could not he accepted as a soldier. To this he replied: “But, sir, that seems hard lines. Surely we don’t have to eat the enemy when we’ve killed them, do we?”
Good teeth depend upon how you look after them when you are young, which means that you should keep them carefully clean. Brush them at least twice a day—when you get up in the morning and when you go to bed, both inside and out, with a tooth-brush and tooth powder. Rinse them with water, it possible, after every meal.
A bushman makes a si mple tooth br ush by fraying the end of a dry stick, about six inches long.
Scouts in the jungle cannot always find tooth-brushes, but they make substitutes out of dry sticks, which they fray out at the end, and make an imitation of a brush.
Nails
Soldiers, as well as other people, often suffer great pain and lameness from the nail of their big toe growing down into the toe at the side. This is generally caused by permitting the nail to grow too long, until by pressure of the boot it is driven to grow sideways into the toe. So every Scout will be careful to cut his toenails frequently, every week or ten days. They should be cut square across the top, not rounded, and with sharp scissors.
Finger-nails should also be cut about once a week with sharp scissors, to keep them in good order. Biting the nails is not good for them.
PATROL PRACTICES IN HEALTH
Example will teach much—not just the Patrol Leader’s personal actions but the example given by having open windows when meeting indoors, and open tent doors when camping.
Health can best be taught in camp where there is time and opportunity to give close attention to cleanliness and sound habits.
In camp, remember the importance of rest and plenty of sound sleep. There should be an hour’s rest after the main meal.
Teach the six exercises given in the Yarn, but don’t use them as a drill. Encourage the Scouts to do them daily.
Give each Scout a card on which he can keep a record of his physical measurements. Make arrangements for these measurements to be taken every three months.
GAMES TO DEVELOP STRENGTH
Boxing, wrestling, rowing, swimming, skipping, cock-fighting, are all valuable health aids to developing strength, but climbing is best of all.
Wrist Pushing
Stand with both your arms to the front about level with the waist, cross your wrists so that one hand has knuckles up, the other knuckles down. Clench the fists.
Now make the lower hand press upwards and make the upper hand press downwards.
Press as hard as you can with both wrists gradually, and only after great resistance let the lower push the upper one upwards till opposite your forehead, then let the upper press the lower down, the lower one resisting all the time.
These two exercises, although they sound small and simple develop most muscles in your body if carried out with all your might. They should not be carried on too long at a time, but should be done at frequent intervals during the day for a minute or so.
Staff Tossing
With your right hand grasp your staff near the butt and hold it upright. Then toss it straight up in the air a short distance at first, and catch it with the left hand near the butt as it comes down. Toss it straight up again with the left and catch it with the right, and so on, till you can do it one hundred times without dropping it.
Follow the Leader
The leader goes ahead, doing different exercises. The others follow him, doing everything he does.
The Struggle
Two players face each other about a yard apart, stretch arms out sideways, lock fingers of both hands, and lean towards each other till their chests touch, push chest to chest and see who can drive the other back to the wall of the room or on to a goal line.
Wrist Pushing by Two Boys
Two boys face each other. Each puts out the wrist nearest to his opponent, at arm’s length, presses it against the other’s wrist, and tries to turn him round backwards.
Leg pushing between two boys helps to strengthen the leg muscles
CAMP FIRE YARN NO. 18
HEALTH-GIVING HABITS
Keep Clean - Don’t Smoke - Don’t Drink
