the same time it must not be forgotten that good, sympathetic attention
and nursing are two-thirds responsible for speedy recovery from most ills.

Equipment

A spring cot, mattress, pillow, blankets, a good medicine cabinet, alcohol
stove for boiling water, cooking food, and sterilizing instruments; pans,
white enameled slop jar, pitcher, cup, pail; a table, a folding camp
reclining chair (Gold Medal Camp Furniture Company), and a combination
camp cot and litter (Gold Medal Brand) will make up the equipment of the
tent.

The information and suggestions given in this chapter are the accumulation
of many years' experience in boys' camps. The technical information is
vouched for by competent physicians who have examined the manuscript.[1]

[Transcriber's Footnote 1: This chapter was written in 1911. Many
observations and suggestions are obsolete, if not dangerous or illegal.]

Pulse Rate

Every man in charge of a boys' camp should have a knowledge of certain
physiological facts, so as to be able to make a fair diagnosis of pain and
disease. The pulse, taken at the wrist, is a fair index of the condition
of the body. In taking the pulse-beat, do so with the fingers, and not
with the thumb, as the beating of the artery in the thumb may confuse.
Pulse rate is modified with age, rest, exercise, position, excitements,
and elevation. High elevation produces a more rapid pulse. The normal rate
of boys in their teens is about 80 to 84 beats per minute. An increase not
accounted for by one of the above reasons usually means fever, a rise of 6
beats in pulse usually being equivalent to a rise of 1 degree. Often more
important than the rate, however, is the quality of the pulse. Roughly,
the feebler the pulse, the more serious the condition of the individual.
Irregularity in the rate may be a serious sign, and when it is noticed a
doctor should be immediately called. Failure to find the artery should not
necessarily cause uneasiness, as by trying on himself, the director may
see that the taking of the pulse is often a difficult undertaking.

The Tongue

The tongue is a very misleading guide to the patient's condition, and no
definite rule about its appearance can be laid down. Other signs, such as
temperature, general conditions, localization of pain, etc., are more
accurate, and to the total result of such observations the appearance of
the tongue adds little.

Thermometer

The normal temperature of the human body by mou