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Girlish Grub

As Dished Out by the Camp Fire Girls FRANCES LOOMIS, publications editor of the Camp Fire Girls, who collaborated with Gladys Snyder on The Outdoor Book, has kindly selected the recipes in this section from her indispensable manual.

The Outdoor Book has a pleasing Indian design on the cover and is a practical and pleasant "guide for those who lead hikes and short camping trips." Starting off on a hike you run right into a Treasure Hunt where you search for your supper, play tree tag, snow snake, teapot, catching fish, chant "Our cook doesn't like peas" to the tune of "Our dog has fleas," and other jingles, such as: "Fifteen men on a dead man's chest Down where they cook the best Of eggs on a big flat stone."

There are lots of knots to learn to tie, trails to blaze, equipment to pack, fires to light and put out, meals to plan and what to do about blisters, bruises, frostbite, ivy poisoning, sunburn and in case you sit down in an ant's nest. When we sent this little piece to Miss Loomis for her okay she answered: "No objections! Only I wish there might be some inkling of the fun it was to gather those recipes. Some of them we garnered from camp reports and other sources, but most of them I sampled in person on the camp site. During the summer previous to the publication of the book, I took a long, rambling automobile trip to the Pacific Coast (on my own time!) and visited Camp Fire Girls camps right and left. In advance I wrote the camp director I was coming and would appreciate sampling their favorite and most typical campfire meal. So many of the recipes are flavored with remembrances of delightful outdoor settings as different as the different camps, of eager girls with flushed faces earnestly stirring pots and feeding fires and proudly serving the results of their efforts."