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176 IDEAL HOME LIFE
or at least with the windows of his bedroom open both summer and winter.
It means also that he should take a cold bath oftea, rubbing dry with a rough towel. He should breathe through the nose and not through the mouth. He should at all times train himself to endure hardships.
In addition to these the scout should be a lover of his country. He should know his country—how many states there are in it, what are its natural resources, scope, and boundaries. He ought to know something of its history, its early settlers, and of the great deeds that won his land, how they settled along the banks of the James River; how Philadelphia, New York, and other great cities were founded; how the Pilgrim Fathers established New England and laid the foundation for our national life; how the scouts of the Middle West saved all that great section of the country for the republic. He ought to know how Texas became part of the United States, and how our national heroes stretched out their hands, north and south, east and west, to make one great united country.
He ought to know the history of the important wars. He ought to know about our army and navy flags and the insignia of rank of our officers. He ought to know the kind of government he lives under, and what it means to live in a republic. He ought to know what is expected of him as a citizen of his state and; nation, and what to do to help the people among whom* he lives.
In short, to be a good scout is to be a well-developed, well-informed boy.
The easiest way to become a boy scout is to join a patrol that has already been started. This patrol may be in a Sunday School, Boys' Club, Young Men's Christian Association, Young Men's Hebrew Association, Young Men's Catholic Association, or any other organization to which you may belong. If there is no patrol near you, get some man interested enough to start one by giving him all the information.
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