Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1898-08-19
NO COMPASS NEEDED.
Many Ways In Which the Cardinal Points
May BE Fixed.


May BE Fixed.
The many different methods to deter
mine the cardinal points while ON the
mountains in both heavy timber and
small brush or upon the featureless ex-
panse Of a great marsh are exceedingly
numerous and reliable enough for all
practical purposes during an everyday
life in the bush unless a very long jour
ney is to be made, which would make
it necessary to hold on very fine point
while making long distance.
We will first take notes on the confer
GUS trees-pines, frs, spruce, cedars,
hemlocks, etc. The bark Of these Is al
ways lighter in color, harder and drier
on the south side of the tree. While it
is in color much darker, il is also damper
and often covered with mold and moss
on the north side. The gum that oozes
out from the wounds, knotholes, ETC., 10
usually hard and often Of beautiful AM
her color Oh the south side, while on
the north side it remains sticky Ion
ger and gets covered with insects and
dirt, seldom drying out to more than a
dirty gray in color.
On large trees that have rough bark,
especially during the fall and winter
months, the nets and webs Of insects,
spiders, ETC., will always be found in
the crevices on the south side. a pre-
ponderance of the large branches Will
- - fo..,,I ~, tbo ,rar,noct or couth.
ern, side of the trees; also the needles
of all the above mentioned trees are
shorter, drier and Of a yellowish green
Oh the southern side, while they will
be found longer, more slender and PHI
able damper to the touch and darker
green in color on the north side. Tho
cedars and hemlocks, as if trying to out
do the others, always bend their slender
tops of new growth toward a southern
sky.
The hard wood trees are equally
communicative and have all the charac-
teristics, as far as regards their trunks,
of the coniferous trees except the alb
sence of gums, but this is more than
made up by the fungous growth OF mold
and MOSES that is very noticeable on
the north side of these trees.
The edges of rocks, which may bo
part of stupendous mountains or mere
~ occasional cropping out here and
there in the woods or perhaps some great
bowlder alone by itself, silent witness
of the glacial period, all alike testify to
the effect of the light and shade The
sunny side will usually be bare or, at
most, boast of a thin growth of harsh,
dry kinds of MOSES, and that will grow
only when having the light, while the
northern side will be found damp and
moldy and often covered with luSuri-
ant growth Of soft, damp MOSES that
love the shade, while every crevice will
bear aloft beautiful and gracefully way
ing ferns.
The forest floor on the sunny side OF
hills, ridges, clumps Of trees, bushes,
big rocks, etc, is more noisy under the
football than on the northern side Of
such places. where the dead leaves and
litter are soft and damp. holding more
moisture than in places exposed to the
light of the sun.
In an open country nearly void OF
timber clumps Of small bushes during
the summer will furnish all the condi-
tions found to exist among the leaves OF
the trees, being equally sensitive to
light and shade as are the monarchs OF
the woods. The landscape, green with
moving grasses and beautiful to the eye,
which feasts on the countless number OF
wild flowers. representing every form
and hue known III the flowery kingdom,
also furnishes reliable guide for locat-
ing the cardinal points, as most wild
flowers, especially the long stemmed
varieties, hide their faces from the
north. and, like the sunfiower, turn to-
ward southern sky.-Forest and
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