Woodcraft by Owen Jones

Description

This book was originally published in 1911 and is being reprinted here in its entirety by Sportsman’s Vintage Press.

From the Preface:

Even a little knowledge of woodcraft will help you far in life—to find your way through unknown country; to steer a true course with or without aid from compass, sun, moon, or stars; to pick up and follow a trail; to read messages of good news or bad in the movements of birds or animals; to solve mysteries and read riddles by clues of bent grasses or stray feathers; to foretell weather by the look of the clouds and the feel of the winds; and to find water and food. And then, apart from all this, from all the knowledge woodcraft gives you of birds, beasts, reptiles, or insects—of sun, moon and stars—or winds, rains, and frosts—apart from wild nature, woodcraft teaches you about human nature, how to judge actions from causes, and from actions to judge effects. For the student of woodcraft, however humble, brings to bear on human nature a mind trained to precise observation and shrewd reasoning. And it may be that he will learn what we have learnt who were born to woodcraft; to find his greatest contentment and truest happiness in the woods and fields, by the hedgerows, the quiet streams, and on the rolling downs; to know there is no music like the songs of birds, and no such thing of beauty as a wild rose of the wayside.

While we have written this book, in the first place, for the boy scouts—hoping they will enjoy it, and perhaps profit by it—it is written for everybody who would like to learn a little about woodcraft and its meaning.

Chapters

Preface
Foreword by Sir Robert Baden-Powell
1. Sounds of the Woods
2. Birds as Sentinels
3. At the Sign of the Fox
4. On Track and Trail—How to Read the Story of Footprints
5. Clues that Tell Tales
6. “The Night Watch”
7. “Who Did This?”—The Tragedies of the Woods—How to Identify the Work of Tooth and Claw
8. Weather Lore
9. The Rabbit Catcher
10. Rabbits at Home
11. Nature’s Medicine Chest
12. Hares and Hounds
13. With Keeper and Poacher
14. Stories of Makeshift Meals
15. The Kindly Fruits of the Earth
16. Some Thoughts on Outdoor Cooking