 Someday you may find yourself alone, without firearms or equipment, in unfamiliar uninhabited territory, faced with the problem of your own survival. The survival techniques you use depend on what part of the world you are in. In this film we are not concerned with the Arctic or the tropics, but rather with a north temperate region. Roughly that area located between 45 degrees and 70 degrees north latitude. This area includes a wide variety of different survival conditions. But the variations correspond in similar regions around the world. Certain animals and plants are common to corresponding regions. This film will show you how to recognize, procure, and prepare animals and plants for sustenance in the wilderness. First, you must recognize things that are good to eat. Most plant life and vegetation is both edible and nourishing. Wild berries and fruits are easy to recognize as wild relatives of those with which you are familiar. Edible nuts are the most sustaining of all forest foods and are found throughout the world. The inner bark of trees, like poplars, birches, willows, and some species of pine is edible. Don't overlook mosses and lichens, like this, sometimes called Spanish moss. Roots and herbs are one of your most important food sources. Look for young ferns in shady wooded areas. Their tender shoots are good to eat and none is known to be poisonous. If you are near the ocean, seaweed provides a source of food. And further inland, in fresh water lakes and ponds, you will find many edible water plants. Do not eat mushrooms because it is extremely difficult to distinguish the poisonous from the edible varieties. Remember, if you are in doubt about the edibility of vegetation, eat what the birds and small animals select for themselves. Most animals afford edible meat. The most easily recognized are the larger quadrupeds common to the area, such as these deer, elk, or moose. Such animals as mountain sheep are good to eat. Wild rabbits are generally plentiful and you can often find squirrels, opossum, coons, and other small mammals living in hollow trees. Mice, rats, and other rodents may not be appetizing, but they yield nourishing meat and are easy to obtain. Remember that insects like this grasshopper are abundant throughout the world and many are edible. Grubs are plentiful. And so are termites, which surprisingly are very good to eat and are easily found in wooded country. Do not eat caterpillars, however. Many things that creep and crawl make good eating. All snakes are edible and some freshwater snakes are delicious. You can even eat poisonous land snakes with safety. Lizards are found almost everywhere and their flesh is good to eat, tastes like chicken. When you are near water, you can find amphibians like turtles and frogs in abundance. Always try to stay near lakes or streams because you can consider everybody of water a reservoir of food. Fish are more abundant and easily obtained than land animals. Water attracts land animals too. A watering hole is a good place for you to wait for a game to come to you. Ducks and other birds are most plentiful near water because they often make their nests a short distance away with eggs that may be good to eat. Once you have recognized a source of edible food, your next problem is how to procure it. Plant life is most easily obtainable, so it is usually best to satisfy your hunger with vegetation before planning ways to hunt or trap game. Don't hesitate to dig for roots because many plants store starch underground. Always select young tender leaves in preference to old ones. Cut away the outer bark of trees to get at the white inner bark. Be careful of thorns, needles and plants that are poisonous to the touch. Large animals can be speared or shot with an improvised bow and arrow. Your greatest advantage in hunting is to see your quarry before it sees you. Always try to stay downwinds so that the animal doesn't pick up your scent. In the woods, move slowly, stop and remain completely motionless often. Look for tracks and fresh droppings. If they lead you to a watering hole or feeding ground, take cover and wait for game to come to you. Keep the sun behind you, but never silhouette yourself on a skyline. Aim for the head, the neck or just back of the animal's shoulder because these are the most vulnerable spots. Tiny, slow animals like mice or bulls or lemmings are found under logs and in matted or dead grass. You can club these small mammals or step on them. Small, fast animals like rabbits and squirrels are most easily trapped. There is no catch-all trap. What you use will depend on the particular animal you intend to catch. A snare is a noose which will hold or strangle any animal caught in it. It may be hanging or fixed to a stationary object and fastened where the animal will get caught and strangle while struggling. There are many variations of the deadfall and it can be used to trap both birds and animals. A tethered live bird makes a good decoy and you can make an effective animal distress sound by kissing the back of your hand. Birds and animals are creatures of regular habits. The fundamental principle of trapping is to determine from past observation what the creature you want to trap is going to do and then catch him doing it. There are many methods of catching fish and you are familiar with most of them. Early morning and late afternoon are generally the best times to fish with bait. Fish in small shallow streams when possible and remember that fish usually congregate in pools and deep calm water. Look for bait in the water and select things like minnows, fish eggs and worms. Hooks can be improvised from any piece of metal, shell or wood. You can make lines by twisting plant fiber or bark. If you have extra hooks and lines you can attach them to low hanging branches and leave them in the water overnight. You can reach under rocks or under cut banks and catch fish with your hands. Or improvise a scoop net from your clothing or any other material where fish are large and numerous. Spearing works well. Use any straight sapling with a hard core and harden the point by lightly charring it in the fire. Once you have obtained your food it is usually necessary to prepare it for eating. Some food such as these nuts can be eaten raw. But most things taste better and are safer when cooked. Remember the best cooking is done over a bed of glowing coals, not a flame. Without utensils your best cooking methods for meat and fish are roasting or broiling. Or baking in a pit. Or wrapping with clay or leaves. Violent fruits, leaves, stems and buds are best boiled if you can make or obtain a container. Frequent changes of water will eliminate undesirable tastes. Roots and tubers are most easily baked or roasted. In preparing large game hang the animal head down and slit the throat in order to drain the blood. Remove the entrails and the glands in the anal and reproductive regions. Animals larger than a domestic cat should be cut into pieces, boiled and then roasted or broiled. All meat should be broiled as quickly as possible. Slow roasting makes tough meat tougher. Always cut meat into small pieces before cooking. Small animals and birds may be cooked whole or in part. If you have fruit, stuff first and then bake or roast. Fish can be roasted on a grill of green sticks or baked in leaves and clay. You can roast frogs, small snakes and salamanders on a stick. Insects can be fried, boiled or roasted but are best disguised by boiling in a stew containing other foods. You can boil eggs with a shell on and carry them for days. Eggs are the safest of foods and you can eat them at any stage of embryo development. Remember this rule, never eat raw, fresh water fish. If you are near the sea and obtain shellfish, clean them by soaking them in water overnight. Save the water you use to boil plants and herbs. It makes good broth. You have seen some methods of recognizing, procuring and preparing food. Keep in mind two basic rules. First, when in doubt, eat what the birds and animals eat. Second, cook all meat and fish to kill flukes and other parasitic worms which can do you much harm. Birds, animals and plants are plentiful in temperate areas around the world. And since no birds or mammals are poisonous to eat, you can live off the land with ease in the north temperate regions.