Digitized by tine Internet Arcinive in 2008 witin funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation littp://www.arcliive.org/details/everyboysbookcomOOroutricli EVERY BOY'S BOOK A COMPLETE ENCYCLOPEDIA SPORTS AND AMUSEMENTS. EDITED BY EDMUND ROUTLEDGE. Wii\ more i\m %m funbrjEb lllttstrations FROM ORIGINAL DESIGNS. LONDON : GEORGE ROUTLEDGE AND SONS, THE BROADWAY, LUDGATE. NEW YORK : 416, BROOME STREET. 1869. ^'% B. Clay, Son, and Taylor, Printers, Bread Street Hill, London. EDITOE'S PEEFACE. The twelve years that have passed since the first edition of Evert Boy's Book was published, have brought so many changes in our national sports and pastimes, and have seen the introduction of so many new games, that it has been thought desirable to remodel tliis work, in order to bring it down to the requirements of the present time. In carrying out this plan effectually. Every Boy's Book has been almost entirely rewritten ; and scarcely anything now remains of the old work except the title. All the articles that were in the former edition have been thoroughly revised, and papers on Boxing, Canoeing, Croquet, Eives, Golf, Rackets, Shding, Billiards, Bagatelle, Dominoes, Spec- trum Analysis, Canaries, Hedgehogs, Jackdaws, Jays, Magpies, Owls, Parrots, Ravens, Boats, Cryptography, Deaf and Dumb Alphabet, Dominoes, Mimicry and Ventriloquism, Shows, Stamp Collecting, and Tinselling, appear now for the first time. In carrying out this work much valuable assistance has been given by Professor Pepper, the Rev. J. G. Wood, W. B. Tegetmeier, Clement Scott, Sidney Daryl, J. T. Burgess. Dr. Viner, Thomas Archer, W. Robinson of the Field, Cholmondeley Pennell, and other well-known writers on sports. The articles at the end of this work on American Billiards, Base Ball, and the Canadian sport of La Crosse, have been con- tributed by Henry Chadwick, the leading authority on these games in America. Christmas, 1868, PEEFACE TO THE OKIGmAL EDITIOK It would be impossible for a single author to produce a book of this description with a fair prospect of success, because it necessarily treats of many subjects ; and a perfect acquaintance with some of the more important would occupy a lifetime. The reading and re- searches of one man would not be sufficiently extensive to embrace the rich variety of the materials required. Being fully convinced of this fact, the Publishers have endeavoured to obtain the aid of the most distinguished writers in the various departments of knowledge which the following pages are intended to illustrate. Thus each contributor, in furnishing his quota of information for the work, has been engaged in a congenial task, one best suited to his pecuHar turn of mind, as well as to his individual acquirements, and one upon which he could, therefore, with the greatest ease and accuracy dilate. This brief explanation will show in what spirit the Pubhshers em- barked in the undertaking ; and the accompanying list of the writers may be received as a proof that they have succeeded in securing the services of the most competent authorities. With that portion of the book with which he was practically acquainted each of the following gentlemen has dealt : W. Martin, Esq., C. 'J5aker, Esq., K B. Wormald, Esq., J. F. Wood, Esq., A. McLaren, Esq., Stone- henge, author of " Rural Sports," and the Rev. J. G. Wood, author of several works on Natural History, who also furnished some of the designs. The remaining illustrations are by William Harvey and Harrison Weir ; and the credit for the able manner in which they have been engraved is due to the brothers Dalziel. 2, Farkingdon Stbeet, FebrvAiry, 1856. CONTENTS. PAET I. EASY GAMES WITHOUT TOYS. OUTDOOR PAGE Hop, Step, and Jump 1 Hopping on the Bottle 2 Hop-Scotch 2 French and English ...... 3 Drawing the Oven 4 ISpy 4 Pitch-Stone 3 Duck-Stone 5 Prisoner's Base, or Prison Bars . . 6 Fox 7 Baste the Bear 7 Leap-Frog 8 Fly the Garter 8 Spanish Fly 9 Touch 10 Touch- Wood and Touch-Iron . 10 Buck, Buck, how many Horns do I holdup? 10 Warning 10 Follow my Leader 11 The Fugleman 11 Hare and Hounds 11 Steeple Chase 13 Duck and Drake 13 PAGE Simon Says 14 King of the Castle 14 Battle for the Banner 14 Snow-Balls U Snow Castle 16 Snow Giant 17 Jack ! Jack ! show a Light 1 ... 18 Jingling 19 Jump little Nag-tail 1 19 Jumping Rope 20 My Grandmother's Clock .... 20 Rushing Bases 21 See-saw 21 Thread the Needle 22 Tom Tiddler's Ground 22 Two to One 22 Walk, Moon, Walk ! 22 Want a day's work ? 23 Will you 'List? 23 Whoop ! 24 High Barbaree ! 24 Bull in the Ring 24 Cock Fight 25 Dropping the Handkerchief ... 25 INDOOR. Blind Man's Buff 26 Bob-Cherry 26 Buff 27 Concert 27 Consequences 28 Cross Questions & Crooked Answers 28 Dumb Motions 29 Family Coach 29 Frog in the Middle 30 The Four Elements 31 Hand 31 Hot Boiled Beans 32 Hot Cockles 82 How? Where? and When? . . . S2 Hunt the Slipper 33 Hunt the Ring 33 Hunt the Whistle 33 Magic Music 34 Post 34 Proverbs 85 Puss in the Corner 86 Red- Cap and Black-Cap .... 36 Shadow Buff 37 Slate Games 37 Trades 40 Trussed Fowls 40 The Two Hats 40 What ii my Thought like ? ... 41 TIU CONTENTS. EASY GAMES WITH TOYS. OUTDOOR. PAGE BALLS 43 Catch Ball 43 Doutee-Stool 43 Egg-Hat 44 Feeder 44 Monday, Tuesday 45 Nine-Holes 46 Northern Spell 46 Rounders 46 Sevens 48 Stool-BaU 48 Trap, Bat, and Ball 48 HOOPS . 49 Encounters 50 Hoop Race 51 Posting 51 Tournament 52 Turnpike 52 KITES 53 How to make a Kite 53 Flying the Kite 54 Messengers 65 Calico Kites 55 Fancy Kites 55 MARBLES 67 Bounce Eye 58 Conqueror 58 Die Shot 58 Eggs in the Bush 69 Increase Pound 59 Knock out, or Lag out 59 Long Taw 60 Nine-Holes, or Bridge Board ... 60 PAGE Odd or Even 61 Picking the Plums 61 The Pyramid 61 Ring Taw 61 Spans and Snops, and Boimce Ahout 62 Teetotum Shot 62 Three-Holes 62 Tipshares, or Handers 63 TOPS 64 The Humming-top 64 Peg-top 65 Spanish Peg-top 65 The Whip-top 65 Chip-stone 66 Peg-in-the-Ring 66 MISCELLANEOUS TOYS ... 68 The Apple Mill 68 Aunt Sally 68 Baton 69 Cat 69 Cat and Mouse 70 Knock-'em-down 71 Pea-shooters 71 Quoits 71 Nine-pins 72 Skittles 72 Dutch-pins 73 Throwing the Hammer 73 The Boomerang 74 The Skip-jack, or Jump-jack ... 74 The Sling 74 Walking on Stilts 76 The Sucker 76 INDOOR. Battledore and Shuttlecock ... 78 Bandilor 79 Cup and Ball 79 The Cutwater 79 Fox and Geese 80 Goose 81 Head, Body, and Legs 81 Knuckle-hones 82 Merelles, or Nine Men's Morris . . 83 Paper Dart 83 The Popgun 84 Push-pin 84 Schimmel 84 Spelicans 86 CONTENTS. PAET 11. ATHLETIC SPORTS AND MANLY EXERCISES. PAGE ANGLING 89 A Word about Fish 90 About the Rod 91 Choosing the Rod 91 Lines or Bottoms 92 Shotting the Line 93 The Float 93 Reels or Winches 9-4 Reel Lines 94 Hooks 94 How to bait a Hook 95 Baits 95 To Bait with Greaves 97 To Scour and Preserve Worms . . 97 The Plummet 97 Plumbing the Depth 97 Landing-hook and Landing-net . . 98 Clearing Ring and Line .... 98 Drag-hook 98 Bank Runner 98 Live-bait Kettle 99 Disgorger 99 Anghng Axioms 99 Salmon 100 Trout 100 Jack or Pike 101 Gudgeon 103 Roach 104 Dace 105 Perch 106 Grayling 107 Chub 108 Carp 109 Tench HO Pope, or Ruff 110 Bream . . . . ' HI Flounder HI Eels I 112 Stickleback and Minnow .... 113 Barbel 114 Natural Fly-fishing, or Dipping ! ! 115 riy-flshlng and Artificial Flies . . 115 Materials for making Flies . . .115 ARCHERY 121 The Long-bow 122 The Cross-bow 122 Feats of the Bow . . . . .' '. ,'123 Length of Bows and Arrows, and how used in Ancient Times . , 124 Marks for Shooting at 124 Equipment for Archery . . . . 125 Ancient Directions for Archery . . 125 Decline of Archery ... 125 PAGE Modem Archery 126 The Bow 126 The String 126 Stringing the Bow 127 The Arrows 127 The Quiver 128 The Tassel, Brace, Belt, and Pouch 128 Shooting Glove, and Grease Pot . 129 The Target 129 Butts 130 How to draw the Bow 130 Flight Shooting 131 Clout Shooting 131 Roving 131 General Hints for Archers . . .132 BOXING 133 CANOES AND CANOEING . . 140 CRICKET 143 The Bat 145 The Ball 145 The Stumps 145 Pads or Guards .14(5 Batting Gloves 147 Wicket-keeping Gloves 148 The Laws of Cricket 148 Single Wicket 152 The Batsman. — Hints to Young Players 153 Fielding 159 Bowling 162 The Wicket-keeper 165 Long-stop 166 Point 166 Short-slip 166 Cover-point 167 Long-slip 167 Long-on 167 Long-off 167 Leg 167 Mid-wicket on and off 167 Third Man up 167 Diagram I.— Fast Round-arm Bowl- ing 168 Diagram II. — Medium Pace Round- arm Bowling 169 Diagram III.— Slow Under-hand- hand Bowling 169 CROQUET.— Materials of the Game 170 The Mallets 170 The Balls 171 CONTENTS. PAGE The Hoops 171 Tlie Posts 172 Clips 172 Marking Board 173 Tunnel 173 Tlie Cage 173 A Croquet Stand 174 How the Game is played .... 174 Diagram, No. 1 177 „ „ II 178 „ „ III 179 „ IV 180 Rules 181 Striking 181 Order of Playing 181 The Croquet 182 The Posts 185 The Rover 185 Hints to Young Players .... 186 DRIVING 192 Introduction 192 The Horse in Harness 193 The Horse 194 The Harness 194 The Carriage 195 The Britzscliaka 195 New Brougham 196 The Family Coach 196 Putting to 196 Directions for Driving 196 FENCING 198 The Guard 199 Advance 200 Retreat 201 The Longe 201 The Recover 201 The Engage 202 Parades 202 Quarte 203 Tierce 203 Secoride 205 Demi Cercle 205 Octave 206 Contre-Parades 206 Attacks £07 The Straight Thrust 207 The Disengagement 207 The One-Two 208 The Beat and Thrust 2 8 The Beat and Disengagement . . 208 Cut over tlie Point 208 Cut over the Disengagement . . . 208 Double 209 All Feints 209 The Assault 209 General Advice 210 Broadswords 210 Positions 211 Target 212 Cuts and Guards 213 Cuts 213 Points 214 Guards 215 PAGE Parry 215 Hanging Guard 216 Inside Guard 216 Outside Guard 217 Attack and Defence 217 Draw Swords .218 Recover Swords 219 Carry Swords 219 Slope Swords 219 Return Swords 219 "Practices 220 Second Practice 220 Third Practice 220 Fourth Practice 221 Fifth Practice 221 Fort and Feeble 222 Drawing Cut 222 General Advice 222 FIVES 223 FOOT-BALL 224 GOLFING 226 GYMNASTICS 228 Introduction 228 Historical Memoranda 229 Modern Gymnastics 230 Walking 230 The Tip-toe March 231 Running 232 Jumping 232 Leaping 233 To climb up a Board . . . . 234 Climbing the Pole 234 „ ,, Rope 235 „ Trees 235 The Giant Stride, or Flying Steps, and its capabilities 235 Parallel Bars 241 The Horizontal Bar 243 The Horse 246 Tlie Swing 249 Tlirowing the Javelin 253 Tlie Trapeze, Single and Double . 254 Tricks and Feats oT Gymnastics . 262 HOCKEY 265 RACKETS 268 RIDING 270 The Horse 271 The Marks of Age in the Horee . . 271 The Paces of the Horse .... 272 Terms used by Horsemen. . . . 274 Form of the Horse 274 Varieties of the Horse suitable for Boys 274 The Accoutrements and Aids . . 275 Mounting 277 Dismounting 278 The Management of the Reins . . 278 The Seat 279 CONTENTS. XI PAGE Tlie Control of the Horse .... 280 Management of the Walk . . . . 2S0 The Trot and Canter 281 The Management of the Gallop . . 282 Leaping 282 Treatment of Vices 284 BOWING 288 Historical Memoranda 288 Cojistruution of Ancient Ships and Galleys 289 Roman Galleys, Ships, SCOTCH. This is a game played by hopping on one foot and kicking an oyster-sheU or piece of tile from one compartment to the other, without halting the lifted foot, except in one case, to the ground, and without suffering the shell or tile to rest on any of the Unes. A diagram is first drawn similar to the subjoined. It consists of twelve compartments, eacn being numbered, and at its furtner end the pleasant and inviting picture of a plum pudding with knife and fork therein stuck. In commencing the game, the players take their stand at the place marked by a star, and "quoit" for innings. The object is, that of doing what every boy is supposed to Kke above all things to do, i.e. "pitch into the pud- ding," and he who can do this, and go nearest to the plum in the centre, plays first. Method of Flaying. — The winner begins by throw- ing his shell into No. 1; he then hops mto the space, and kicks the tile out to the star *; he next throws the tile into No. 2, kicks it from No. 2 to No. 1, and thence out. He then throws it into No. 3, kicks it 12 i VNIYER8ITY DRAWING THE OVEN ^^^UFORJ[i^*«^ from 3 to 2, from 2 to 1, and out. He next tlirows it into No. 4, kicks it from 4 to 3, from 3 to 2, from 2 to 1, and out ; and so he pro- ceeds till he has passed the cross and comes to No. 7, when he is permitted to rest himself, by standing with one foot in No, 6 and the other in No. 7; but he must resume hopping before he kicks the tile home. He then passes through the beds 8, 9, 10 and 11, as he did those of 1, 2, 3, 1, 5, &c., and so on, till he gets to plum pud- ding, when he may rest, and placing his tile on the plum, he is re- quired, while standing on one foot, to kick it with such force as to send it through aU the other beds to * at one kick. If one player throws his tile into the wrong compartment, or when he is kicking it out, he loses his innings, as he does also if the tile or his foot at any time rests on a Hne, or if he kicks his tHe out of the diagram. TRENCH AND ENGLISH. This is an old Greek game, and, like very many simple boys' games, has retained its popularity to the present day. Its Greek name was rather a jaw-cracMng one, but may be literally translated by "Pully- hauUy."^ It consists of two parties of boys, who are chosen on dif- ferent sides by lots. One party takes hold of one end of a strong rope, and the other party of the other end. A mark being made midway between the parties, each strives to pull the other over it, and those who are so pulled over, lose the game. In this game, two leaders should be appointed, who must calculate the powers of their own side, and concert plans accordingly. The leader of either side should have a code of signals, in order to com municate with his own friends, that he may direat them when to stop, when to slacken, or when to puU hard. So important is the leader's office, that a side with a good leader will always vanquish a much superior force which has no commander to guide it. For example, when aU the boys are pulling furiously at the rope, the leader of one side sees that his opponents are leamng back too much, depending on their weight more than on their strength. He imme- diately gives the signal to slacken, when down go half the enemy on their backs, and are run away with merrily by the successful party, who drag them over the mark with the greatest ease. Or if the enemy begins to be wearied with hard pulling, an unanimous tug will often bring them upright, while they ^ are on their guard, and once moved, the \actory is easily gained, we have seen, assisted, and led this game hundreds of times, and never failed to find it productive of very great amusement. No knots are to be permitted on the rope, nor is the game to be considered as won, unless the entire side has been dragged over the line. DRAWING THE OVEN. This is a game not very dissunilar to the preceding, but not so much to be recommended, as the clothes are very apt to be torn, and b2 "r EVERY BOYS BOOK. if the players engage too roughly, the wrists are not unfreqnentl;* injured. The method of playing the game is as foUows : — Several boys seat themselves in a row, clasping each other round the waist, thus fantastically representing a batch of loaves. Two other players then approach, representing the baker's men, who have to detach the players from each other's hold. To attain this object, they grasp the wrists of .the second boy, and endeavour to puU him away from the boy in front of him. If they succeed, they pass to the third, and so on until they have drawn the entire batch. As sometimes an obstinate loaf sticKs so tight to its companion, that it is not torn away without bringing with it a handful of jacket or other part of the clothing, the game ought not to be playea by any but little boys. I SPY. This is a capital game for the summer months. The players divide themselves into two parties, one party remaining at a spot called " Bounds," and concealing their faces, while the other party goes out and hides. After waiting for a few minutes, the home party shouts, "Coming, coming, coming." After a short pause they repeat the cry, and after another short interval they again shout, " Coming." If any out-player is not concealed, he may cry, " No," and a few minutes more are allowed. At the last shout, the home players, leaving one to ^lard bounds, sally forth in search of their hidden companions. Du-ectly one of the seekers sees one of the hiders, he shouts, " I Spy," and runs home as fast as he can, pursued by the one he has found, who tries to touch him before he can reach bounds. K he succeeds, the one so touched is considered taken, and stands aside. K the liiding party can touch three, or more, if especially a^eed upon, they get their hide over again. The object of the hiders is to intercept the seekers, and prevent them from reaching bounds without bemg touched. The worst player is left at the bounds, in order to warn his companions, which he does by the word " Home," as any hider may touch any seeker. PITCH-STONE. This game is played by two boys, each of whom takes a smooth round pebble. One player then throws his pebble about twenty feet before mm, and the next tries to strike it with his stone, each time of striking counting as one. If the two pebbles are near enough for the player to place one upon the other with his hand, he is at perfect liberty to do so. It is easy enough to play at this game when the pebbles are at some distance apart; but when they lie near each other, it is very difficult to take a good aim, and yet send one's ovm pebble beyond the reach of the adversary's aim. Two four-pound cannon balls are the best objects to pitch, as they roR evenly, and do not split, as pebbles always do when they get a hard knock. I PBISONEKS BASIS. DUCK-STONE. This game may be played by any number of players. A large stone is selected, and placed on a particular spot, and the players first " Pink for Duck," that is, they each throw their stones up to the mark, and the one who is farthest from it becomes " Duck." The Duck places his stone on the other, while the rest of the players return to the bounds, and in succession pitch theii' stones at his with the endeavour to knock it off. If this is accom;plished, Duck must immediately replace it, and the throwers must pick up their stones and run to me Dounds. As soon as Duck has replaced his stone, he runs after any of the other players, and if he can succeed in catching or merely touching any one oi them, the player so touched becomes Duck. PEISONEU'S BASE, OE, miSON BAES. This is a most delightful game, and is a very great favouiite antong boys of all classes. It is commenced by choosmg Captains, which is either done by lot or by the "sweet voices" of the jouths. If by lot, a number of straws of different icn^hs are put m a bunch, and those who draw from one end, the other being hidden, the two longest straws, are the two "Captains;" each of wnich has the privilege of choosing his men : the drawer of the longest of the two straws has the (irst choice. "WTien this has been arranged each Captain selects, alternately, a boy till the whole are drawn out. This method ti, however, ofteil attended with considerable iucon- venicuce, as it is not impossible that the lots may fall on the two worst players. It is very much better to let the boys choose the twc 6 EVERY BOYS BOOK. Captains, as the two best players will then assuredly be elected, and most of the success of the game depends on the Captains. The leaders being thus chosen, the next point is to mark out the homes and prisons. First, two semicircles are drawn, large enough to hold the two parties, the distance between the semicircles being about twenty paces. These are the " homes,'* or " bounds." Twenty paces in front of these, two other semicircles, of a rather larger size, are marked out. These are the prisons; the prison of each party being in a line with the enemy's home. These preliminaries bemg settled, the sides draw lots ; the side drawing the longest straw having to commence the game. The Captain of side a orders out one of his own side, usually a poor player, who is bound to run at least beyond the prisons before he returns. Directly he has started, the Captain of side B sends out one of his men to pursue, and, if possible, to touch him before he can regain his own home. If this is accom- plished, the successful runner is permitted to return home scathless, v^hile the vanquished party must go to the prison belonging to his side; from which he cannot stir, until some one from his own side re- leases him, by touching him in spite of the enemy. This is not an easy task; as, ia order to reach the prison, the player must cross the enemy's home. It is allowable for the prisoner to stretch his hand as far towards his rescuer as possible, but he must keep some part of his body within the bounds; and if several prisoners are taken, it is suffi- cient for one to remain within the prison, while the rest, by joining hands, make a chain towards the boy who is trying to release them. When this is accomplished, both the prisoner and his rescuer return home, no one being able to touch them until they have reached their home and a^ain started off. But the game is not only restricted to the two origmally sent out. Directly Captain a sees his man pressed by liis opponent, he sends out a third, who is in his turn pursued by another irom side b; each being able to touch any who have pre- ceded, but none who have left their home after him. The game soon becomes spirited; prisoners are made and released, the two Captains watching the game, and rarely exposing themselves, except in cases of emergency, but directing the whole proceedings. The ^ame is considered won, when one party has succeeded in imprisoning the whole of the other side. Much depends upon the Captains, who sometimes, bv a bold dash, rescue the most important .of their pri- soners, and tnereby turn the fate of the battle; or, when the attention of the opposite side is occupied by some hardly-contested struggle, send some insignificant player to the rescue; who walks quietly up to the prison, and unsuspectedly lets out the prisoners one by one. No player is permitted to touch more than one person until he has r eturned to his home; when he can sally out agam armed with fresh strength, like Antaeus of old, who could not be conquered at wrestling, because whenever he touched the ground his strength was renewed by his mother Earth. BASTE THE BEAR. POX. This game was extensively played at tlie school where our boyhood was passed; but we never saw it elsewhere. It used to afford us such amusement in the long summer evenings, that it deserves a place in this collection of sports. One player is termed Fox, and is furnished ^th a den, where none of the players may molest him. The other players arm themselves with twisted or knotted handkerchiefs, (one ana to be tied in knots of almost incredible hardness,) and range themselves round the den waiting for the appearance of the Eox. He being also armed with a knotted handkerchief, hops out of his den. When he is fairly out, the other players attack him with their hand- kerchiefs, while he endeavours to strike one of them without putting down his other foot. If he does so he has to run back as fast as he can, without the power of striking the other players, who baste him the whole way. If, however, he succeeds in striking one without losing liis balance, the one so struck becomes Fox ; and, as he has both feet down, is accordingly basted to his den. The den is useful as a resting-place for the Fox, who is often sorely wearied by futile attempts to catch his foes. BASTE THE BEAK. This is a funny game. The players generally draw lots for the first Bear, who selects his own Keeper. The Bear kneels on the ground, and his Keeper holds him with a rope about four feet lon^, within a circle of about five feet in diameter. The other players tie knots in their handkerchiefs, and begin to strike or baste the Bear, by running close to, or into the ring. Should the Keeper touch any of the bovs ^hile they are at this sport without dragging the Bear out of tor EVERY BOY S BOOK. ring, or should the Bear catch hold of any player's leg, so as to hold bim fast, the player so touched or caught becomes Bear. The second Bear may select his Keeper as before, and the play continues. AX INSTRUMENT OF TOUTUKE. LEAP-FROG. This IS an excellent game of agility, and very simple. It consists of any number of players; but from six to eight is the most con- venient number. Having by agreement or lots determined who shall give the first "back," one plaver so selected places himself in posi- tion, with his head inclined and his shoulders elevated, and his hands resting on his knees, at ten yards' distance from the other players ; one of whom immediately runs and leaps over him, — having made his leap, he sets a back at the same distance forward from the boy over whom he has just leaped. The third boy leaps over the first and second boy, and sets a *'back" beyond the second; and the fourth boy leaps over the first, second, and third, and sets a " back " beyond the third, and so on till the players are out. The game may continue for any length of time, ana generally lasts till the players are tired ; but the proper rule should be, that all who do not go clean over should be out. Those who " make backs " should stand per- fectly stiff and firm ; and those who " make leaps " should not rest in their flight heavily upon the shoulders of their playmates, so as to throw them down, which is not fair play. FLY THE GAETER. Chalk or make a line, or, as it is usually termed, " a garter," on the ground ; on this line one of the players must place mmself and bend down as in leap-frog;, while the other players in rotation leap over him, the last one as he flies over calling out " Foot it." If he should fail in giving this notice, he is out, and must take the other boy's place at the garter. The boy, immediately the word is given, rises, and places his right heel close to the middle of the left foot ; he next moves the left forwards and places that heel close up to the SPANISH TLY. 9 toes of his right foot, and bends down as before. This movement is called a "step," and is repeated three times. The other players should fly from the garter each time a step is made, and the last player must invariably call out " Foot it " as he leaps over. After making the three " steps," the player giving the back takes a short run, and,/ro»i the spot where he made his last step to, jumps as far forwards as he possibly can, and bends down again; the others jump from the garter and then fly over. Should any of the players be unable to jump easily over the one giving the back, but rather slide down upon, or ride on him, the player so miling must take the other's place at the garter, and the game be begun again ; if, also, through the impetus acquired in taking the jump from the garter, a player should happen to place his hands on the back of the player bending down, and then withdraw them ift order to take the spring over, he is out, and must take his turn at the garter. It is usual, in some places, for the boy giving the back to take a hop, step, and a jump after he has footed it three times, the other players domg the same, and then flying over. SPANISH FLY. This game is capable of being varied to any extent by an ingenious boy, but it is generaUy played in the following way: — One boy, selected by chance, sets a back, as in "fly the garter," and another is chosen leader. The game is commenced by the leader leaping over the one who gives the back, and the other players follow in succession ; the leader then leaps back, and the others follow ; then they all go over in a cross direction, and return, making, in all, four different ways. The leader then takes his cap in both hands, anu leaves it on the boy's back while he is '' overing," and his followers perform the same trick ; in returning, the last man takes the lead, and removes his cap without disturbing the others, and each boy does the same : this trick is repeated in a cross direction. The next trick is throwing up the cap just before overing, and catching it before it falls ; the next, reversing the cap on the head, and so balancing it while overing, without ever touching it with the hands ; both tricks must be performed while leaping the four different ways. The leader, with his cap still balanced, now overs, and allows his cap to drop on the opposite side ; the others do likewise, but they must be careful not to let their caps touch the others, nor to let their feet touch any of the caps in alighting ; the leader now stoops down, picks up his cap with his teeth, and throws it over his head and the boy's back ; he then leaps after his cap, but avoids touching it with his feet. The other players follow him as before. The next trick is "knuckling," — that is to say, overing with the hands clenched ; the next, " slapping," which is performed by placing one hand on the boy's back, and hitting him with the other, while overing; the last, "spurring," or touching him up with the heel. All these tricks must be performed in the four different 10 EVERT boy's book. directions, and any boy failing to do them properly goes down, and ihe game begins afresh. TOUCH. This is a brisk game, and may be played by any number of boys. One of the players being chosen as Touch, it is his business to run about in all directions after the other players, till he can touch one, who immediately becomes Touch in his turn. Sometimes when the game is plaved it is held as a law that Touch shall have no power over those boys who can touch iron and wood. The players then, when out of breath, rush to the nearest iron or wood they can find, to render themselves secure. Cross-touch is sometimes played, in which, whenever another player runs between Touch and the pursued, Touch must immediately leave the one he is after to follow him. But this rather confuses, and spoils the gaite. TOUCH-WOOD AND TOUCH-IRON. These games are founded on the above. When the boys pursued by Touch can touch either wood or iron they are safe, the rule being that he must touch them as they run from one piece of wood or iron to another. BUCK, BUCK, HOW MANY HORNS DO I HOLD UP ? This is a very good game for three boys. The first is called the Buck, the second the Erog, and the third the Umpire. The bov who plays the Buck gives a back with his head down, and rests his bands on some wall or paling in front of him. The ¥rog now leaps on his back, and the Umpire stands by his side : the Prog now holds up one, two, three, five, or any number of fingers, and cries, "Buck ! Buck ! how manv horns do 1 hold up ? " The Buck then endeavours to guess the right number ; if he succeeds, the Frog then becomes Buck, and in turn jumps on his back. The Umpire determines whether Buck has guessed the numbers rightly or not. In some places it is the custom to blindfold the Buck, in order to prevent him seeing. This plan, however, is scarcely necessary. WARNING. This is an excellent game for cdd weather. It may be played by any number of boys. In playing it " loose bounds " are made near a wall or fence, about four feet wide and twelve long. One of the boys is selected, who is called the Cock, who takes his place witliin the bounds ; the other players are called the Chickens, who distribute themselves in various parts of the playground. The Cock now clasps his hands together, and cries, " Warning once, warning twice, a bushel of wheat, and a bushel of rye, when the Cock crows out jump I." He then, keeping his hands still clasped before him, runs after the other players ; when he touches one, he and the player so touched HARE AND HOUNDS. 11 immediately make for the bounds; the other players immediately try to capture them before they get there; if they succeed, they are privileged to get upon their backs and ride them home. The Cock and his Chick now come out of the bounds hand-ia-hand, and try tc touch some other of the players; the moment they do this they break hands, and they and the player now touched run to the bounds as before, while the other players try to overtake them, so as to secure the ride. The three now come from the bounds ia the same manntr, capture or touch a boy, and return. If, while trying to touch the other boys, the players when sallying from the groilnds break hands before they touch any one, they may inmiediately be ridden, if they can be caught before they reach the bounds. Sometimes when three players have been touched the Cock is allowed to join the out party, out this is of no advantage in playing the game. FOLLOW MY LEADER. This may be played by any number of boys : one being selected aa the Leader, and the others are the EoUowers. The Followers arrange themselves in a line behind the Leader, who immediately begins to progress, and the others are bound to follow him. The fun of this sport is in the Leader carrying his Followers into "uncouth places," over various "obstacles," such as hedges, stiles, gate-posts, &c., through "extraordinary difficulties," as ditches and quagmires, — every player being expected to perform his feats of agility; and those who fail are obliged to go last, and bear the emphatic name of the "Ass." The game lasts tiU the Leader gives up, or the boys are all tired out. THE FUGLEMAN. This is a game something Like the above. It consists of the Fugleman and his Squad. The Fugleman places himself in a central spot, and arranges his Squad before Mm m a line. He then com- mences with various odd gestures, which all the Squad are bound to imitate. He moves his head, arms, legs, hands, feet, in various direc- tions, sometimes sneezes, coughs, weeps, laughs, and bellows, all of miich. the Squad are to imitate. Sometimes this is a most amusing scene, and provokes great laughter. Those who are observed to laugh, however, are immediately ordered to stand out of the line, and when half the number of players are so put out, the others are allowed to ride them three times round the play^ound, while the Fugleman with a knotted handkerchief accelerates tneir motions. HAKE AND HOUNDS. This is perhaps the very best game that can be introduced into a school. The principle of it is very simple, that one boy represents ' the Hare and runs away, whUe the others represent the Hounds and Qursue him. The proper management of the game, however, requires 12 EVERT BOY S BOOK. some skill Wlien we were at scliool in the north, this game was ex- tensively played; and in more recent times, when we ourselves were masters instead of scholars, we reduced the game to a complete svstem. The first thing to be done is to choose a Hare, or if the chase is to be a long one, two Hares are required. The Hare should not be the best runner, but should be daring, and at the same time prudent, or he may trespass into forbidden lands, and thereby cause great mischief. A Huntsman and Whipper-in are then chosen. The Huntsman should be the best player, and the Whipper-in secona best. Things having advanced so far, the whole party sally forth. The Hare is furnished with a large bag of white paper torn into small squares, which he scatters on the ground as he goes. An arrange- ment is made that the Hare shall not cross his patn, nor return home until a certain time; in either of which cases he is considered caught. The Hounds also are bound to follow the track or "scent" implicitly, and not to make short cuts if they see the Hare. The Hare then stai'ts, and has about seven minutes* grace, at the expiration of which time the Huntsman blows a horn with which he is furnished, and sets off, the Hounds keeping nearly in Indian file, the Whipper-in bringing up the rear. The Huntsman is also furnished with a white flag, the Wliipper-in with a red one, the staves being pointed and shod with metal. Off they go merrily enough, until at last the Huntsman loses the scent. He immediately shouts " Lost ! " on which the Whipper-in sticks his flag in the ground where the scent was last seen, and the entire line wSks or runs round it in a circle, within which they axe tolerably sure to find the track. The Hunts- man in the meanwhile has stuck his flag in the ^ound, and examines the country to see in what direction the Hare is likely to have gone. DUCK AND DRAKE. 13 When the track is fomid, the player who discovers it shouts Tally ho ! the Huntsman takes up his flag, and ascertains whether it is really the track or not. If so, he blows his horn again, the Hounds form in line between the two flags, and off they go a^ain. It is incredible how useful the two flags are. Many a Hare has been lost because the Hounds forgot where the last track was seen, and wasted time in searching for it again. Moreover, they seem to encoui'age the players wonderfully. We used often to make our chases foui'teen or fifteen miles in length ; but before such an undertaking is commenced, it is necessary to prepare by a series of shorter chases, which should how- ever be given in an opposite direction to the course fixed upon for the gand chase, as otherwise the tracks are apt to get mixed, and the ounds are thrown out. The Hare should always carefully survey his intended course a day or two previously, and then he will avoid getting himself into quagmires, or imprisoned in the bend of a river. A pocket compass is a most useful auxiliary, and prevents all chance of losing the way, a misfortune which is not at all unlikely to happen upon the Wiltshure downs or among the Derbyshire hiHs. STEEPLE CHASE. This is a trial of speed and agility, and may be played by any number of boys. It consists in the boys agreeing upon some (nstant object for a mark, such as a conspicuous tree, or house, or steeple. The players then start off in whatever direction they please, each one being at liberty to choose his own course. In a long run of a mile or so it very often happens that hedges, ditches, and other obstructions, have to oe got over, which adds great interest to the play, and the best climbers and jumpers are the most likely to come in victors. He who comes in first to the appointed object is called the King, the second the Duke, the third the Marquis, the fourth the Viscount, the fifth the Earl, the sixth the Knight. The last receives the digmfied appellation of the Snail, and the last but one the Tortoise. At Oxford there were in our undergraduate days two clubs for the purpose of Steeple-chasing, one named the Kangaroo Club, and the other the Charitable Grinders, whose performances over hedges and ditches were really astonishing. There was also a club which kept a set of beagles, and used to hunt a red herring with intense per- severance. DUCK AND DRAKE. This is a very simple sport, but necessarily restricted to those spots where there is a river, or a pond of some magnitude. It con- sists in throwing oyster-shells, flat stones, or broken tiles along the water, so as to make them hop as often as possible. One hop is called Dick, the second Duck, and the third Drake. The sea-shore is a capital place for this sport, as, if the player can only succeed in making the stone touch tne top of a wave, it is tolerably certain 14 EVERY BOYS BOOK. to make a succession of hoj)s from wave to wave. If a rifle-bullet is shot along the water, it will go a great distance, maldng very long hops, and splashing up the water at every bound. In war, this method of firing at an enemy that lies low is extensively made use of, and is called " ricochet practice." It is also much used in naval warfare. SIMON SATS. This, if well managed, is a very comical game. The players are arranged as ia Eugleman, the player who enacts Simon standing in front. He and all the other players clench their fists, keeping the thumb pointed upwards. No player is to obey his commands unless prefaced with the words, " Simon says." Simon is himself subjected to the same rules. The game commences by Simon commandmg, — " Simon says, turn down:" on which he turns his thumbs downwards, followed by the other players. He then says, " Simon says, turn up" and brings his hands back again. When he has done so several times, and thinks that the players are off their ^ard, he merely gives the word, "Turn up," or "Turn down," without moving his hands. Some one, if not all, is sure to obey the command, and is subject to a forfeit. Simon is also subject to a forfeit, if he tells his companions to turn down while the thumbs are already down, or vice versa. With a sharp player enacting Simon, the game is very spirited. KENG OF THE CASTLE. This is a very good game, and to play it properly there must be ic the centre of the playground a small hill or hillock. One ]J^yer, selected bv choice or lot, ascends this hill, and is called the King ; and the object of the other players is to puU or push him from ms elevation, while he uses his endeavours to Keep his "pride of place." Fair pulls and fair pushes are only allowed at this game ; the players must not take hold of any part of the clothes of the King, and must confine their grasps to tne hand, the leg, or the arm. li a player violates these rules, he is to sit down upon the ground, and is called " Dummy." The player who succeeds m dethroning the King, takes his place, and is subjected to the like attacks. BATTLE FOB THE BANNER. This game is to be played from a mound, the samfe as the above, and it may consist of any number of players. Each party selects a Captain, and having done this, divide themselves into Attackers and Defenders. The defending party provide themselves with a small flag, which is fixed on a staff on the top of the mound, and then arrange themselves on its side and at its case, so as to defend it from the attacks of their opponents, who advance towards the hillock, and endeavour to throw aown those that oppose them. Those that are so 'thrown on either side, are called " deaa men," and must lie quiet till SNOW BALLS. 16 the game is finished, which is concluded either when all the attacking party are dead, or the banner is carried off by one of them. The player who carries off the banner is called the Knight, and is choseu Captain for the next game. SNOW-BALLS. Every boy has played at snow-baUs, from the time that his little fingers were first able to grasp and mould a handful of snow. Elderly gentlemen know to their cost how apt the youthful friend is to hurl very hard snow-baUs, which appear to pick out the tenderest parts of his person, generally contriving to lo^e just at the juncture of the chin and the comforter, or coming with a deafening squash in the very centre of his ear. Even the dread policeman does not always escape ; and when he turns round, indignant at the temporary loss of his shiny hat, he cannot recognise his assailant in the boy who is calmly whistling the last new nigger-song, as he saunters alonff, with Doth his hands in his pockets. The prudent schoolmaster will also not venture too near the playground, unless he has provided himself with an umbrella. It is rather a remarkable fact, that when- ever a Grammar-school and a National-school are within a reasonable distance of each other, they are always at deadly feud. So it was at the school where our youthful days were passed. One winter's morn- ing, just after school had opened, the door was flung violently open, and a party of National-school boys hurled a volley of snow-balls at the head-master. He, after the door had been secured, remarked in a particularly mild voice, — "Now, bovs, if /had been at school, and 16 EVERY boy's book. my schoolmaster liad been assaulted by National-scnool doys, /should have gone out and given them a thrashing. Remember, I do not at aU advise you to do so, but merely mention the course that I should have adopted under such circumstances. We will resume lessons at three.*' So saying, he took off his gown, put on his hat and gloves, and walked out to see the fun. Now, the prospect of a morning's holiday would have made us attack a force of twenty times our number, but as they only out-numbered us threefold, we commenced a pursuit without hesitation. After a sharp engagement, we drove them back to their own schoolroom. The cause of tneir yielding was, that they threw at random among us, whereas each of our balls was aimed at the face of an opponent, and we very seldom missed. Wlien they had reached their school, they closed and barred their door; at which we made such a battering, that their master, a large negro, rushed out upon us, vowing vengeance, and flourishing a great cane. He was allowed to proceed a few yards from the door, when one snow-ball took off his hat, and two more lodged in his face. He immediately went to the right-about, and made for the school, which he reached under an avalanche of snow. We pursued, but he had succeeded in fastening the door, and we could not open it for some time. When we did, the school was deserted ; not a boy was to be seen. There was no back entrance to account for their disappear- ance, and we were completely puzzled. At last, when we had quieted down a little, a murmuring was heard apparently below our feet, and on examination we found that the entire school had taken shelter in the coal-cellar. We made a dash at the door (a trap-door), and in spite of the showers of coal that came from below, fastened and padlocked the door, carefully throwing the key among a clump of fir- trees, where it was not likely to be found. Having achieved this nctorv, we had a snow-baU match among ourselves, and then re- turned to school. About five o'clock, in rushed the black school- master, who had only just been liberated by the blacksmith, and who 3ame to complain of our conduct. So far, however, from obtaining any satisfaction, lie was forced to apologise for the conduct of his boys. SNOW CASTLE. The object of this game is, that a castle of snow is built, which is attacked by one party and defended by the other. The method of building the castle is as follows : — ^A square place is cleared in the snow, the size of the projected castle. As many boys as possible then go to some distance from the cleared square, and commence making snow-baUs, roUmg them towards the castle. By the time that they have reached it, each ball is large enough to form a foundar tion-stone. By continuing this plan, the walls are built about five feet six inches high, a raised step running round the interior, on which the defenders stand while hurling the balls against their opponents. In the centre are deposited innumerable snow-balls. SNOW GIANT. 17 ready made; and a small bov is usually pressed into tlie service, to make snow-balls as fast as tney are wanted. If the weather is very cold, some water slashed over the .castle hardens and strengthens it considerably. The architect of the castle must uot forget to leave Bpace for a door. SNOW GIANT. This is made in the same way as the snow castle, that is, by rolling large snow-balls to the place where the giant is to be erected, and then piled up and carvea into form. He is not considered completed until two coals are inserted for eyes, and until he is further decorated with a pipe and an old hat. When he is quite finished, the juvenile sculptors retire to a distance, and with snow-balls endeavour to knock down their giant, with as much zest as they exhibited in building him. If a snow giant is well made, he will last until the leaves are out, the sun having but little power on so large a mass of hard snow. There is a legend extant respecting the preservation of snow through the wanner pai'ts of the year. A certain Scotch laird had for a tenant a certain farmer. The laird had been requested by influential personages to transfer the farm to another man directly the lease was run out. The farmer's wife, hearing of this from some gossip of hers, went to her landlord, and besought him to grant a renewal of the lease. When she called, he was at dinner with a numerous party of friends, and replied in a mocking tone, that the lease should be renewed when sne brought him a snow-ball in July. She immediately called upon the guests to bear witness to the offer, and went home. 13 EVERY boy's book. In due time the winter came, and with it the snow. One day, her husband, an excellent labourer, but not over bright, asked her why she was wasting so much meal. At that time, she had taken a large vessel of meal to a valley, and was pouring it into the space between two great stones. Upon the meal she placed a large quantity of snow, which she stamped down until it was hard. Upon this she poured more meal, and placed upon the meal a layer of straw. The \fhole affair was then thickly covered over with straw and reeds. To her husband, who thought sue had fairly lost her senses, she deigned no reply, except that the meal would repay itself. So affairs went on until July, when the good dame, hearing that her landlord had invited a large party to dine with him, many of whom had been at the partv when the promise was made, proceeded to the store of snow, which she found about half diminished. The remainder she kneaded hard, and put it in a wheelbarrow, well covered with straw, which she roUed up to the laird's own house. When once there, she took out her snow-ball, and presenting it to her landlord, before all his guests, demanded the renewal of her lease. It may be satisfactory to know, that the laird, struck with her ingenuity and perseverance, at once granted her request. JACK ! JACK ! SHOW A LIGHT ! This game can only be played in the dusk of evening, when all the surrounding objects are lost in the deepening gloom. The players divide into two parties, and toss up for innings, which being gained, the winners start off to hide themselves, or get so far away that the others cannot see them ; the losers remaining at the home. One of the hiding party is provided with a flint and steel, which, as soon as thev are all ready, he strikes together ; the sparks emitted guide the seekers as to what direction they must proceed in, and they must endeavour to capture the others ere they reach home ; if they cannot JUMP LITTLE NAG-TAIL. 19 touch more tlian two of the boys, the hiders resume their inniuffs, and the game continues as before. It is most usual, however, for the boys at the home to call out, " Jack, Jack ! show a light ! " before the possessor of the flint and steel does so. When one party is cap- tured, the flint and steel must be given up to the captors, that they may cairy on the game as before. JINGLING. The jingling match is a common diversion at country wakes and fairs, and is often played by schoolboys. The match should be played on a soft grass-plot within a large circle, enclosed with ropes. The players rarely exceed nine or ten. All of these, except one of the most active, who is the " jingler," have their eyes blindfolded with handkerchiefs. The jingler holds a small bell in his hand, which he is obliged to keep ringing incessantly so long as the play continues, which is commonly about twenty minutes. The business of the jingler is to elude the pursuit of his blindfolded companions, who follow him by the sound of the bell in all directions, and sometimes oblige him to exert his utmost abilities to effect his escape, which must be done within the boundaries of the rope, for the laws of the sport forbid him to pass beyond it. If he be caught in the time allotted for the continuance of the game, the person who caught him wins the match ; if, on the contrary, they are not able to take him, he is proclaimed the winner. JUMP LITTLE NAG-TAIL ! In this game, six or eight players on each side is the best number. The two leaders should toss up for choice of partners, and after selecting them, toss again for innings. The loser must then place himself quite upright, with his face to a wall, against which he rests his hands ; and one of his partners should next stoop down, and put his head against his leader's skirts, as shown in the annexed illustra- o2 20 EVERY boy's book. tion ; another partner also bends, and places his head against the skirts of the second player, and the rest of the partners must take their places in the same manner, one behind the other : when thus arranged, they are called " nags." One of the winning party next takes a run, and placing his hands on the back of the last player or " nag," endeavours to spring on to the back of the first, or at least to clear as many " nags " as he possibly can, in order to allow room for those following him to leap on the backs of the other " nags," which they should do in succession, until they are all faii'ly astride. If any of the " nags " sink under the weight, or in trying to support them- selves touch the ground either with their hands or knees, or if the riders can keep their seats without touching the ground, whilst their leader counts twenty, or repeats the words, " Jump little nag-tail one, two, three ! " three times, concluding with " off, off, off ! " the riders resume their innings, and begin again ; on the contrary, should there not be sufficient space for all to leap on, or they are ^ unable to keep their seats on the backs of the " nags," they lose their innings, and become '' nags " in their turn. The " nags " must, while in the line, hold either oy the trousers of the player before them, or else lean their hands on their knees, or cross their arms on their breasts. Each rider must call out " Warning " before he leaps on the back of one of the "nags." JUMPING ROPE. Two players swing round a long rope, and when the revolutions become tolerably regular, one, two, or even more boys step forwards, and allowing it to swing over their heads, jump up as it descends, so as to let it pass under their feet as in the case oi the common skip- pii^-rope. The leapers must step forwards the moment the rope is at its highest, in order to be ready to skip over as it swings close to the ground ; and they should be careful to keep the same time with the motions of the boys holding the rope, so as not to be struck by it in its circuit. Another game may be played with a long skipping- rope, by the player at one end holdmg the rope in his outside hand, making a step or two towards the other player, and w\th his help swinging it round, and then skipping over it. MY grandmother's CLOCK. In this amusing sport the players join hands, and extend their arms to their full extent. One of the outside players remains stationary, and the others run round him as fast as they can, which proceeding is called "winding the clock." In this manner the straight line becomes a confused spiral, and all the players get hud(fled together in a most laughable manner. The winding of the clock usually leads to such disorder that it is next to impossible to unwind it without breaking the line of boys. BEE-SAW. 2 1 KUSHIXG BASES. Two bases having been made, one at each end of the playground, all the players take np their position in one of them, except one, who is generally elected by counting out ; this player, who is called " the King," stations himself midway between the bases, and endeavours to catch the others as they rush through his territory from base to base. Should the king succeed in catching one of the trespassers, he raps him on the head, saying, " I crown thee king ! " and the one so crowned joins the first king between the bases, and helps to catch the other players. "When the out-players considerably outnumber those remaining in the bases, they may enter the bases, and, if they are strong enough, pull the others out and crown them. In this lively game the rule is, that a player must run to the opposite base if he puts both feet outside his own. In some parts of England this game is known by the name of " King Caesar." SEE-SAW, For this amusement a stout plank should be laid across a felled tree or a low wall ; it must be very nicely balanced if the players are of the same weight ; but if one is heavier than the other, the end on which he intends to sit should be the shortest. Two players then take their seats on the plank, one at each end, whilst a third stations himself on the middle of it, as represented in the illustration ; the name of this player is in some places Jack o' both Sides, and in others Pudding. As the players oy turns make slight springs from their toes, they are each alternately elevated and depressed, and it is the duty of Pudding to assist these movements by bearing all his weight on the foot, on the highest end of the plank, beyond the centre of the tree or wall on which it rests. This will be best under- stood by referring to the illustration : thus, a is the trunk of a tree ; 32 EVERY boy's book. across it a plank is laid, on which two players, b, c, take their seats ; d is *' Pudding ; " it will be seen that his left foot is beyond the centre of the trunk a, on the highest end of the board, and con- sequently his weight being added to that of b will depress that end of the plank, and the end on which c sits must, of course, rise ; Pudding then bears on his right foot, and c in turn descends ; and thus the ^ame continues during pleasure, Pudding bearing alternately on each side. THBEAD THE NEEDLE. This game can be played by any number of boys, who must all join hands ; the game is begun by tne outside players at each end of the line holding the following dialogue: "How many miles to Babylon ? " " Threescore and ten." " Can I get there by candle- light ? " " Yes, and back again." " Then open the gates without more ado, and let the king and his men pass through." The player and the one next to him at the end of the line opposite the last speaker then elevate their joined hands as high as ihey can, to allow the speaker to run under, and the whole line follows him, still holding hands. This should be done, if possible, without breaking the line by letting the hands go, and is styled " threading the needle." When all the boys have passed through, the same conversation begins again, excepting that the respondent in his turn becomes the in- quirer, and runs between the opposite players, the others following as before. TOM tiddler's ground. This is a very favourite game with little boys, and majr be con- sidered as a modification of rushing bases. A large base is formed by drawing a line across the playground, and one boy, called " Tom Tiddler," takes his station within it, while the others run in crying out, "Here am I on Tom Tiddler's ground, picking up ^old and silver." If Tom Tiddler can touch any boy while he is on his ground, the boy so touched takes his place as the guardian of the imaginary gold and silver. TWO to one. Two to one is a very capital exercise with a common skipping-rope. It is done bv skipping in the usual way for a short time, and then increasing the rapidity of your movements, and leaping tolerably high, endeavouring to swing the rope round so quickly that you can pass it twice under your feet while you are taking the leap ; practise this till you are quite })roficient, and then try to pass the rope three times under your foot instead of twice. WALK, MOON, walk! This may be played by any number of boys, who all tie large knots in one corner of their pocket-handkerchiefs, and then toss up to see WILL YOU LIST? 23 who shall be " Moon ; " the loser is the one to whom the part falls, and he must be blindfolded. "Moon" now stands with his legs stretched apart, wbile his playmates go behind him in succession, and jerk their handkerchiefs between his legs, as far as they can and in whatsoever direction they please. When all the bojs have done this, one of them cries " Walk, Moon, walk ! " which is a signal for the blindfolded player to walk forwards until he treads upon one of the handkerchiefs, when in an instant the other players pick up theii- knotted handkerchiefs, with which they belabour the uiilucky owner of the one trodden upon by Moon, as he runs to a distant base and back; after which he becomes Moon, and the game continues as before. WANT A day's work? This is a capital game when well played, and the antics and gi'imaces of boys who are mimics cause great merriment. It also gives a boy a good notion of how mechanical labour is done, as no boy will ask for work uuless he understands something of the nature of the business he solicits to be employed upon. The ^ame begins thus, and it matters not how many boys are engaged in it : — A line is drawn ; within that line is the shop, and when a bad work- man is discharged he is pushed across the line. The employer, or master, should be a very sharp lad. A boy comes up, and the master asks him if he wants a day's work ; the boy says he does. He is then asked what trade he is ; if he says a tailor, a coat is supposed to be given to him to make ; if a shoemaker, a pair of shoes ; if a tinker, a saucepan to bottom; if a stonemason, a stone to cut or saw, and every boy must imitate the actions of the tailor, shoemaker, &c., while at work, whatever the trades may be. Then the master looks over the work, finds fault, gets in a rage, discharges the workman, and, if he can, turns him out of the shop. But if in the struggle the boy turns the employer out, he then becomes master, and the other is set to work. So that, after a few good-natured trials of strength, each boy in turn generally becomes master. WILL YOU LIST? This is a very old game, and in some places is called " playing at soldiers ; " the whole ceremony of enlisting is gone through, taking the shilling and swearing to serve the Qaeen, &c. But there ought to be two parties of boys, of not less than a dozen, with a command- ing officer on each side. After learning their exercise, such as shouldering arms and marching, war breaks out ; then one party is EngUsh and the other the enemy. Their weapons ought to be bul- rushes, or stout reeds, such as are used in building, or something that will not do any injury when the charge commences. The side that breaks or takes away the most weapons is the conqueror, and much skill may be displayed in capturing the arms of others, and 24 EVERY boy's book. retaining your own. If boys can get some old soldier to drill them a few times, this may be made as good a game as they can play at. We have too few military amusements in our English games. WHOOP ! One player takes his station at a spot called the "home," while the others go to seek out various hiding-places in which to ensconce themselves ; when all are ready, one of them calls out " "Whoop ! " on which the player at the "home" instantly goes in search of the hiders, and endeavours to touch one of them as they run back to "home;" if he can do so, the one caught taVes his place at the *' home," while he joins the out players. HIGH barbaree! In this game sides are chosen, and one party remains " at home," while the other hides. When the hiders are all ready, one of them calls out " High Barbaree ! " upon which the seekers sally forth to look for them, as in " Whoop ! " If the seekers can succeed in touching a certain number of the hiders before they can get to " home," they take their turn at hiding. The number to be caught must be agreed upon beforehand, and of course depends upon the number of players. It is usual to mention this number in the cry — thus, " High barbaree ! t/iree caught he 1 " — "four raught he ! " and ?o forth. Asa general rule, the number to be caught should exceed half the number of the hiders. BULL IX THE EING. This active, merry, noisy game can be played by ai^y number of boys, and commences by their joining hands and forming a ring, DROPPING THE HANDKERCHIEF. 25 having enclosed some boy in the middle, who is the Ball. It is the Bull's part to make a rush, break through the ring, and escape, and the part of the boys who form the ring to hold their hands so fast together that he cannot break their hold. Before making a rush the Bull must cry " boo " to give warning, so that the boys may grasp their hands more tightly. The whole ring generally replies to the Bull's challenge by crying *' boo " all together, and a pretty noise they make. When the Bull breaks through the ring he is pursued until" captured, and the boy who seizes him first is " Bull when they return. A good " Bull " will lead them a pretty dance, clearing hedges and ditches; and if he gets hack and touches some mark agreed upon, near to where he broke through the ring, he is " Bull " again. COCK FIGHT. This humorous sport must not be confounded with the cruel battles between game-cocKS once so popular in England. Two boys repre- sent the feathered combatants ; each hops upon one leg, with his arms folded, and bumps against the other, endeavouring to compel him to put both feet to the ground. The boy who keeps up longest wins the game. DROPPING THE HANDKERCHIEF. A tolerably large ring should be formed by several boys standing in a circle and joining hands ; another boy, who stands out, when atl are ready walks round outside the ring, drops a handkerchief behind one of tne players, and immediately runs off ; he is instantly followed by the one behind whom he dropped the handkerchief, and who must track him in all his windings in and out under the arms of the boys in the ring, who elevate them for the purpose, and indeed wherever he runs to ; should the pursuer be able to touch the pursued, the former takes the handkerchief in his turn, and the latter joins hands in the circle. If the boy who dropped the handkerchief is enabled to elude his follower by passing through and about the ring, he walks again round and drops the handkerchief behind some other player. EASY GAMES WITHOUT TOYS INDOOR. BLIND man's buff Consists in one person having a hand- kerchief bound over his eves, so as to completely blind him, and thus blind- folded trymgto chase the other players, either by the sound of their footsteps, or their subdued merriment, as they scramble away in all directions, en- deavouring to avoid being caught by him ; when he can manage to catch one, the plaver caught must in turn be blinded, and the game be begun again. In some places it is customary for one of the players to inquire of Buff (before the game begins), "seeing's believing,' " How many horses has your mther got ? " to which inquiry he responds, " Three." " What colours are they?" "Black, white, and grey." The questioner then desires Buff to "turn round three times, and catch whom you may," which request he complies with, and then tries to capture one of the players. It is often played by merely turning the blindfold hero round and round without questioning him, and then beginning. The hand- kerchief must be tied on fairly, so as to allow no little holes for Buffy to see through. Blind Man's Buff is a very ancient pastime, having been known to the Grecian youths. In England it formerly went oy the name of Hoodman Blind, because it was customary to blind Buff with his hood. BOB-CHERRY. Attach a cherry to a piece of string, and then fasten it to a door, sufficiently high to compel the player to jump a little in order to I BUFF — CONCERT. 27 catch the cherry in his mouth. The cherry is then set swinging ; and the players, ranging themselves in line, jump at the cherry, one after the other. This game is productive of much amusement, and may be kept up for a long time. ■ BUFF. ^ In this game one of the players enters the room, armed with a poker, with which he taps on the floor. "Where do you come Irom ? " inquires one of the company. " Alas ! from poor Buff, who is full of grief." " And what did he say to you ? " " He spoke thus," is the reply — ~ " Buff said ' Baff,' And gave me this staff, And bade me not laugh Till I came to his house again." Having thus spoken, the messenger leaves the room. While he has been delivering his speech, the company, however, endeavour to make him laugh, by asking him any ahsurd questions that may pre- sent themselves to their imagination. If they do not succeed in this, the emissary of the great Buff delivers himself of a more lengthy address : — " Buff says ' Baff' to all his men. And I say ' Baff' to you again ; But he neither laughs nor smiles In spite of all your cunning wiles, But keeps his face with a very good grace, And carries his staff to the very next place." I CONCEET. A noisier game than this could scarcely be desired by the most boisterous of our young friends. The players having selected a " conductor," seat themselves round him in a circle. Tne conductor now assigns to each a musical instrument, and shows how it is to be played. When all are provided with their imaginary instruments, the conductor orders them to tune, and by so doing, he gives each musician a capital opportunity for making all sorts of discordant noises. WTien tne different instruments have been tuned, the conductor waves an unseen baton, and commences humming a lively air, in which he is accompanied by the whole of his band, each player en- deavouring to imitate with his hands the different movements made in performing on a real instrument. Every now and then the conductor Eretends to play on a certain instrument, and the player to whom it elongs must instantly alter his movements for those of the con- ductor, and continue to wield the baton until the chief player abandons his instrument. Should a player omit to take the con- ductor's office at the proper time, he jnust pay a forfeit. The fun of this game greatly depends upon the humour of the conductor, and the adroitness with which he relinquishes his bdton and takes up the instruments of the other players. 28 EVERY boy's book. CONSEQIJENCES. The first player writes an adjective on the upper part of a slip of paper, and then folds the slip so that the written word cannot be seen by the next player, who writes the name of a gentleman, real or imaginary, on the paper, which he passes to another after having folded it over again. The third player writes an adjective; the fourth, a lady's name ; the fifth, trie name of a place ; the sixth, wkat the gentleman said to the lady ; the seventh, the lady's reply ; the eighth, the consequences ; and the ninth, what the world said about the whole affair. One of the players now unfolds the slip and reads what has been written by the different persons engaged in the game, adding a few words to unite the disjointed members of the little narrative. As a specimen of the ludicrous result which arises from each player's ignorance of what has been written by his com- panions, we give the following pathetic tale, in which the words and phrases printed in italics represent those written on the slip of paper: — "The ill favoured Peter Wilkins met the adorable Jenny Jones in the silver mine of Fotosi. He said to her, * Will you love me then as now ? ' and she replied, ' When did I refuse you anything ? * The consequences were, h-e drowned himself in the water-butt and she married the baker, and the world said, * Served them right ! ' " When there are only three or four plaj^ers, the slip of paper is to be passed round from one to another until it is filled up. When the players are numerous, three or four slips may be commenced simultaneously by different persons. CKOSS QUESTIONS AND CROOKED ANSWERS. This game will be best described by a short dialogue. Harry. — I am ^oing to put a cjuestion in a whisper to Tom, who is seated on my right hand, to which he will replv in the same tone. He will then put a question to his next neighbour, and receive his answer. When the tour of the circle is made, I shall commence by stating aloud the question put to me by my left-hand neighbour, answering it by the reply received in answer to my own from Tom. He will then do the same, giving my question and his next neigh- bour's reply. — (Wliispers to Tom.) Of what use are the bellows T Tom. — To blow up the fire. — (To Charles) Of what use is a fire- engine ? Charles. — To put out a fire.— (To John) Of what use is a plough ? John. — To plough up the ground.— (To James) Of what use is a cap? -To cover the head. — (To Edward) Of what use is a shoe? Edward. — To protect your foot.— (To William) Of what use is a black pin ? William. — To fasten your collar with. — (To Harry) Of what use is a barometer ? I DUMB MOTIONS FAMILY COACH. 29 Barry. — To tell the weather. — (Aloud) William has just asked me the use of a barometer ? Tom replies, '' To blow up the fire ! ''" Tom. — Harry has asked me the use of the bellows ; and Charles replies, " To put out the fire ! " Charles. — Tom wishes to know the use of the fire-engine, and John tells him, " To plough up the around," &c. Any mistake is punished by a forfeit. DUMB MOTIONS. The players form sides, and decide who shall be masters and who men. The Drincipal aim of the men is to keep working as long as possible, and to prevent the masters taking their places. The men consult secretly among themselves, and decide upon some trade or profession, the practice of which may be certain movements of the arms, hands, or legs. They now range themselves opposite the masters, and the foreman tells them the first and last letters of the trade they are about to exercise ; as for example, C — f for carpenter, D — t for druggist, B — h for blacksmith, and so on. The men now set to work and express in dumb motions the various labours belong- ing to the craft they have chosen. Let us suppose that they have selected the trade of blacksmith : one of the players will appear to be blowing the forge bellows, another will seem to be filing some- thing in a vice, while others will be violently exerting themselves by wielding imaginary sledge-hammers round an unseen anvil. If any of the men speak at their work, or make use of inappropriate gestures, the whole side is out. The masters are allowed one guess each, and if none of fhem can hit upon the right trade, the men tell them their occupation, and then fix upon another. If the masters can guess the name of the trade, the men are out and become masters. The men need not continue their labours until all the masters have guessed, but may stop working, and demand their wages, after having plied their craft for a reasonable time. When the name of a trade consists of two words, the men must tell the first and last letter of each word, as C — h B — r, for coach builder. FAMILY COACH. y ^ The chief player in this amusing game must possess the faculty of inventing a long story, as well as a tolerably good memory. This plaver gives to each of the others the name of some person or thing to be mentioned in the story he is about to relate. Por example, he may call one " the coachman," another " the whip," another " the inn," another the " old gentleman," another the " lootman," another " the luggage," and so on, until he has named all the persons en- gaged in the game. The story-teller now takes his stand in the centre of the room, and commences his narrative ; in the course of which he takes care to mention all the names given to the players. 30 EVERY boy's book. When the name of a player is mentioned, he must immediatdiy rise from his seat, turn round, and sit down again, or else pay a forfeit for his inattention; and whenever " the family coach" is named, aU the players must rise simultaneously. In the following example of a story, the names given to the different players are printed in italics : " An old gentleman, dreading an attack of the gout, resolved to pay a visit to the hot wells of Batii ; he therefore summoned his coachman, and ordered him to prepare the family coach (all the players rise, turn round, and sit down again). The coachma7i, not liking the pros- pect of so long a journey, tried to persuade the old gentleman that THE FAMILY COACH was out of repair, that the leader was dmost blind, and that he (the coachman) could not drive without a new whip. The old gentleman stormed and swore upon hearing these paltry excuses, and ordered the coachman out of the room, while the little dog sprang from under his master's chair and flew at the calves of the offender, who was forced to make a precipitate exit. Early the next morning, the family coach belonging to the old gentleman stopped at an inn on the Bath road, much to the surprise of the land- lord, who had never seen such a lumbering conveyance before. The FAMILY coach Contained the old gentleman, the old lady (his wife), and the little dog that had made such a furious attack on the poor coachman^ legs. The landlord called the landlady, who came bustling out of the inn to welcome the old gentleman and old lady. The footman jumped down from behind the family coach, and helped the old gentleman and the old lady to alight, while the boots and chambermaid belonging to the inn busied themselves with the luggage. The little dog trotted after the old lady, but just as it was going into the inn, the coachman gave it a cut with his whip. The little dog howled, upon which the old gentleman turned round, and seeing the coachman with his whip raised, he seized him by the throat. The footman came to the assistance of his friend the coach- man, and the ostler belonging to the inn took the side of the. old gentleman. The landlord, landlady, chambermaid, boots, cook, stable- boy, barmaid, and all the other inmates of the inn, rushed into the road to see what was the matter, and their cries, joined to the yells of the little dog and the screams of the old lady, so frightened the leader, the white horse, and the brown mare, that they ran away with THE FAMILY COACH." Of couTsc this tale might have been con- tinued to any length, but the specimen we have given will be suffi- cient to give the story-teller some idea of what is expected from him to keep up the fun of the game. FROG IN THE MIDDLE. This is a highly amusing, though very simple game. One player seated on the ground is surrounded by his comrades, who pull and buffet him till he can catch one of them, when the person so caught takes his place, and is buffeted in like manner. As the players sport THE FOUR ELEMENTS — HAND. 31 round the Frog, they usually cry, " Frog iu the middle — can't catch me ! " but they frequently find that this is vain boasting, as Froggy does catch them now and then. THE FOUR ELEMENTS. The party being seated in a circle, the player who has been chosen to commence the game takes a knotted handkerchief, and throws it suddenly into another's lap, calling out at the same time either "Earth !" " Water !" " Air ! " or "Fire ! " If " Earth" be called out, the player into whose lap the handkerchief has fallen must name some quadruped before the other can count ten ; if " Water ! " he must name a fish ; if " Air ! " a bird ; and if " Fire ! " he must remain silent. Should the player name a wrong animal, or speak when he ought to be silent, he must pay a forfeit and take a turn at throwing the handkerchief ; but should he perform his task properly, he must throw the handkerchief back to the first player. Those who have never joined in this simple game can have no idea of the absurd errors into which the different flayers fall when summoned unawares to name a particular kind of animal. HAND. The game of Hand is of great antiquity, and is common to almost every nation, whether savage or civilized. In many of the rural dis- trict's of England this universal pastime is known by the name of " Coddem." To play at Hand, sides must be formed, and the players of each side must seat themselves at a table opposite their antagonists. Chance decides which of the sides shall first hide the piece, which may be any small object that can be easily held in the closed hand of one of tne players. One of the fortunate players now exhibits the piece to his opponents ; having done which, he cries out, " Hands down ! " at which signal he and his comrades put their hands out of sight, and in the language of the game, commence *' working the piece," which operation is performed by shifting the piece from hand to hand, so as to deceive the opposite players as to its whereabouts. When the piece has been properly worked, the chief player calls out, " Hands up," and he and all his comrades simultaneously place their closed fists on the table. The top player on the opposite side has now to fix upon the hand in which the piece is concealed. There are two ways of guessing, either of whicn he may adopt ; the first is to point at once to the hand supposed to contain the piece, and cry out, " Hand ! " the second mode of guess- ing is to point to those hands which appear to be empty, saying with each guess, " Take that hand away ! " and when most of the hands have been removed from the table, to fix upon the most likely-looking one among those that remain. If the guesser can find the piece without making a mistake, he claims it for his party, and is entitled to guess again when the opposite side regains it j but if he makes a 32 EVERY boy's book. mistake, either by ordering the hand that holds the piece to be removed, or by "handing" an empty fist, his antagonists retain the piece, and having concealed it, the second player attempts to discover its whereabouts. From our description, the reader will probably regard Hand as a mere frivolous game of chance ; but we can assure him that chance has little to do with the discovery of the piece. A good Hand player watches the faces of his opponents while their hands are engaged in working the piece under the table ; he scru- tinises the different hands, and does not allow himself to be misled by any of the cunning devices which the hiders employ to throw him off the right scent ; again, when he has the piece in his possession, he takes care not to let a tightly-clenched fist, a guilty smile, or an anxious expression, betray the fact to his wary antagonist. HOT BOILED BEANS. In this game, one of the players is sent out of the room, while the others hide a handkerchief or any small article that can be easily secreted. When the article has been concealed, the door is openedf, and the seeker is invited to enter in these words : " Hot boiled beans and butter ; walk in and find your supper." The seeker now sets to work to look for the hidden article. When he approaches the place of concealment, his playmates must give him notice of it, by telling him that he is " rather warm," " verv hot," or, if he gets very near it, that he " burns." When he wanaers awav from the object of his search, he is told that he is *' cold ; " and if he persists in his mis- taken course, he is informed that he " freezes." Should the seeker succeed in findin<^ the hidden article, another player goes out of the room in his stead. HOT COCKLES. One player with his eyes bandaged lays^ his head on a chair, or in another player's lap, while the others strike him on his back with their open hands. In this unenviable position he remains until he can guess who strikes him, when the striker takes his place. The poet Gay describes this pastime in the following lines : — *' As at Hot Cockles once I laid me down, And felt the weighty hand of many a clown, Buxoma gave a gentle tap, and I Quick rose, and read soft mischief in her eye." HOW? WHEBJ5? AND WHEN? One of the players is sent out of the room, while the others fix upon a subject, which may be anything to which the three questions, *' How do you like it ? " " Where do you like it ? " and *; When do you like it? " will apply. When the subject has been decided upon, the out-player is summoned. He now puts the first question to the nearest player, who returns him a puzzling answer ; he then passes to the next, and repeats the same question ; then to the next, and HUNT THE WHISTLE. 33 80 on, until he has made the round of the room. If none of the answers enable him to guess the subject, he tries each player with the second question, and if the answers to this leave him still in the dark, he solicits a reply from each to the third and last nuestion. Should the player fail to guess the subject after asking tne three questions, he pays a forfeit and takes another turn outside; but should he succeed in guessing it during his rounds, the player last questioned must pay a' forfeit, and go out of the room in his place. The in-players should always endeavour to hit upon some word that has two or three meanings for a subject, as such a word renders the answers extremely confusing. For instance, if Jack be the subject decided on, one of the players may say, in answer to the first query, that he likes it " fried," referring to fish called the Jack ; in answer to the second, that he likes it " before the kitchen fire," referring now to a roasting-jack ; and in answer to the third, that he likes it when he is " dressing," now regarding the subject as a boot-jack. HUNT THE SLIPPER, This old-fashioned pastime is so generally known that it is scarcely necessary to describe it; however, as it forms one of the merriest in- door sports for the long winter evenings, it would be absurd to omit it in this work. Several boys seat themselves in a circle on the ground, and another, taking his place inside the ring, gives a slipper to one of them, by whom it is immediately and secretly handed to one of his neighbours ; it is now passed round from one sitter to another, with as much dexterity as possible, so as to completely perplex the " hunter " (or player standing in the middle) in his en- deavours to " chase the slipper by its sound," and who must continue his search until successful. The player in whose possession it is found must in his turn " hunt the slipper," whilst the former hunter joins the sitters. HUNT THE KING. ^ A game almost similar to the former. A piece of tape, on which ^ a ring is fastened, is held by the players as they stand in a circle, with one in the middle. The ring is passed from hand to hand, and the hunter's business is to find out in whose hand the ring is. HUNT THE WHISTLE. A boy who has never seen the game placed is elected hunter ; the ' others seat themselves on the ground, as m Hunt the Slipper. The hunter, having been shown the whistle, kneels in the centre of the circle, and lays his head in the lap of one of the players until the whistle is concealed. While he is in this posture, the whistle is to be secretly attached to the back part of his jacket or coat, by means of a piece of string and a bent pin. One of the players now blows the whistle and drops it, and the hunter, being released, is to". .; ii; D 34: EVERT boy's book. find it ; but this is no easy task, as he carries the object of his search about his own person. As the hunter kneels in the centre of the group, the different players blow through the whistle and drop it, as the opportunities occur. The puzzled hunter is sometimes fairly tired out before he discovers the trick that is played upon him. We need scarcely say that the whistle should be very small and light. MAGIC MUSIC. This is a very similar game to Hot Boiled Beans. One player having been sent out of the room, the others arrange some simple task for him to perform on his return. When this has been done, he is summoned by the magic music, which is played by one of his comrades, either by tapping a tea-tray with a key, or by rattling the poker and tongs together. The boy who has been sent out of the room must perform his appointed task under the guidance of the musician, who so regulates his performance on the rude instru- ments that the music gets loud and noisy when the puzzled player does what he ought not to do, and grows soft and quiet when he does anything towards the performance of his task. To render this game more intelligible, we will suppose the task to be the removal of a certain chair from one room to another. The player having entered the room is saluted by the magic music, the unmeaning clatter of which only confuses him at first. He walks towards the side of the room where the chair is stationed, and as he approaches it the clatter grows fainter ; this informs him that he is in the right path. He touches the table, but removes his hand at the sound of the music, which suddenly gets terribly noisy. He touches the chair ; the music ceases. He now knows that he is expected to do something with this particular chair, so he very naturally sits down upoii it ; but he jumps up directly he hears the " clatter, clatter, clatter " of the music. He lifts the chair, and as he does so the music grows soft again. He now turns the chair upside down ; carries it into the middle of the room ; places it on the sofa ; but all to no purpose, as he cannot stop the continual clatter of the magic music. At last he carries the chair into the adjoining room ; the music ceases, and his troublesome task is accomplished. In this noisy but amusing game the players go out of the room, and have tasks set them in turns. The musician generally retains his office throughout the game. POST. This exciting game may be played by an unlimited number, and is particularly adapted for a large party. One of the players, called " the postman," has his eyes bandaged as in Blind Man's Buff; another volunteers to fill the office of " postmaster-general," and all the rest seat themselves round the room. At the commencement of the game the postmaster'assigns to each player the name of a town, and, if the players are numerous, he writes the names given to them on a PROVERBS — LIST OF PROVERBS. 35 slip of paper, in case his memory should fail him. These prelimina- ries having been arranged, the blind postman is placed in the centre of the room, and the postmaster-general retires to some snug comer, whence he can overlook the other players. When this important fonctionary calls out the names of two towns, — thus, "London to Halifax,"— the players who bear these names must immediately change seats, and as they run from one side of the room to another, the postman tries to capture them. If the postman can succeed in catching one of the plajers, or if he can manage to sit down on an empty chair, the player that is caught, or excluded from his place, becomes postman. The postmaster-general is not changed through- out the game unless he gets tired of his office. When a player re- mains seated after his name has been called he must pay a forfeit, or if the game is played without forfeits he must go to the bottom of the class, which is represented by a particular chair, and to make room for him all the players who were formerly below him shift their places. PROVERBS. One player leaves the room, and while he is absent the rest fix upon some proverb. The words are then distributed among them, and each player, in reply to a question asked by the guesser, has to introduce his particular word. When all the words have been intro- duced, the guesser has to guess the name of the proverb, and another plaver takes his place. If, however, he cannot make it out, he has to leave the room again. LIST OF PROVERBS. A false friend is worse than a bitter enemy. A penny saved is a penny gained. A man is known by the company he keeps. A bad workman quarrels with his tools. All is not gold that glitters. A friend in need is a friend indeed. A good name is better than wealth. A good word costs nothing. A little rain lays much dust. A little spark makes a great flame. A bird in hand is worth two in a bush. Better late than never. Barking dogs seldom bite. Cut your coat according to your cloth. Empty vessels make the most sound. Example is better than precept. Evil beginnings have bad endings. Friends are plenty when the purse is lulL Good ware makes quick markets. d2 36 EVERY boy's book. Great cry and little wool. Gather thistles, expect prickles. Half a loaf is better than no bread. Hear twice before you speak once. In a calm- sea every man is a pilot. Idle folks have the least leisure. It's an ill wind that blows nobody good. If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing well. It's a sad heart that never rejoices Least said is soonest mended. Let them laugh that win. Look before you leap. Long looked for comes at last. Make hay while the sun shines. Many a slip between the cup and the lip. Make the best of a bad bargain. Marry in haste, repent at leisure. Of two evils choose the least. One good turn deserves another. Opportunity makes the thief. Out of sight out of mind. Penny wise and pound foolish. ^ Prevention is befter than cure. Pride will have a fall. Short reckonings make long friends. Strike while the iron's hot. Still waters run deep. Safe bind, safe find. The best part of valour is discretion. Waste not, want not. Where there's a will there's always a way. Wilful waste makes woful want. PUSS IN THE CORNER. Four players take their stations in the four corners of a room, and a fifth, called " Puss," places himself in the middle of it ; the players in the corners then change places by running to the opposite ends, and Pussmust endeavour to get into one of the vacant places before the opposite player is able to reach it ; if he can do so, the player left out becomes Puss. RED-CAP AND BLACK-CAP. The players sit round in a circle, each taking a colour. Thus one is red-cap, another black-cap, and so on. One of them, who takes the place of master, and has no colour, taking up a cap says : " Hullo, heres a false stitch. Who made it, blue-cap?" Blue-cap then answers, "Who, sir? I, sir?" "Yes, you, sir!" "Not I, .sir." SHADOW BUFF — SLATE GAMES. 37 " Who then, sir ? " " Yellow-cap, sir." Yellow-cap then starts up and says, "Who, sir? I, sir?" and goes through the dialogues, S'ving another colour. The player who neglects to start up when s colour is mentioned, or who does not repeat the question correctly, pays a forfeit. SHADOW BUFF. Shadow Buff differs very materially from Blind Man's Buff, but it is equally amusing. A large piece of white linen should be fastened neatly up at one end of room, so that it hangs quite smooth ; Buff (not blinded) seats himself on a low stool with his face to the linen, and a table, on which is a lighted candle, should be placed about four or five feet behind him, ana the rest of the lights in the room extinguished. Buffy's playfellows next pass in succession, between the candle and him, distorting their features in as grotesque a manner as possible — hopping, limping, and performing various oad antics, so as to make their shadows very unlike their usual looks. Buffy must then try to guess to whom the shadows belong, and if he guesses correctly, the player whose shadow he recognises takes his place. Buff is allowed only one guess for each person, and must not turn his head either to the right or left to see who passes. SLATE GAMES. Birds, Beasts^ and Fishes. — " Now, Tom," said Harry, " eet your slate and pencil, and I'll show you such a jolly game. Well now, look here, 1 have put down h X X X a. Now that stands for a beast's name, the first and last letters of which are h and a, with three letters between, represented by the crosses." " Let's see," replied Tom, scratching his head, " I know — ^Hare." " You muff ! There are only four letters in * hare,' and five in my word. Try again — mind you have only three guesses; so look out." Tom wondered again for a minute, and then suddenly blurted out, " I know — ^Horse." "Wrong again," replied Harry; *'the last letter of Horse is e and not a. Now be careful, Tom, for this is your last turn." Again Tom scratched his head, bit his lingers, and after meditating for at least two minutes and a half, shouted out in a moment of inspiration — " Hyena ! " As he was right, it now became his turn to put down a name. So he wrote on the slate s X X X X X w, at the same time telling Harry it was a bird ; fur according to the rules of this game you must say whether this name represents a beast, a fish, a bird, an insect, or a reptile. Harry in a minute shouted " Sparrow ! " and so the game went on ; and such a capital game did Tom and Harry have, that they sent Ihis account of it to us in the hope that we would make it known to the world in " Every Boy's Book." 38 EVERY boy's book. Trevch and English.— On the slate should be drawn a plan some- Mhat like the following. The dots represent soldiers, one side being o O ^ o o o o o o o 1 1 o o o o O O o o o o ^^H termed Erench and the other English. Each player is provided with a sharply pointed pencil, and the game is played as follows : — English, keeping the point of his pencil on a spot denoted by a cannon, draws it quickly across the slate in the direction of the other army. The pencil naturally leaves a line to mark his track, and if this mark passes through any of the men belonging to the other side, they are considered dead. The game is over as soon as all the men on one side are dead. Each pkyer has a certain space on the slate allotted to him, and he may dispose his men in whatever part of it he pleases SLATE GAMES. 39 The track of the pencil must be straight or curved ; any shot in which there is an angle does not count. In p. 38 we give a battle-field where the strife is ended. In this the English side has killed all the oppo- site side in eight shots, while the Prench in eight have only been aole to kill nine men. Novghis and Crosses. — This is a capital game, and one which every school- boy truly enjoys. A figure is drawn as follows, and the object of the one player is to draw three crosses in a line before the other can draw three noughts. Thus A begins by drawing a + in the ^ 1 n III j ■ 1 centre division; B follows with a nought in the top right-hand comer. A then draws a + iii the bottom right-hand comer, because by this means he gets two crosses in a line, and spoils one of B's chances. B in a hurry instantly places a in the top left-hand comer, and A follows by placing his -f- l)etween the two O's. B then, seeing that in the centre line A already has two crosses, places a in the third vacant space of the line ; while A, as a last resource, plants his + in the second space of the left-hand line. Then when B puts a in the ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ o + o 1 o + + 1 + o + 1 centre space at the left-hand, A places a + i^ the bottom left-hand comer, and the game is drawn, the plan standing as above. 40 EVERY boy's book. TRADES. Every player, except one wlio holds the office of reader, selects a trade or profession, which he must retain throughout the game. When all have chosen their trades, the reader opens a book at random, and reads a passage from it aloud ; but when he comes to any common noun, he looks at one of the tradesmen, who must instantly name some article that he is supposed to have for sale, or some implement connected with the exercise of his craft. By this substitution of one noun for another, the most pathetic passage is converted into an indescribable jumble of absurdities. In the following burlesqued extract from an Eastern tale, the words in italics are supposed to be supplied by the different tradesmen, in place of the nouns omitted by the reader : — " One offered the prince a bucket of the most precious mutton chops of Golconda ; another a curious piece of a Wellington boot, made by a European artist ; another a piece of the richest plum-pudding from the looms of China ; another a gridiron, said to be a sovereign remedy ;igainst all poisons and infectious diseases ; another a choice piece of the most fragrant Turkey rhubarb, in a warming-pan, inlaid with iicid drops ; another a coffin full of genuine treacle ; another a rock- ing-horse of the purest breed of Arabia ; and another a Flanders brick ui exquisite beauty. The whole court of the palace was overspread with gingerbread-nuts ; and long rows of slaves were continually passing loaded with corn-plasters, tenpenny-nails, bees'-uoax, and other articles of high price." TRUSSED FOWLS. T<70 boys having seated themselves on the floor, are trussed by their playmates ; that is to say, each boy has his wrists tied together with a handkerchief, and his legs secured lust above the ancles with another ; his arms are then passed over his knees, and a broomstick is pushed over one arm, under both knees, and out again over the other arm. The " trussed fowls " are now carried into the centre of room and placed opposite each other, with their toes just touching. The fun now begins ; as each fowl endeavours, with the aid of his toes, to turn his antagonist over on his back or side, and the one who can succeed in doing this wins the game. It frequently happens that both players turn over together, to the great amusement of the spectators. On board ship these comical encounters frequently take place between the boys, who are trussed by their elder shipmates. .. THE TWO HATS. This game, although only two persons are engaged in it at a tune, furnishes much amusement, from the contradictory nature of its vords and actions. The rules relative to it are as follow : — If three mistakes are made by the person who responds to the inquiries of the WHAT IS MY THOUGHT LIKE? 41 player who brings the hats round, and whom for distinction's sake we will call the questioner, he must pay three forfeits, and is out of the game ; when the questioner desires the respondent to be seated, the latter must stana up ; when he begs him to put his hat on, he must take it off ; when he requests him to stand, he must sit ; and in every point, the respondent must take special care to do always the very reverse of what the questioner wishes him. The questioner may sit down, stand up, put his hat on, or take it off, without desiring the respondent to ao so, or giving him the least intimation of his mtention ; the latter must, therefore, be always on his guard, so as to act in a contrary way in an instant, else he incurs a forfeit. These rules being settled, the game is simply this : one player places a hat on his head, takes anotlier in his hand, and gives it to one of the company; he then begins conversing with him, endeavouring both by words and actions to puzzle him as much as he can, so as to cause him to pay a forfeit. We will give a slight specimen of a dialogue, describing the accompanying movements of the hats, in which A is the questioner, B the respondent : A. {taking his hat of.) A. very beautiful evening, sir. B. {putting his hat on.) Yes, indeed, a most lovely one. A. {putting his hat on, and sitting down, B. instantly taking his off and getting up) Pray be seated, sir ; I really cannot think of sitting while you stand {gets up, and B. sits down). Have you been out of town this year ? {takes off his hat) B. {putting his on) I have not yet, but I think I shall, before (A. sits down, B. gets up) the beauty of the season has entirely passed away, venture a few miles out of town. A. {putting his hat on) I beg ten thousand j)ardons, you are standing while I am sitting ; pardon me, your hat is on — ^you must pay a forfeit. it generally happens, that before the dialogue has been carried thus far the respondent has incurred three forfeits, and is, of course, out ; the questioner then goes in succession to the others, and the same scene is repeated by each : the conversation, it is almost need- less to add, should be varied as much as possible, and the more non- sensical it is the better, WHAT IS MY THOUGHT LIKE? The leader of the game commences it by asking each of his com- panions in turn, " What is my thought like ? " to which they reply at hazard, by mentioning anything that first comes into their thoughts, of course avoiding naming the same thing twice over, as that incurs the penalty of a forfeit. The leader carefully notes down all the answers he receives, and then revealing his thought, desires to know what the thing thought of resembles in what it has been compared to. John. — Charles, what is my thought like P Charles. — A young girl. 42 EVERY boy's book. John. — James ? James. — A queen. John. — Now, Harry ? Harry. — A lion. John.— "lorn ? Tom. — Beauty. JoA».— You, William ? William. — An oak-tree. John. — Alfred, it is vour turn. Alfred. — A beautiful woman. John. — Andrew P Andrew. — Hope. John. — Arthur ? Arthur. — A hedgehog. John. — Ben ? Ben. — A rose. John. — And you, Cecil ? Cecil. — A vine. John. — My thought was a rose ; so now, Charles, tell me why a rose is like a young girl. Charles. — Because it is loveliest when only half-blown. John. — And why a queen ? James. — Because the rose is the queen of all flowers. John. — Harry, why is a rose like a lion ? Harry. — Because it is one of the emblems of England. John. — And why, Tom, is it like beauty P Tom. — Because it soon fades. John. — ^William, whv is it like an oak ? William. — Because both spring from the earth. John. — And you, Alfred ; why is a rose like a beautiful woman ? Alfred. — Because its fragrance often remains after the charms arc faded. John. — Andrew, why is a rose like hope ? Andrew. — Because in returning sunshme it forgets the past storm. John. — Arthur, why is a rose like a hedgehog ? Arthur. — Because its thorns defend it from a rough grasp. John. — You, Ben, having fixed upon the same thing as myself, must pay a forfeit. Cecil, why is a rose like a vine ? Cecil. — Because in old times they were both considered e«sential to a banquet. I can think of nothing better. •KASY GAMES WITH TOYS, OVTDOOR. EASY GAMES WITH TOYS. OUTDOOR. CATCH BALL. This is very simple play. The ball is thrown into the air by one player, the others standing round him. He calls out the name of the player, for whom the ball is thrown. If it be caught by the player so called, before the ball reaches the ground twice, he scores a point ; if any of the other players catch it, they score a point, and ''" e other loses one. DOUTEE-STOOL. I ^^ft This is a variety of the above game. A certain number of stools ^^■pre set up in a circular form, and at a distance from each other, and ^^■Ycry one is occupied by a single player ; when the ball is struck, ^^■rhich is done, as before, by the hand, every one of them is obliged ^Hn alter his situation, running in succession from stool to stool ; and if he who threw the ball can regain it in time to strike any of the players before he reaches the stool to which he is running^ hetfies nis place, and the person touched must throw the ball, until he can in like manner return to the circle. 44 EVERY boy's book. EGG-HAT. All the players engaged in this favourite pastime must place their caps on the ground, close to the wall, in such a manner that a ball may be easily pitched into them. A line being marked on the ground about fifteen feet from the wall, one of the players takes his station at it, and begins the game by throwing the ball into one of the caps ; the moment this is done all the boys run away, excepting the one into whose cap the ball is thrown, who immediately runs to take it out, and endeavours to strike one of the fugitives by throwing the ball at him ; if he can do so, the one struck has a small stone, called *' an egg" placed in his cap, and has to take his turn at pitching the ball. Should the thrower fail to hit one of the boys as they are running away, an " egg*' is put into his cap, and he has to pitch the ball into the caps again. If a player fails to throw the ball into a cap, he earns an "egg," but continues throwing until he succeeds, when a player gets three "eggs" in his cap, he is out. When all the players but one have been struck out, he is considered the winner, and the punishment of the losers then commences ; one of them standing near the wall bounces the ball at it with all his force, and next stands with his back to the wall, stretching out his right arm, and placing the back of his hand auite close to the wall, while the winner, standing where the ball fell, takes aim, and throws the ball at the said loser's hand three times : each of the losers likewise receives the same punishment from him. In some places it is usual, when one boy gets out, for him to bounce the ball against the wall, and all the other players, standing at the spot where the ball first touched the ground, to have their three balls at his Cf^ back, as he stands with his face to the wall. Should ' ■■ the ball in rebounding swerve either to the right or left, a line must be drawn, from the spot where it falls, to a place directly in a straight hue from the boy at the wall ; thus, suppose A is the boy who has just bounced the ball, which instead of going direct to B, has deviated from the straight line A B to C, a line should be drawn from C to B, and the winner should stand at the latter. Ji In this game four or five stones or marks must be placed on the ground, as ia the annexed figure, A, B, C, D, E, about twelve or fifteen yards asunder ; these marks are called bases, and one of them, as A, is styled "home." The ^' P players next toss up for the office of "feeder," who b. ^ takes his place about two yards in front of " home," ^ as at F, and the rest of the players stand at and "^ round the home. The feeder then calls out '* Play ! " and pitches the ball to the first player, who endeavours to strike it ^ with I MONDAY, TUESDAY. 45 I a bat, as far as he possibly can ; should he succeed in hitting the ball, he immediately drops the bat, and runs to the first base on his right hand, as E, while the feeder is going after the^ ball : but if he can run all the bases and then home, before the ball is in hand, so much the better. If, however, the feeder obtains the ball soon enough to throw it at, and strike him with it as he is running from base to base, the player is out ; he is also out if the feeder catches the ball : in either case the player becomes feeder, and the latter runs home to join his playmates. Should any of the other players I out at the bases, when one is caught or struck out, they also must run home. If the first player could only reach the base E, after striking the ball, he should, when the second player strikes it, run to the base D, as it is not allowable for two persons to be at one base at one and the same minute ; he proceeds in the same manner to the third and fourth bases, until he arrives home again, thus enabling the others to get to their bases and home in their respective turns. The player with the bat is not obliged to take every ball the feeder chooses to give him ; if he does not like a throw, he catches the ball and throws it back again. He is not allowed to make more than "offers" at the ball; if he does so he is out, and must be ;der. MONDAY, TUESDAY. This game, which takes its title from the names assumed by the yers, is played by seven boys, each of whom calls himself after ne of -the days of the week. To show the manner of playing e game, we will suppose that some boys are playing at it, and that e ball is taken by "Wednesday;" he throws it up against a wall, lling out at the same time the assumed name oi any one of the ther players, who should be standing around — we will suppose, for instance, " Friday ! " All the boys but Friday run away, and he endeavours to catch it ere it falls to the ground ; if he can do so, he throws it up again, calling out another boy's name — say ** Sunday ! " "' ould the ball touch the ground before he can eaten it, he mast 4:6 EVERY boy's book. pick it up and throw it at the retreating party; and if he succeeds m hitting one of them, the boy struck has to throw the ball up the next time ; but if he cannot strike one he loses a point, as in Egg- hat ; indeed, in the rules respecting the punishment of the losers, and the number of points each player is restricted to, it resembles that game. NINE-HOLES. Dig near a wall nine holes, of about six inches in diameter, and three deep. Let each player have one of these, according to his number, which must be determined by lot. At about six yards from the holes draw a line, and from this, as a fielding place, one player pitches the ball into one of the holes. The boy to whom this hole IS assigned immediately runs to it, while all the other players run off in different directions. The player snatches the ball from the hole, and throws it at one of the ''runners;" if he hits him, the one so hit becomes "pitcher," and the one that struck him marks one. Should he not hit him, the player who throws the ball loses a point, and bowls. The player who misses his aim at throwing the ball at his partners a second time becomes a " Tenner." If he loses a third hit, he is a " Fifteener ; " if the fourth, he stands out and can play no more. When all the players are thus out, the last player remain- ing in wins the game, and he can compel each of the losers to stand with their hands open against the wall, for hun to throw at, and give what is called the " Brandy Ball." If the ball be a soft one, this conclusion of the game is all very well ; but if a hard ball be used, it ought to be omitted, or the " Brandy " may be too strong. NORTHERN SPELL. This game is plaved with a trap and ball, which is struck with a bat or bludgeon at the pleasure of the players ; but the latter is most commonly used. The performance of this game does not require the attendance of either of the parties in the field to catch or stop the ball, for the contest between them is simply who shall strike it the greatest distance in a given number of strokes ; the length of each stroke is measured before the ball is returned, by means of a cord made fast at one end near the trap, the other being stretched into the field by a person stationed there for that purpose, who adjusts it to the ball, wnerever it may be. The cord is divided into yards, which are properly numbered upon in it in succession, so that the person at the bottom of the ground can easily ascertain the distance of each stroke by the number of the yards, wnich he calls to the players to place to their account, and the ball is thrown back. EOTJNDERS. This is a most excellent game, and very popular in some of our English counties. It is played with a moderate-sized ball and a I ROUNDERS. 47 hand-bat, i.e. a bat that can be held in one hand, and which is about two feet in length, smooth, and round. Two parties play at the ame, and there ought not to be less than five on a siae ; and the rst innings is decided by throwing up the ball, the party catching it being allowed to go in first. In playing the game, five stones, or stakes (called bases), or, if these be not convenient, as many holes may be made, at about sixteen yards apart, forming the five parts of a pentagon, as in the diagram. At the centre of this figure is a station called the feeder's place, being the spot at which one of the out party stands to give the ball to the oatsman, or to " feed " him, as it is technically termed, "lie out party are distributed over the field, except the feeder, who ,kes his station at F to deliver the balls, while one of the in party takes the bat and places himself at Eig. 1, which is enclosed within a circle, and called the Home, and where all the rest of the in arty stand. . The feeder then says " Play," and clivers his ball to the batsman, who imme- diately strikes it as far as he can. As soon as he has done so, he drops his bat, and runs to as many of the stations as he can; but he must touch at all, or he will be out. If while he is ning to the second, or between any of the bases, the returned [ is sent up and strikes him, he is out, and the next of the in rty takes up the bat. If he is not struck while he runs, as soon he reaches one of the stations the next of the in party takes up e bat, another ball is given by the feeder, and he runs tc the first, T as many other of the stations as he can ; the first batsman does " e same, so as to go the whole round of the bases to the home at 0, 1. The in player is also out if he tips the ball behind him, or if he misses striking it when delivered. The in players as they arrive at home take the bat again, till they are got out, according to the rules of the game just given. When it happens that all are out but "wo, the best of the two may, with the consent of the other, call for ' three fair hits for the rounder." Standing at the home, the feeder hen gives him in succession three balls. He may decline as many )alls as he pleases, if they do not suit him ; but if he strikes at the ball, he is only allowed to do so twice without running. On the delivery of the third ball, he must run the entire course, touching with his bat at every one of the five points. If, during his progress, he be touched by the ball, or it be grounded at the home while he is I absent, he is declared out, and the opposite side ^o in and take their places. If, on the contrary, he reaches home without being struck or the ball grounded, his side go in again, and continue the game as before. Should he miss the ball when striking at it the third time, the rounder is lost. In the play the feeder is allowed to make feint Htv K 48 EVERY boy's book. from his base, so as to get a chance of hitting him. It is usnal also for the out party to place a player behind the home, so that when a batsman makes a tip on the side of the home, he may seize the bail and strike him out before he reaches the first base. SEVENS. This game is very like Catch-ball. The object is to catch a ball seven tmes in a particular fashion ; hence the name. The player begins by throwing the ball in the air and catching it seven times with both hands. Then he catches it seven times with the right hand, next seven times with the left. Then he throws the ball up, claps his hand while it is in the air, and catches it seven times witii botn hands, then with the right, and then with the left. The players are allowed to make as many more variations as they please ; and he who goes through the senes first wins the gauae. STOOL-BALL. This is an old English sport, mentioned by Gower and Chaucer, and was at one period common to women as well as men. In the northern parts of England, particularly in Yorkshire, it is practised in the following manner : — A stool being set upon the ground, one of the players takes his place before it, while his antagonist, standing at a distance, tosses a ball, with the intention of striking the stool. It is the former player's business to prevent this, by breaking it away with the hand, reckoning one to the game for every stroke of the ball ; if, on the contrary, it should be missed by the hand, and touch the stool, the players change places. The conqueror of the game is he who strikes the ball most times before it touches the stool. TEAP, BAT, AND BALL. This game is so called from the trap used to elevate the ball when it is to be struck by the batsman. It is one of the earliest games played with the trap and ball, and we can trace it to the commence- ment of the fourteenth century. The manner in which it was then played was somewhat different to the style at the present day. As now played, the-trap is no longer elevated, but set on the ground, and is generally made in the form of a shoe, the heel pa?t being hollowed I HOOPS. 49 out for the reception of the ball : but some boys, when they cannot get a trap, make a hole in the ground, and having obtained the crochet bone of an ox, place it in a slanting position, one end being in the hole and the other out of it. The elevated end is then sharply struck with the bat, which causes the ball to rise to a considerable height, and then all the purposes of a trap are answered, especially if the ground be hard and dry. It is usual in the present game of Trap and Ball to place two boundaries, at a given distance from the trap, between which it is necessary for the ball to fall when struck by the batsman, for if it falls outside of either, he gives up his bat and is out. He is also out if he strikes the ball into the air, so that it is caught by an oppo- site player ; and, again, if the ball when returned by an adversary touches the trap, or rests within one bat's length of it. Every stroke tells for one towards the striker's game. There are some variations in the play of the game in different counties. In Essex and Suffolk, for instance, the game is played with a cudgel instead of a bat, which would seem to be a prefer- able weapon, as those who strike with it rarely miss their blow, but frequently send it to an astonishing distance, no boundaries being set. The ball being stopped by one of the opposing party, the striker forms his judgment of the ability of the person who is to throw it back, and calls in consequence for any number of scores towards the game that he thinks proper. It is then returned, and if it appears to his antagonist to rest at a sufficient distance to justify the striker's call, he obtains his number ; but when a contrary opinion is held, a measurement takes place, and if the scores demanded exceed in number 1 he length of the cudgel from the trap to the ball, he loses the whole, and is out ; while, on the other hand, if the lengths of the bat are more than the scores called for, the matter terminates in the striker's, favour, and they are set up to his account. Trundling the hoop is a pastime of uncertain origin, but it has long contributed to the health and amusement of the youth of Great Iritain. Iron hoops have almost superseded the old-fashioned wooden "les, and instead of being trundled with a stick, they are luiially 50 EVERY boy's book. guided by an iron hook shaped like the annexed figure. On a cold frosty morning the hoop is an invaluable companion to a boy, as he g at '>0 is enabled by its aid to defy tne weather, and dispense with overcoats, comforters, and all such devices for keeping out the wintry wind. Often have we envied our juvenile friends, as they have rushed past us with their hoops, and lamented that custom should prevent grown-up people indulging in the same healthful recreation. THE HOOP. The proper and legitimate hoop, however, should be made of a stout ashen, iath, round on the outside and flat on the inside, and should be weU fastened at its point of juncture ; it should be in height so as to reach .midway between the youngster's elbow and shoulder, so that he maj not have to stoop while striking it. The stick should "be about sixteen inches long, and made of tough ash ; and, in bowling the hoop, the bowler should strike it vigorously in the centre, and in a direction horizontal with the ground. Such hoop exercise is exceedingly good, and a good run with such a hoop will warm the youth in the very coldest weather. The games, properly so called, that can be played with the hoop are very few, and not generally known. ENCOUNTERS. Two boys start at different ends of the playground with their hoops, and, meeting in the middle, each endeavours to knock down the hoop of his antagonist, while his own remains upright. There is no small skill required in this game, for it is not always easy to make the hoops toucn each other at all. Then a light hoop has little chance agamst a heavy one, unless it can strike it side- ways, for if- it were struck directly in front, it would be certainly upset. Also, a ready hand at recovering a falling or totteriag hoop wins many a game that appears to be hopelessly lost. Wooden hoops, also, give due exercise to the arm ; and there is some tact required in knowing exactly where to strike a hoop, so as to propel it with the greatest force. This cannot well be done with iron hoops, and forms one of the objections to them. Moreover, boys always complain that they soon lose their round form, and are awkward to bowl. Still, there is something cheering in the ringing sound of an iron hoop, as it nisles HOOPS. 51 along Tinder the pressure of the curved iron rod that is used instead of a noop-stick ; and as long as boys don't drive them against the legs of unwary passengers, they are very well in their way. HOOP liA.CE. Any number of boys can join in this exciting sport, but they ought ;ill to be provided with hoops as nearly equal in size as possible. At a given signal the players aU start together, and each endeavours to reach the winning post (which may be any distant object) before his companions. He who arrives at the winning-post last is generally received with groans, hisses, and other vocal signs of disapprobation. POSTING. Bases, called posting-stations ^ are formed at regular distances, in a large circle or ellipse, and at each base a player is stationed. Every player, except the hoop-driver, has charge of a base. Let us sup- pose that there are seven players — A, B, C, D, E, F, and G, and that the latter holds the hoop : the other six players having taken possession of their stations, G now starts from the station belonging to F, and drives the hoop towards A, who waits, with hoop-stick in hand, ready to relieve G of his charge. G stops at the posting- station, while A trundles the hoop to B, who takes charge of it, and delivers it to C. C trundles the hoop to D ; P transfers it to E; E delivers it to F ; and F conveys it in safety to the first player, G. I In this way the game continues, until all the players have worked round the circle nve or six times. It is considered very disgraceful to touch the hoop with the hand, or to allow it to fall after it has been started on its journey. The- game is rendered much more lively by increasing the number of players, and having two or three hoop- irivers to follow each other from base to base. e2 52 EVERY boy's book. I TOURNAMENT. This game is almost the same as Encounters. Two boys drive their hoops one against the other, and he whose hoop falls in the encounter is conquered. With eight players this game may be rendered very exciting. Four of the players stand in a row, about six feet apart, and, at a considerable distance, the other four take their stand, facing them. At a given signal each player dashes towards his opponent, and strives to overturn his hoop. The four victors now pair off, and charge two against two. The conquerors then urge their hoops one against the other, and he who succeeds in overturning the hoop of his antagonist wins the game. Wooden hoops are more suitable for Tournament than iron ones, though the game is usually played with the latter. TXJBNPIKE. Five or six boys can play at this game, though onlv one hoop is reqiured. Chance decides whic]i of the players shall first take the hoop. The other players become turnpike-keepers. Each turnpike is formed of two bricks or stones, placed on the ground, and separated hj about three finders' breadths. These turnpikes are fixed at regular distances, and their number is regulated by the number of keepers. When all is ready, the first player starts his hoop, and endeavours to drive it through all the turnpikes ; should he succeed in this, he turns the hoop, drives it back agam, and retains it until it touclies one of the turnpikes, the keeper of which now becomes hoop-driver. When a player toilches the hoop with his hand, or allows it to fall, he must deliver it up to the nearest turnpike-keeper. Each keeper must stand on that side of his turnpike which is towards the right hand of the hoop-driver, and it therefore follows that he must alter his position ■when the hoop-driver returns. Should a keeper stand on his wrong side, the driver need not send the hoop through his turnpike. When the players are numerous, there may be two or more hoops driven at once. HOOP STICKa \w^ The form of tlie kite and manner of flying it must be familiar to our readers. This favourite toy probably received its denomina- tion from having originally been made in the shape of the bird called the kite. The flying of paper kites is a favourite pastime among the ^■Chinese. On a certain day they hold a sort of kite festival, and then ^■people of all ages hasten to the hills to fly their kites, the fantastic ^■shapes and gaudy colours of which produce an extraordinary effect. ^■Philosophers have occasionally taken the kite out of the hands of the ^B^Bchoolboy, and have applied it to useful and curious purposes. By ^T means of a kite formed of a silk handkerchief stretched over a wooden W frame. Dr. Franklin drew down lightning from the clouds, and demonstrated its identity with electricity. Many years ago Mr. Pocock, of Bristol, travelled on the road between Bath and London in a carriage drawn by two paper kites, supported at a moderate ele- vation, and impelled by the wind. The paper kite has also been employed to convey a line over the capital of Pompey's Pillar. We do not expect our readers to perform any electrical or locomotive experiments with their kites ; but we are (juite sure that they may derive great amusement from these little aerial machmes, especially if they manufacture them with their own hands. We know of no pleasanter occupation for a summer's day than watching the graceful flight of a well-made kite. HOW TO MAKE A KITE. Por the upright get a good straight lath, as A B, in the annexed figure, and next procure half of a thm hoop or cane for the bow C D, and then tie the hoop to the upright at A, and take care to have as much on one side of the upright as on the other ; otherwise your kite 54 EVERY BOY S BOOK. will be sure to fall on one side when flying. Notcli the two ends of the bow C D, and tie a long piece of string to D ; pass it round the upright at E, and then fasten it at C ; next carry the strmg to A, pass it down to J), and tie it there : ^from thence it is to be continued to B, passed round a notch there, and carried up again to C, then down the upright at F, and up to D, where it is to be finally fastened off. The skeleton being thus finished, the next thing to be done is to paste several sheets of paper so as to form a surface large enough to cover the kite and allow of a little turn over to fasten the outer edges ; after you have pasted the paper on to the skeleton, you must make two holes, in the upright, as at G, G, through which the belly-band is to be passed, knotting the two ends of the string to keep it from shppiii& through the holes. The wings are to be made of several sheets of paper, cut mto slips, rolled close up, so as to bear some resemblance to a tassel, and tied to the sides of the kite at C, D. The tail, which should be about fifteen times the length of the kite, is made by folding a number of pieces of paper so as to be about an inch in breadth, and four inches in length, and afterwards tyin^ them on a string at intervals of three inches, and is finished by affiong to the end of the string a large tassel made in the same manner as the wings. Tie the string with which you intend to fly the kite to the belly-band, and your kite is complete and ready for service. FLYING THE KITE. We need not enter very minutely into the rules to be observed in flying a kite, as every boy is acquainted with them. Unless there be a nice breeze stirring, the kite-flyer need not expect to have much sport, as nothing can be more vexa- tious than attempting to fly a kite when there is not sufficient wind for the purpose. To raise the kite in the first instance, the flyer will re- quire the aid of another boy. The owner of the kite having unwound a considerable length of string, now turns his face towards the wind and Erepares for a run, while his assistant olds the kite by its lower extremity as high as he can from the grouna. At a ^ven signal the assistant lets the kite go, and if all circumstances be favourable it will soar upwards with great rapidity. With a well- constructed kite, in a good breeze' KiTiia. 65 the flyer need not trouble himself to run very fast nor very far, as his kite will soon find its balance, and float quite steadily on the wind. The kite-flyer should be careful not to let out string too fast. When a kite pitches, it is a sign that it is bmlt lop-side, or that its tail is not long enough. MESSENGERS. Some boys amuse themselves by sending messengers up to their kites when they have let out all their string. A messenger is formed of a piece of paper three or four inches square, in the centre of which a hole is made. The end of the string is passed through the hole, and the wind quickly drives the messenger up to the kite. The kite- flyer should be careful not to send up too many messengers, lest they weigh down the kite. CALICO KITES. Calico has many advantages over paper as a covering for kites ; it is not so liable to be torn, is not damaged by wet, and may be sewn on the framework much more neatly than paper can be pasted. Being much heavier than paper, it is, however, only suited for large kites. A portable calico kite may now be procured at most of the toy-shops. The framework of this kite is formed of two slender pieces of wood, which turn on a common centre in such a mannei that they can either be shut up, so that one piece lies flat upon the other, or opened out into the form of a cross. The calico covering is attached to this cross by means of tapes. This portable kite can be rolled up and carried to the field without inconvenience. TANCJ KITES. Ingenious boys now and then take a hmt from the Chinese, and so fthape and paint their kites that they resemble different animate and 66 EVERY BOYS BOOK. inanimate objects. The "officer kite," which has the figure of a soldier painted on it, and the " hawk kite," which rudely repre- sents a flying hawk, are common forms of fancy kites. A very funny effect may be produced by painting a kite like a sailor, and attaching moveable arms, instead of the ordinary tassel wings, to the shoulders. We present our readers with a few suggestive forms, which are quite novel. All fancy kites should be painted with the most glaring colours, and the figures on them drawn as coarsely as possible, as they are intended to be seen at a great distance. A IllUU KL^ i.U. vari( ^Konl In ancient times, when we were boys, and indulged in the Injcnry of marbles, they were very different from their present form. They were made of stone, nicely polished, and some of them, called " aUevs," of the purest marble. Many of the stone marbles were beautimlly variegated, and now and then a fancy pet was treasured under the e of " taw," which had somewhat the virtues of a talisman, for lose it or to give it '* were " such perdition," as Othello says, as uld never be exceeded. Of late years, marbles, Hke all other tters, have undergone considerable change. Foreign marbles Tiave been introduced, prodigiously cheaper, it is true, than our old English marbles, but infinitely worse ; and various kinds of "patent marbles " have had their day. Some of these go by the name of Dutchmen, others are called Frenchmen, and others again Chinamen, while it is not quite impossible to procure some right old English marbles, which, if they can be procured, are still the best. We would advise all marble players to procure these, if they can, as " marbles " is a royal game, and ought to be duly honoured. Hoio to Shoot your Marble. — The art of holding a marble to shoot it properly seems to be lost among our London boys, who are gene- 58 EVERY boy's book. HOW TO HOLD YOUB TAW. rally content to throw one marble at another, or if they shoot it to hold it in the turn of the fore-finger, forcing it out by the thumb, which is placed behind it. This, in our boyish days, was held to be a very illegitimate way of proceeding, derogatory to the true marble-player, and bore the dishonourable appellation of " fulkiug," and any one who made it his rule to hold a marble in such a manner was looked upon as a charlatan, or almost a cheat. The true way to hold your taw is to place it between the point of the fore- finger and the first joint of the thumb, and to propel it from the nail of the thumb with strong muscular force ; and so great was the skUl attained by many boys, that they would sometimes strike a marble at five yards' dis- tance, and frequently shoot one to six or seven. BOUNCE EYE. This ^ame is played by several players, each of whom puts down a marble in a small ring. One player then stands in a perpendicular position over the cluster of maroles, and, taking his own bounce in his hand, lets it fall from his eye on to the heap, and those forced out of the ring by this method are considered won. If he does not succeed in this, and his marble falls within the ring, it belongs to the common stock, and is there impounded. CONQUEROR. There is a game called " Conqueror," which is extensively played in some places. A piece of hard ground, and free from stones, is chosen for the spot. The first player lays his marble on the ground, and the second throws his own at it with all his force, and endeavours to break it. If he succeeds, his marble counts one, and the van- quished player lays down another marble. If two players have marbles that have alreadv vanquished others, the "Conqueror" counts all the conquered of the other party in addition to his own. Tor example, suppose A, being conqueror of twenty, breaks B, also a conqueror of twenty, A counts forty-one, i.e. twenty of his own, twenty for the vanquished belonging to B, and one for B itself. Nuts, chestnuts, and other similar objects are also employed in this game, only they are fastened to a string, and swung against the opponent, instead of being thrown. DIE SHOT. This is a very good game, and requires both skill and caution. It is played by elevating a die upon a marble, whose sides are sUghtly ground down, so that it will stand firmly, and fmng at it from an oflBng, which is generally at a distance of about four feet from it. The die-keeper under- MARBLES. 59 takes to pay to the shooter who knocks down the die the number which falls uppermost, receiving one marble from each player as he shoots. EGGS IN THE BUSH. This game is a great improvement upon odd or even. Dick asks Tom to guess the number of " eggs in the bush " — that is, the num- ber of marbles in his closed hand. If Tom can guess the ri^ht number, he takes all ; but if he is out in his reckomng, he pays Dick as many marbles as will make up or leave the exact number. Suppose Dick has six marbles in his hand ; now, if Tom should guess either four or eight, he would have to forfeit two marbles to Dick, because four is two less, and eight is two more, than the exact number. The players hold the " eggs in the bush " alternately. INCilEASE POUND In most respects resembles Ring taw, the variations being, that if before a marble is shot out of the ring one player's taw is struck by another's (excepting his partner's), or if his taw remains within the ring, he puts a shot in the pound, continues in the game, and shoots agani from the offing before any of his companions. If his taw is struck after one or more marbles have been driven out of the ring, if ' he has taken any shots himself, he gives them to the player who struck him, puts a taw in the ring, and shoots from the offing, as before. If, however, he has not won any marbles during the game, before his taw is struck, he is " killed " and put out of the game ; he is likewise out if, after any shots have been struck out, his taw gets within the pound — if it remains on the line it is nothuig. _ He then puts the marbles (if he has won any) into the circle, adding one to them for the taw struck, and shoots again from the offing. In case he cannot gain any shots after his taw gets " fat," as remaining in the ring is termed, he is kUled, and out for the rest of the game. When only one marble remains in the ring, the taw may continue inside it without being " fat." Each player seldom puts more than one marble in the ring at the beginning of a game. KNOCK OUT, OB, LAG This game is played by knocking _ marbles against a wall, or perpen- dicular board set up for the purpose; and the skill displayed in it depends ^npon the player's attention to what is 'led in mechanics the resolution of )rces : for instance, if an object be truck against the wall at A from the lark at B, it will return again to B in [a straight line ; if it be sent from C to A, it will, instead of returning to C, pass off aslant to D, and its course will OUT. 60 EVERY boy's book. ibrm the angle CAD; the angle of incidence being equal to the angle of reflection. The game is played by any number of players: the first player throws his marble against the wall, so that it may rebound and fall about a yard distant from it ; the other players then, in succession, throw their majrbles against the wall, in such a way as to cause them to strike any of those already lagged out, and the marble struck is considered won by the owner of the taw that strikes it, in addition to which the winner has another throw. When only two boys play, each successively throws out till one of the " laggers " is struck, and he who strikes takes up all. LONG TAW. Long taw is played by two persons in the following manner. One boy places his marble on the ground at A, the other at B ; then both ^ retire to the spot C. The first boy now shoots at B from a """^ Hne marked at C. If he strikes it, he takes it and shoots at A ; if he strikes A, he then wins the game. If, however, he misses B, the second boy then shoots at B ; if he strikes it, he can then either shoot at the first boy's taw at the place at which it lies, or he can shoot at A. If he hits his opponent's taw, he is said to kill him, and wins the game, or if ne shoots at A, and hits it. The boy who hits the last shot has the *^ privilege of shooting at the taw of the other, provided it has not already been killed. If he hits it, the taw is taken, or the owner must pay one, and the game ends; and if he jC misses it, the game is then at an end also. Long taw is a *" game seldom played by London boys, but is very common in the different Enghsh counties. NINE-HOLES, OK BREDGB BOAHD. This game is played by means of a piece of board cut into the form of a bridge, having nine arches, and just large enough to let the marbles pass through, as in the subioined diagram. One of the players undertakes to be " bridge-keeper,'* and the stipulation usually made is, that he should receive one for every unsuccessful shot, and pay to those who shoot their marbles through the arches the numbers standing over them. The place from which the players shoot their marbles is generally about four feet from the bridge. MARBLES. 61 sJ>-^- ^ J> J> 3_J j» J^ ODD OR EVEN. One player extends his closed hand containing some marbles, and asks his opponent to guess whether their numoer is odd or even. Should he guess wrong, he forfeits a marble, and his questioner tries him with another lot ; but should he guess right, the first player must pay him a marble, and take a turn at guessing. PICKING THE PLUMS. This game consists in each player placing a marble on a line drawn npon the ground thus, and the wnole shooting at them in sue- —-^-^i^Il^. _ cession from a mark about four feet off. The order of the shots is determined beforehand, by pitching at a marble from a six-feet offing, those nearest being first, second, third, and fourth in order, as the marbles lie. The marbles knocked off the line are won by the respective shooters. THE PYEAMID. In this game a boy generally sits upon the ground, with his legs open wide, and, making a small circle, places in it three marbles at the three points of a tri- angle, and the fourth on the top of them, so as to form a small pyi-amid. A distance of about four feet is then chosen as the point to shoot from, and the other players shoot at the pyramid. Those that stiike it have all the marbles they knock out of the ring; but if they miss, they lose their shots. EING TAW. Ring taw is a game requiring skill and judgment, and is a most excellent game. It is played as follows. Two rings are drawn upon the ground, a small one, six inches in diameter, enclosed by a larger one, six feet in diameter. Into the small ring each player puts a marble, called "shot." The players then proceed to any part of the large ring, and from thence, as an ofi^g, shoot at the marbles in the centre. If a player knocks a marble out of the ring he wins it, and he is entitled to shoot again before his com- panions can have a shot. When all the players have shot their marbles. 62 EVERY boy's book. they shoot from the places at which their marbles rested at the last shot. If the shooter's taw remain in the small circle, he is out, and has to drop a marble ia the ring, and he must put in besides all the marbles he had previously won in that game. It is a rule, also, that when one player shoots at and strikes another's taw, the taw so struck is considered dead, and its owner must give up to the striker of the taw all the marbles he may have previously won during the game. The game is concluded when all the marbles are shot out of the ring, or all the taws are killed. SPANS AND SNOPS, AND BOUNCE ABOUT. This consists of one boy laying down his taw, and, giving a dis- tance, his antagonist shoots at it ; if he misses, the first boy shoots at the taw of the second, till one is struck, which the striker claims. Bounce About is the same game played by throwing large marbles instead of shooting smaller ones, he who strikes the other's bounce being the winner. TEETOTUM SHOT. This is played on the same conditions as Die Shot. A teetotum is set spinning by the keeper, and, when in motion, any pla;^er is allowed to shoot at it, upon the payment of one marble, receiving, if I lie strikes, turns over, and stops the teetotum, as many marbles as are indicated on the side that falls uppermost. This is a very skilful game, and requires good shots. THBJEE-HOLES. This game is played by making three holes in the ground, about a yard and a half or two yards asunder. About two yards from the first hole a line is drawn. The right to shoot first is decided by diance. The first shooter now knuckles down at the line, and MARBLES. 6n I endeavours to shoot into the first hole. If he does this he proceed.s I to the second, then to the third, and wins the game ; but this rarely occurs. If he misses the first hole, the other players shoot their taws, and if neither of them enter the hole, ^^^^ the first shot immediately does so ; and then he has the j£^ [privilege either of proceeding to the second hole, or of .,-X— [. iiUing the other men by shooting at and hitting them, -^Siir when they must either give up their taws or drop one. "S^ Sometimes a player will kill ail his antagonists in sue- -=:^^:i. cession without wroceeding to any hole except the first, "SZ^II and thus wins the game ; at other times the game may ^^^ be won by any of the players kilhng their antagonists during any period of the game. It is a rule that no one '^t' can " kill a taw" till he has been in the first hole. :i.^--"i TIPSHARES, OB, HAKDERS. This ^nme is played by two or more players. To play it, a hole. of the diameter of three inches, is first made on a smooth or level piece of ground, and a line is marked at about seven feet from it Each boy puts down two, three, or four marbles, as may be agreed upon, and then the whole party bowl for their throws, by retiring to three times the distance aJready marked fi'om the hole, and bowling one marble to it ; the order of throws being determined by the near- ness that each boy's marble approaches the hole. When this is settled, the first thrower takes all the marbles in his hand, and throws them in a cluster towards the hole. If an even number falls in, such as 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, he wins all ; but if an odd number falls in, he loses all. "marbles are out " The peg-top appears to be a modem invention, but tbe wbip-top is of great antiquity, it having been used in remote times by the Grecian boys ; it was well knovm at Rome in the days of Virgil, and in Eng- land as early at least as the fourteenth century, when its form was the same as it is now. Strutt, in his " Sports and Pastimes of the People of England," relates the following amusing anecdote of Prince Henry, the eldest son of James I., which he met with in an old manu- script at the British Museum : " The first time that the prince went to the town of StirHng to meet the king, seeing a little without the gate of the town a stack of com in proportion not unlike to a top wherewith he used to play, he said to some that were with him, * Lo, there is a goodly top ! ^ Whereupon one of them saying, * Why do you not play with it then ? ' he answered, * Set you it up for me and I will play with it.' " THE HUMMING-TOP. These cannot easily be made, but can very easily be purchased by those who are so lucky as to have the money. They are made hollow, having at their crown a peg, round which is wound a string ; this, bein^ pulled through a kmd of fork, gives motion to the top, and sets it spinning — ^the fork and the string being left in the spmner's r TOPS. 65 hand. Iii spinning the top, care should be taken to wind the string firmly and evenly on the peg ; and when it is pulled out, neither too I much nor too little force should be used, and a firm and steady hand should be employed, while the top should be held in a perpendicular position. The string should be drawn with a steadily increasing force, or the top will not hum properly. PEG-TOP. There are various kinds of Peg-tops, and they also vary in shape, some being much rounder than others. Those are the best which are shaped like a pear. There is also gi*eat variety as regards the shape and size of the peg, which in some tops is short and thick, in others long and tapering. Again, tops are made of different kinds of wood, some being made of deal, others of elm, some of yew-tree, and others of box- wood. These last are tlie Boxers so highly prized. Some of the very best tops are made of lignum vitse, with long, handsome pegs. SPANISH PEG-TOP. The Spanish peg-top is made of mahogany. It is shaped some- what like a pear ; instead of a sharp iron peg, it has a small rounded knob at the end. As it spins for a much longer time than the English peg-top, and does not require to be thrown with any degree of force in order to set it up, it is extremely well adapted for playing on flooring or pavement. THE WHIP-TOP. Whip-top is a capital sport when played by two peraons ; and is played Dy first whirlmg the top into motion by turning it sharply with 06 EVERY BOY S BOOK. both hands, and then by flogging it till its motion becomes very rapid. When two persons play whip-top, the object should be for each to whip his top to a certain goal, he who reaches it first being the victor. CHIP-STONE. This game is played by two boys, in the following manner : Two Hnes, about six feet apart, are marked upon the ground, which ought to be smooth and hard. Some small stones are then procured and placed midway between the Hues ; they should not be larger than a small bean, and the black and pohshed ones are the most sought after. The tops are now set up spinning on the ground, and the players, being each provided with a small wooden spoon, dexterously intro- duce them under the pegs of the spinning tops, and then, with the top still spinning in the spoon, throw the point of'ihe peg against the stone, so as to chip it out of bounds ; he who does this the soonest being the victor. While the top continues to spin, he may take it up with the spoon as many times as he can, and when it spins out he must again wind up, pursuing the same plan till he " chips out." Directions. — In winding up the top do not wet the end of the line too much, and take care to lay it closely and evenly within the grooves. In throwing the top from you, the line must be pulled in with a peculiar jerk of the hand, wliich practice alone can give. The string button should be held close in the hand, between the last two fingers of the hand. There is what is called an " underhand " way of spinning a top, i.e. by holding it peg downwards, throwing it in a straight line forward, and withdrawing the string ; but as we dislike everything underhand, we shall not recommend this practice any more than we shall the Spanish tops, which are spun after this method. PEG-IN-THE-miSG. This game may be played by any number of boys. A ring about a yard in diameter is furst marked on the ground, and another ring or THl X VNIVKR8(Tr j TOPS. 67 surrounding the first, and at a yard's distance from it, is also marked. The players must stand on this ring, and from it throw their tops. One player begins by throwing his top spianing into the ring, and while it is there spinniag the other players are at liberty to peg at it as quickly as they can. If none of them hit it while it is spinning, and if it rolls out of the ring, the owner is allowed to take it up, and having wound it, to peg at the others which may be still spinning in the circle. Should any of the tops, when they cease spinning, fall within the ring, they are considered dead, and are placed in the centre of the circle for the others to peg at. The player who succeeds in striking any of the tops out of the circle claims those so struck out. In some places each player may ransom his top with a marble. Sleeping tops are exposed to much danger ia the play, for they offer a fair mark to the " pegger," and often get spHt, when the " peg " is taken by the spHtter as his trophy. Long-pegged tops are the best for the game, for they lie more upon their sides after their fall, and, before the spinning entirely ceases, are the more likely to spin out of the ring. There is a way of making the top spring out of the ring directly it has touched the ground. Only long-pegged tops will execute this feat. It is done by drawing the hand sharply towards the body just as the top leaves the string. When the manoeuvre is well executed, the top will drive any opponent that it strikes entirely out of the ring, while it does not remain within the dangerous circle itself for more than a few seconds. TOPS ARE IN. If 2 68 EVEIiy BOY S BOOK. There are some out-door games played with toys \7hich do not fall under any of our previous headings. These games we now lay before our reader, together with a description of the toys in common use. THE APPLE MILL. The Apple Mill is made by boring a hole in a nut, iust large enough to pass a thin skewer through ; the kernel should then be extracted, and another hole bored in the side of the nut, as a in the annexed figure. A skewer should next be cut or thinned, leaving it large enough at the top to form a head, as shown in the cut. A piece of string is then to be tied to the skewer, and passed through the hole in the side of the nut at a, ana an apple stuck on the end of the skewer. The mill being now complete in all its works, it should be twirled round in the same manner as the humming top to wind up the string, holding the nut stationary between the forefinger and thumb of the left hand ; when this is done, the string must be pulled out quickly, and the mill will immediately spin round. When an apple cannot be procured, a small potato will serve equally well. AUNT sally. This amusing game is of a very simple character, consisting essen- tially in throwing at a small object. Aunt SaUy herself is composed of a head and bust cut out of a soHd block of wood, and generally carved with negro features, and painted black. In the middle of her nose, or between her lips, a hole is bored, into which is stuck a short pipe. To break it is the object of the game. An iron CAT. rod serves to support the wooden figure at a proper elevation from the ground; and when in gala costume, Aunt Sally is usually arrayed in a mob cap and a petticoat. The mode of playing the game is as follows : — The iron rod is stuck in the ground, a pipe put into the old lady's mouth, and a line drawn upon the ground, at twelve, six- teen, or more paces. At this line the players stand, ana each is furnished with three short cudgels, about eighteen inches in length, which they hurl at Aunt Sally's head, in hopes of hitting the pipe. The best plan is to throw the cudgels under- hand, giving them a rapid rotatory move- ment at the same time. Some persons insert an additional pipe into each ear; but this is an innovation, and leads to careless throw- ing. It is better to hang a sheet, net, or lai-ge cloth behind Aunt Sally, in order to catch the sticks, and save the trouble of con- tinually fetching them from a distance. Within doors, the iron rod is furnished with a loaded pedestal. BATON, Or, "Throwing Sticks." This very popular game among the Greets was by them called KyndaUsmos. It was played with short batons, and required considerable strength and quickness of eye. With us the game is played in much the same manner as the Greeks played it. A stick is fixed in a kind of cup or hole, about six inches deep, in a loose moist soil, and the players consist of the Keeper and Throwers. The Keeper places on the top of the stick some article, such as an apple or orange, and the Throwers endeavoui- to knock it off, by throwing at it with short thick sticks, or batons ; whoever succeeds in doing this claims the prize, whenever it falls without the hole. The Thrower will soon find in his play, that to hit the stick is of little importance, as from the perpendicular Hue of gravity wliich the apple or orange will take in its descent, it is almost certain to fall into the hole. The aim, therefore, should be to strike the object from the stick. This game is very common at fairs and similar places, and three sticks, with articles upon them, are usually set up, but wliich offer no advantage to the throwers. CAT. Tip Cat, although not altogether a nice pastime, ought to be noticed here. It is a dangerous game, and should be played with great caution on the part of tlie players. It is a rustic game, well known, and generally goes by the name of Cat. It is played with a 70 EVERY boy's book. cudgel or bludgeon, resembling that used for trap-ball. Its name is derived from a piece of wood called a " Cat," of about six incbes in length, and an inch and half, or two, in diameter, diminished from the middle to both the ends, being of the shape of a spindle or double cone ; by this contrivance the places of the trap and ball are at once supplied, for when the Cat is laid upon the ground, the player with his stick tips it at one end by a smart stroke, which causes it to rise in the air with a rotatory motion, high enough for him to strike it as it falls, in the same manner as he would 9 ball. There are various methods of playing the game of Cat. The first is exceedingly simple, and consists in making a large ring upon the ffround, in the middle of which the striker takes his station. His business is to beat the Cat over the ring ; if he fails in so doing he is out, and another player takes his place ; if he is successful, he judges with his eye the distance the Cat is driven from the centre of the rin^, and calls for a number at pleasure to be scored for the game : if the number demanded be found, upon measurement, to exceed the same number of lengths of the bludgeon, he is out ; on the contrary, if it does not, he obtains his call. The second method of playing Cat is to make four, six, or eight holes in the ground, in a circular direction, and as nearly as possible at equal distances from each other, and at every hole is placed a player with his bludgeon. One of the opposite party who stands in the field tosses the Cat to the batsman who is nearest him, and every time the Cat is struck the players are obliged to change their situa- tions, and run once from one hole to another in succession. If the Cat be driven to any very great distance, they continue to run in the same order, and claim a score of one towards the game every time they quit one hole and run to another. But if the Cat be stopped bj their opponents, and thrown across between any two of the holes, before the player, who has quitted one of them, can reach the other, he is out. CAT AND MOUSE. This sport, which is of French origin, is for two players only. Both being blindfolded, they are tied to the ends of a long string, which is fastened by a loose knot in the middle to a post, and, as the QUOITS. 71 knot is veiy slightly tied, the players are enabled to move about "with facility. The player who takes the part of the " mouse " scrapes two pieces of wood together, so as to make a grating noise, and for which purpose the edges of one of the pieces of wood are notched : the sound attracts the other player, vrho represents the " cat," and he immediately uses his utmost efforts to catch his prey, by following the noise as well as he can, the "mouse" at the same time struggling about, in order to escape being caught. KNOCK-*EM-DOWN, A similar game to Aunt Sally, but a simpler one, is made by scooping a hole in the ground, and placing in it an upright stick ; on the top of it is placed a stone, or similar substance. The player then retires to a distance, and flings at the stone with cudgels or balls, the latter being preferable. If the stone falls into the hole, the player only counts one to- wards the game ; but if it falls outside the hole, he counts two. This is a capital game for the sea- ^ side, and can be played upon the sands. This game is almost similar to Baton. PEA-SHOOTERS. The pea-shooter is a tube of metal, through which a pea may be propelled with great force by a puif of air from the mouth. The ordinary tin pea-shooters sold in the shops are comparatively worth- less. We should advise the reader to procure a straight piece of brass tube from two to four feet long, and get a brazier to tin one end of it, so that the brass may not corrode when placed in the mouth. With such a tube peas, pellets of clay, and other projectiles may be shot with great precision to a considerable distance. The f^ame of puff and dart is played with a long brass tube, and a small dart having a needle point. The dart is blown through the tube at a target, on which there are divisions bearing different numbers. QUOITS. The game of Quoits is very excellent. It seems to have derived its name from the ancient discus, and with us in the present day is a circular plate of iron perforated in the middle, not always of one size, but larger or smaDer to suit the strength or convenience of the several candidates. To play at Quoits an iron pin called a hob is driven into the groimd within a few inches of the top, and at the distance of eighteen or twenty yards, as may be agreed upon, a second pin of iron is also fixed. The players are generally divided into parties, and 72 EVERY BOY S BOOK. the players pitch the quoits from hob to hob ; those who pitch the nearest reckoning towards the game. But the determination is discriminately made ; for instance, if a quoit belonging to A lies nearest to the hob, and a quoit belonging to B the second, A can claim but one towards the game, though aU his other quoits be nearer to the hob than all the other quoits of B, because one quoit of B being the second nearest to the hob, cuts out, as it is called, all behind it. If no such quoit had interfered, then A would have reckoned all his as one each. Having all cast their quoits, the players walk to the opposite side, and determine the state of the play. Then taking their stand there, throw their quoits back again, and continue to do so alternately, till the end of the game. A quoit that falls with its flat side upward does not count. NINE-PINS. This game, as its name denotes, is played by means of nine pins, ' which are set up in a regular order, the aim of the players being to throw down as many as possible in the fewest attempts. Each player is permitted to throw three times at the pins, ana if he can knock them all down in two throws, it is called a " single," and they are again set up for his last throw ; or, if he can knock them down in one throw, it is called a " double," and they are set up. A heavy wooden ball, called a " bowl," is used to thi'ow at the pins. SKITTLES. Skittles is played in a manner somewhat similar to the preceding' game, but the number of pins is only four. These are very large, and THROWING THE HAMMER. 73 are arranged on a square framework, so as to present one of the angles to the player. The bowl used for playing this game is of the shape of a cheese, and is usually made of hgnum vitse, as being very heavy and hard wood. The game requires more bodily strength than nine-pins, as the bowl must be thrown upon the skittles, and not rollea up to them. The best play is to throw the bowl with a round-handed swing of the arm, so as to strike the nearest skittle at the right of its upper third. The ball then springs to the second skittle, and from this generally twists to the third, while the fourth skittle is sent down by the roll of the one first struck. It is very difficult to make this throw successfully, and many players prefer driving down the first and third skittles with a straightforward shoot, and then making their second ball spring across from the second to the fourth. This latter stroke appears very difficult, but is soon learnt; the great point being to throw the bowl high, so that it may drop as perpen- dicularly as possible on the left of the upper third of the second skittle. In the long run, the constant repetition of this practice will overbalance occasional brilhancy of play. DUTCn-PIXS. This game is nothing more than a modification of nine-pins ; the pins being higher, and the centre one bearing the name of king, and a crown upon its head. The great point in this game is to strike the king out of the board without knocking down any of the subjects. If this can be done, the game is won. In all other cases, the king counts for no more than any of his subjects. THROWING THE HAMMER. Tliis is a good athletic sport, but the Hammer can scarcely be called a toy. The hammer used by rustics is generally the sledge-hammer of the blacksmith, with a head weighing some twelve or fourteen pounds. The players are all smgle and do not join in parties, and the prize is given to him who makes the greatest number of long throws m a dozen. It does not merely require strength to throw the sledge- hammer, but a nice calculation of the area which the Hammer has to pass over in its flight, combined with the strength of the thrower. 74 EVERY boy's' book. THE BOOMERANG.^ This instrument is a curved piece of wood, flat on one side, and slightly rounded on the other. It is used by the natives of New- South Wales, who can throw it so ^r^^^_ dexterously as to kill a man behind ^^^ ^^^tv ^ ^'^^^' where he may have fled for ^^^ ^^ safety. ^ It should be held hori- y^^ zontaUy in throwing it, and cast by ^r bringing the arm backwards, and ^T after making a variety of curves it will come back again to the person who send it. If skUfully thrown, it may be made to go in almost any direction the thrower pleases. THE SKIP-JACK, OR JTJMP-JACK. The skip-jack is manufactured out of the merry-thought of a goose, which must, of course, be well cleaned before it is used. A strong doubled string must be tied at the two ends of the bone, and a piece of wood about three inches long put between the strings, as shown in the marginal illustration, and twisted round untU the string acquires the force of a spring. A bit of shoemaker's wax should then be put in the hollow of the bone at the spot where the end of the piece of wood touches, and when the wood is pressed slightly on the wax the jack is set ; it adheres but a very short time, and then springs forcibly up. The skip-jack is placed on the ground with the wax downwards, and in some parts of the country it is usual to call out, " Up, Jack ! " or " Jump, Jack ! " just before it springs. THE SLING. The art of slinging, or of casting stones with a sling, is of very high antiquity. We see it represented on the Nimroud monuments, and the feat of the divine youth, David, is familiar to every one. In the earliest times there were bands of slingers, and probably whole regiments of them, and there is little doubt that the art of slmging preceded that of archery. The former seemed, however, to belong to the Asiatic, as the latter did to the European nations. Our Saxon ancestors, also, seem to have been skilful in their manner of holding the sling. Its form is preserved in several of their paint- ings, and the manner in which it was used by them, as far back as the eighth century, may be seen in the annexed cut. We have also suflBcient testimony to prove, that men armed with slings formed part of the Anglo-Norman soWiery. (1) The instrument represented in the cut is the Australian boomerang. Thoso used in England have a sharper curve. SLINGS. 75 In country districts, slinging of stones is a common sport ; and the sling so used consists simply of a piece of leather cut into the sub- joined form, to which are aflSxed two cords, one having a loop. In using it, leather is suffered to hang from the strong downwards ; the shnffer places his little finger in the loop, and V. il holds the other end in his hand, and then putting /^^^^^-\ the stone in the hole of the sling at a, which pre- v^^BB^^ j vents its falling, whirls the whole round for three ) ^ or four times, to obtain a strong centrifugal force, f and suddenly letting go of that part of the sling l^ / held in his hand, the stone flies forward with in- conceivable rapidity, making a twanging sound in the ear as it flies. Slinging is a very good exercise for imparting strength to the arm, but young slingers should be very careful where they send their stones, or they may do much damage. If any of my readers may wish to construct a better kind of they may do it in the following manner : — Get a currier to cut a piece of very strong buckskin leather in this shape, the centre being cut into bars. Two long strips of the same leather are then cut of this shape, ° two cuts being made along them, so as to leave three leatner cords. These are plaited together, and the flat ends firmly sewn to the centrepiece. The shape will then be this : 76 EVERY boy's BOOK: A sling made on this principle will carry a stone of a pound weight. Tlie loop and point should be whipped with silk. The accuracy that can be obtained with such a weapon is astonishing, only the missiles should always be leaden bullets of the same weight — two or three ounces being the best average weight. At the school where my boy- hood was spent, we used to send such bullets just over the weather- cock of one of the loftiest spires in England, and stripped a chestnut- tree of its blossoms. One year there was a solitary blossom on the top of the tree, which defied our efforts for many days. The blossoms were soon knocked off. but the green stalk resisted the blows for a long time. It was battered to pieces, but bent to the strokes, and had to be knocked off in fragments. I mention this to sbow the accuracy of aim that can be attained by practice. WALKING ON STILTS. Among the Swiss, and in several districts in the South of France, walking on stUts is not only an amusing, but a useful, practice, as by means of these crane-hke legs men and women trans- form themselves into the order of " Waders," emulating the long-legged storks and herons, and can cross over marshes and flooded grounds without wetting their feet. Stilts are easily made, being nothing but a pair of poles, with a wooden step at the sides for the feet to stand on. The poles are kept in their proper place by the hands. A Httle practice will soon render a youth " easy on his stilts," and they may be made an amusing and healthy exercise. THE SUCKER. The sucker is a toy of the simplest construction imaginable ; it is made by merely cutting a circular piece out of some tolerably stout leather, boring a hole in its centre, and then passing a string through the hole, taking the precaution to make a large knot at the end of the string, to prevent its being drawn completely through the hole. GAMES WITH TOYS. 77 Before using the sucker, it must be steeped in water until it becomes quite soft and pliable. If its smooth, moist surface be now pressed so closely against the flat side of a stone or other body, that the air caimot enter between them, the weight of the atmosphere pressing on the upper surface of the leather will cause it to adhere so strongly, that the stone, if its weight be proportioned to the extent of the disc of leather, may be raised by hfting the string. If the sucker could act with full effect, every square inch of its surface would support about the weight of fourteen pounds. The feet of the common house-fly are provided with minute natural suckers, by aid of which the insect is enabled to run up a smooth pane of glass and walk along the ceiling. Our young readers will in all probability remark that we have laid but httle stress on games with toys, and that comparatively few toys have been mentioned. We have done so intentionally, because the book is written expressly for boys, and those, EngUsh boys. Now an English boy always likes a toy that will do something. Eor example, he cares not one farthing for all the elegant imitations of guns in the world, as long as he can have his pea-shooter ; 'and the walnut stock, the glittering decorations, and the burnished but useless barrel of the toy gun, are nothing in his eyes, when compared with the plain tin barrel of his beloved pea-shooter, which will throw a missile with rifle-hke accuracy of aim. Eor these reasons, we have mentioned but very few toys, looking with contempt upon those innumerable fabrications that find their place in the windows of toy- shops, and in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred are only purchased for the immediate gratification of spoilt children, who unconsciously illustrate the real objects of toys, by pulling them to pieces, and converting the fragments to unexpected uses. s:r^ END OF TOTB. EASY GAMES WITH TOYS. ^ INDOOR There are many elaborate toys wlucli are not included under this head, as they are always sold with printed directions for using them. The games which follow are playea with toys of the simplest con- struction, many of which may be easily manufactured by the reader. BATTLEDORE AND SHUTTLECOCK. This game is so well known as to require but little remark. The Battledores may be purchased at the toy-shops, as may also be the Cocks ; but many of our young friends who know anything about carpentry may easOy make both for themselves. The Battledores can be cut out with a key-hole saw into the subjoined shape. They should be about a quarter of an inch thick, the handles about six inches long, and the " spades " of about five inches long, and five broad. The Shuttlecock may be made by cutting a piece of cork into the following form, and placing a small brass nail at its lower end. The top should be plumed with five feathers standing outwards from the rim, being fastened by a little gum into small Tholes cut therein. The practice of the game is for two players to beat the Cock backwards and forwards from one to the other, and the one that lets it fall, by failing to strike it with his bat, is to give to the other a pea, bead, pin, or some other small article. Some foreigners, particularly the Chinese, play at this game with the toes, liands, elbows, and other parts of the body, and will keep the Cocks up in a most amusing maimer, in the midst of many grotesque gestures. »1HE CUTWATER. 79 BANDILOK. This toy is simply a wheel or pulley of hard wood, having a very deep groove, round which a strong but fine cord is wound. The player holds the free end of the cord between his finger and thumb, gives a rapid rotatory motion to the bandilor, by allowing it to fall towards the ground;" by a sudden jerk he now tightens the cord in the groove, and the toy rises towards his hand. A little practice will enable any one to keep the bandilor in motion for a considerable time by causing it to rise and fall alternately. CUP AXD BALL. A ball of ivory or hard wood is attached to a stem of the same substance, having a shallow cup at one end and a point at the other. The player holds the stem in his right hand, as shown in the figui-e ; and, having caused the ball to revolve oy twirling it between the finger and thumb of his left, he jerks it up and catches it either in the cup, or upon the spike, to receive which a hole is made in the ball. We need scarcely say that the latter feat can only be performed by a skilful player. Cup and Ball was the favourite pastime at the coui't of Henry III. of France. THE CUTWATER. The Cutwater is a circular piece of sheet lead, notched like a saw round the edge, and having two holes pierced in it at some distance from each other, through which is passed a piece of string, the two ends being afterwards tied together. The annexed figure shows tliis toy, and the way it is to be held by the player. To set the Cutwater in action, the double string must be alternately pulled and slackened. Every time the string is relaxed the disc revolves, in consequence of the impetus it has acauired from the previous puJl ; and every time the string is tightened, it wliirls round in an opposite direction, as the double string is then untwisted. If the edge of this tov be dipped in water, it may be made to sprinkle the bystanders ana tlie player ; hence its title of " Cutwater." so EVERY BOY S BOOK. K^ \ / / \/ / \^, /\ ^v /,N ^ 1 FOX AND GEESE. fifteen ordinary draughtsmen compose the flock of geese. The fox may either be two draughtsmen placed one upon another, or any small object which may be at hand. The game is played on a board marked as shown in the annexed engraving. The fox is placed in the middle of the board, and the geese on the points on one side of it, as shown in the illustration. The game is to confine the fox to some spot on the board, so that there shall be either the edge of the board or else two rows of men round him. When the fox cannot escape, the game is done, and the player of the geese wins ; but when one of the geese is left on a point next to that occupied by the fox, and is not sup- ported by another goose behind, or by the e^ge of the board, the fox can take it, and by jumping over its head to the next space, he may, perhaps, escape the persecutions of some of the others, as all the geese are compeUed to move forwards towards the end of the board that was unoccupied at the commencement of the game. The fox is allowed to move either backwards or forwards. Neither fox nor goose must be moved more than one space at a time. If the fox neglects to take when he has a chance, he is huffed, and one of the captured geese is restored to the back of the board. The fox should avoid getting into the lower square of the board if possible, as he will find it diffi- cult to extricate himself from a position which can be so easily blockaded. There is another method of playing fox and geese on a chessboard; namely, with four white men, representing the geese, and one black one, representing the fox. The geese are ranged on the four white squares nearest one player, and the fox may be placed where his owner pleases. The best place for him is that marked in the diagram, as he can manoeuvre in a very puzzling way. The geese can only move forward, and the fox moves either way. The object of the geese is to pen up the fox so that he camiot move, and the fox has to break through. If the game is properly played, the geese must win, the secret being to keep them all in line as much as possible. The fox tries to prevent this plan from being followed up ; and if he can succeed in doubling the geese, or getting one to stand before another, he is nearly sure to pass through them. I GOOSE— HEAD, BODY, AND LEGS. 81 GOOSE. To play at Goose a board must be made coutaining sixty-three circles, placed so as to form some resemblance to the shape of a goose, and numbered consecutively. Two dice and a box, and as many counters as there are players, are required. Each player in turn throws the dice, and according to the number he throws, so he reckons, counting from No. 1, and placing his counter on the number he obtains. The player who first reaches sixty-three wins the game. But mark; he must throw/ sixty-three exactly, or else he has to count the surplus number back from sixty-three. Eor instance, suppose when at sixty he throws eight, this makes sixty-eight, five over sixty-three. The player must, therefore, take five back from sixty-three, and leave his counter at fifty-eight. The game is called Goose from the fact that a goose is usually drawn on every fourth and fifth ring ; and the placer who lands on one of these, scores double the number he has just thrown. Several obstacles occur, however, on the journey. On one ring is drawn a bridge, to pass which a toll of one counter must be paid. A little farther on is an inn, where the player halts for two turns and pays two to the pool ; but if he fall into the pond, the unfortunate wight has to stay there until another player tumbles in too, when he is allowed to proceed on his journey. The last hindrance is a gloomy prison, in which the same rule holds good, except that the relieving party, instead of goin^ on as in the case of the pond, remains in durance vile until someoody else enters the prison-house. Other obstacles may be in- serted at the players' option. I HEAD, BODY, AND LEGS. One player takes an oblong piece of paper, and having divided it it into three equal parts by folding, he sketches a comic head, either with pen or pencil, in the upper space; he then doubles the paper over, and hands it to another, who draws a body in the middle com- partment, folds the paper over once more, and passes it to a third, who completes the figure by drawing a pair of legs in the lower space. The player who draws the head, must continue the neck a little way into the middle space, and he who sketches the body must just com- mence the legs in the lower compartment ; this arrangement insures the connexion of head, body, and legs. Our first illustration shows how the paper is to be folde"d over for drawing the different parts of a figure. Each player should be provided with a pen or pencil, and a few pieces of paper ; having drawn a head, he should fold his sketch in a proper manner and pass it to his ri^ht-hand neighbour ; in this way a number of figures may be finished simultaneously. A know- ledge of drawing is not expected of any plaver, as the crudest notion of a head, a body, or a pan' of legs, will fully meet the requirements 82 EVERY boy's book. of the game. Thooe who have never played at Head, Body, and Legs, can have no idea of the absurd combinations that spring from the independent labours of the different players ; thus, a man's body will sometimes get joined to a donkey's head, and be supported by the legs of an ostrich. KNTJCKUS-BONES. This game is played with five little bones from a sheep's trotter. One player tosses up the knuckle- bones, sometimes one at a time, sometimes all together, and catches them either in the palm or on the back of his hand, according to certain rules. Should he fail to perform one of the tricks properly, he must hand the bones to his opponent, who attempts to go through the same series of manoeuvres with them. When the first player regains the bones through the imskilful play of his adversary, he once more attempts the feat he failed to accomplish before, and if he succeeds he tries to pass through the subsequent stages of the ^ame. The player who first arrives at the end of the regulated series of tricks wins the game. It would be impossible to give the reader a clear idea of the manner MEilELLES — rAriilt DAKT. 83 ol performing each trick without the aid of diagrams. In almost every school may be found an experienced player at knuckle-bones, whose directions will be of more value than any remarks we can make, though we were to devote a couple of pages to this pastime. In some parts of England a similar game, called " Jackstones," is played with small round pebbles. •v" I A ti^- z ^.^ .^1 MERELLES, OR NINE MEN S MORRIS. This is an ancient EngHsh game, and ought not to be laid aside; so we resuscitate it for the benefit of young England. It used to be played in England on the ground with stones, but may be played best on a table indoors. The form of the merelle-table, and the lines upon it, as it appeared in the fourteenth century, are here represented. These lines are still the same. The black spots at every angle and in- tersection of the lines are the places for the men to be laid upon. The men are different in form and colour, for distinction sake. The manner of playing is briefly thus : Two persons, having each of them nine pieces, or men, lay them down alter- nately, one by one, upon the spots ; and the busi- ness of either party is to prevent his antagonist from placing three of his pieces so as to form a row of three without the intervention of an opposing piece. If a row be formed, he that made it is at liberty to tcike up one of his competitor's pieces from any part he thinks most to his advantage ; excepting he has made a row, which must not be touched if he have another piece upon the board that is not a component part of that row. When all the pieces are laid down, they are played backwards and forwards in any direc- tion that the lines run, but can only move from one spot to another at one time. He that takes all his antagonist's pieces, is the conqueror. PAPER DART. To form this dart you must take an oblong piece of paper, and fold it down the middle lengthwise ; then double each of the lower comers up to the middle crease, and fold the doubled paper over to the same mark ; you must now turn each folded side outwards, and your dart will resemble the annexed figure. The paper dart, when thrown from the hand, rarely hits the object aimed at, as it generally makes a graceful curve in passing through the air. feoys sometimes amuse them- selves by fighting sham battles with these harmless weapons. 84 EVERY boy's book. THE POPGUN. The best Popguns are made of a strong straight piece of elder- tree, which ought to be cut from an inner branch, and should be about six inches long. The pith of this should be pierced out by an iron ramrod fitting the hole ; and when the inside Is made thoroughly smooth by rubbing the rod up and down, it is ready for use. The pellets are made with moistened tow — brown paper is a nasty thing to put into the mouth, and we shall never advise the use of it. IVhen the pellet is prepared, it should be laid over the mouth of the gun in such a quantity as to require squeezing and in. The first pellet should be driven through the gun to its otner end; the second pellet is to be driven in, in a similar manner to the first, and then it is forced through the gun : the air between the pellets being incompressible beyond a certain point, forces out the lower pellet vrith a loud " pop ; " hence the the term " Popgun," which has been applied to them. Popgun-playing is not a very healthy exercise, the pressing of the rammer against the pit of the stomach frequently leading to derangement of that organ. To prevent this, the lad who plays at popgun should have a small round board slung over his neck by a string, hanging as low as the pit of his stomach, like a " conductor's ticket," against which he should press the handle of his ramrod when he fires off his popgun. PUSH-PIN. This triflliug game is usually played by two boys. Each player places a pin on the table, and then endeavours to push one pin across the other with his finger-nail ; should he succeea, both pins become his property. At starting, the pins must be placed head to head, and the players push alternately. Sometimes each player puts down two, three, or even more pins. SCHIMMEL. To play this amusing game, which is of German origin, it is neces- sary to be furnished with five cards, on which are painted the figures of a white horse, an inn, a bell, a hammer, and a Dell and hammer ; with eight Httle ivory cubes marked on one side only, six numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and the other two marked, one with a bell and the other with a hammer ; with a box for throwing the dice, a hammer for disposing of the cards by auction, and a proportionate quantity of counters for the players. The cards, dice-box, and auctioneer's hammer, are shown in the annexed illustration. Any youth who can draw may easily prepare the cards ; the cubes may be procured from an ivory- worker's and may be marked with ink. The game can be SCHIMMEL. 85 Slayed by as many persons as are present. Tlie counters are to be istributed by one of the players who holds the office of cashier, their value having been previously determined upon by the players. i This being done, twelve are to be deposited by each player in the {)ool. The cashier then disposes of the five cards separately to the lighest bidders, the produce of which is also to be placed in the pool. The white horse is by far the most valuable card, and therefore fetches the highest price in counters. The inn ranks next, and i& usually purchased by the most speculative player, as its value de- pends upon circumstances. The bell and the hammer generally fetch the same number of counters, these cards being equally valuable,, and the card upon which both bell and hammer are painted fetches about half the number that is given for one of the single figures. The bidders are not bound to confine themselves to the number of counters dealt out to them at the beginning of the game ; should they exceed it, they may pay the remainder of the debt by instal- ments out of their receipts in the course of the game. Each person is at lioerty to purchase as many cards as he may think proper. The dice are then to be thrown by the players alternately, begin- ning with the holder of the white horse, any one being allowed to dispose of his throw to the highest bidder. When all blanks are thrown, each of the players pays one to the holder of the white horse, and he pays one to the inn. If with the blanks the bell, or hammer, or the bell and hammer together are thrown, the possessor of the card so thrown pays one to the white horse. When numbers accompany the bell, hammer, or bell and hammer, the cashier is to pay the counters, to the amount of numbers thrown, to the holder of such card, from the pool ; but if numbers are thrown unaccompanied, the cashier then pays to the thrower. "VAlien the pool is nearly empty there arises an advantage to the inn, for if a player throws a figure greater than the quantity contained 86 EVERY BOYS BOOK. in the pool lie pays the overplus to the inn ; thus : suppose 4 are in the pool, if the players throws 10, he is to pay 6 to the inn ; and if 2 are thrown, those 2 are paid to him from the pool, and so on till a figure is thrown which clears the pool, and so concludes the game. If all blanks are thrown after the inn begins to receive, the players pay nothing, but the owner of the white horse pays one to the inn ; and should the bell, &c. be thrown with the blanks, the holder of that card pays one to the inn ; and if numbers accompany the bell, &c. the holder of that card must pay to the inn the number thrown above those remaining in the pool. Nuts are sometimes used as counters, and the players keep their winnings. Sometimes the cashier receives a halfpenny or a penny a dozen for the counters, and when the game is finished the receipts are divided among the players according to their winnings. Those who do not hold cards frequently find themselves richer at the close of the game than their speculative companions, whose winnings do not always exceed the price paid for their cards. SP£LICANS. SpeHcans are made of thin pieces of ivory cut into different forms, some being like spears, others saws, bearded hooks, &c. ; of some of the patterns there are dupHcates, whilst of others only one. Each pattern has a value assigned to it, the lowest being five, and the highest forty; the numbers do not run in regular succession — as five, six, seven, eight — but irregularly, as five, sixteen, twenty-five. Hooks, made of bone, axe used pointers. The game is played as follows : — One player should take up all the speKcans in a bundle, and holding them at a little height from the table, let them fall down in a confused heap on it ; each player must then try alternately to take away a spehcan from the heap without moving any of the others, and this it is generally very easy to accom- plish at the first, for the top ones are mostly unconnected with the rest, but as the players proceed it requires some tact to jerk them out, with the help of the hook, made pointed for that purpose. The player who, at the entire removal of the heap, has the greatest number of speHcans, wins the game. Should any of the speHcans, while being removed shake the others, they must be put back into the heap again. It is usual in some places, instead of each player removing a spehcan alternately, for one to continue lifting up the spehcans until he happens to shake one, when another player takes his turn until he in Hke manner fails, when another tries his fortune ; and so the game continues, until aU the spehcans are withdrawn. i PART 11. » %t\\dk Sports anb Panlj (^xtmm: INCLUDISG. ANGLING, FENCING, RIDING, ARCHERY, FIVES, ROWING, BOXING, FOOT-BALL, SAILING, CANOES AND GOLF, SKATING, CANOEING, GYMNASTICS, SLIDING, CRICKET, HOCKEY, SWIMMING CROQUET, RACKETS, TR.UNING. DRIVING, ATIJLKTIC SPORTS. ANGLING. ' ' WTien I was a mere schoolboy, Ere yet 1 learnt my book, I felt an itch, for angling In every little brook, " An osier rod, some thread for h'ne, A crooked pin for hook ; And, thus equipp'd, I angled In every little brook. " "Where sticklebacks and minnows Each day I caught in store, With stone-roaches and miller's thumbs :— These brooks afford no more. " But I a little angler, "With crooked pin for hook, "Would shun each noisy wrangler. To fish the little brook." What can be more delightful than anglini^ ? Not indeed so mucli on account of tlie fish "we may catch, but for the pleasantness of the recreation itself, for the cool streams, the shady trees, the little sunny nooks, the tiny or gigantic cascades, the meandering rills, the still Sools, ""vvith sedges overhuu;:^;" the picturesque mill-wheels, the eep mill-ponds, " smooth sheeted by the flood ; " and above all, for 90 EVERT boy's book. the hair-breadth escapes, for the duckings, for the hazards, for the triumphs. We do not wonder at boys being fond of angling, it is ahnost an instinct with them, and has long been a favourite amuse- ment with boys of all degrees, ages and constitutions. Therefore we shall be somewhat comprehensive in our notices of this interesting sport, that every boy who can bait a hook and hold a line may be an angler if he will. A WORD ABOUT FISH. First, however, let us say a word about fish in general, before we come to fish in particular. Fish or fishes are, to speak scientifically, a class of vertebrated animals (having a backbone) inhabiting the water ; which breathe through the medium of that fluid by means of branchiae or gills, instead of lungs ; which swim by means of fins, and are mostl;^ covered with scales. They are also generally furnished with a white membraneous bag close to the backbone, called the air bladder, by the dilatation or compression of which it is supposed they can rise or sink in the water at pleasure. All parts of their bodies seem to aid them in swimming m the water ; their fins, their tails, and the undulation of their back-bones assist progression, and their whole structure is as much adapted for swimming as that of a bird is for flight. The fins of fish consist of thin elastic membrane, supported by bony rays, and are denominated according to their position — dorsal on the back, pectoral on the breast, ventral near the vent, anal that between the vent and the tail, and caudal the tail fins. The dorsal and ventral fins appear to balance the fish, and the pectoral to push it forward ; while the tail fins are the grand instruments of motion, and enable the creature to dart forward almost as rapidly as the bullet from a gun. With regard to the senses of fishes, the eye holds the first place ; but this is best adapted for seeing under water. Of the organ of hearing there is no outward sign. The organ of taste is thought to be very unsensitive, and the sense of touch but sHghtly_ developed. To preserve their own existence, and to transmit it to their posterity, seems to be their only enjoyment ; they move forward in pursuit of whatever they can swallow, conquer, or enjoy, and their insatiable appetite impels them to encounter every danger, whilst to their rapacity there seems to be no bound. A single pike has been known tc devour a hundred roach in three days. The fecundity of fish is piodigious. The number of eggs in the codfish often amounts to more than three millions ; those of flounders are above a milhon, of the mackarel 500,000, of the sole 100,000, and of the lobster 20,000 ; but the sturgeon is far more productive than any of these, as it has been known to have more than twenty millions of eggs ! Without saying any more about "Fish in the abstract," as the angler called his " catch," when he returned without oue, we must /i^o to the art of " catching fish ; " and the first thing to be attended ANGLING. 91 is the necessary fishing apparatus, which may be increased to any Ltent ; but the young angler would be wise to limit his stock as inch as possible. We have fished many a hundred miles of water, and "Jed many a thousand of fish, with no better equipment than this : — le rod of about fourteen feet long, with three tops, — one stiff top, )r bottom flashing and trolling, and two for fly-fishing. Two reels winches, one nolding a silk and hair line of thirty-five yards in fth for fly-fishing, and the other holding a similar line of forty Is, but much stronger, for bottom fishing, trolling, &c. One loderate-sized creel or fishing basket. One tin bait-box for worms o- gentles; one tin live-bait can for carrying pike baits or minnows ; and one strong oag tor carrymg ground-bait. A landing-net ; Bom« shoemaker's wax in a piece of soft leather; a large clasp-knife; a pair of sharp-pointed scissors; a pocket-book, the centre filled with leaves of flannel to hold flies, and the remainder fitted up with gut, hooks, silk, baiting-needles, a pair of small pliers, split shot, floats, &c. ABOUT THE EOD. The rod is a material article in the young angler's catalogue, and much care should be taken to procure a good one. The fishing- tackle shops keep a great variety, made of bamboo cane, hazel, hickory, and other kinds of wood. Rods are of different lengths, some fitted as walking-canes, and others made to pack in canvass bags; the latter are preferred, because you may have them any length, and they are more true. Those made of bamboo cane are the best for general angling; but the rods made of the white cane much superior for fine fishing, particularly for roach, being very light in weight, but stiff. CHOOSING THE ROD. In choosing a rod (not a school rod, for no one likes to choose that), observe that it is perfectly straight, when all the joints are put together and that it gradually tapers from the butt to the lop, and is from twelve to sixteen feet long. A bad rod is likely to snap in striking a heavy fish. Rods fitted with several tops are at once the best and most convenient. Some anglers have one rod for trolling, another for barbel, perch, or other heavy fish, as well as one foi 92 EVERY boy's book. fly-fishing — wliicli boys may have •when they become men— but a thoroughly good rod will suit the juvenile for ail purposes. We have now one with which we can fish for anything, from a bleak to a pike, by only changing the top and second joints. A good trolling rod should be made of the choicest stout and well- seasoned bamboo cane, from fourteen to sixteen feet in len^h. "When trolling with the gorge, or live-bait fishing, a long rod is necessary, to enable the angler to drop in his baited hook over high sedges, rushes, &c. as also when the water is bright, for he should then keep as far away from it as he can, which a long rod enables him to do while dipping, casting, or spinnmg his bait. If either a jack or pike see him, it is very rare indeed that he will take the "bait ; and again, with a long rod you will be able to drop your baited hook in some very likely place for jack or pike, such as a small hole, division, or clear place among a bed of weeds, in a river or any other water where there are any weeds. There is some difference of opinion among anglers about the num- ber of rings necessary for (rolling rods : those who have their line on a thumb winder, or on a bank runner, seldom place more than two or three rings on their rod, and others have only one large ring at the top ; but if a winch is used, there should be a ring to every joint including the butt; make each ring of double twist we, fixed so as always to stand out, and nearly large enough to admit the top of your little finger; the top joint should nave two rings, the top one nearly three times the size of the others ; this prevents any obstruction of the line running, which is of material consequence. When not in use, rods should be kept nicely stowed in a moderately dry place, and they ought to be well scraped and revamished every three years ; should the joints become loose by shrinking, they should be slightly mois- tened. Should any accident befall a rod while fishing, and you should not have a spare top with you, your only remedy will be to spHce your rod. To do this the ends of the broken pieces for about two inches must be laid parallel to each other, and then tightly bound together with waxed silk, or very strong yellow hempen twine. LINES OR BOTTOMS. Next to the rod the line is of the utmost importance. Good lines should be well twisted. The twisted lines should be made wholly of silk, or silk hair, but those made of gut are the strongest and best for young anglers ; the twisted hair are the cheapest, and the single horsehair the finest. The young angler will find a line of about four yards in length the most useful. A single gut hue, with a small porcupine float, is commonly useful for general fishing ; the plaited silk lines are the best for trolling, and are less inclined to break or tangle than the twisted. ANGLING. 93 SHOTTING THE LINE The line must be shotted, that the float may partially sink in the water ; and in putting on the shots, place them all together withia three inches of the bottom loop of the Hue ; to which loop fix the loop of the hair or gut to which the hook is tied. When you make a hne of silk, gut, or hair, remember it must be always finest at the bottom, where the hook is fastened, very gradually increasing in thickness to the top. THE FLOAT. There are various kinds of floats, each adapted for different kinds of fishing. The principal are : 1. Tip-capped floats ; 2. Cork floats ; 3. Plugged floats. The tip-capped floats are made of several pieces of quills, or of reed for the middle, and ivory or tortoisesheU for the top and bottom, and narrow at each end, gradually increasing in cir- cumference to the middle. They are superior to all others for angHng in waters which are not very rapid, particularly in roach fishing, as the least movement or fine bite sinks them below the water. The tip-capped float is also best for pond fishing for carp and tench, as it requires but few shot to sink it, and consequently disturbs the water but httle when cast. The young angler should note that the caps which fix the lines to the float are not rough at the edge, as this roughness chafes and weakens a fine line ; should this be the case, he should smooth them before use. The best caps are made of gutta-percha. Cork Floats are generally made of quills at the top, with a piece of cork, which is burned or bored in the middle to admit the quill, and then filed or ground down smooth and painted. The bottom is plugged with wood, and has a ring to let' the Hne pass through. Cork floats are well calculated to fish in heavy or rapid streams, as they require a great many shot to sink them, which weight of shot prevents the baited hook from passing too rapidly over the bottom. Cork floats are made of various sizes and forms ; instead of common quills, some introduce the quills of the porcupine, which make an excellent strong float. Except for live-bait fishing a tapering cork float is preferable to a round one. Plugged Floats. — These kind of floats are the cheapest, and made of -indiiferent quills, some of them of one goose qmll with a wooden plug at the bottom, from which they take their name : they are very apt to loosen by the plug coming out. They are often used by the 94 EVERY boy's book. young angler, because they are cheap ; but we may say in the words of the ancient Roman, "Bad is the best." KEELS Oil WINCHES. A reel or winch is a most necessary addition to the rod and line, as it enables you to vary the length of your Hue at pleasure, and to play your fish. The best winches are those to fix in a groove on thcTod, and are fastened with brass ferrules made for the purpose on the butt, because you can fasten such a winch to any sized joint. There are three kinds of winches, c^lieck, multipliers, and plain: the mul- tiplying winch is apt soon to get out of order, unless carefully and constantly oiled, and is otherwise the least efficient and most expensive of the three. I would recommend young anglers at first, to purchase a plain and strong winch, which will answer every pur- pose, and be much less expensive. A check winch is, however, the best. REEL LINES Are mostly made of silk and horsehair, twisted or plaited together, but some are made entirely of silk. 1 prefer the latter, as it is less likely to twist, runs more freely, and is less Kkely to rot. The length of lines vary from fifteen to eighty yards; but for general purposes thirty or five-and-thirty yards is quite long enough. The line should always be unwound after a day's fishing, as, if it is allowed to remain wet on the reel, it soon rots. HOOKS. Hooks are to be bought at the angling shops, of all sizes, and suitable for the kind of fish to be caught. There are great contro- versies among adept anglers about hooks, which are sometimes as violent as those upon pontics or religion. Some anglers prefer what are called the Limerick hooks, some the Kendal ; while others again prefer the Kirby or Sneckbend. We are hooked to the Kirby, as we consider those to be by far the best for holding the fish — a most im- portant particular. The hooks found most suitable for the following fish are these : — Barbel, 1, 7, 8, 9, Bleak, 11, 12, 13. Bream, 10. Carp, 7, 8, 9. Chub, 8, 9. Dace, 10, 11, 12. Eels, 8. Flounders, 3. Grayling, 10, 12. Gudgeon, 9, 10. Loaches, 13. Miller's Thumb, 13. Minnow, 13. Perch, 7. Roach, 10, 11, 12. RUDD, 10. Ruffe, 10. Smelt, 9, 10. Tench, 9, 10. Trout, 6, 10. i ANGLING. 95 HOW TO BAIT A HOOK. To bait a hook with a worm, use the following method : First enter the point of the hook close to the top of the worm's head, and carry- it carefully down to within a quarter of an inch of its tail ; to do which you must gently squeeze or work up the worm with your left thumb and finger, while with your right you are gradually working the hook downwards* The small lively piece of the worm at the point of the hook moving about wiU entice the fish ; but, mind, if too much of the worm hangs loose, thov^h it may entice fish to nibble, yet they will seldom take the whole m their mouth, so as to enable the angler to hook them ; on the contrary, he is frequently tautahzed with a bite, and, when he strikes, finds part of his worm gone, and his fish too. Therefore, to bait a hook well with a worm is necessary to ensure hooking a fish when you strike ; and it consists in drawing the worm without injuring it (use him as you would a friend, Walton says) quite over and up the shank of the hook, leaving only a small Hvely part of the tail below. If you bait with half a worm, prefer the tail end, and enter the point of the hook into the top paxt, and bring it down nearly to the end of the taO, leaving only a very small piece of it loose. If you bait with two worms on the same hook, draw the first up above the shank, while you put the second on in the same manner as directed with one worm, but enter the hook near the tail of the second worm ; then draw the first one down on the second over the shank of the hook, and all will then be weU covered, and the bait will be a very bon-bon for perch, chub, carp, barbel, and aU large fish ; but when angling for gudgeon, and other small fish, half a red worm is sufficient, and the tail end is best. If blood-worms are used, put on two or three, in doing which be tender, or you will burst them. Tho principal baits are — 1. The Lob-worm. 7. Caterpillars. 13. Grasshoppers 2. Thb Brandling. 8. Cabbage-worms. 14. Wasp-grub. 8. The Marsh-worm. 9. Crab-tree-worms. 15. Cockchafers. 4. The Tagtail. 10. Gentlks. 16. Bread Paste. 5. The Ash-grub. 11, Cad-worms. 17. Cheese Paste. C. CowDUNO Bait. 12. Flag-worms. 1. Lob-worms are found in gardens or churchyards, late in the evening ; they have a red head, a streak down the back, and a broad tail. This is a good worm for salmon, chub, trout, barbel, eels, and large perch. 2. Brandling is found in old dunghills, rotten earth or cow-dung, and the best in tanners' bark. It is a good bait for any kind of fish. _ 3. The Marsh-worm is found in marshy grounds, or on the banks ol rivers ; and is a good bait for trout, perch, gudgeon, grayling, and bream. 96 EVERY BOYS BOOK. 4. The Tagtail\^ found in marly lands or meadows, after a shower; and is a goocl bait for trout when the water is muddy. 5. The Ash-grub is found in the bark of trees. It is a good bait for grayling, dace, roach, or chub. G. Cowdmg Bait is found under cowdung, from May to Michael- mas ; and is good bait for grayHng, dace, roach, or chub. 7. Caterpillars can be found on almost every tree or plant. Almost any small caterpillar will answer. 8. The Cabbage caterpillar is found on cabbages. 9. The Crabtree-worm can be taken by beating the branches of the crab-apple. 10. Gentles. These are bred in putrid meat — ^liver producing the best — or may generally be obtained from the butchers. They are an excellent bait for mos^ kinds of fish. TUE CADDIS FLY. 11. Caddis is found in ditches, or on the sides of brooks. It is an excellent bait for trout, grayling, roach, dace, or chub. 12. Flag-icorms are found among flags in old pits or ponds, and are good bait for grayling, tench, bream, carp, roach, and dace. 13. Grasshoppers are found in sun-burnt grass, and are good bait for chub, trout, and grayling. 14. Wasp-grubs are to be obtained from wasps' nests, and are a good bait for most fish that will take gentles.^ 15. Cockchafers are found humming round the bushes at about dusk on a summer evening, and everywhere, and sometimes in cowdung ; are a capital bait for chub, though not for anything else. 16. White-bread Paste is prepared by dipping white bread in water (soaking and squeezing it in the comer of a pocket-handkerchief is (1) Wasy-giiibs mil keep better, and be easier to fit on the hook, if they are baked for'half-au-hour. ANGLINQc 97 the best wsij), and then working it a little in the palm of the hand. It is a good bait for carp, tench, chub, or roach. Some add a little honey. 17. Cheese Paste is made with fresh cheese, worked up in the hand. It is a good bait for chub. 18. Ground Baii should be used in the spot about to be fished, and, if possible, the night before, and should be fresh. For carp, chub, roach, or dace, use white bread soaked in water, and mixed with bran, pollard, or meal. For barbel, chandler's greaves, boiled and workea up into a ball with clay. Gentles may also be used as ground bait for any of the above. TO BAIT WITH GKEAVES. JFirst select the whitest pieces from those you have soaked, and put two or three of them upon your hook, or as much as will cover it from the bend to and over the point ; these pieces should be put on the hook separately, one after the other — not a large piece doubled, as some slovenly boys will do, for then the hook is pre- vented from entering firmly the fish you may strike. These httle particulars of baiting are of considerable advantage to young anglers, who ought to remember also that it is a bad practice to soak: greaves in hot water, for it makes them rotten, and they in consequence soon fall off the hook. TO SCOUR AND PRESERVE WORMS. To do this, the young angler should provide himself with a quantity of fresh moss. Wash out all the earth and squeeze it, but not too dry ; then put it into a jar and squeeze it Hghtly down : throw in the worms upon it. The jar should be kept in a cool place in summer, and the moss changed once in three or four days. Gentles should be thrown into a mixture of damp sand or bran to scour them, and wiU be ready in two or three days. THE PLUMMET. Plummets are used by anglers for sounding the depth of a stream or hole. They are of two kinds, either the folding plummet, or the common plummet. The folding plummet, which is the better, is made of a shp of sheet lead, folded up ; and this the young angler should never be without. PLUMBING THE DEPTH Is performed in the following manner : If a folding plummet, unfold about two inches of it, pass the hook over its side, and then fold the plummet up again : your hook is now se- cured from drawing away from the plummet. As success depends much in angling at a proper depth, the young angler should take due pams, and measure the depth accurately before he begins fishing. When the plumb-lead touches n 98 EVERY boy's book. the bottom, and the top of the float is even with the surface of tha water, yon will have the true depth. LANDING-HOOK AND LANDING-NET. The landiag-hook or gaff is a large hook, which is sometimes barbed like a fish-hook, and sometimes plain, fastened to one end of a handle; this latter is occasionally composed of several pieces, which ran one into another, like the slides of. a telescope. A landing-net is a small net mounted on a iron ring, which is fastened, like the land- ing-hook, to the end of a handle or pole. CLEANING BING AND LINE. The clearing-line is made of several yards of strong small cord, to the end of which is fastened a heavy ring of lead or brass. If the hook should get fast in a heavy weed, post, or anything else, this ring is put over the butt of the rod, and suffered to sUp down the line to the hook. The rod should be held in the right hand, the top pointing downwards, the clearing-hne in the left, the ring falling on the hook, from its weight, generally clears the hook from what it may have struck against. If not, the angler should hold the rod firmly, and draw the line sideways, and break away. In this case, the angler seldom loses more than a hook, if he acts as above directed ; but without the assistance of a clearing-line he frequently loses his float as well as his hook and line, and sometimes breaks his top joint. The brass clearing-rings are to be preferred, because they are jointed, and in consequence can be used when the angler has a winch in his rod, in which case the leaden ring could not be passed over the winch. DRAG-HOOK. The drag is a piece of iron with three or four stout wire hooks without barbs, placed back to back, fastened to a strong cord line, and which is used to draw away weeds. BANK BTJNNER. - The bank-runner is mostly used in the day-time, when the angler is fishing for roach, barbel, &c. It is stuck in the bank, the bottom ANGLING. 99 being strong turned Tvood, sharpened for the pm-pose, with a winder at the top for the Hne, which should be from forty to sixty yards long, made of silk, thin cord, or plaited Dutch twine. But there should be a cork and bullet to the line, and the bait a dace or gudgeon, which should swim about mid-water. LIVE-BAIT KETTLE. '' This should be of an oblong form, and not round ; bright inside^, and brown out. In getting out the bait, never put your hand int« the water, which frightens the fish, and, by heating the water, makes them sickly and dull ; but make use of a small net, which is easily carried in the fish-kettle, by having a piece of the lid cut away in one comer. DISGORGEE. This is an instrument with a forked top, about six inches long, made of iron, brass, or bone. Its use is to get the hook from a fish ■when swallowed ; and in using it, the forked end is thrust down upon the swallowed hook with one hand, while the line is held tight with the other : pressure disgorges the hook, and it is then easily drawn out. In attempting to get a gorged hook from a fish without this instrument, you run a hazard of breaking the hook and hurting your- self. When the fish is hooked through the lip, the angler has only to hold the fish steadily in one hand, while with the other he carefully disengages the hook. ANGLING AXIOMS. 1. Never fish any water without leave from the proprietor, unless it be water that is free to all comers. 2. Never use unfair bait, or attempt to take fish in any but a fair and sportsmanlike manner. 3. Never start on a day's fishing without first considering the wind, weather, and water. 4. Never let your shadow fall on the water. 5. Use the finest tackle of which your fishing will admit. 6. Never begin bottom fishing without first plumbing the depth. 7. Never intrude upon another fisherman's water. 8. And always remember that nothing is lost by politeness. 100 EVEEY BOYS BOOK. ACCOUNTS OF THE VARIOUS FRESH-WATER FISH, WITH THEIR HABITS, HAUNTS, SEASONS, AND THE METHODS OP TAKING THEM. THE SALMON. The Salmon is tlie king of fresh-water fish. It is handsome in form, its head is small, its nose pointed, its back and sides grey, its belly silvery, and its flesh the well-known salmon colour. The male may generally be distinguished hj its having the lower jaw more " hooked," or turned up at the point, than the female ; the head is also generally somewhat longer, in comparison to the rest of the body. ^fr— ' Salmon bite best from six tiU eleven in the forenoon, and from three in the afternoon until sunset, especially when there is a moderate breeze upon the water. The cluef months to angle for them are March, April, May, and June. They are to be fished for with lob- worms, or in spinning with minnows, but a large artificial fly is the most killing bait. The rod, for a boy, should not be less than fifteen feet long, with a good running Hue, and the reel should contain at least fourscore yards. The hook must be large and long in the shank. Few of our young readers, however, will be able to go salmon fishing till they have reached maturity, and, therefore, to give detailed instructions as to the modes of capturing the fish would be super- fluous. THE TEQUT. This beautiful fish is much prized. Izaak Walton says of it. It is more sharp-sighted than any hawk, and more watchful and timorous ANGLING. 101 than your higli-mettled merlin is bold." In its habits it is a very soKtary and predacious fish. The tront are fonnd in lakes and rivers and minor streams, and are finest in appearance from the beginning of April to the end of July or middle of August : their principal spawning time is from November to January. The most Drilliant and beautiful trout are generally found in streams that flow rapidly over rocky or chalky bottoms. They feed upon worms, miiinows, and other small fish, but their favourite food consists of insects, flies, caterpillars, &c. upon which they thrive and fatten prodigiously. In angling for the trout we must have a stout rod and running tackle. The principal baits for him are natural and artificial flies, minnows, and worms. The minnow is, perhaps, the most taking bait for large trout : it should be cast lightly on the water, and drawn trippingly against the current so as to spin. The angler must strike directly his bait is seized. The favourite haunts of the trout are scours, mill tails, eddies, pools, the roots of overhanging trees, and the " nethers " of bridges and weirs. THE JACK OR PIKE. The mighty luce or pike, says "Walton, is taken to be the tyrant, as the salmon is the king, of the fresh waters. His aspect is savage but by no means repulsive, and when in fine condition a large pike is altogether a grand-looking fish. His teeth are very sharp and very numerous, being upwards of seven hundi-ed, and his voracious appe- tite is such that nothing comes amiss to him. He has been known to swallow the plummet, and the clay and bran balls of ground bait of the angler, and he will prey upon "rats and mice and such small deer," wdth ducks, geese, and even swans, which he has been known 102 EVERY boy's book. to pnll under water. He often grows to an enormous size (no wonder), and has been taken upwards of ninety pounds in weight. Pike are lond of dull, shady, and unfrequented waters, with a sandy, chalky, or clayey bottom, and are found among or near flags, bulrushes, or water docks. They seldom seek a very rapid stream, although weirs and mill-pools are often their favourite refa-eat in the early summer months — that is, in June and July, when they have recently spawned. In winter they retire into the depths, eddies, and jraters little acted upon by the current. The pike is in its prime during October and November, but is ta season from June to Eebruary ; the baits used for it are gudgeon, minnows, chub, and bleak, and should be about three or four inches in length. The rod should be strong ; the hue of dressed silk, at least sixty yards long, wound upon the winch already described. Hooks for troUing, cafled dead gorges, and other sorts for trolling, snap, &c. and fishing needles, are to be bought at every shop where fishing tackle is sold ; in the choice of the first, let them not be too large, nor their temper injured by the lead on the shanks, nor the points stand too proud ; and although usually sold on wire, it is re- commended to cut off the wire about half an inch from the lead, and with a double silk, well waxed, fasten about a foot of good gimp to the wire, with a noose at the other end of the gimp large enough to admit the bait to pass through to hang it upon the line. ^ The best baits are gudgeon and dace of a middling size ; put the baiting needle in at the mouth and out at the middle of the tail, drawing the gimp and hook after it, fixing the point of the hook near the eye of the fish ; tie the taU to the gimp, which wUl not only keep it iri a proper position, but prevent the tall from catching against the weeds and roots in the water. Thus baited, the hook is to be fastened to the '^, ANGLING. 103 e and dropped gently in the water near the sides of the river, across the -vrater, or where it is likely pike resort ; keep the bait in constant motion, sometimes letting it sink near the bottom and gradually raising it. When the bait is taken, let the pike have what line he chooses. It will be soon known when he has reached his hole, which he generally flies to, by his not drawing more. Allow him ten minutes for gorging the bait, wind up the line gently till you think it is nearly at its stretch, and then strike. Manage Imn with a gentle hand, keeping him, however, from roots and stumps, which he win try to fasten the line upon, till he is sufficiently tired, and a landing net can be used; but by no means, however apparently exhausted he may be, attempt to lift him out with the rod and line only. In trolling, the bait hook should never be thrown too far ; in small rivers the opposite bank may be fished with ease, though the violence of its falls upon the water in long throws soon spoils the bait by rubbing off its scales. In angling for pike always prefer a rough wind. K a pike goes slowly up a stream, after taking the bait, it is said to be the sign of a good fish. THE GUDGEON Is one of the most dehcious fish for eating, although small in size. It bites freelv from the latter end of spring until autumn, in gloomy warm days, from an hour after sunrise to within the same space of its setting ; and during the rest of the year, in the middle of the day, when it is warmest. In angling for gudgeon the tackle must be very fine, a single hair or fine gut line, a hook No. 8 or 9, a short rod and line, and a small tapering cork float. The gudgeon will take the small red-worm greedily, and blood-worms— the first is perhaps the best. A rake or the boat-hook should be kept frequently stirring the bottom. To the spot so stirred gudgeon assemble in shoals, expecting food from the discolouring of the water. They are apt to nibble at the bait ; the Lngler ought not, therefore, to strike till the float goes well down. 104 EVERY boy's book. Should any young angler desire a good day's fisliing for gudgeon, and a pleasant wSk into the bargain, he should seek out some sequestered gravelly stream, and providing himself with a rake with a long handle, he may have sport till he is tired of it. He will find OUDGKON AND BREAM. the fish scattered up and down every river in the shallows durii^ ^e heat of summer, but in winter they get into deeper water. Gudgeon, are to be fished for there with your hook always touching the ground. THE EGACH. Tlie roach is a handsome fish either in or out of the water. It inhabits many of our deep s,till rivers, dehghting most in quiet waters. It is gregarious, keeping in large shoals. It dehghts in gravelly, sandy, or a kind of slimy marl bottom, under a deep gentle runnia^ stream ; in summer it often frequents shallows near the tails of fords, or lies under banks among weeds, under the shades of boughs, and at or opposite the mouth of a rivulet or brook, that empties itself into a large river. In winter the roach like to get into clear, deep, and stiU waters. The tackle for roach must be fine and strong, a twelve-foot rod and a five-foot line, a porcupiae float, and hooks No. II or 12. The bait, gentils, bread-paste, boiled wheat or red worms. The ground bait should be damp meal or bran, mixed with soaked bread or clay (the former best). In fishing for roach in ponds, chew and throw in white bread. The hook should be No. 6, and the bait either touch the bottom or lie within one inch of it. As many gentils should be put on the hook as will cover it, all but the barb. Strike directly the float goes down. The season for roach fishing in the Thames begins about the latter ANGLING. 105 end of August and continues through the "winter. To London Bridge and among the shipping below it, numbers of roaen return in June and July, after having been up the river to spawn, and many of them are taken by means of a strong cord, to which is fastened a leaden weight, more or less, according to the strength of the current ; a foot above this lead a twine twelve feet long is joined to the cord, and to this twine at convenient distances are tied a dozen hair links, with roach hooks at the ends ; these are baited with white snails or peri- winkles, the fisherman holds the cord in his hand, and easily feels the biting of the fish, which is a signal to pull up, and frequently five or six are taken at a haul. ROACa ANC DACB. THE DACE. Dace are gregarious — are great breeders — very lively — and during summer fond of playing near the surface. Their haunts are deep water, near the piles of bridges, where the stream is gentle, and has a sandy or clayey bottom. They like deep holes that are shaded by water-lily leaves, and under the foam caused by an eddy; in the warm months they are to be found in shoals on the shallows and gravels. The baits for dace are red-worms, gentles, and small flies, natural or artificial, used as in fly-fishing for trout. In angling for dace with worms, maggots, &c. the tackle cannot be too fine, the float small^ the hook ISo. 9, the shot a foot from it; by baiting the place with a few maggots before fishing, the diversion will be increased. If you angle in an eddy between two mill streams, and the water is only two or three feet deep, there will be a greater chance of success than where it is deeper ; bait and strike as in roach fishing. The ground- bait may also be the same. Fish for dace within three inches of the ground, especially where the ant fly is the bait under water. In fishing, take advantage if you 106 EVERY boy's book. can of a still, warm, gloomy daj, or go in a summer's evening to a gravelly or sandy shallow, or tail end of a mill-stream, and as long as the light continues the dace will yield diversion. THE PEECH. *' Perch feed on perch," is an old maxim ; the perch being the only one of all fresh-water fish that feeds on its own kind. His excuse is a prodigious appetite, like that of Saturn, who ate his own oflPspring. Notwithstanding this wicked propensity, the perch is a beautiful fish, the back and part of the sides being a deep green, marked with broad black bars, pointing downwards ; the spaces between are golden, the belly white, and the fins tinged with scarlet. They vary greatly in size. The largest perch we ever caught weighed three pounds twelve ounces, and was taken with a roach bait near Kiclunond. Their general length is about ten or twelve inches. Perch are found in ponds and in clear rivers with pebbly, clayey, or sandy bottoms. They are fond of water moderately deep, and frequent holes near to gentle streams where there is an eddy, the hollows under banks, among weeds and roots of trees, piles of bridges, or in ponds which are fed by a brook or rivulet. The perch is a bold biter in the summer, but scarcely ever in (the winter. In the middle of a warm sunshiny day, you are sure to have him with a proper bait. In the winter he bites best in large quiet eddies, to wmch he retreats after the first heavy flood. The baits for perch are various, as well as the manner of using them. Of worms, the best are brandlings, and red dunghill-worms, well scoured. The hook may be varied from No. 2 to 6, being well whipped to a strong silkworm gut, with a shot or two a foot from it. Put the point of the hook in at the head of the worm, out again a little lower than the middle, pushing it above the shank of the hook upon the gut ; then put the point of the hook into the worm again the reverse way, and draw the head part down so as to cover the ANGLING. 107 hook entirely. Tliis is the most enticing method that can be adopted in ■worm-fisMng. Use a small cork float to keep the bait at six or twelve inches from the bottom, or sometimes about mid-water. In angling near the bottom, raise the bait very frequently from thence almost to the surface, letting it gradually fall again. Should a good shoal be met with, they are so greedy that sometimes they may be all caught. Other baits for perch are cadbait and gentles ; but the best and most enticing bait is a live minnow. If you find the fish shy, try not long in one spot. In baiting your hook with the minnow, fix your hook through his upper lip, and use a smaU reel with your rod. Your hook should be No. 5, fastened to a link of gut. THE GRAYLING. The grayling is a fish of elegant form ; the back is of a dusky purple, the sides of a fine silvery grey, with the scales in long parallel rows or lines (from which the fish derives its name), marked with black spots, irregularly placed. It is rather a hog-backed fish ; and, from the nose and belly touching the ground together, is supposed to feed mostly at the bottom. In length it seldom exceeds sixteen inches, but some have been caught upwards of five pounds in weight. ^d »^ The haunts of the grayling are in rapid, clear streams, particularly such as flow through mountainous countries. They are usually taken in the same manner as the trout, and with similar baits. They do not bite freely till late in August, or early in September, and may be found at the taily of sharp streams and in deep water. Thev rise more boldly than the trout, and if missed several times will still pursue the bait. They will bite during the whole of the cold cloudy days ; but the preferable time to look after them is between eight 108 EVERT boy's book. and twelve o'clock in the morning, and from four in the afternoon till after sunset. Grasshoppers, wasp -grubs, maggots, and the artificial fly, are the most killing baits. THE CHUB. This fish takes its name from the shape of the head, not only in our own, but in other languages. The head and back are of a deep dusky green, the sides silvery. The tail is forked, and very black at the end, and altogether the chub is rather a handsome fish, although its flesh is not much in esteem. The haunts of the chub are in rivers whose bottoms are of sand or clay, or which flow over a gravelly bottom, in deep holes, under hollow banks ; in summer, particularly where shaded by trees, &c. they frequently float on the surface, and are sometimes found in streams and deep waters, where the currents are strong. In ponds fed by a rivulet they grow to a large size. To fish for chub at the bottom, you should have a stout long rod, a strong Hne (and if you use a reel, you will be the better able to fish under bushes), with two yards or more of the best silkworm gut at bottom; a hook proportionate to the bait used; a swan-quill float ; and the line so shotted, eight or ten inches from the hook, as to sink the float to a quarter of an inch above the surface. The same groundbait is to be used as for carp. The best baits are greaves, cheese paste, or the tail end of a well-scoured lob-worm. The cock- chafer IS ako a very tempting bait, especially towards dusk : no float or shot are required for this. After baiting your hook with a cockchafer, move it two or three times near the surface, as in the act of flying ; then drop it in the water, tapping the rod gently, which will cause the appearance of its struggling to escape. This attracts the chub, who are so fond of this bait, that they will rise two or three at a time to seize it. But mind and be ready with your landing-net. ANGLING. 109 The chub will take a grub, wasps, maggots, paste of fine new bread worked in the hand, and tinned with vermilion, to make it look like salmon-roe ; but the best bait for bottom or float-fishing for the chub is new Cheshire cheese, worked with the crumb of a new roll, or the pith from the backbone of an ox. In baiting with the cheese, put a round lump the size of a cherry on a large hook, so as to cover the bend, and some way up the shank ; fish six inches from the bottom, or in cold weather the bait may lie on the ground. When there is a bite, the float will be drawn under water : strike immediately, and give him play, holding a tolerably tight line, to keep the fish clear from weeds and stumps. The best time for fishing for chub is chiefiy before sunrise to nine in the morning, and from four till after sunset in the summer ; but, in winter, the middle of the day is best. In hot weather, the chub is to be fished for at or near the top of the water, and not deeper than midwater ; and in cold weather, close to or near the bottom ; and the main point in taking the fish is for the angler to keep him- self out of sight. A very deadly way of killing chub, and certainly the most artistic method, is with the artificial fly, used as in trout fishing. Flies are made expressly for this purpose, and of these the best are red and black palmers, and the Marlow buzz. THE CAEP. Carp are esteemed among the richest fresh-water fish we have in the kingdom, and are as cunning as foxes. The angler, therefore. must be " wide awake " to catch him, and also as patient as a saint. He may, however, fish for him at any time in the day during warm weather. The bait may be either worms or paste. Of worms, the bluish marsh or meadow is the best ; but a red-worm, not too bi^, will do : of paste, the best is made of bread and honey ; and the spot intended should be well baited beforehand. In a large pond, to draw no EVERY BOY S BOOK. them together, throw in either grains, or soaked bread worked up with meal or bran ; follow this with a few of the small baits you intend to angle with. Whilst you are fishing, chew a little bread, and throw it in about the place where your float swims. In fishing for carp in ponds, the bait and about half a foot of the ^ut nearest the hook should lie on the bottom; otherwise the carp will continually suck the bait off. "When the carp has fairly taken the bait, you will perceive the float move steadily away or under water, then strike, and not till then. In this way, with due patience, you will prove a match for these crafty fish. THE TENCH. The tench is one of our most useful fresh-water fishes, for the ease with which it may be preserved, and the goodness of its flesh. It is very usual to breed it in ponds, but naturally, like many others of the carp tribe, it is generally found in lakes and still waters; its favourite haunts are m places well shaded with bushes or rushes. In standing waters, it lies under weeds, near sluices, and at pond- heads. The best baits for tench are bread paste and red worms, but he usually prefers the latter. He feeds best in the three hot months. • The worm should be put on the hook in the method directed for perch, but the hook itself should be of a somewhat smaller size. ' Use a light float and strong gut line, and let the bait swim within aa ' inch or two of the bottom. THE POPE, OR RTJFP, " ' Is something like a perch in shape, but more bluff and bulky. He is found principally in slow, deep, quiet rivers, which have a loamy bottom. T^e spawning time is in April. The best baits for him are red-worms and brandlings. The places where he is to be had are ANGLING. Ill where the "water is deep and still ; and these places should be baited with some clay-balls, with which worms are mixed. Should the water be muddy, worms wiU do alone ; but if clear, clay must be used to render it opaque before you fish. The fish will bite at any time of a warm summer's day, wlien the sky is cloudy. In angling, use a No. 8 or 9 hook, with a quiR float ; and the moment you see the float disappear, strike. THE BREAM. The bream, at full growth, is a large and stately fish, and is often- times as fat as a hog. He is principally found in large ponds or in lakes, and in stiU rivers where the waters are deep and shaded by weeds; and may be taken throughout the latter part of summer and autumn. The baits are many : paste made of white bread and honey, gentles, wasp-grubs, and brandlmgs ; but much the best general bait is the tail end of a lob-worm. Use lob-worms, cut in pieces, brewers' grains, or greaves, as groundbaits in the places where you intend to angle. Use a gut Kne, quiU float, and hook the same as for perch. Sound the bottom, which should be eight or ten feet deep, and stand at least two yards from the bank from which you fish ; the bait should just touch or trip along the bottom. THE PLOUNDER. The flounder is a well-known flat-fish very common about our owii coasts ; and should any of our young friends be at the seaside, it is well that they should know how to take flounder. They are also found in rivers, at some distance from the sea. They may be taken in May, July, and August, — not in June, as that is their spawning 112 EVERY BOYS BOOK. time. The best baits are red- worms and marsb-worms, on a No. G hook; and you should fish at the bottom. THE i-LOUNJJEB. EELS. Eds are denizens of the mud ; but they are fond of clean not foul mud, and ought never to be sought after in filthy places. There are many modes of taking them : by rod and line, by dead line, by snig- gling, by bobbing, and by spearing. When a rod is used, you should put a brandling or red-worm oh a No. 8 hook ; the bait should touch the bottom ; and, when you have a " bite," the float should be drawn quite under water before you strike. The dead line is a liae of whipcord, with hooks about two feet asunder, baited with lob-worms or small fish, and having a weight at the end. You should also have a bank-runner — a red on a pin or stake . stuck into the ground on the edge of the bank ; the line and baits shoidd be thrown in, and left for the eels to amuse themselves with, — ^looked to, and drawn up at your leisure. ANGLING. 113 In sniggling, a lob-worm is put upon a stout worsted needle ; the line is on a wmder; and the fish will he found near flood-gates, wharfings, bridges, piles, holes in the banks of rivers, ponds, and canals. The bait should be put into the lurking-places of the eel, by- means of a stick with a forked head ; and when the bait is taken, which will easily be known by the pull of the string, strike. Bobbing for eels. — In this process long red-worms are strung on threads of worsted, until a bunch as large as the two fists is formed around a piece of lead. The whole is sunk to the bottom, or nearly so, then raised a little, then depressed, so as to induce the eels to bite. When this occurs, heave up without hurry. The number of eels taken in this way is often j)rodigious. In spearing eels, the spearer usually goes into the mud in a. pair of pants ©r mud pattens, pieces of square board fastened into the heel to prevent sinking. He takes an eel-spear in his hand, something like Neptune's trident, and progs the mud all over, and the eels are caught between the forked blades of the spear. Great numbers of eels are taken in this way on the muddy ooze of salt or fresh-water rivers. THE STtCELLEBACK AND MINNOW. The stickleback is a dark-coloured little fish, found in ditches and" ppnds. They are best caught with a small hand-net, and are occa- sionally used as bait for perch. The minnow is very beautiful in appearance, being of a rose colour underneath , and may be taken with a worm and a No. 13 hook at any time of day ; but more easily with a small hand-net. They are commonly found in Httle rivulets, rills, or small sandv streams, and are highly prized by the angler as baits for many kinds of fish. lU EVERY BOY'S BOOK. THE BAHBEL. The barbel is a bold, sturdy, handsome-looking fish, although its flesh is coarse to the eater; but he is a rare fellow for sport, and often affords great amusement as well as chagrin to the angler by his bolting off with the line by a " coup de barbel," and breaking it with his tail. Izaak Walton says, that barbel "flock together like sheep." Barbel are to be found in the strongest runs of water. In summer, they love the shallowest and sharpest streams, and will lurk under weeds, and will root and dig in the sand like pigs. Sometimes he BARBEL WITH GOLD OARP. iccires to deep and swift bridges, or to flood-gates or weirs, and wJI rest himself against piles or hollow places. In winter he gets into deep water. Li fishing for barbel in large streams, you should go out in a boat provided with greaves, gentles, and red-worms; and, before you begia fishing, you should throw in plenty of groundbait — such as soaked greaves, bran and clay made into small balls, maggots, or lob- worms. They may be angled for with a stout rod, strong running line, cork float, and No. 7 or 8 hook, baited with marshworms or greaves. The barbel being a sharp biter, strike the moment you feel a nibble. He may be caught from May to October all day, but best in the morning and evening. After he is struck he will frequently make a run, but you must play him gently ; keep him clear of weeds, and try to get him into deep water ; and when you have him, mind he does not bounce out of your hand and drop down the strean*. again. I ANGLING. 115 NATURAL FLY-PISniNG, OB, DIPPING. Pishing with a fl^ may be practised either with the natural fly, ually called " dipping," or with the artificial fly ; in which latter se the sport is callea " fly-fishing," or sometimes " whipping." Dipping requires a moderately long and stiff rod, of about twelve or thirteen feet. The line should not be above a yard in length from the end of the rod, but the reel should contain sufficient to play the fish if necessary. When the river is much overhung with buslies, it is a good plan to wind the line round the end of the top joint, leaving only a few inches dependent ; and then, having thrust the rod through some small opening in the bushes, gradually to unwind the line by turning the rod in the hand, so as to drop the fly on the water in the most gentle manner. In this insidious way large fish are often taken with any of the flies which are in season and found at the time on the banks of the river which is fished, especially if they are only just coming out, and the fish are not yet satiated with them. It is quite needless to give a list of the natural flies which are likely to prove serviceable to the fisherman, because he has only to look for those which at the time are tempting the fish, and then to endeavour to find them on the banks, and at once to try their powers. In the case of chub, however, he will find grasshoppers and humble-bees more useful than any of the flies, and yet thev are neither of them often seen upon the waters, and may be considered exceptional cases. The fish which will generally take the natural fly are grayling, trout, chub, and dace. PLY-PISHING AND ARTIFICIAL PLIES. For this delightful sport, which captivates alike the sexagenarian and the schoolboy, rods and tackle of the finest quality are required. It is true, that a good workman will take fish even with a willow wand, but still he would do far better with a rod turned out by a good maker ; and few young hands will be able to do much without a well-finished specimen of the art of rod-making. The rod should be strong, yet fine, and either of dressed silk, or silk and hair mixed. The lower portion, called the foot-length, is of gut, generally occupying about five or six feet of it, to which one, two, or three flies are attached, the one at the end being called a stretcher, and the others droppers. The fly-fisher should be able to make his own flies, as there is a ^eat advantage in being able to " do for oneself; " and it may some- times happen that he may be out of a particular fly when far away from "fly shops." MATERIALS POR MAKING PLIES. Feathers of various kinds; hairs of various kinds; very fine sewing fiilk ; gold and silver twist. OT the first, the young fly -fisher must i2 116 EVERY BOY'S BOOK. provide himself with the feathers of the duck, cock, grouse, snipe, oittem, woodcock, partridge, landrail, starling, jay, golden plover, and peacock. Of the second, the fur from Tommy's tail, from the skins of squirrels, moles, and water rats, camel's hair, hare's ear, fur from its neck, the yellow fur from the neck of the martin, mohairs of different shades, camlets, black horsehair, hog's down dyed various colours. And with these, gimps, silks, and tinsel, a good pair of pliers, and a pair of fine-pointed scissors. In making your fly, imitate as nearly as possible the natural fly you wish to represent; to do this properly, it will be well to dissect a natural fly, and to imitate its several parts, and then to reconstruct it with a reference to the whole. With a hook of the proper size, and avfeather of the right colour, the fly-maker may now commence. His feather must be stripped down on each side, leaving just so much as will do for the wings at the fine end ; a piece of fine gut, free from imperfection, and properly tested as to its strength; dubbing or hackle ; and a piece oi fine silk well waxed with shoemaker's wax. Let the essay be now made. Hold your hook in the left hand, wrap the silk round the bare hook two or three times, and put the finest end of the gut on the under side of the hook. If you are working for a tackle fly, begin at the band and work up to the head, after turning three or four times round the hook and gut; fasten on the tackle, and continue the vending of the silk until it reaches the end of the hook, then turn it back two or three times, to form the head. The dubbing must now be twisted round the silk, and wrapped upon the hook for nearly half the proposed length of the body ; fasten it there bv a single loop, that ootn hands may be at liberty to manage the tackle. When sufficient of the feather is wound upon the hook, the re- mainder should be held under the thumb of the left hand, and the entangled fibres picked out with a needle. The silk and dubbing must now be twisted over the end of the tackle, until the body of the fly is of the length required, and then fastened. If gold or silver twist is used, the twist should be fastened to the lower end of the body before the dubbing is applied to the silk. To make a winged fiy, the same method must be observed in tying on the hook ; then take the feather which is to form the wings, and place it even on the upper side of the shank, with the roots pointing towards the bend of the hook ; fasten the feathers, by winding the silk over it, and cut the root end close with a pair of scissors, and divide the wings as equally as possible with a needle, passing the silk two or three times between them, to make them stand in a proper position; brins the silk down the shank of the hook the proposed length of thelbody, and fasten it, then apply the dubbing to the silk, and twist it towards the wings ; fasten in the hackle for legs, and wind it neatlv under the wings, so as to hide the ends of the cut fibres: the silk must be fastened above the wings — be careful of this. I ANGLING. 117 It would be impossible for us, nor would it be very useful to the youn^ fly-fisher, to give him directions for making every kind of fly. We may, however, throw out a few hints concerning the making of most of the flies in common use, and of the materials employed. 1. The green drahe or May fly , — This is one of the most killing trout flies, but it is seldom in the water for a longer period than three weeks. The time of its appearance varies in different rivers, but it generally rises about the last week in May, and continues for about three weeks. The wings are made of the light feathers of a f ^-^.^S^si' I grey drake, dyed a pale yellow- green coIcilt, by being boiled for a mmute or two in a decoction of green vitriol. The body is formed of amber-coloured mohair or silk ribbon, with dark green silk ; the head of peacock's harl, and the tail of three long hairs taken from a sable muff. 2. The black gnat. — The body of this fly is made of black ostrich harl, and the wings of a pale starling's feather ; it must be dressed short and thick. It is in use from the end of April till the end of May, and is a good killer when the water is low. 3. Harems ear. — The wings are made from the feather of a starling's wing, the body from the mr of the hare's ear, the legs of a ginger cock's hackle. 4. Cock tail. — Wings of the light feather from a snipe's wing, the body of yellow mohair. 5. Whirling dun. — ^Wings of a snipe's feather, body of blue fur wrapped with yellow silk, and a blue cock's hackle for legs ; the tail of two hairs from a coloured muff. 6. Grey drake. — Wings of a dark grey feather of the mallard, the body of white silk, striped with dark silk, the head of a peacock's harl, and the tail of three hairs from a sable muff. 118 EVERY boy's book. 7. Cowdung fiy. — The wings of the feather of a landrail, the body of yellow camlet, mixed with a little brown bear-fur, and a ginger hackle for legs ; the wings should be dressed flat. 8. Bee fly. — The body of thread of various colours, arranged in stripes of the following order:— black, white, light yellow, white, black, white ; the legs of a black hackle ; the wings from the feathers of a blue pigeon's wing : the body must be dressed thick. 9. Red palmer. — The body of dark-red mohair, ribbed with gold twist, and wrapped with a red cock's hackle. 10. Feacoch palmer. — The body of a peacock's harl, wrapped with a dusky-red cock's hackle. 11. Kingdom fiy. — Wings of a woodcock's feather, the body of white silk, striped with green, and the lees of a red cock's hackle. 12. White gnat. — The wings of a small white feather, the body of white silk, and the legs of a red cock's hackle. 13. Blue dun. — The wings of a starling's feather, the body of blue fur from a water rat, mixed with a little lemon-colour mohair ; the tail is forked, and should be made of two fibres from the feather used for the wing. 14. Bed ant. — The wings of a light starlings feather, the body of peacock's harl made thick at the tail, and a gmger hackle for legs. 15. Gold spinner. — ^Wings of a starling's feather, body of orange silk, ribbed with gold twist, and the legs of a red hackle. 16. Great white moth. — Wings of a feather from the wing of a white owl, the body of white cotton, and a white cock's nackle wrapped round the body. 17. Governor. — ^Wings of a woodcock's feather, the body of a pea- cock's harl, tied with orange silk. 18. March brown. — Wings of the dark mottled feather from the tail of a partridge, the body of fur from a hare's ear, well mixed with a little yellow worsted, and a grizzled cock's hackle for legs. 19. Stone fly. — ^Wings of a dusky-blue cock's hackle, or a mot- tled feather from a hen pheasant, the body of dark-brown and yellow camlet mixed, and a grizzled hackle for legs ; the wings should be flat. 20. Black silver palmer. — The body of black ostrich harl, ribbed with silver twist, and wrapped with black cock's hackle. 21. Willow fly. — The wm^s of dark grizzled cock's hackle, the body of blue squirrel's fur, mixed with yellow mohair. 22. Yellow palmer. — The wings of white hackle, dyed yellow, the body of yellow silk. 23. Black palmer.— The body of black ostrich's harl, wrapped with a black cock's hackle. 24. Black palmer ribbed with gold. — The body of peacock's harl, wrapped with a black cock's hackle, and ribbed with gold twist. 25. Marlow Buzz or Coch-a-Boundhu. — This is one of the most killing flies known, and should never be off the line during the trout ANGLiJSU. 119 season. The body of peacock's harl, ribbed with gold twist, aud a dark-red cock's hackle over all. 26. The Grouse Hackle. — This is also a very killing fly, especially late in the evening, during June, July, and August. Body of brown fur, ribbed with gold twist, and a grouse hackle over all; hook No. 10. The foregoing list comprises twenty-six of the most killing flies ; and the following are the months in which they will be found to kiU best. February, red cowdung fly, blue dun ; March, brown ; Apnl, black gnat, stone fly, gravel or spider fly, the green tail, brown, blue dun; May, green drake, grey drake, oak fly, hazel fly, little iron blue and yellow sally ; June, hare's ear, cock taU, whirling dun, raarlow buzz, bee fly, kingdom fly, white gnat, blue gnat, blue dun, governor, fern fly; gold spinner; July, red. ant, red spinner, yellow dun, coachman, fern fly; August, whirling blue, red spinner, pale yellow dun ; September, willow fly, silver twisted blue, whirling blue. It would of course be impossible, in a work of this description, to give a list of all the artificial flies used by experienced fishermen, but the above are a few of the most killing. For bleak, dace, roacb, chub, &c. a piece of a maggot, or a small piece of white leather, should be placed at the end of the hook. Having thus given the " order of flies," natural and artificial, we may imagine the young fly-fisher, with rod in hand, proportionate to his strength and the breadth of the stream, ready to throw his fly ; but let his rod and running tackle be in good order, and the idea of the coachman's whip out of his mind. He is not to flog the water, but to tickle it. The novice should teach himself to handle the line, by beginning with it alone, {i.e. without flies or hook,) trying a short length first, and lengthening it graduaUjr. In using the rod, it should be drawn vigorously back, though without a jerk, and thrown forward a^ain when the line has reached its full extent behind. Take care in doing this, that the fly be not whipped off. When tolerably expert, put on one fly, and try awhile with that, adopting two or three when able to use them properly. In fly-fishing keep as far from the water as possible, especially if fishing for trout. Let only the flies touch the water, and keep moving them gently and slowly on the surface. When a fish rises, let not a moment elapse before you strike, and do it sharply. When you have two flies on your line, you must try to throw your line so that the bottom fly shall reach the water first ; it must be done always as lightly as possible, so that it may resemble a natural fly settling upon the water. You must suffer the line to float gently down the stream, at the same time working it towards you. The best time for angHng with the fly is when there is a gentle breeze upon the water ; south and west winds are to be preierred, when the water has been disturbed by heavy rains and is just resum- ing its natural colour, or when the day is dull and cloudy. The best 120 EVERY boy's book. time, morning and evening. In cold weather the fish bite deeper, and you shoidd then let the fly sink a little. Take care to have the wind in your back, and the sun in your face, if possible. When you see a rise, throw your fly about half a yard above the fish's nose, and let it fall down with the stream ; watch it narrowly, and strike as the fish rises, giving him an " infinite little moment " to taste. When you have hooked, play your fish carefully, keeping up his head and running him down the stream, at the same time steer- ing bim towards you. If you see a fish rise at a natural fly, throw your bait a little before him, so that he may take it as " one of the number." To know what flies the fish are most likely to take, observe what natural files are about the water, or on the grass, trees, or bushes in the vicinity of the river; and take that fly which is the most in abundance, either natural or artificial at your discretion. ^ Such are a few practical particulars concerning angling and fly- fishing, sufficient to enable any young angler to begm. For more abundant information we refer him to Mr. Stoddart and Mr. Stewart, for fly-fishing, Mr. Cholmondeley Pennell for pike-fishing, " Hewitt Wheatley " for grayling fishing, and Mr. Francis Francis for the various modes of bottom fishing. AilCHEUI. " And he was clad in coat and pode of grenc; A shefe of pecocke arrows bryght and shen© Under his belt he bare, ful.threftely. Well coude he dresse his tackle yomanly. His arrows drouped not with feathers lowe, And in his hande he bare a myghty bowe." — Chauceiu The skill of the English in archery was alwa;^s veir great. Our ancestors used the bow for a double purpose: in time of war, it was a far more dreadful instrument of destruction than our present soldier's musket; while in the "piping times of peace," it became an object of amusement. The victories the English obtained over their enemies in times of war were many, and what the world calls glorious; and they SAXON BOW AND ARROW. :itand upon record in our history, where the young reader may peruse them with interest and advantage. The Anglo-Saxons and the Danes were certainly well acquainted with the use of the bow, which they used, not so much for \jar pur- 122 EVERT boy's book. poses, as in the sports of the field. But it is well known that the Normans used the bow as a military weapon, and under their govern- ment the practice of archery was not ohfy much unproved, but gene- rally diffused throughout the kingdom. The long-bow was an instru- ment of Norman introduction, and there seems good reason to believe that the arbalist, or cross-bow, was used by these sturdy invaders. THE I,ONG-BOW. The use of the English long-bow arrived at the highest perfection in the reign of Edward III.; and, notwithstanding the in- troduction of fire-arms, continued for a long time after to be successfully cultivated. Cressy, Poictiers, A^court, and many other victories, were obtained by its use ; and Sir John Fortescue writes, "That mighte of .the realme of En^lande standyth upon her archers," — as it \ml now upon our riflemen or sharpshooters, when our army shall get the right kind of gun. THE CROSS-BOW. . The cross-bow, or arbalist, was a popular weapon with the Etolians, and was introduced into England m the thirteenth century. The arrows shot from it were called " guorrels." It was fastened upon a stock, and discharged by means of a catch or trigger, which pro- pably gave rise to the lock, on the modem musket. One historian HORMAN-BOW. informs us, that Eichard the First was wounded by an arrow from a bow of this kind; and also, that the English cross-bow was used chiefly at sieges of fortified places, and on ship-board in battles upon the sea. It was, however, used in recreation, and acquired great reputation among the citizens of London, who had " butts" in various places for the practice of this kind of archery; as at Newington Butts, Brentford Butts, and other spots, which stiU retain the name of Butts : and in the reign of Edward IV. an act passed, which directed r ARCHERY. 123 that butts should be in every township, where the inhabitants should shoot on every feast-day, under a penalty of a halfpenny when they shall omit the exercise. TEATS or THE BOW. Mr. Grose inlorms us that an archer could shoot six arrows in the time necessary to charge and discharge a musket; and even in modem days, a practised bowman has been known to shoot twelve arrows in a minute into a circle not larger than the circumference of a man's hat, at a distance of forty yards. Of the power of the bow, and of the distance it wiU carry, some remarkable anecdotes are told, Xeno- phon mentions an Arcadian, whose head was shot through by a Carduchian archer. Stuart mentions a random shot of a Turk, which he found to be 584 yards ; and Mr. Strutt saw the Turkish ambas- sador shoot 480 vards in the old archery-ground in London. An old author speaks of a Turkish bow, the arrow of which was known to pierce a steel target two inches thick. In the journal of King Edward YI., it is mentioned that 100 archers of the king's guard shot at an inch board, and that some of the arrows passed through this, and into another board behind it, although the wood was ex- tremely solid and firm. William de Brensia relates that a Welshman having directed an arrow at a horse-soldier of his, who was clad in armour, and had his leathern coat under it, the arrow, beside piercing the man through the hip, struck also through the saddle, and mortally wounded the horse on which he sat. Another Welsh soldier having shot an arrow at one of his horsemen, who was covered with strong armour, the shaft penetrated through his thigh, and fixed in the saddle ; but what is most remarkable is, that as the horseman drew his bridle aside, in order to turn round, he received another arrow in the opposite thigh, which passing through it, he was firmly fixed to the saddle on both sides. Mr. Barrington, in the " Archseologise,'* re- lates a tradition that one Leigh, an attorney (it must have been a barrister), shot an arrow a mile in three flights ; and Carew, speak- 124 EVERY BOYS BOOK. ing of the Cornish archers two centuries back, says that the butts for long shooting were placed 480 jards apart. Such, my good friends, are the feats you may emulate with the dow. LENGTH OF BOWS AND AHaOWS, AND HOW USED IN ANCIENT TIMES. The length of the bow varied, but was usually the height of the bearer, as the Act of Edward IV. commands every man to have a bow his own height. The arrows were of different weights and sizes; the lighter sort, for long ranges, about two feet three inches; while the heavy were a cloth yard in length. The heads had various shapes, among which the broad arrow extended in width to nearly four inches to the extremity of the vdngs. Of these, 24 in a sheaf were put into a quiver, and, in action, about 12 in the girdle. Thev were trimmed with three goose-quill ■ feathers each, and when the archers shot in voUey, the quantity of arrows in the air was compared by Froissart to a fall of snow. The farthest range of arrows was estimated at eleven score yards. The archers, in order KORMAN BOWMAN EftuippED of battlc, generally carried, beside the bow, FOR BATTLE. gje^ aud target, a stake pointed at both ends. They formed in open ranks, in mes eight deep. When on the point of engaging, they advanced a few paces beyond the iatended fine, and fixed their staes, inclined towards the enemy, in the ground. They then stepped backward, and from behind these chevaux-de-frise dealt forth their destructive arrows; and when the enemy were thrown into confusion, they sallied, and with small battle-axes and swords completed the defeat. MASKS rOR SHOOTING AT. The marks usually shot at by the archers for pastime were " butts," " prickes," and " rovers." The " butt" was a level mark, made by placing a target on a slope of a hill or bank of earth, and re(^uired a strong arrow. The " pncke" was a " mark of compass," but always of one distance, and had some emblem on a pole for shoot- ing at ; and to this mark strong swift arrows of one flight, with a middling size feather, were sHooTtNo AT THE popiNJAT. bcst suiteo. Tfac "rovcr" was a mark of uncertain length, and often an arrow shot forthifrom AKCHEUr. 125 a bow. Other mai'ks were used, as the standard, the target, hazel- wands, rose-garlands, and the popinjay, which was an artificial parrot or peacock, or sometimes the common cock, set upon a post or pole, as seen in the engraving. EQUIPMENT rOR ARCHERY. Roger Ascham, who was well versed in the subject of archery, says that it was necessary for the archer to have a bracer, or close sleeve, to lace upon the left arm ; and to this was added a shooting-glove for the protection of the fingers. The bow was to be made of elm, ash, or yew ; the bow-string to be composed of good hemp, flax, or silk ; the arrows were to be made of oak, hornbeam, or birch. The feathers from a goose, and especially of a grey goose, he thought preferable to any for the pluming of an arrow. ANCIENT DIRECTIONS POR ARCHERY. Ascham says : " First take care of a graceful attitude." The archer should stand fairlv and upright with his body, his left foot at a con- venient distance from his right, holding the bow by its middle, with his left arm stretched out, and with the first three fingers and the thumb of his right hand on the lower part of the arrow affixed to the string of the bow. The notch of the arrow to rest between the fore- finger and the middle finger of the ri^ht hand. The arrow, in drawing the bow, was to be elevated to the right ear. The shaft of the arrow below the feathers to be rested on the knuckle of the fore-finger of the left hand. The arrow was to be drawn to the head, and not held too long in that situation, but neatly and smartly discharged. Among the requisites necessary to constitute a good archer are, a clear sight steadily directed to the mark, — a proper judgment of distances, to determine the len^h of the ground. He ought also to know how to take advantage of a side-wind, and to be well acquainted with what compass his arrows would take in their flight. "Courage," he says also, " is an indispensable requisite; as he who shoots with the least trepi- dation is sure to shoot badly." DECLINE OF ARCHERY. Notwithstanding the great advantages of archerj in ancient days, somehow or other it began to decline even at the tmie of its zenith ; so that, from time to tune, acts of parliament were made to compel the citizens of London, and other towns, to j)ractise it. Some of our monarchs made sumptuous archery entertamments. In the reign of Queen Elizabeth, a grand shooting-match was held in London of all the archers in the surrounding districts ; and these meeting at the appointed time, vdth their different companies, proceeded in a pompous march from Merchant Tailors' HaU, numbering 3,000 archers, sump- tuously apparelled, every man having a long-bow and four arrows ; 940 of 'them had ffold chains about their necks. This splendid com- pany was attendea by 4,000 whifflers and bellmen. The queen met 126 EVEUY doy's book. them in Smitlifield, and presided at their sports. But still the art continued to decline, and, with the increase of other warlike weapons, became at last ahnost extinct. Within these few years, however, it has again become a somewhat favourite exercise, near London, and in various parts of the country. In Scotland, the " Royal Company of Archers" — the Queen's body-guard for Scotland — comprises many of the Scottish nobility, and K^ing George IV. recomised it. It now comprises about 500 members, who meet weekly, and at certain seasons contend for several annual prizes. Convinced as we are that the practice of archery possesses, in point of health, all the advantages of field sports, without their cruelty to animals, and demoralizing oppression to our fellow-crea- tures, we strongly recommend it to our juvenile friends. It is an exercise adapted to every age and every degree of strength; and especially aoapted to young ladies, whose sedentary occupations, — rendered still more injurious by the pestiferous Berlin wool, — disposes them to disease and consumption. I do not wish to sing the praises of the art to their full extent, but I wish to see it universally cultivated, and should hail with pleasure the time when it can be again said, as with Statins, " Pudor est nescere sagittas." MODERN AECHERT. Proceeding now to the modem practice of the art, we must first begin with THE BOW. The Bow may be made of the yew-tree, laburnum, thorn, or acacia, and is generally formed of two pieces of wood joined together, the back piece being of a different wood to the front, and the grain re- versed. It is of great importance to secure a good bow. We would not, therefore, advise the young archer to make one, but to buy one at a good archery shop, where they may be had at all prices. Upon making a purchase, he should examine the bow well, to observe whether it be well set in all its parts, of an elegant cut or shape, and free from flaws, knots, or cracks. He should look well at the ends, and to those points on which the bow-string is fixed, which ought to be tipped with horn. The proper length of a bow for a youth is about five feet. The flat or outward pm of a bow is called its back, and the inward part its belly ; and in stringing it the young archei should be particularly careful to keep the belly inwards, or the bow will break. THE STRING. The string of the bow should be made of hemp, and whipped with sewing silk at that part of it which receives the arrow, marked c in the annexed plan. The thickness of the sking should depend upon the length of the bow, and should never be too iiiin for its ARCHERY. 12/ powers, as the snapping of a string sometimes causes the snapping of the bow. The young archer should never use a string in the least out of order, and shoiSd avoid cat-gut strings especiallj. A bow five feet long, when bent, should have a string about five inches from k the centre. This wiU be a guide in stringing the bow. The young archer should take great pride in the care of his bow, especially of the string, and look caretully, after every da/s shooting, at the " whipping" of the string, and at the wearing points, repairing the least defect. He ought also to place his bow in an oil-skin case, lined with baize; and when put away for the season it should be well rubbed with oil, and polished. He should also have always two or three spare strings in readiness, in case the one in use may fly. STRDJGING THE BOW. The youn^ archer must be very careful in performing this feat, or he will faU in the attempt ; to do so safely, he must take the bow in his right hand by the handle, the flat part towards him ; then let his arm rest against his side, then put the lower end of the bow against the inside of the right foot, bnng his left foot forward, and place the centre of the left wrist on the upper level of the bow below the loop of the string, the fore-finger kiiuckle on one edge of the bow, ana the top of the thumb upon the other ; then up vrith the bow and loop it. This feat, however, can be best leameo. by seeing another expert person perform it. In unstringing the bow, the short horn should DC placed on the ^ound against the right foot, the middle of the bow grasped in the right hand, and the left wrist placed on the upper horn, so that the tore-finger may unloop the string when the bow is brought down, as in the maimer of stringing it. THE AE.EOWS. Arrows are generally made of some white wood, such as ash, deal, or the wood of the orbele poplar, and are sometioQes varnished. They jl(;^ are both blunt and sharp. The sharp ones arc <: y '"' for target shooting, the blunt ones principally for roving; they also vary as regards leng^th, some being lon^, and some short, fit purchasing them, the principal thing to be attended to is, that they are perfectly straight, well made, and that the plumes are securely fitted. There should be three on each arrow; one, which is of a darker colour than the rest, is called the cock plume, and in shooting should be placed uppermost. The length and "we^ht of the arrows should be in proportion to the size of the bow. The 128 EVERY boy's book. nicks of arrows sliould be cased with liorn, and tliey shotild fit the string exactly. THE QUIVER. The quiver is used to contaia the arrows, and is usually made of wood, or tin, or leather, those made of the latter material being the most serviceable and convenient to wear. It should be long enough to contain the arrows up to the feather, without bruising or crushing the plumes, which ought always to be kept perfectly straight and unruffled. The quiver in shooting is not carried, but the arrows are placed in a pouch attached to the belt. THE TASSEL, BRACE, BELT AND POUCH. The Tassel is usually made of green worsted, and is used by the archer for the purpose of cleansing the arrow from dirt after being taken from the ground. It is usually suspended on the left side of the archer. The Brace is of leather, and is buckled on the arm to save it from being hurt by the string upon the discharge of the arrow. It ought THE BELT. ARCHERY. 129 to be very smooth on its surface, so as to offer no impediment to the bow-string. The Belt is made of leather, and is buckled round the waist. It has fastened to it a pouchy for the temporary reception of the arrows in shooting. SHOOTING GLOVE, AND GREASE POT. The Shooting Glove is made of cow-hide, or horse ball leather. It has places or stalls for three fingers only, with a wrist strap to fasten it on. Its use is to protect the fingers from Jjie action of the string, and in selecting it the young archer should be careful that tlie finger stalls are neither too long nor too short for the hand. THE GREASE fOT IHfi GLOVE. The Grease Box hangs usually by the side of the tassel, and con- tains a small portion of grease composed of suet and bees-wax well compounded. This is used for rubbing on the fingers of the shooting glove, and is indispensable to the archer. THE TARGET. Targets are made with plaited straw bands, wound round a centre, and sewn together. Over tliis body is placed a facing of canvass, the ground of which is painted white ; upon ■. /S&\ ^^^ white are paiated four circles, and a gold B lwPm\ centre called the bull's eye. The first circle H' »■ l^\ ^^°^^ *° ^^ ^^^ ^^ ^^^ » *^^ ^^■'^^ white, called B JllUll *^^ ^^^^^ white; the third black; and the ^L /W^ I fourth white, called the outer white ; while ^B ,y vli#i ^^^ outside verge, called the petticoat of the ^H^SIjmI^SmCA-, target, is paiated ^een. ^» ^^^BBH^^ -^ certam value in shooting is given to each ^L "^^^^^^^m^ circle of the target, which is thus computed : ■i "^ Outer white 1; Black 3; Inner white 5; ^■Red 7, and the Gold Eye 9. ^H There are usually two targets in an archery field, placed at cei-tam ^Bdistances from each other, which shortens the labour of walking; for 1 130 EVERY BOT S BOOK. if one target only be used, a great deal of time is lost in going from the shooting mark to the target to fetch the arrows, and in returning to the spot again. The prizes usually shot for in archery matches are gold and silver medals, silver cups, silver arrows, silver ^ilt bugles, prize bows and arrows. There are generally two prizes given; the first for the shots nearest the gold centre, the second for the number of shots put into the target, according to their value. A person is usually appointed to register the shots at the targets, who has a card similar/to the form given below, by which he takes an account of the hits as they are made. NAMEt eOLO REDlwNERWHml BLACK wniiWHin TCTTAL VALUE Smtk 2 3 7 3 // 2€ 100 Mxi. 1 6 s a 7 27 107 Broim 5 4 9 7 /t 41 i^y The markings are usually riiade by the marker with a pin, holes being less liable to obliteration than pencil marks. BUTTS Are usually made of nieces of turf piled one upon another, ana laid one upon the other m the foUowing shape. Tuey are usually about six feet high and four feet broad at the face, upon which a circular piece of thin white pasteboard, about six mches in diameter, is afl&xed with pegs. Butts are generally placed in the field in sets of four, so as not to stand in the way of each other. And when shot at, the arrows placed in the paste- boai'd mark are alone reckoned, and those who here place the greatest number of shots are the winners of the prize. HOW TO DRA.W THE BOW. The ancient directions for drawing the bow, or rather the arrow, have been already given. The archer having placed himself opposite to the target, with nis face a little inclined to the right, should swing himself sbghtly round, so that his eye and the target are in an exari line. He should stand quite upright, his left foot slightly in advance. Holding the bow horizontally in his left hand, he should draw an arrow from his pouch and carrv it under the string and over the left side of the bow. The fore-dnger of the left hand now holds the arrow secure on the wooden part of the bow at its centre, while the right hand fixes the nick of tne arrow on the string, where it is held fast between the first and second fingers, the cock feather being up- permost. The fore-finger of the left hand may now be removed from ARCHERY. 131 the arrow, and the centre of the bow grasped tightly. The bow is now raised gradually by the left hand, at the same time that the string is pulled by the right; and when the arrow is drawn about two-thirds of its length, the neck of it should be brought close to the right ear and the aim should be taken. The aim should be taken quickly, and the string loosened freely from the fingers with a peculiar touch, which no books can teach, and which nothing but experience and skill can give. In long shots the right hand must be lowered, and the arrow sent so as to form a positiow in greater curve in its flight. The archer should shooting. look at his marky not at his shaft, and when he has shot should re- treat to the leftward, and take his position behind the person with whom he is shooting. FLIGHT SHOOTING. This is principally engaged in for the purpose of ascertaining the greatest distance to which the arrows can be sent by the respective shooters. It requires no skill in aiming, but much care in drawing the arrow, as nothing is more likely to fracture the bow than flight shooting. The archer who sends his arrows to the greatest distance is the winner. CLOUT SHOOTING. In clout shooting the target is only a small piece of white paste- board attached to a stick about five feet from the ground, and placed at a distance of from 120 to 150 yards. In it seven makes the game, and all arrows that fall within two bows* length of the foot of the stick are marked in counting. KOVING. So called from the shooters roving from place to place, over field, heath, moor, common, finding their marks m trees, posts, bushes, &c. The distances constantly varying, give to young archers a great deal of practice; besides which, the variety of the scenery, and the various incidents that occur in a da/s roving, are often liiglily interesting and exciting. By roving the eye gets a habit of measuring distances, and the hand and arm strength for the bow. Blunt-headed arrows are the best for roving, of which about a dozen ought to be carried by each archer. Sharp arrows would imbed themselves too deeply in trees to be easily extracted. In a roving party, arrows that reach witliin five bows' len^h of the mark tell, and those which are nearest cut the others out. Each archer measui-es with his own bow. The number of the game is often nine, but generally twelve. K 2 132 EVERY BOY'S BOOK. GENEPvAL HINTS FOR ARCHERS. 1. In commencing archery never begin with a stiff bow, but select one adapted to your strength, and change this for a stronger from time to time. 2. Never shoot with another person's bow. 3. Never put an arrow in the string when any one stands between you and the target, or you may shoot out an eye. 4. Never talk, jibe, or jest at the time of shooting. 5. Always study to take a graceful attitude in shooting, or in moving about the field. 6. Never draw a bow near another person ; as, should it snap, the danger will be greater to him than yourself. 7. Never let your bow-string get untwisted or ravelled by n^lect. 8. Never exhibit impatience at the tardy efforts of your compeers, or chagrin at your own failures. 9. Never shoot alone if you can help it, as it leads to negligence aod indifference. ( BOXING. We will first give briefly some of the reasons why we have deter- mined to mention this branch of the manly exercises. Firstly, we do so because we have a great personal esteem for the art, though none can be more sternly opposed to its abuse. Secondlj^, because it affords one of the finest exercises in the world, employing every limb and every muscle in the body, giving at the same time readi- ness of hand and quickness of eye, while it tests and improves the patience and endurance. And, thirdly, because every one likes to know how to use the weapons which Nature has given him, and will contrive to acquire the desired knowledge whenever he can find an opportunity. All Englishmen, and therefore all English boys, are f)roud of their natural weapon, and compare it with the knife, the oaded stick, the knuckleduster, and the pistol of other nations. ITie principle of fair play and justice is strongly developed in an English oreast, and in nothing is the principle so thoroughly carried out as in boxing. No unfair advantage is allowed to either side, no striking upon the vital parts of the body is permitted, and the use of the foot, tooth, or nail is forbidden under the severest penalties. Even in the very prize ring, where men are trained for the express purpose of hitting each other with the utmost force of which human arms are capable, there is little harm done, and in a few days both combatants look as if nothing had happened to them. It is not so even in a wrestling county, or in some few parts of our own land where men fight like brute beasts, and use their best endeavours to maim or blind their adversaries for life. A well-known American writer has expressed, in his own humorous language, the astonishment which he felt at witnessing a short " turn up " at an English cattle-fair. The grave propriety of the affair, and the admirable order in which it was conducted, struck him with profound admiration, as contrasted with the " inglorious and inevitable Yankee clinches, followed by a general melee" which in popular language is termed a " free fight," and in which every one attacks every one else with any weapons and in any manner. Before proceeding to our genuine English Boxing, we must just mention the French '^ savate" of which we have lieard so much of late. \Ve have seen it practised and taught in the salles (Tarmes, and for it, as a system for boxing, we have the profoundest con- 134 EVERY boy's book. tempt ; as also for that execrable French custom of striking upwards with the knee when at close quarters — an atrocity for which we should like to see a man soundly horsewhipped on the spot. Now, the savate simply consists in this. You make a feint, as if to strike in the usual manner, and then, instead of striking with the fist, you kick with the foot. Or, when your antagonist is pressing YOU sharply, you send the point of your toe into his chest, and stop him. Or, you retreat from him, suddenly turn round, and kick at hira backwards — of course being quite unable to tell where the blow will alight, and possibly inflicting an injury the effects of which will be felt for life. Those who are practised in this manoeuvre will employ it with wonderful skill. They will hit you on the nose or on the fore- head without the least apparent effort, and with the greatest certainty ; they will fling you back from your advance with stunning force, and the effect of the lash-out is terrific. Indeed, if the object of boxing be to use all means of offence and defence, the savate is indispensable. Having many opportunities of visiting several schools of arms, we carefully considered this system, which was then totally unknown to as ; and after watching it well for some time, during our resi- dence in Paris, we came to the conclusion that the saoate is useful enough in case you are attacked by ruffianly fellows, whom you must needs maim, lest they should maim you; and that by the combined use of the savate and a stick, or even the fist, a man may knock over a couple of assailants simultaneously and effectually. And if a Frenchman who uses the savate were opposed to an Englishman who never heard of it, the probability is that the former would win, because the latter would lay himself open to a mode of attack which he had always been taught to consider unfair and unmanly. But we do not believe that it would be of the slightest value against any one who knew that his antagonist would employ- it, and think that the person attempting to use it would find himself hurled to the ground, and probably discover that his leg was violently sprained. So much lor the savate. It is not easy to teach any branch of the science of arms in a book, and boxing is perhaps as difficult to be learned from books as fencing. Still, something can be done even through the medium of ink and paper ; and the reader can, at all events, learn to avoid the errors to which a total novice is subject. The first and most important point is the position in which the boxer stands. This is not very dissimilar to that of a left-handed fencer, except that the right arm, instead of being raised, is brought across the body, so that it defends the pit of the stomach (technically called the " mark "), and only leaves a verv small portion of the cl est open to a blow. The left arm is rather higher than if it held a foil, and BOXING. 135 the elbow is kept well to the side. This latter point is most important, as it is impossible to hit straight from the shoulder if the elbow should project from the side. The weight of the body rests mostly on the ri^ht leg, so that the boxer can step backwards or forwai'ds, while still keeping his side to the adversary. If you stand opposite a good sparrer in boxing attitude, you will be surprised to find how well guarded he is, and how difficult it is to hit him, even if he neither moves nor attempts to return the blow. His left hand keeps you well away from him, and his right is ready either to stop or throw off your blow. It will be seen from the foregoing description, as well as bv reference to the illustration, that a right-handed boxer stands with his left side towards the opponent, uses his left hand for the chief part of the hitting, and reserves the right for stopping, parrying, or returning blows when at close quarters, or what is techmcally called a "rally." 136 EVERYT BOY S BOOK. Practise this attitude before a glass. You will soon see if you lay yourself open, and will learn to stand in a correct position. Advance and retreat also before the glass, and so make sure that you do not expose some weak point while so doing. I met a Erench gentleman who had made himself really a creditable boxer, merely by practising before his mirror ; and after a few days of practical work with the gloves he became quite a formidable antagonist. Another important point is the making up of the fist — not such a simple matter as it seems. The fingers must be clenched tightly, and the thumb doubled down outside them, so that when presented towards your antagonist he can see no part of it projecting over the fingers. This can also be practised at the glass. If the hand be rightly held, it will be seen that the knuckles form a kind of arch, of which the middle knuckle is the keystone. It is with this knuckle that you strike ; and be sure to clench the hand witii all your power i BOXING. 137 as vou deliver the stroke; otherwise you will run a sad risk of dislocating eitlier a finger or a thumb. The position of the head is of no small importance. On no account bear forwards, as is the way of muffs, but keep it lightly thrown back, and never take your eye off that of your opponent. Green- horns always lower the head, and rush at their antagonist with their arms flying about like the sails of a windmill ; and the natural con- sequence is, that their opponent quickly steps aside, lets them pass, ana knocks them neatly over by a blow on the temple, which they cannot possibly see or guard. Having got our attitude and doubled our fist, we now leai-n to strike. Deliver your blow straight and from the shoulder, not merely with the arm. Put all your body into the stroke, and aid it with the spring of the right foot against the ground. Thus you add to the blow the force of a kick, and the stroke comes with such terrific force that I have seen a tall man lifted fairly off the ground and deposited on his back by a straight shoulder-hit, even though the two were merely sparring with the gloves. Never draw back your hand before you strike, as that tells your opponent what vou are contemplating. Your stroke should flash out like the lightning, without warning and straight to the mark. You cannot strike too rapidly, and you cannot recover yourself too quickly. Practise this repeatedly before a glass, and note the length of your reach, for in a knowledge of distance lies half the art of boxing. As a general rule, if you can get your left toe on a level with your antagonist's heel, you have your proper distance. This rule, however, is necessarily variable, as in the case of the contest to which allusion has just been made, where one party could reach a full foot beyond the other, and had, in consequence, the advantage of twelve inches of space at his disposal. Kow that we have practised the left hand and arm, let us turn to the right. Except when striking, you need not trouble yourself to close the fist very tightly, but may let the hand lie in an easy and unconstrained position across the chest, ready for use in any direction that may be required. The chief use of the right hand and arm are for parrying and stopping, which are thus achieved : — If your opponent delivers a blow at the face or upper part of the chest, and you find yourself in a good position, do not retreat from it, but fling your right arm sharply outwards and upwards, catching tlie opponent's arm by the wrist, and throwing it out of the direction ill which it was aimed. The effect of the parry is very powerful, as it mostly lays open the antagonist's head, and gives opportunity for a smart return blow with the left hand ; it is then near the opponent's head, and has only a short distance to traverse. This return blow is technically called the "counter," and is usually very effective, as ' takes effect just at the moment when the antagonist is expecting 138 EVERY boy's book. his own blow to strike, and turns the tables on him after a rather discouraging fashion. Practise this also before the glass, parrying an imaginary blow from the opponent, and simultaneously shooting yom- own l^ft hand against the spot where your antagonist's head ought to be. I have often found that a quick double blow when countering is very embarrassing, and gives an opportunity of stepping in and planting your right hand after your left with ^ormous effect. Stopping is performed in another manner, and must often be used where the parry is impracticable. Tor example, if your antagonist strikes at the body the parry cannot be accomplished, and you must either get away, stop, or take the blow in hopes of retaliation. In stopping you receive the blow on your arm, and thereby break its < force, while, unless your opponent is possessed of herculean strength, the arm scarcely feels the stroke, yielding before the assault and acting like the cotton bales that have saved many a ship from the enemy's cannon. If you are fortunate enough to find a good boxer, get him to give you a few lessons in the practical department of the art, and in all cases be careful to keep your temper. I know that few things are more annoying than when jou have made a telling plan of attack, and are just about to begin its execution, to be checked by a short dab on the nose, which makes your eyes water and the Hds bhnk, and forces you to act on the defensive for the next few minutes, while the tears are streaming down your cheeks, and you cannot use a handkerchief by reason of the gloves. Remember that there are two golden rules for a boxer, namely, hit straight and keep your temper. Fail in either of these requisites, and you wiU probably come off second best ; fail in both, and you will certainly do so. Listen to an account of a battle where strength and weight and anger were overmatched by skill and coolness : — : " As the assailant rushed in he ran a prominent feature of his face ' against a fist which was travelling in another direction, and imme- diately after struck the knuckles of the young man's other fist a severe blow with the part of his person known as the epigastrium to one branch of science, and the bread-basket to another. Tliis second round closed the battle." .^ So we say again, keep your temper and hit straight. You see a circular blow takes more time to d!eliver than a straight one, and if your opponent swings his arm round at you, while you dart out your own fist at him, your blow wiU have taken effect long before his clumsy circumgyratory attempt has completed its journey. Let me here offer anolher piece of advice. Do not buy cheap gloves. You may get them at a saving of half-a-crown or so, but you wiU soon wish that you had expended the money in obtaining a better pair. ^ Gloves require the oest horsehair, arranged after a pecuhar fashion, in order to give them the mixed softness and BOXING. 139 elasticity wLicli they require. Inferior gloves soon become hard and knotty, the stuffing gets thin in some places, especially just in those very parts where it is most required. The consequence is, that the gloves become practically useless, and the blows are nearly as sevei-e as if struck with the bare hand. Remember that, although we strongly approve of boxing, it is not to be understood that we w^ant every one to be fighting. We very much approve of fencing and single-stick, but we certainly have no wish that every one who learns to use the foil or the single-stick iu mimic combat should want to try his rapier or his broadsword in deadly fight. As a mere exercise it stands supreme ; but it is even something beyond an exercise. It shows that superior strength and height and weight are powerless before superior skill, and that a small boy who knows how to box wiU certainly conquer a big one who is ignorant of the art. We say again, we do not recommend fighting; but still it is good to know how to stand up in one's own defence, and we heartily wish that when we went to school some kind friend had taught us the rudiments of the art. The brutal bully of a school never holds his own when he meets with an antagonist who is skilful in the use of his hands, and is forced to confess that his brute strength and cruel nature are useless in such a contest. We once saw a school bully get his deserts in a charming manner. He had fallen upon (of course) a much smaller boy, and was chasing him down a passage between a double row of forms. Suddenly his victim turned round, and delivered a right-and- left blow on the chin of his tormentor, astonishing him in no slight degree. The bully pressed on, thinking to annihilate his impertinent antagonist, but could not do so on account of the narrowness of the passage. As he pressed forward the bold Httle fellow retreated back- wards, step by step, popping in his blows sharp and quick, and stepping back just as those of his persecutor were delivered. The buDy never guarded a single blow or succeeded in hitting one, and by the time that they had made their way through the defile he was )liged to confess hunself beaten, and was deposed for ever from the spotic throne which he had so long disgraced. CANOES AND CANOEING. Despite the assertion of even so great an authority as Mr. Mac- gregor, whose name has now become a household word, canoeing is an amusement that must necessarily involve a considerable amount of danger, and ought to be indulged in by no one who has not, according to the Eton phrase, passed in swimming. Whether or not it is a very comfortable means of locomotion is purely a matter of personal feeling ; but in face of the fact that the Canoe Club now numbers upwards of a hundred members, and that the boat-builders have had extensive orders for canoes, it is only fair to suppose that those who venture enjoy the new mode of locomotion. There is one circumstance that will, no doubt, obtain for canoes great favour, especially with young people, and that is, their cheapness. Messrs., Seark at Lambeth, Simmons at Putney, or Wheeler at Richmond, will build a good stout travelling canoe, after the fashion of the Roh\ Hoy, for 15/.; which price includes mast, sails, apron, paddles, andj all necessaries. Any respeetnble boatbullder would no doubt do the^ same, when he is once provided with the necessary instructions, which, I need scarcely add, it is essential should be carried out to ^ the letter, for the slightest deviation from the recognised standard ; might cause the most disagreeable results. The following points are the most important. CANOES AND CANOEING. 141 In having a canoe built, it is a matter of considerable moment, that in certain portions of its framework it should be constructed for and peculiarly adapted to the particular person who is going to use it. The length of the foot decides the height the canoe should be from keel to deck ; the length of the legs the space required for the "well;" while the weight, of course, decides the displacement that is to be accounted for, and must be taken into consideration at the same time as the amount of luggage that it is proposed to carry. Oak is the best wood that can be used, with, the top streak of mahogany and the deck of fine cedar. These were the materials of the Rob Hoy, and as her weight with all her fittings was only 71 lbs., it would be unreasonable to want one lighter ; indeed, for anything like knocking about flimsy canoes are utterly and entirely useless, and onlv aggravate the labour of paddling. The length over all should be 14 feet; beam, 26 inches; depth, from top of deck to bottom of keel, 12 inches, though towards the gunwale this is re- duced to 84- inches. The well should be 32 inches long and 20 broad, and protected by a combing of oak half an inch in height. If your canoe is intended for travelling purposes, the beam should be 6 inches abaft midships ; so that when stores, provisions, sails, and so on, are stowed away forward, it brings the craft to very nearly an even keel. Otherwise, it should only be 1 foot abaft midships. The boards that compose the floor, and on which you have to sit, resting your back against the backboard, are about two feet long, and are fitted so that the knees just touch the combing, while the heels are against the footboard on the keel, thus obviating the discomfort that would follow on liaring to keep the legs stretched out straight at full length. As I take it for granted that no one would think of going to the expense of having a canoe built without securing the services of some one who could supply him with the many minor details that it would be impossible to give here, I shall not enter more minutely into any of the less important matters, but would add, that a comfortable back- board, after the following pattern, goes a long way to lightening ^he labour of paddling. It should be made ot two strips of oak, ^ 8 inches lon^, 2-^ inches wide, arched by two crosspieces, one of _ 'hich should oe grooved, so as to rest on the combing, and work after the fashion of a hinge, it being fastened thereon by a stout cord. The result is that the muscles down the back are supported and rested while the spine is left free. The greatest possible care should be taken in selecting the apron, which is too often left to the last moment and chosen in a hurry. Being intended to prevent the water making its way over the deck into the well, and at the same time to avoid being fastened in any way likely to impede the canoeist in case of an upset, it may readily be understood tliat it equires nice discrimination and handiwork. It should fit close to im — in short, he should be measured for it as for a coat. Mr. ' cgregor has invented a new apron, the receipt for which may i 142 EVERY boy's book. be easily obtained, as well as any other particulars, at Messrs. Searle's at Lambeth. I should recommend the novice in canoeing to rest content with propelling himself by the aid of his paddle for a while — in fact, until ne is thoroughly at home in his craft and the way to manceuvre her. Spruce-fir is the best wood of which to have it made, as it combines lightness and durability, two qualities that can be readily appre- ciated after a day's locomotion. The action, though it need not be violent, except in currents and so on, is very fatiguing, owing to the motion the body takes from side to side. At the same time, practice will prove to the novice that he requires to move but very little from one side to the other. There can of course be no harm in having a mast fitted to your canoe, and as soon as vou feel capable of the risk, set it up, hoist your sail, and be prepared, to capsize. This latter alternative is only added by way of warning. With caution nothing of the sort need happen, for the stiffness of canoes under sail in a strong wind and heavy weather has been satisfactorily proved on more than one occasion. Messrs. Silver and Co. of Bishopsgate Street, make the sails according to a regulation pattern that has been sup- plied them, while the boom, yard, and woven cord can best be obtained at Mr. Farlow's, the nshing-tackle maker's, in the Strand. I have thought it advisable to give these names, as they are recom- mended by Mr. Macgregor himself, who speaks in their favour with that best of all good reasons for dom^ so, namely, that he has found their wares satisfactory. In conclusion, I am bound to add that I am under much obligation to him for the information he has afforded me concerning this pleasant and novel form of aquatic amusement. •' II fli '^^ ',^|V'! I m CEICKET. " Come on, lads ! oome on : come on, one and all : Now shoulder the bat, and spin up the ball. Take the field like y'jnng Trojans ; your prowess essay : While the batsman cries, Ready, the bowler says. Play : Then run like wild deer pursued by the hounds. And ground your bat proudly just over the bounds."— Cunningham. The game of cricket is the noblest of English pastimes. It com- bines athletic power, grace, quickness of eye and of hand, nimbleness of leg, and scientific skill. It is played by high and low, rich and poor, man and boy; and there is no game,* either native or foreign, can compete with it for manliness, fairness, and healthfulness. Every one should learn to play it, and all should begin early. How it originated, or who evolved its beautiful laws and regulations, it is now difficult to discover. We have nothing like it among the sports of the Greeks and Romans, and we can only trace it to an old English pastime in the reign of Edward III., called "club-ball." Strutt, in his "Pastimes of the People of England," gives the following engravings, representing two specimens of club-ball : the first from a MS. in the Bodleian Library, dated 1344, — and exhibits a female figure in the act of throwing a ball to a man, who elevates his bat to strike it. The next specimen of ball, taken from a drawing more ancient than the former, i.e. a genealogical roll of kings of England 144 EVERY BOY S BOOK. to the time of Henry III., in the Royal Library, presents two playeis only ; and he who is possessed of the bat holds the ball also, which he either threw into the air, and struck with his bat as it descended, or cast forcibly upon the ground, and beat it away when it rebounded. But we should be rather inclined to trace the game of cricket to trap-ball, which was, no doubt, an improvement upon the earlv games played with the bat and ball. This may be traced as far back as the fourteenth century, and a curious specimen of the manner in which it was then played is given in a beautiful MS. in the pos- session of Francis Douce, Esq. Here are only two players ; but the game then consisted of six or eight of a side, and the size of the bat indicates the holder to have possessed no great judgment in striking the ball. There was another game, called '* stool-ball," from which some have supposed cricket to have been derived ; but there is no evidence in favour of this position, and it seems rather more reason- able to look upon it as a modification of " trap-ball " than any other game. CRICKET. 145 THE BAT. The regulation size of the bat, called by Felix the ..Ighty sceptre of delight, is 38 inches in length, of which 25 inches are taken up by the pod, or, accord- ing to the more modern term, the blade, and 13 by the handle. No bats are made longer than this, although, of com"se, they are allowed to be of various smaller proportions, in order to suite the height of the player. We must strongly impress on all young players the great importance of using a bat in proportion to their strength. If they use a very heavy bat, they will not be able to move it quickly enough to play the ball properly, and are apt, in consequence, to get into a sluggish style of play, which is almost sure 'J stick to them all their lives. A very light bat is (jually injurious : the batsman sees an easy ball approach, plays hard at it, when, instead of going light over the head of. long-on, it drops an easy catch into mid-wicket's hands, in consequence of there not being enough driving power in the bat to end it further. THE BALL. The present style of ball, with the exception of ome very slight modifications, seems to have been in use since cricket assumed anything like its present form. According to the rules of the present day, it must not be more than 9 inches in circum- ference, and must not weigh more than 5| or less than 5^ ounces. Match balls ;ae always treble-seamed, and are sold at the average j j price of Is. Qd. But for ordinary practice, a double- [ I ii(;amed ball, at about 6*., will be found quite good enough, and will answer just as well as the more expensive article THE STUMPS. The stumps have undergone more change during the last hundred and fifty years than any of the accessories to cricket. At first they were two in number and only 12 inches high. A liird stump, 2 feet in length, was laid across them, although, with the t xception of being knocked down by the bowler, it was similar in no espect to the bails of the present day, as the wicket-keeper was I. 146 EVERY BOY S BOOK. fipa3s:%gjs J V4,^'^V ^'L Af^//^ ^//i^V^ T^'/f^" y y obliged, in order to stump a person^ to place the ball in a large hole dug between the two stumps. In the year 1780 the width between the two stumps was decreased to 6 inches. It was also at this time that a bail was introduced, for it is almost impossible to dignify the transverse stump, 2 feet long, which was in use till this date, by that appellation. In 1781 a third stump was added, and the height of the wickets increased to 22 inches. The addition of a stump was mainly owing to the fact, that Lumpy, a celebrated bowler of that day, sent the ball almost three times running between the two stumps. This was thought so unfair for the bowler, that it was resolved to increase the number of stumps in order to give him a better chance. In 1814 we" find that the wickets were increased in height to 26 inches, and in width to 8 inches, and in 1817 another inch was added to their length. This, with the exception of dividing the bail into two equal parts, is the last change that has taken place. PADS OR GUARDS. Since the introduction of round-hand bowling, pads or guards have come into vogue, and at the present time it is really a dangerous feat to play without them. The first notion of a leg-guard was two thin boards placed anglewise on the right shin. Since that time improve- ments have been effected in them at various times, until they have arrived at their present state of excellence. The leg-guard itself is now so well-known as to render any descri[)tion of it needless ; but as there are two or three fastenings in use, it will perhaps be as well to state what they are, and also which is the best. The first consists of three sets of tape, one round the ancle and two round the knee. These naturally take a great deal of time to fasten properly, and if one breaks, the pad is rendered useless for some time, ihe next is three pieces of elastic, witli a catch which fastens almost instantaneously ; but in course of time it loses lib elasticity, and the pad dangles on one leg in a loose and awkward ORTCKBT. X 47 laanner. The third, aud^in our opinion the best fastening, is two sets of straps, with holes pierced at very slight intervals. The player can then have his pad as tight as he pleases, without the chance of the fastenings breaking or becoming loose, as in the case of the other two. There are several other guards, such as elbow and private- guards; but they are scarcely ever used. i BATTrNQ GLOVES. I'lhese are now made with the palm cut clear away, thus enabling B batsman to hold the bat in a much firmer manner' than he coul2 l2 148 EVERT boy's book. were the palm of his hand covered by the glove. As will be seen by referring to the accompanying cut, the india-rubber is placed differently on the two hands. This difference will be more particu- larly noticed on the two thumbs. The left one, as it is always behind the handle of the bat, requires no guard ; but the back of the left hand being in front of the bowler, is covered with a semicircle of india-rubber, while the strips of the india-rubber on the fingers are much longer than those on the right hand. It may be urged by those who object to the use of batting gloves, that the ball is likely to fly off them and give a catch. This, although true, very rarely happens, and besides, if the ball came with enough force to fly into the air off the glove, is it not very probable that, without a glove to shield them, the fingers would be broken by the same collision ? TTICKBT-KEEPING GLOVES. These might be more appropriately termed gauntlets, foi they are much longer than the ordinary gloves, and entirely cover the wrist. Thanks to the suggestions of the best wicket-keepers of the day, they have now been greatly improved, and have padding only in those parts where it can possibly be required. It is absurd to try to keep wicket well without wearing these gauntlets ; therefore let no young cricketer be fool-hardy enough to attempt the feat. As the right and left hand gloves are the same, the artist has drawn one glove in two positions, in order to show the front and back of it. THE LAWS OF CRICKET. The following are the laws which govern the game everywhere. They have been recently revised by the Marylebone Club, usually considered the highest authority in the game. CRICKET. 149 1. The Ball must weigh not less than 5^ ounces, nor more than 5 1 ounces. It must measure not less than 9 inches, nor more than 9| inches, in circumference. At the beginning of each innings either party ma}' call for a new ball. [It is, however, not customary to have a new ball a,t the beginning of each innings. One a matcli is usually considered suflScient.] 2. The Bat must not exceed 4| inches in the widest part ; it must not be more than 38 inches in length. 3. The Stumps must be 3 in number, 27 inches out of the ground; the bails 8 inches in length ; the stumps of equal and of sufficient thickness to prevent the oall from passing througli. 4. The Bowling Crease must be in a line with the stumps ; 6 feet 8 inches in length; the stumps in the centre; with a return crease at each end towards the bowler, at right angles. 5. The Popping Crease must be 4 feet from the wicket, and parallel to it, unlimited in length, but not shorter than the bowling crease ; unlimited in length, so that the batsman may keep out of the way of the ball when it is thrown in, 6. The wickets must be pitched opposite to each other by the umpires, at the distance of 22 yards. 7. It shall not be lawful for either party during a match, without the consent of the other, to alter the ground by rolling, watering, covering, mowing, or beating, except at the commencement of each innings, when the ground shall be swept and rolled, unless the side next going in object to it. This rule is not meant to prevent the striker from beating the ground with his bat near to the spot where he stands during the innings, nor to prevent the bowler from filling up holes with sawdust, &c. when the ground is wet. 8. After rain the wickets may be changed with the consent of both parties. 9. The Bowler shall deliver the ball with one foot on the ground behind the bowling crease, and within the return crease, and shall bowl four balls before he change wickets, wliich he shall be permitted to do only once in the same innings. [In a one day's match six balls are usually allowed as an over.] 10. The ball must be bowled ; if thrown or jerked, the umpire iallcall«noball.'\ 11. He may require the striker at the wicket from which he is )wling to stand on that side of it which he. may direct. 12. If the bowler shall toss the ball over the striker's head, or )wl it so wide that in the opinion of the umpire it shall not be lirly within the reach of the batsman, he shall adjudge one run to the party receiving the innings without an appeal, which shall be put lown to the score of wide balls ; such balls shall not be reckoned as one of the four or six balls : but if the batsman shall by any means bring himself within reach of the ball, the run shall not be scored. 150 EVERY Bor'a book. > 13. If the bowler deliver a "no ball" or a "wide ball/' the striker shall be allowed as many runs as he can get, and he shall not be put out except by running out. In the event of no run being obtained by any other means, then one run shall be added to the score of "no balls" or " wide balls,*' as the case may be. All runs obtained for "wide balls" to be scored to "wide balls." If the ball shall first touch any part of the striker's dress or person (except his hands), the umpire shall call " leg bye." [If, however, the batsman runs two byes from a wide or a no ball, they are scored as two wides only. Many young players are in the habit of running a single bye oflF a wide ball, without ever thinking that they endanger their wicket without the slightest possible chance of advantage to themselves. ] 14. At the beginning of each innings the umpire shall call "play; from that time to the end of each innings no trial ball shall be allowed to any bowler. [This rule is very seldom enforced, as a new bowler is almost invariably allowed a trial ball, though not on the wicket.] 15. The Striker is Out if either of the bails be struck off, or if a stump be bowled out of the ground ; 16. Or, if the ball, from a stroke of the bat or hand, but not the wrist, be held before it touches the ground, although it be hugged to the body of the catcher; 17. Or, if in striking, or at any other time while the ball shall be in play, both his feet shall be over the poppin^-crease, and his wicket put down, except his bat be grounded within it ; 18. Or, if in striking at the ball, he hit down his wicket ; 19. Or, if under pretence of running or otherwise, either of the strikers prevent a ball from being caught, the striker of the ball is out ; 20. Or, if the ball be struck, and he wilfully strike it again ; [This does not prevent the batsman from hitting the ball oflf his wicket when it glides in from not being blocked with sufficient force.] 21. Or, if in running the wicket be struck down by a throw, or by the hand or arm (with ball in hand), before his bat (in hand) or some part of his person be grounded over the popping-crease. But if both the bails be off, a stump must be struck out of the ground ; 22. Or, if any part of the striker's dress knock down the wicket ; 23. Or, if the striker touch or take up the ball while at play, unless at the request of the opposite party ; 24. Or, if with any part of his person he stop the ball, which in the opinion of the umpire at the bowler's wicket shall have been pitched in a straight line from it to the striker's wicket, and would nave hit it. [On the 15th of April, 1863, the M. C. C. altered this rule as follows :— " Or, if the ball hit any part of his person which in the opinion of the umpire at the bowler's wicket shall have been placed in a straight line from it to the striker's wicket." But at their next meeting, discovering that their former CRICKET. 151 proceedings were informal, they cancelled their new rule; so that the law remains as before. It is almost impossible for a roimd-arm bowler, unless he bowl over the wicket, to pitch the ball in a straight line.] 25. If the players have crossed each other, he that runs for the wicket which is pat down is out. 26. A ball being caught, no runs shall be reckoned. 27. A striker being run out, that run which he and his partner were attempting shall not be reckoned. 28. If a lost ball be called, the striker shall be allowed six runs; but if more than six shall have been run before "lost ball" shall have been called, then the striker shall have all which have been run. 29. After the ball shall have been finally settled in the wicket- keeper's or bowler's hand, it shall be considered dead; but when the bowler is about to deliver the ball, if the striker at his wicket ^o outside the popping-crease before such actual delivery, the said bowler may put him out, unless (with reference to the 21st law) his bat in hand, or some part of his person, be within the popping- crease. 30. The striker shall not retire from his wicket and return to it to complete his innings after another has been in, without the consent of the opposite party. 31. No substitute shall in any case be allowed to stand out, or run between wickets for another person, without the consent of the opposite party ; and in case any person shall be allowed to run for another, the striker shall be out, if either he or his substitute be off the ground in manner mentioned in laws 17 and 21, while the ball is in play 32. In all cases where a substitute shall be allowed, the consent of the opposite party shall also be obtained as to the person to act as substitute, and the place in the field which he shall take. 33. If any fieldsman stop the ball with his bat, the ball shall be considered dead, and the opposite party shall add five runs to their score ; if any be run, they shall have five in all. 34. The ball having been hit, the striker may guard his wicket with his bat, or with any part of his body except his hands ; that the 23rd law may not be infringed. 35. The wicket-keeper shall not take the ball for the purpose of stumping until it has passed the wicket ; he shall not move until the ball be out of the bowler's hand ; he shall not by any noise incom- mode the striker ; and if any part of his person be over or before the wicket, although the ball hit it, the striker shall not be out. 36. The umpires are the sole judges of fair or unfair play ; and all disputes shall be determined by them, each at his own wicket ; but in case of a catch, which the umpire at the wicket bowled from cannot see sufficiently to decide upon, he may apply to the other umpire, vhose opinion shall be conclusive. 152 EVERY BOY*S BOOK 37. The umpires in all matches shall pitch fair wickets ; and the parties shall toss up for choice of inuings. The umpii-es shall change wickets after each party has had one innings. 38. They shall allow two minutes for each striker to come in, and ten minutes between each innings. When the umpire shall call " play/' the party refusing to play shall lose the match. 39. They are not to order a striker out unless appealed to by the adversaries ; 40. But if one of the bowler's feet be not on the ground behind the bowling-crease, and within the return-crease, when he shall deliver the ball, the umpire at his wicket, unasked, must call " no ball." 41. If either the strikers run a short run, the ampire must call " one short." [The run is of course not scored. ] 42. No umpire shall be allowed to bet. 43. No umpire is to be changed during a match, without the consent of both parties, except in case of violation of the 42nd law ; then either party may dismiss the transgressor. 44. After the delivery of four or six balls the umpire must call " over," but not until the ball shall be finally settled in the wicket- keeper's or bowler's hand ; the ball shall then be considered dead ; nevertheless, if an idea be entertained that either of the strikers is out, a question may be put previously to, but not after, the delivery of the next ball. 45. The umpire must take especial care to call "no ball" instantly upon delivery ; " wide ball " as soon as it shall pass the striker. 46. The placers who go in second shall follow their innings, if they have obtained eighty runs less than their antagonists, except in all matches limited to only one day's play, when the number shall be limited to sixty instead ot eighty. 47. When one of the strikers shall have been put out, the use of the bat sliall not be allowed to any person until the next striker shall come in. Note. — The Committee of the Marylebone Club think it desirable that, previously to the commencement of a match, one of each side should be declared the manager of it ; and that the new laws with respect to substitutes may be carried out in a spirit of fairness and mutual concession, it is their wish that such substitutes be allowed in all reasonable cases, and that the umpire sho;ild inquire if it is done with the consent of the manager of the opposite side. Complaints having been made that it is the practice of some players when at the wicket to make holes in the ground for a footing, the Committee are of opinion tliat the umpires should be empowered to prevent it. THE LAWS OP SINGLE WICKET. 1. Wlien there shall be less than five players on a side, bounds shall be placed 22 yards each in a line from the off and leg-stump. 2. The ball must be hit before the bounds to entitle the striker to a run, which run cannot be obtained unless he touch the bowling- CRICKET. 153 stump or crease In a line with his bat, or some part of his person, or go beyond them, returning to the poppmg-crease, as at double wicket, according to the 21st law. 3. When the striker shall hit the ball, one of his feet must be on the ground, and behind the popping-crease, otherwise the umpire shall call " no hit." 4. When there shall be less than five players on a side, neither Ijyos nor overthrows shall be allowed, nor shall the striker be caught out behind the wicket, nor stumped out. 5. The fieldsman must return the ball so that it shall cross the |)lay between the wicket and the bowling-stump, or between the bowling-stump and the bounds ; the striker may run till the ball be so returned. 6. After the striker shall have made one run, if he starts again lie must touch the bowling-stump, and turn before the ball cross the l)lay, to entitle him to another. 7. The striker shall be entitled to three runs for lost ball, and the s;ime number for ball stopped with bat, with reference to the 28th and 33rd laws af double wicket. 8. When there shall be more than four players on a side, there shall be no bounds. All hits, byes, and overthrows shall then be allowed. 9. The bowler is subject to the same laws as at double wicket.- 10. Not more than one minute shall be allowed between each ball. ■ THE BATSMAN. — HINTS TO YOUNG PLAYERS. The first point to be considered in batting is the sort of bat to be used. Many young cricketers cramp their play by using a bat much too heavy for them. Now, it stands to reason that one should be able to have a complete mastery over the weapon one wields. A bat weighing about two pounds will be found quite heavy enough for most schoolboys. It may, however, be urged that the heaviest bats drive the farthest, awd that many of'?the old-fashioned players made some of their famous hits with them ; but it must also be borne in mind that those were the days of underhand bowling, and that at the present time cutting and leg-hitting, in consequence of the swift round-arm bowling, are infinitely more prevalent than forward diives, and tliat in many cases the position of field-on is done away with altogeiher. Therefore let us oeg youn^ players to use a light bat, one that feels almost as a whip in their nands, and one with which they can play back as quickly as is necessitated by the speed of the bowling. And now a few words with regard to guard. Of course, in many instances, the distance from the wickets depends considerably upon the pace and pitch of the bowling, but as a rule the safest guard is about four inches from the popping-cjrease. This block not only gives you a better chance of stopping shooters, but also enables you 154 EVERY boy's book. to play forward better, since you can cover more ground than if your block were nearer the wicket. A leg hit can also be made sooner, and consequently squarer, and with a good long block there is less chance of hitting your wicket in playing back, and more chance of stopping a full-pitched ball before it touches the ground. The left foot should be at right angle to the wickets, and the other parallel with them. Free hitters keep their hands at the upper part of the handle of the bat, whilst some players, who have a reputation for steadiness, hold it with the hands three or four inches apart. The former position enables a player to hit much sooner, and also to have a much longer reach. The advantages of the position are readily discovered when there is a chance of a cut or a leg-hit. The batsman should stand quite erect, endeavouring to make the most of his height. Before the ball is delivered, the bat should be raised, with the full face presented to the bowler, and covering as much of tlie wicket as possible. The moment the bowler is about to deliver the ball, raise your bat slightly from the block, keeping it almost straight to him. If you hold it, as some players do, still on the block-hole until the ball approaches, you are almost sure to be too late for the ball; and although, if it be straight, you may keep it off your wicket, yet it is a hundred chances to one that you will miss all the leg balls, or those which come to the off-side. Play, too, as low as possible. Tt is much better to hit a ball well along the ground for two, than to send one high into the air, although you get four or five for it. Sooner or later you will lose your wicket, for the ball is sure at some time to be caught by long-on or long-off. Assuming that the player has taken up his position at the wicket, we must now fully impress upon him the importance of not being in a hurry to score. In fact, nothing is so injurious as making runs in the first over. The best maxim to be observed is, play steadily until you can understand the bowling. It is astonishing how much confidence you gain after you have played a dozen balls or so. Then, when you nave, as it were, taken the measure of your opponent, lunge out, as soon as you get a chance, and show the field your favourite drive, and prepare to make a score. In writing the last sentence, we are reminded of the many mishaps and even serious accidents that have occurred on the cricket-field in consequence of the careless manner in which some players run. They rush between the wickets, watching the course of the ball rather than the wicket towards which they are going ; occasionally they run too far and lose time, or else do not run far enough and lose runs ; or, what is even worse, a collision takes place between the two batsmen, and one is run out, if not seriously injured by the bat or body of his comrade. The simplest plan, therefore, is always to run on the right side, to keep the bat in the right hand, and to watch the wicket towards which you are running. CRICKET. 155 It has often been remarked that the most diflBcult balls to play are snooters, and those that are well pitched up and just take the bail off. Indeed, some shooters are almost sure to take a wicket ; the moment, therefore, that a ball shoots, drop the bat back close to the stumps, and chop down upon the ball. Stopping a shooter is always a sign of good play, and often at Lord's produces more applause than a hit which scores two or three runs. Some players, like Parr and Carpenter, can stop shooters so well, that although they only chop down upon them, yet the force of the stroke often drives the bull far enough to obtain a run. How happens it that so many players miss the cut, although they attempt this stroke at almost every Dall that rises to the off ? As a rule, young players hit too soon, and if they touch the ball, in most cases they give either point or cover-point an easy catch; others hit in time, but play with a horizontal bat, the face of which is presented to the bowler. The ball then rises in many instances either to slip or long-slij), with the usual result. In cutting, the batsman should wait until the ball has almost passed the wicket, and then drop down upon it, with the face of the oat almost towards the ground. This keeps the ball down and drives it in the direc- tion required. In cutting, the left foot acts as a pivot, and the right foot is drawn back. The advantage of taking a long block is here shown, as occasionally this leg knocks down the wicket ; and if the block is near the stumps, tney are easily struck by the bat itself. In leg-hitting, on the contrary, the right acts as a pivot, and the left is thrown forwards. The sooner the hit is made tne squarer the ball goes, and, as a rule, the greater distance also. Since then, in swift bowling, long-on is generally done away with, a leg ball that is hit in front of long leg is safe to obtain more runs than if hit much behind the wicket. A very common habit among young players is to strike at wide balls. Manv and many a time have we seen a batsman rush out to a wide off-ball, and send it into point's or cover's hands, thus depriving himself of his innings and his side of a run. Before we conclude this somewhat desultory chapter, we must urge upon everybody the im- portance of wearing both gloves and leg-guards when playing against swift bowling. The many dangerous accidents that nave happened in consequence of the legs and hands having no protection, should induce every person to guard himself as much as possible. One can stand up to the wicket much better, and have far more confidence, when one knows that a blow from the ball upon the legs is likely to produce no ill effect. The absence of pads causes many players to run away from the ball, and if the ball turns, the off-stump in most cases will soon be prostrate. Be careful, too, in running, that you ground your bat on the pop- ping crease. Nothing is so tantalizing to a player as to lose a run 156 EVERY BOY S BOOK. through the carelessness of his companion, who in his excitement runs an inch or so short of the proper distance. The moment the ball has left the bowler at your wicket, walk a yard or two ; you may by this means steal many a run that it would be impossible to obtain if you were at your own wicket when the ball was hit. Never, if you can possibly avoid it, hit a ball on the wrong side. How disgusting it is to see a big awkward player swipe a ball ri^ht round to the ofl-side which lie should have orawn or played to mid- wicket on ! THE LEG HIT. Do nol run away from the ball. If you do, you can never get a good leg hit ; besides, you naturally expose your wicket, and if the ball turns in (as it often will do), you will find it almost impossible to be back in time to save your off-stump. CRICKET. 157 As a rule, play forward whenever you can ; but be sure you don't run out of your ground to hit unless you feel perfectly confident of your success. Waiting for the ball is always a dangerous experiment, and will often result in your playing back so far that you upset your own wickets when in the act of achieving a most scientific cut. Be careful to keep one foot steadily planted within the popping- crease ; it is sometimes impossible to help being bowled or caught, but the worst playejr in the world can always prevent the wicket- keeper stumping him. Mind, too, that the bat ought to strike the ball, and not the ball the bat. Be always cautious of straight balls, however tempting they may appear. Remember that if you miss them, you are safe to lose your wicket; therefore always treat them with the respect that they deserve. Balls, too, that come about five inches above the bails should generally be allowed to pass, for unless you are well skilled in the art of hitting down, you are sure to give a catch. And now a word or two with regard to the three leg hits — the draw, the forward, and the backward leg hit. When a ball seems pitched at the leg stump, hold your bat straight, as it were, for a block ; but the moment the bat meets the ball, turn the face of it a trifle round towards you, and the ball will then slip off between your legs and the stumps. This is called the draw. This play, however, requires a great deal of practice, and should very rarely be attempted by inexperienced players. The forward leg hit is made m the following manner : — When a ball is pitched rather wide on the near side, advance the left foot in front of the wicket, turn half round, and hit down upon the ball as hard as you can. When the ball is pitched inside the near stump, step back with the right foot, and with an upright bat play it off the wicket. The ball will fly rapidly along the ground, and usually between leg and long-stop. Recollect, the sooner you hit at a leg ball the squarer it goes. The cut is the most difficult of all, and can only be accomplished when the ball rises a little wide of the off-bail. Even then you are very likely to play either too soon or too late at it, and it is very rare indeed that a player makes a really good legitimate cut. When you see the ball about to rise a foot away from off-bail, draw the right leg backwards, and, with a horizontal bat, give the ball something between a pat and a push, between point and short- slip. This is very far from being a scientific definition of this delightful itroke ; but l" think, from the plain manner in which I have stated it, that it will be more likely to oe understnajUmi ^ ' or THE .NIY£R8(TY lo8 EVERY boy's book. The technical names for the various balls the batsman is likely to receive are — the full pitch, the tice, the hop, the half volley, the ground ball, and the shooter. Leg balls and balls to cut we have already explained. At first sight, a full pitch would seem one of the easiest balls to play ; but in reality it is not ; and many a good batsman, who could plav any number of well-pitched balls, has lost his wicket by playing rashly or across a toss. Again, if hit carelessly, it is almost sure to be caught by one of the long-fields ; and often, when the batsman tries to plav it down, it hits the top of his bat, and goes into long- stop's hands. The best plan (if you are not very tall), when you think it is too high to take your wicket, is to leave it alone altogether ; but when you feel persuaded that if you miss the ball it will take the stumps, either play it down, or else hit it where there is no field. The tice is almost a full pitch. If you have a long reach, go in and play it forward j if not, however, keep your bat down and block I CRICKET. 159 it. Running in is generally a bad habit, as it is sure to engender a loose style of play. The long hop, if straight, should be played very carefully, and with an upright bat. Those batsmen who have, as it is called, " got their eye in," can usually strike at one with impunity ; but as the ball is liable to twist every time it reaches the ground, the young player should be very careful in striking at it. A half volley is a ball which rises well from the pitch. Catches are, however, often the result of hitting right at a half volley. A ground ball is perhaps better known among our young friends as a sneak. If played at with a high bat, the wicket is almost sure to fall. The best plan is to keep the bat well down, and play forward at it. If the bat is kept in a straight line with the ball, ;j'ou cannot miss it, and often by playing it forward you can send it past the bowler. A shooter is the most difficult ball to play, and if not treated with proper respect, is sure to take the wicket. The moment the ball shoots, play back, dropping the bat down on it within an inch of the stumps. You are by this means very likely to keep it off your wicket, but do not try to hit it. Left-hand bowling generally turns in from the off; therefore play forward at it. FIELDING. Although not of so interesting a character as batting and bowling, yet fielding is in itself of too much importance to be overlooked, or even carelessly practised, by anybody who desires to become a cricketer. Many a match has been lost by loose fielding, and instances without number have occurred of a man who, after being missed before he has made a run, has sent his score up to fifty before receiving his dismissal. It is astonishing how many runs may be saved by careful fielding. Hits which at first seem good for four, only obtain one through good fielding, and that even a sharp run. Quick fielding should be practised by the tyro, before either of the other two departments of the game. As soon as a boy gets a ball in his hand, he tries to catch it, or to get a companion to throw it to him ; and thus before he even knows how to handle a bat, many a boy has in him the elements of a good field. As, however, the fasci- nation of batting grows upon him, he cares less for the other parts of the game ; and thus it happens that although we have many gentle- men cricketers who bat just as well as professionals, yet the latter obtain the mastery through their superior bowling and fielding, which they are obliged to practise as often as batting, in order to obtain the reputation of good players. I have, however, heard it stated that no finer fielding can be seen than that shown in the University match. This is generally admitted; but it must be borne in mind that the University match is played by young men whose ages vary from twenty to five-and-twenty, whereas most of the players ara 160 EVERY boy's book. over thirty, and some rapidly approaching to forty, an age at which the bones are not so lissom as those that have just arrived at man's estate. As a proof of this I may cite the Gentlemen and Players' match at Lord's, a contest (if such it can be called) whicn is only worth seeing on account of the excellent bowling and fielding of the pro- fessional players. It is satisfactory to know that it is the opinion of most judges of the game, that as long as the gentlemen persist in practising batting only, they will scarcely have a chance against the players. No advice, however, will produce the same good upon a young player in the matter of fieldmg as watching a match in which some of the best players take part. ^ In this he should bear well in mind the manner in which the ball is stopped and thrown to the wicket- keeper. Supposing that our cricketer can stop and catch a ball pretty well, the next point for him to study is to throw it in carefully. How many men that should have been run out save their wickets through the bad throwing of a field, who, either through hurry or nervous- ness, pitches the oall over the wicket-keeper's head, or sends it in so much along the ground as to render the picking up of it sharply by the wicket-keeper a matter of impossibility ! The best plan is to throw in a catch to the top of the bails. A long hop occasionally meets with success; but if the ground is bumpy, and the ball is thrown in from a distance, it is very possible that it will go over the man's head. One of the most prominent failings of a young eleven is the care- less manner in which they back up. Overthrows in a professional eleven are almost a matter of impossibility, for if the ball passes one field there is almost sure to be another behind him to stay its pro- gress ; whereas, in some' clubs, if there is one man to back up the wicket-keeper, the ball is considered safe, and as he generally stands within a few yards of the wicket, he usually misses the ball if it passes the amateur Lockyer. If, however, it is expedient to throw the ball to the bowler, and he does not wish to hurt his fingers, an overthrow is sure to follow, tor long-on or long-off scarcely ever thinks it his duty to stand behind the bowler's wicket when the ball is thrown in. Overthrows in themselves are not only annoying, because they are obtained through no merit of the batsman, but because they always produce a merciless laugh from the spectators, and occasionally epithets of a not very complimentary character. It is therefore the captain's bounden duty to make his eleven back up well, and not to consider the ball safe unless two or three people are behind the wicket at which it is thrown. One naturally imagines that the wicket-keeper's hands get occa- sionally damaged from the sharp throwing to which he is subjected. Whatever he would do without his thick gauntlets, it is unpleasant CRICKET. 1 6 1 to imagine. Care should on all occasions, therefore, be taken to save his hands, and when the batsmen are not running, there is no need to throw the ball as hard as possible at him. The long-stop, who returns the ball to the wicket-keeper oftener than any other field, should send it in gently when there is no run, and the wicket- keeper ought, in throwing it to the bowler, to toss it as quietly as he can, in order not to deaden the fingers of that important functionary. Whilst writing about bowler and wicket-keeper, we cannot allow the opportunity to pass of requesting all players to obey with the utmost fidelity any order given to them in the field. The wicket- keeper can, by raising his hand, change the positions of the field unknown to the batsman, who, hitting a ball to a place which he thinks is not covered, and finding it suddenly stopped, sees that he must play more carefully in future. Two of the most important positions in the field are the mid- wickets and cover-point, and no player, unless he is a safe catch, and can return the ball sharply, should ever be placed there. It has been computed that mid-wicket runs more out than any other field. Any- body who has seen R. Daft in this place will be surprised at the rapidity with which he picks up the ball and sends it in. The space that a good cover-point can command is really astonishing. Players seeing that the ball has passed point feel sure that it is safe for one, whereas, if cover runs in and sends it in well to the wicket-keeper, one of the batsmen will probably have " run out " to his name. Long-stop should on no account be too close to the wicket. If he takes a position where he feels sure he can stop one xun, he will do much more service than nearer the stumps. Not only will he be able to stop some balls which might have gone over his head, but he may stay the progress of many leg-hits and slipped balls, besides standing a better chance of a catch. Catching comes so naturally that we need say little about it. The chief point to be remembered is to keep the hands well together. Occasionally one sees — in catching — the ball slip through a man's hands altogether. At other times the ball lodges in the hands for an instant, and then drops to the ground, because the arms were not drawn back with the ball, but held out to meet it. In catching, the arms should alwaj^s be drawn back as the ball comes, as this lessens the force with which the ball strikes the hands. A good plan, but one which, however, requires much practice, is to pat the ball up as it comes, and then to catch it. It is evident that when the ball has thus been sent up, it descends much more slowly than when it comes direct from the bat. Even, however, if, in spite of advice and practice, one of the field is unfortunate enough to miss a catch, the captain should not allow any unfeeling remarks to be made. The anguish of the unfortunate player is quite deep enough without being aggravated by growls and 162 EVERY boy's book. sneers from comrades who may perhaps do the same thing in a few- minutes. The captain should also do all he can to prevent talking in the field. It is time to do that when a wicket falls, b it very unlike a true cricketer to endeavour to attract the field's attention just as the bowler is about to deliver the ball. BOWLING. We have read in a manual of Cricket that there are four styles of bowling, and Felix, we believe, in his excellent work on the Bat, states that there are five modes, all of which are in general use. JFor the present purpose, however, we think it will be sufficient if we confine our remarks to two styles, — 1. Round-arm Bowling. 2. Underhand Bowling. The former is an innovation upon the latter, and, like all improve- ments, met with a great deal of ^ opposition at first, since it was more difficult to play, and made the innings shorter. Now, however, the batting seems to have obtained as much mastery over the round-arm bowling as before it had over the underhand, and it is even probable that in a few years a new style will be introduced, in order to decrease the inordinate length which innings assume now-a-days. The following hints apoly to the round-ai-m bowling : — The ball should be hela with the fingers across the seams, as this occasionally makes the ball twist, and renders the defence of the batsman a matter of more difficulty. Many bowlers, however, can never get wiiat is technically called "a twist on," whereas others, after an hour's practice, can manage to make the ball twist in any direction they please. It is also important to take a run of a few yards, increasing the distance in proportion to the pace. This allows the bowler to get his arm into swing, and increases the impetus with which the ball is delivered. The bowler should always stand with his body well towards the other wicket. We have seen a man run almost round the wicket and deliver the ball without looking at the stumps he is supposed to aim at. Long practice had enabled him to bowl pretty well, but the absurdity of his position was so apparent that it provoked a laugh from all who saw it. It must not be imagined, however, that a bowler should always deliver the same style of ball. Many a wicket (paradoxical as it may seem) falls from a ball that is not straight. A baisman who has had a hit to leg for four, becomes at once anxious to get another. Very often, if a bowler pitches the ball in a difl'erent manner, the batsman endeavours to give another specimen of his favourite hit, and equally often loses his wicket. Practise, therefore, change of l^^Fnanp. and m'i CRICKET. 165 pace and pitch, as catches are almost sure at some time to be the result. Nyren, one of the earliest writers on Cricket, speaks of this plan in the following manner : — "When it is difficult to part two batsmen, and either of them has a favourite hit, I have often succeeded in getting him out by opening the field wliere his hit is placed, at the same time hinting to the bowler to give him a different style of ball. This, with the opening of the field, has tempted him to plant his favourite hit, and in his anxiety to do so he has not unfrequently committed an error fatal to him." In writing of round-arm bowling let us recommend young bowlers to practise bowling over the wicket in preference to what is usually termed round or outside it. The former plan is the only mode that necessitates straight bowling, since, from the position of the arm, the ball may be straight all the way, whereas, in the latter, the ball must ccme in from the leg side. Again, it will be recollected that in the late discussion about leg before wicket, many of the best judges gave it as their opinion that the batsman could not be given out i. b. w. unless the ball was delivered over the wicket. To these advantages may be added the fact that a much better view of the opponent's stumps can be obtained, and that the distance is also shorter than from the outside of the wicket. Among the most common faults of young placers may be cited a habit of not pitching the ball far enough. This is mainly owing to a want of power in the arms, but still a little careful practice will considerably assist the player. Those nice specimens of bowling known as bailers, when the bail is knocked off, can only be obtained by a ball that is well pitched up. Shooters, also, are the result of balls that touch the ground near the wicket. We may also add that a ball that is pitched short is easy to play, since it can be seen well, and its coming in contact with the ground deadens its force and checks its speed. Another practice which is often condemned is a habit of bowling fast. Now, it is a great mistake to imagine that fast bowling is the most difficult to play, as may be ascertained by the fact that our fastest bowlers by no means take the most wickets, excepting Jack- son, whose bowling, however, is not so successful now as it was at one time. Fast bowling does not so readily allow accuracv of pitch as a slower style ; besides, a fast bowler soon gets tired, then bowls loosely, and then gets taken off. Those tips (for they are nothing ehc) to the slips for four or five, are more the result of the bowler than the batsman. Let us, therefore, earnestly recommend young bowlers to begin bowling slowly, and to increase their pace as they grow older and stronger. Many a promising bowler has been irre- trievably spoilt by beginning to bowl too fast for his strength, and finding in a short time that he has no style at all, and that the fruit m2 164 EVERY boy's book. of his labour is principally fouud in the number of byes scored off him. Particular care must also be taken to avoid bowling over the shoulder. It is a pity that there is not some more strmgeut rule than at present exists with regard to law 10, although in such a case the most successful bowlers would find their occupation gone ; besides, as the no-balling of a bowler by an umpire usually causes the greatest unpleasantness in a match, spoiling the amicable feeling which almost invariably exists in the cricket-field, it is much better to avoid the head and front of the offending, by practising the best means to prevent the arm getting over the shoulder. We recollect at school a big sturdy fellow, who, not content with bowling over his shoulder, delivered the ball always as fast as he could. His bowling, however, (as might be expected) was so loose that his services were never called into requisition at a match ; but at practice he occasion- ally handled the ball, much to the dread of the batsman he opposed. One day he was bowling against the present writer in his usual headstrong style, and actually sent a ball over the wicket-keeper's head into long-stop's hands. This naturallv frightened us, as we thought it jusfc possible that the next might hit us on the chest. A narrow escape we had, for the very next was pitched so high, that, had we not quickly dropped on the Ground, it would have hit us ou the head with such force as probably to stop cricket with us for ever. Our remarks on underhand bowling, or slows, must necessarily be brief. That good slows are effective, particularly against county twenty-twos, is proved by the analysis of R. C. Tinley's bowling, and the de'structive power of Mr. V. E. Walker's slows is well known to most of those who have played against him. It is often a good plan to begin with a fast bowler at one end and slows at the other. The change of pace and delivery is very puzzling to the batsman, who is compelled to play the two styles on a different plan. If, however, a slow bowler is hit about much, he should be changed at once, as the hits from slows generally add up quicker than those from round-arm. If change of pitch is advantageous in the swift bowling, it is the very soul of slows. Full pitches, leg balls, off balls, shooters, all styles and forms, should be allowed full play. The bowler, too, must dodge about, and make himself an extra field, going wherever he imagines the ball will be hit. In writing about slows we cannot pass unmentioned the great advantage derived from making a ball twist in from the leg. It is always understood that the leg stump is the hardest to defend, and consequently the best to attack. A slow ball is pitched a little wide of the leg, the batsman runs away from his guard, and, in his imagination, sees the ball hit to square leff for four. In reality, however, he finds his off-stump knocked aown by this same leg ball at which, m his ignorance, he CRICKET. 165 struck too soon, and therefore saw it hit his stump before he could be back to stop it. The positions of the field may be varied according to the opinion of the Dowler. THE WICKET-KEEPER. The duties of the wicket-keeper are to stop the ball? when missed by the striker, to stump him when off his ground, and to catch the ball, and knock the wickets down before the striker, when running, can ground his bat over the popping-crease. Since the introduction of fast bowling this position has become the most dangerous in the field, and a wicket-keeper seldom gets through a match without receiving some bruises. He should always wear pads and gloves. Some people recommend a guard for the abdomen, but this is scarcely ever used. The wicket-keeper should, if possible, be captain of his eleven. As he is behind the striker, he can by a motion of his hand move any of the field closer or further, unknown to the batsman. This naturally requires great tact, and is often the means of saving many a run, or of getting a wicket. 166 EVERY boy's book. He should stand in a somewhat stooping position, his left leg well forward and his hands close together, while his eyes should watch every movement of the ball. He should be very cautious about taking leg halls, as, if he gets too near, he is likely to receive a blow from the batsman. As soon as tlie ball is thrown to him from the long-stop, he ought to advance two or three yards (provided, in the meantime, the bats- men are not running), and send it gently into the bowler's hands. The moment a hit is made, he should stand on that side of the wicket farthest from the ball, and wait quietly till it is thrown in. The ball should be thrown in by one pitch, and not in long hops, as is often the case among bad players. Above all, he should knock the wicket down as seldom as possible, but content himself with striking a bail off when he thinks the batsman is out of his groand. LONG-STOP Stands behind the wicket-keener, in order to prevent byes. He must be careful not to be too far away from the wicket, or else clever players are apt to steal a bye before the ball has reached him. The moment he gets the ball, he should return it sharply into the wicket-keeper's hands, and scarcely ever throw it over to the bowler. He should assist in backing up short slip, and also endeavour to save runs on the leg side. When slows are put on in a match, the long- stop is usually changed to a position about twelve yards behind the bowler's head POINT Stands in a direct line with the popping-crease, at a distance of about twelve yards on the off-side, for fast bowling. The faster the bowling, the sharper he should stand. He should commence at first at the distance we have just mentioned, and approach when he sees the player about to strike. A sharp point mav often stop a hard hit to cover-point. This position is, however, rather dangerous in fast bowling, and, at the same time, one of the most important. For slow bowling, he should come in to about five yards, and stand at a more acute angle than when the delivery is very swift. SHORT-SLIP Stands a few yards behind the wicket on the off-side. As this position does not entail much running, it is usually alloted to the bowlers. The balls come in very sharply when the bowling is swift, and the person occupying this position has to watch the ball very attentively, or he stands a very good chance of receiving it in his face. It is also his duty to back up the wicket-keeper, and to take his place at the wicket when that functionary runs after the ball. CRICKET. 167 COVEK-POINT Stands some distance behind point, to prevent a second run. The sharper the bowling is, the squarer he should stand. He must aJso be particular in backing up, as he can prevent many an overthrow. LONG-SLIP Performs the same duties, and occupies the same position, vs^ith regard to slip as the last-mentioned field does to point. He should, when he can, back up long-stop and save a second run. LOKG-ON. Stands deep on the on-side. "When the bowling is very swift, he can take the place of mid-wicket on, as a ball in such a case is seldom hit fair, either on the on or off side. He must be a good catch, a good thrower, and very swift on his legs. LONG-OFF Occupies the same position as long-on at the other side of the wicket. LEG Stands about the same distance behind the wicket on the on-side as long-on does before it. He must possess a quick eye and great agility. Leg-hits, after touching the ground, usually turn off in quite a different direction from what one would expect. Leg should therefore try to get them before they pitch, or else be careful in running to meet them. MID-WICKET ON AND OFF Stand halfway between the long-fields and the striker's wicket. As many catches come to these parts of the field, they should be very sharp and active, and try to prevent the ball going past them. THIB-D MAN UP, In very swift bowling tlie long-on often takes this position. He stands between point and short-slip, in a direct line with the bowling- crease, at a distance of about twelve yards. And now, having given the functions of the fieldsmen, we propose to show, by diagrams, their positions with 'regard to fast and slow bowling. 168 EVERT boy's book. DiAGEAM I. — ^FaST RoUND-AEM BoWLINO. tv ■--S;v^ •••.y V ± 8. Striker; 1. The Bowler; 2. Wicket Keeper; 3. Long-Stop; 4. Short-Slip; 5. Point; 6. Long-Slip; 7. Mid-Wicket on ; 8. Long-oflF; 9. Cover-Point; 10. Third Man up ; 11. Long-Leg ; U. Umpire. Diagram IL — Medium Pace Roxtnd-aem Bowling. 0. ^-^ S. striker ; 1. Bowler ; 2. Wlcket-Keeper ; 3. Long-Stop ; 4. Short-Slip ; 5. Point; 6. Long-Slip; 7. L©ng-on ; 8. Long-oflf ; 9. Cover-Point ; 10. Mid-Wicket on ; IL Leg; U. Umpirei, CRICKET. 169 Diagram lil.— Slow Underhand Bowling. 4.. ..a • s / TT \;^ \ TT II 6 '••7 1. Bowler; 2. Wicket- Keeper : 3. Leg; 4. Short-Slip. 5. Point; 6. Extra Long-on ; 7. Long-on ; 8, Long-oflf; 9. Mid-Wicket off ; 10. Mid-Wicket on ; 11. Square-Leg ; S. Striker. U. Umpire. m As in very swift bowling tlie ball is often bit to tbe off, it will be seen that in Diagram I. We have placed no less than six out of the eleven on that side. Mid-wicket on and long-off should be a little nearer the bowler, and long-slip nearer the long-stop, than represented in the- illustration. In Diagram II. third man up is made mid-wicket on, while cover- int comes in .nearer than when the bowling was very fast. In Diagram III,, as the bowling is slow, no long-stop is required ; e is therefore sent as an additional field behind the bowler. Short- slip stands in very close to the wickets. i\ CEOQUET. MATERIALS OF THE GAME. THE MALLETS. TiiE mallet, of which in a Croquet set there are eiglit, varies in length from 32 to 39 inches. The handle is thin and round, and is fastened into the head somewhat in the manner of an ordinary mallet used for knocking in tent pegs. The head slightly resembles in shape a dice-box, inasmuch as it is narrower in the centre than at the ends. The mallet is the active agent in the game, just as the bat is at cricket ; and as the mallet is always in the hands of the striker, care should be taken that it is well planed. Towards the top of the handle a few circular lines may be cut with advantage, as they give a firmer hold to the hand. At the bottom of the handle is usually painted a colour, or a number of lines, correspondmg to the marks on one of the balls. Such an arrangement, although not absolutely necessary — since a player can use any mallet without interfering with the game — is of advantage in according to each player the same coloured mallet as his ball ; and were the mallets uncoloured, disputes would probably arise about one which was a greater favourite than the others. Some people prefer to have the colour of all the balls painted on their mallets. This is a very good plan if one is in the habit of playing with inattentive people, who will not recollect when it is their turn to play. As the hard surface of the end of the maliet-head coming sharply in contact L.„ ^ '^} CROQUET. 171 with a ball often cracks, chips, or breaks it in tvro pieces, it has been suggested that a piece of wash-leather should be let in at each end of "the head, in order to deaden the force of the stroke. We do not, however, recommend the adoption of this plan, as it is very expen- sive, and the wash-leather is not only likely to be soon torn, but in the course of the game may come out altogether; besides, a Croquet-ball can always be replaced for a trifling sum, and, if played with carefully, ought to last twelve months at least. THE BALLS. The balls are eight in number, and are generally painted different colours — blue, pink, black, yeUow, brown, orange, red, green. The size varies from 3 niches to 3^ inches in diameter. The balls of some of the better Croquet games are not entirely covered with paint, but adorned simply by a band of paint, about half an inch in width, or with hues of blue and red, varying from one to four in number, as in the illustration. Balls coloured thus are, however, not so easUy distinguishable as those which are painted all over. THE HOOPS. The hoops, ten in number, are made of iron. Tney are about 16 inches high, and 12 inches wid( j although these dimensions are not of much importance. In some games the hoops are of bronze, or else are pamted a goldtn colour. Usually, however, they are of a black, iron tint. The set with which we generally play is painted white. Tiiis plan is in many respects ad- vantageous, for as the shades of evening close round the players the contrast between the grass and the hoops be- comes less vivid, and conse- quently in the excitement of the game a player occasionaUy tumbles over a hoop, ancl probably hurts his legs ; when, however, the hoops are painted 172 EVERT BOY S BOOK, white, the play can be continued to a late hour without the chance of such a casualty as the breaking of one's shins against the iron hoops. THE POSTS. The posts, two in number, should be from 24 to 36 inches high. One end must be sharpened into a point, in order to allow it to stick well in the ground. One is called the starting, the other the turning post. The top half is, in the cheaper sets, divided into eight divi- sions, each of which is painted according to the colours of the ball. Thus, beginning from the top, we trace the divisions into the following order : — 1. Blue. 5. Brown. 2. Pink. 6. Orange. 3. Black. 7. Green. 4. YeUow. 8. Red. The order of the colours acts as a guide to the players ; and since those on each side play alternately, it follows that in a game of eight, the dark balls — blue, black, brown, and green — are matched against the light balls — pink, yellow, orange, and red. The advantage of this arrange- ment is plainly manifest, since, during the game, the players, without referring to the peg, will know that the light colours play alternately with the dark. We admit, however, that opinion may be divided about the lightness of red as a colour ; and we therefore hope that the Croquet- makers will change it into white, which is not likely to be confounded with the yellow, for the latter, in consequence of being in more frequent use, is sure to become dark in much shorter time than the former. Some, however, as in the illustration, have red and blue divisions, marked from one to four, to correspond with the number of rings painted on the balls. CLIPS. A set of Croquet-clips — ^Kttle pieces of tin, coloured according to the colours of the balls, in order to sHp over the hoops, and thus show the hoop through which the player has next to pass — ^has been lately introduced. We do not, however, recommend the use of them, as they are liable to cause much confu- sion, and certainly give a great deal of trouble to those players who adopt them. CROQUET. MARKING BOARD. A gentleman has invented a marking-board, on wliicli is placed the position of each player after his stroke is made ; but as this requires an umpire to mark the positions of the balls, we do not think the plan worth adoption. TUNNEL. In some games a very narrow hoop — scarcely wide enough for the ball to pass through — has been introduced under the name of tunnel. It certainly adds to the compHcation of the game. THE CAGE Is another novelty, formed by placing two hoops across each other, and fastening a bell at the point of mtersection, which has to be struck by the ball passing through. 174 "EVET^T BOY S BOOK. -^> y.^j r^ A CROQUET STAND Is one of the best of the recent inventions in Croquet, and is to be recommended as a great improvement over the unwieldy box, which contains usually a Croquet set, and which is generally so badly arranged that a quarter of an hour is occupied in taking out the Croquet implements, and about double that time in replacing them after the game is over. HOW THE GAME IS PLAYED. Sides are chosen in the usual manner, the captain of one side taking the first ball and the captain of the other the second ; while the remaining balls are given to the other players in the order in which they are chosen. Eight persons can play at this game, but any smaller number will do equally well. If only six or four play, the same number of balls must be used ; but if two play, the game is im- proved by each player taking two balls and playing them alternately as usual. If there be an odd number of players — either three, five, or seven — the players play against each other, or else one person takes CROQUET. 175 two balls and plays for cacli side. It has been suggested that to amuse a large party two games should go on at once, through the same hoops, one side to begin at the starting-post and the otiier at the turning-post. The confusion, however, caused by the balls getting in each other's way would quite spoil all chance of good play. Assuming that each player has a ball and a mallet, that tlie hoops are arranged in either of the three positions given on pages 177, 178, 179, ISO, we now come to the mode of playing the game. The object is to drive the balls through all the hoops, in the direction indicated by the dotted lines on the diagrams, and to strike the two posts. The side all of whose members succeed in performing this feat first wins the game. Now, although this is the chief object of the game, yet the act fi'om which it derives its title, to wit " Croquet," is of much greater importance than would at first be imagined. If a player hit with his ball any of the others, he is allowed to place his own against the ball he has struck, and setting his foot upon his own ball, he hits it with the mallet, and the force of the blow drives the opponent's ball a considerable distance in the direction towards which the mallet is directed. As the player is allowed to croquet either friend or foe, it is evident that he can do a great deal of damage or service, according to his inclmation, since he is at liberty to drive the ball in any direction he pleases. {See Rules of the Croquet, page 182.) It must, however, be borne in mind that no player can croquet or be croqued until he has been through the first hoop. The liolder of the first ball, placing his ball a mallet's length in any direction from the starting-post, endeavours by striking it with the end of his mallet to drive it through the first hoop. If he succeeds, he continues his turn, and attempts to send the ball through the second hoop, and then through the third ; for driving the ball through a hoop or croquing another ball imparts the privilege of an additional stroke. When he has finished, the second goes on, and the other players follow in the order in which the balls are marked upon the post. Till a player has gone through the first hoop he is not allowed to have an extra turn, if his ball hit that of another. In a short; time is palpably shown tlie great advantage of the croquet. Often when a player has his ball in a good position in front of a hoop, another will hit it and drive it to the other end of the croquet-ground, compelling the croqued ball to take two or three turns before it can regain its former position. Occasionally two or three balls lie close to each other, and one is struck by a ball which was some distance off. The striker is now allowed to place his ball by the side of the one he has struck, and then, after croquing it, is almost sure of hitcing the two others, since his last stroke has brought him very near to them. The player who reaches the turning-post first has great advantages for a time, for as soon as he touches it he commences his return journey, and meeting the other players on their road to the farthest 176 EVERY boy's book. point of tlieir voyage, he is able to croquet tliem and considerablj impede their progress. While writing about the turning-post, we can- not refrain from calling attention to a strange nile which appears in a recently-issued manual of Croquet. In this work it is stated that on touching the post the striker discontinues playing, and is not allowed for the act the same privilege that he obtains for passing through a hoop. This regulation is, we think, so unfair that we cannot allow this work to go to press without taking the opportunity of record- ing our protest against the adoption of the rule in question. It must be evident to anybody who knows anything about the game that it is a more difficult task to strike the post than to pass through a hoop. Now, touchmg the post is a point in the game, for it is one of the stations that everybody must pass on the journey ; and as for each other point, such as passing a hoop or croquing, the player is allowed an additional turn, surely it stands to reason that the same advantage should be accorded to a player who performs the feat of striking the turning-post. Captain Mayne Reid and all the other writers on Croquet (with one exception) agree with us in the view we have taken on this subject, to which we have at some length drawn attention, in the hope that the author of the obnoxious rule wiU think fit to make the necessary alteration. When a player has passed through all the hoops, he becomes what is called in the technical language of Croquet a iiover, and is privi- leged to rove about over the ground croquing his friends and foes {see page 185). It is therefore obvious that a good player can prove, when thus situated, of immense advantage to his side, and should on no account hit the starting or winning post till all on his side have passed through the last hoop {see page 191). Good players, however, generally content themselves with passing through all the hoops but two, as it often happens that if a ilover is tiresome his adversaries unite in their efforts to drive his ball against the starting-post, and thus kUl him. This, of course, they cannot do until he has passed through all the hoops. The excitement towards the end of the game is almost inconceivable; each stroke is watched with the keenest interest. Gradually one by one the players hit the post, until perhaps only two remain, and now occurs an opportunity for skilful play. K the two opponents are good players, they afford a rare treat to the bystanders. The object of each is first to hit the post, and, failing in that, to keep as far off his adversary as he can. feoth endeavour, at the same time drawing nearer to the great object in view, to keep the post between their own and the other ball. At length one plays at the post, misses it, and sends his ball near his adversary, who first hits it, next croquets it away, and then strikes the post, while all hia nde wave their mallets aloft, and loudly shout " Victory ! '* CROQUET. 177 TURNING- POST. POST. Diagram No. 1. — This position, which is the simplest of those we have drawn, ig the one which we recommend all young players to adopt. The space between the hoops and between the hoops and the posts should be about six feet, although it can be varied in proportion to the capabilities of the different players. The course of the ball is indicated by the dotted lines, and the arrows show the direction in which at starting the ball should travel. Although it may appear rather a simple matter to go through the two first hoops by one straight stroke, yet the unfortunate player will soon find out his mistake by experience, and that, in attempting to pass through the hoops, "Slow and sure " is the best maxim to adopt. 178 EVERY BOY S BOOK. TURNIND- POST. STARTING POST. Diagram No. 2.— In tliis, the second, diagram it will be seen that the two centre Bide hoops are done away with, and that one is placed in the centre of the game instead; but although in the play we now require one hoop less than in the former diagram, yet the player will have to pass through the same number of hoops as before, since he travels twice through the hoop in the centre— once on his way to the turning-post, and once on his return. This position is necessarily not so simple as the last one, fbr now all chance of going through the three side hoops in one turn is done away with, and few players will be able to make the passage in less thaa three turns. OBOQUET. 179 TURNIN& POST. STARTING POST. Diagram No. 3.— In this the same numher of hoops is used as in the first diagram, but the hoops numbered respectively 4 and 9, instead of being placed ])arallel to the others, are now at rijiht-angles to them : thus, in playing from 3 to 4, one has to keep to the riglit of the second ring, and then to pass through it from the outside of the game — a much more difficult arrangement than cither of the other positions we have described. As the playei-'s knoiyledge of Croquet increases, many other posi- tions will suggest themselves ; but those we have printed are the simplest, and ar* the diagrams in general use at the present time. n2 180 EVERY BOYS BOOK. TURNINC ^ POST ft 1 1 ii 1 ' a Q: g^--^ 1 STARTIHC ^^POST Diagram No. 4— In this diagram the cage is introduced; otherwise it is nearly the same as Diagram No. 2. CROQUET. 181 The reader is now requested to give liis attention to tlie following Rules, wliicli we believe will be found to meet all the requisites of the game. RULES. STUIKING. 1. At the commencement of the game the ball is to be placed a mallet's length from the starting-post in any direction, and the player endeavours to drive it through the first hoop. [As the distance between the first post and the first hoop depends so much upon the size of the Croquet-ground, the first rule may be altered to suit the convenience of the players ; but if the length is less than a mallet, the player will probably strike the post with his own mallet.] 2. In striking' the ball, the player must stand on one side of the ball, and not behind it. 3. In striking, the mallet must be about an inch from the ground, and must not be pushed along it when the stroke is made, except when the distance between the oaU and some other object is too small to admit the mallet lengthwise. [Some players wish only one hand to be used in striking. Most of the large sets, however, are too heavy to allow this rule to be gene- rally carried out.] 4. The ball must be struck with an end of the mallet, and not by the side. OEDER OF PLAYING. 5. The balls are to be played in the order in which they are marked upon the post, 6. If any player play out of his turn, he finishes the stroke ; but for the violation of the last rule he is deprived of the next turn. [It may perhaps be suggested that a player, seeing a good oppor- tunity for some effective stroke, would purposely play out of his turn. This we doubt ; for not only would the deprivation of his next turn do him a great deal of damage, but the chances are that one of the other players would stop him before he had commenced the stroke.] 7. If a player play with a wrong ball, he has to replace the ball and lose his next turn. [This penalty is not enforced against a player if the error be not discovered before the arrival of his second turn.] 8. If a player by a stroke of his maUet drives his ball througLthe next hoop in the order of his course, he is allowed to continue his stroke. 182 EVERY boy's book. 9. A player may in one stroke drive liis ball tlirongli more tlian one hoop. 10. If a ball, in going through a hoop, strike another ball, the player can either continue his stroke at the next hoop, or else croquet the ball that is struck ; but he is not allowed two turns for passing through a hoop, and then hitting a ball. 11. If a ball strike another ball, and then pass through a hoop, the player can either croquet or continue his stroke, and has not to pass through the same hoop again. [Erom this rule the reader may infer, that if a ball ^o through its- hoop either by striking another ball or by hitting the sides of the hoop, it is considered to have passed the hoop. It has been suggested that a ball is dead directly it croquets another, and that therefore any stroke it makes after that is of no avail ; but as this not only does away with Rule 11, but prevents any player croquing two balls in one stroke, we cannot adopt it.] 12. If a ball, instead of playing at its hoop, play at a ball on the other side of the hoop, and consequently have to be moved by the hand through its own hoop in order to croquet, it is not considered to have gone through the hoop, but must return- to the proper side of the hoop in the ordinary manner. 13. A ball is not through a hoop if the handle of the mallet when laid across the two sides of the hoop from whence the ball came touches the ball without moving the hoop. 14. If a player strike a ball which he cannot croquet, and by that stroke go through a hoop, the last stroke holds good, and lie has another turn. 15. If a ball, when croqued through its hoop in a wrong direction, roll back through the hoop, it has not to- pass through the same hoop in the same direction again. THE CROQUET. [When the game of Croquet first came into fashion, there was only one mode of the croquet, which was that usually known as the tight croquet. Since then other forms, known as the loose and sHpping croquet, have come into fashion, and have met with so much favour that it is impossible to deny then- claims to our attention. In the tight croquet the player must keep liis foot upon his own ball, and is not allowed to move it while he makes the stroke ; but in the loose croquet he need not even put his foot on his own ball at all, and is able consequently to drive not only his adversary's ball, but also his own, in any direction he pleases. The adoption of tliis plan, even although it lengthens and complicates the game, affords so much pleasure to the players themselves, that it is becoming universally adopted. Some writers, however, insist that to rovers ouly should the privilege of the loose croquet be accorded ; whilst others, on the other hand, would allow the privilege only to those who are not rovers. oHOQUET. 183 In fact, so nrncli is to be said on eacli side, that tlie better plan is to allow the players to choose which of these courses they think fit to adopt. In some places, in addition to the loose croquet, a practice prevails which is usually known by the term " taking two off." Thus if a player croquet a ball, he is allowed to drive his own ball in any dii-ection he pleases, without touching the croqued ball. After this he has another stroke, so that he is enabled to get close to any ball on the ground. This plan seems to us so higlily objectionable, and so thoroughly subversive of all good play, that we must decline to recommend it. It should also be known that many of our corres- pondents object to loose croquet altogether, on the groufid that it tends greatly to prolong the turns, and thus spoils the game, as people, grown tii-ed of waiting, lose all interest in it, and forget when their turn comes to play. What expressions more common on the ground than " Whose turn is it now ? "] 16. A player is allowed the privilege of croquing whenever his ball strikes another, except when by doing so he makes the ball that is btruck liit the winning-post, if it have passed through the hoops. 17. In the tight croquet the player must keep his foot firmly upon his own ball, and if the stroke move it the ball must afterwards be brought back to the position it occupied before it was struck. [Some writers insist that if the croqueur's ball slip, he loses his turn. This arrangement is too absurd to be tolerated for an instant.] 18. No ball can croquet, or be croqued, until it has passed through the first hoop. [It has been the custom to allow a player to take up his ball, and play, when his turn comes, from the starting-post again, if he misses the first hoop. This plan, however, has nothing to recommend it. It would enable a player who wished to play last to do so at ease by intentionally missing the hoop, and is obviously so unfair that we have no wish to adopt it.] 19. No ball (except a rover) can croquet the same ball twice, until it (the croqueur) has passed through a hoop or touched the post since its first croquet. [If, however, the croqueur be a rover, he cannot croquet the same ball twice in one turn. In either case, however, he is at hberty to strike the same ball twice, but this act does not allow him the privilege of a fresh stroke.] 20. A croquet need not necessarily be a distinct stroke. If the striking ball in its passage hit either a post or a hoop, and then cannon upon a ball, the privilege holds good ; and if, also, one ball strike two or more others, each of these is croqued in the order in which they were struck ; but the striker has only one additional stroke when he has croqued the lot, and not one for each ball he has struck. 21. As the moving of the croquing ball in the ti^ht croquet is of itself illegal, it stands to reason that if this ball during the stroke 184 EVERY boy's book. slip and toucli another ball, the player has not the right to claim the privilege of the croquet. pji the loose croquet a player may by his croquing stroke drive his own ball through a hoop.] TUB TIOUT CROQUET. 22. A player, after striking a ball, is not necessarily compelled to croquet it, but is allowed to play in any direction he pleases. PLt must, however, be understood that he must play from the place where his ball is, and not, since he abnegates the privilege of it, as after a croquet, from a position touching the ball he has struck.] 23. If a player hit a rover, and by the blow force the other ball against the winning-post, he cannot croquet the badl, as it is plahily CROQUET. 185 dead ; he however retains the privilege of another turn. As the ball is dead, it must be moved at once. 24. If a player in the act of croquing do not move the croqued ball at least 6 inches, he is at Hberty to take the stroke over again. [Of course the croqued ball must be placed in the position it occupied before it was struck.] 25. If a ball go through a hoop and then croquet a ball, both strokes count. 26. If a player croquet a ball illegally, both balls must be restored to their former positions. 27. If a ball hit two or more balls by one stroke, and croquet one, it is forced to croquet all it has struck, and is not allowed to croquet one and leave the others alone. THE POSTS. Some writers give certain privileges for passing two hoops at a time, and for striking the posts — such as placing the ball a mallet's length in any direction from its original position. This plan, however, is very irregular, and affords too great an advantage to one player to be adopted. 28. Striking the posts enables the player to have a fresh turn, and is in all respects equivalent to passing a hoop. 29. A player who, having gone through all the hoops, strikes the winning-post, is dead ; and being out of the game, is not allowed to have a fresh turn. 30. If either of the posts be struck by a ball that is driven thither by a croquiug or croqued ball, or in passing through the next hoop to it in the right direction, the stroke holds good. 31. If a ball be moved by a j)layer when it should not have been touched, it must be restored to its former position, even if the stroke have sent it against a post or through a hoop. 32. If any ball (or balls) be struck by the ball moved, as in the last rule, it must be at once replaced in its former position. 33. If a ball, in the tight croquet, shp from under the feet and strike the turning-post, the stroke does not count. [By the same rule, if a player in croquing strike the winning-post, the stroke does not count.] 34. If a ball be hit off the ground on a gravel- walk or a flower-bed, it is to be placed at once 12 inches at right-angles from the limit of the boundary. THE ROVER. 35. As a rover has passed through all the hoops, he is not aUcwed to croquet the same ball twice in one turn. 36. A rover has only the right to play a second time when he croquets another ball. 37. A ball is dead as soon as it has passed through all the hoops and struck the two posts. 186 EVERY BOT*S BOOK. 38. A rover who bits another ball, and tben the post, is dead, and cannot take another turn. [A rover who croquets another ball against the post is according to Rule 23 allowed another turn ; but if a rover, in croquing a ball, lets his ball slip agamst the post, he is dead according to the principles of loose croquet.] 39. The game is finished when all the players on one side have gone through all the lioops and struck the two posts. 40. A match is the best of three games. 41. A tournament is the best of three- matches. HINTS TO YOUNG PLAYEES. It is almost impossible (as the reader will already have perceived) to overestimate the great importance that " the croquet " bears upon the game. A player who devotes all his efforts to pass through the hoops will find himself soon left behind by those who look upon that department of the game as merely subservient to the more fascinating task of driving away a foe, or of helpmg a friend ; and this fact becomes more and more patent when the number of players is six or eight. True, when only two play, if one gets a good start, it is a somewhat difficult matter for the other player to stay his progress ; and as this inevitably takes away half the interest of the game, we recommend a pair of players to use a couple of balls, since by so doing one can assist the other, and develop the croquet to great advantage ; but then, again, it is not expedient to devote the whole of one's energies to produce a colhsion between two balls. The player's first rule should be to pass through a hoop ; if, however, he sees an equal chance of passing through it after he has gone out of his route to drive an adverse player away, he should at all times make use of the croquet ; for it must be remembered that keeping an enemy back is almost equivalent to making progress, and that the game cannot be lost as long as a foe's ball is oehind one's own. The art of the tight croquet consists in placmg the striking ball in juxta- f)osition to that ball which has been croqued, and then, setting the eft foot upon his own ball, the striker hits it sliarply with his mallet, and consequently the other ball is driven by the power of the stroke to a distance in proportion to the force with which the ball was struck. Ill the loose croquet, however, the player need not place his foot upon the ball at all, but by adopting the following stroke can drive tlie two balls forward in the same direction, or by hittmg his own ball with a slanting mallet can drive the balls away at an angle to each other. The purpose of tliis feat is either to aid a friend or to do damage to an enemy. A friend can by croquing send a partner through the hoop he wishes to pass, or else drive an enemy — who CROQUET 187 has obtained a good position;- amd who feels certain of going, through a hoop at his next turn — exactly in the opposite direction to that in which he wishes to travel. In order, however, to make this stroke very efi'cctive, great care must be taken with regard to the way in which the ball is driven. Many thoughtless players think nothing of driving a foe close to a friend, or, in the hopes of assisting their side, send a friend in the immediate neighbourhood of a foe — thus improving the position of the adverse side, and damaging that of their own. The difference that a few thoughtful players make to a side is wonderful. Whilst others hit their balls about without ever thinking tliat at his next turn a foe will probably croquet them, the careful players, anticipating the positions of the other bails, place themselves in a ]:)osition from which, when their next turn comes, they can either go through a hoop, or croquet the ball of a more careless player. Thus, if foe B is behind a hoop through which A \ \ N \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ J> has to pass, but requires two turns for the passage, it would be very absurd if A were to place himself close to B, in the hope of passing through next time, since B would be sure to croquet him, and place him in even a worse position than he occupies in the illustration. A should content himself by playing to C, for B would not go so far out of his way to croquet him, and then A could go through the ring the next time he plays. if A is at the side of a hoop through which he cannot possibly 188 EVERY boy's book. pass in one turn, he should play behind the ring to the spot marked b, and not in a line marked A C, or else he would probably go either too far or not far enough, and be forced to accompHsh in three turns what, if he had gone to B, ho could probably have done in two. CROQUET. 189 Suppose B to be placed in front of the fourth hoop {see Positions of Hoops, Diagram No. 2), and A, whose turn it is, to be behind No. 2 ; — many players would just go tlu-ough No. 2, and then quietly drop down to No. 3, in the hope of passing through at the next turn. A thoughtful player, however, would, by driving his ball sharply through hoop No. 2, obtain a position close to B, and next, taking a second turn for going through the hoop, would be able to croquet B, and drive him a long way off his hoop, and then return to a good position behind No. 3. The following position will show one of the advantages of the loose croquet. It is the turn of the ball C to play, and he has to go through the hoop e in the direction e K. In his present position it is impossible for him to go through the hoop at one turn. If, how- ever, he croquets D, and then indulges in the loose croquet, he can drive his own ball to B, and send the other to A. He can then pass through the hoop, and can croquet D again at the spot A. We have mentioned this problem more as an example for young players than because it is a recognised rule. Many such plans, equally advantageous to follow, will readily present themselves to players in the course of the game, and in no more forcible manner can they show their good play than by disregarding the passage of a hoop in order to croquet a foe and thus spoil his position. It can be easUy understood that a player who, by passing through all the hoops, obtains the title of " Rover," and may therefore rove wherever he pleases, has far more power than one whose flight is fettered by being compelled to pass through the little iron hoops that dot the Croquet-ground. He can either keep close to a laggard friend, and aid him by the croquet, or he can take up a position a little in advance 190 EVERT BOY S BOOK. of a forward foe, and delay "his progress in a very unpleasant manner Suppose that A has just passed through the last lioop but two, and that B, a rover, has taken up a position close to the hoop, in such a manner that a portion of it intervenes between him and A. If, then. TURNINO 1 POST. 3> \ r% •a CROQUET. 191 tlie latter play near tlie hoop, B is sure to croquet him and drive him away. He is therefore compelled to keep some distance off the hoop until a friend comes to aid him, unless a change in his position allows him to croquet B, which, if the latter is a good player, is not likely to occur. Now, having shown how a rover can worry a foe, let us demonstrate how he can aid a friend. A is close to the hoop through which he has to pass, and B, a rover of his own side, is in a lino with him. If B hit A, he will probably drive him off his hoop and spoil his turn ; but if B play to C, a spot halfway between the two hoops, A can go through his hoop, oroquet B at C, drive him to D, and then go through the next hoop, croquet B at D (for he has been through a hoop since he last croqued liim), drive him to the other side of the next hoop, and so on. A rover playing with another ball can be of more help to him than hindrance to a foe ; and as it is more important to get the balls of one's own side forward than to delay those of a foe, the former plan should, when feasible, be adopted. Thus it will be seen that a good rover is of the greatest service to the side, and that the sooner he is placed Tiors de combat the better for the opposite side. Tlie rovers on the other side should tierefore do all they can to make the rover's ball hit the post by croquing it against it, if possible ; for although if all on his side hit the post before those on the other side the game is won, yet when the best player, being dead, is able to render no further assistance, the game often goes against that side. This plan, however, must be adopted with the greatest precaution and care, and on no account whatever should a bad player be thus disposed of, since the mere fact of keep- ing him in the game is of the highest importance, as his services are of Httle avail to his own side, who cannot win as long as one of their party remains in the game. With these few desultory hints we conclude this article, which aU beginners should study caiefoll}', and (we hope) with advantage. DRIVING. •« The rash boy Phaeton his proud chariot drove Till he was smitten by almip;hty Jove : Take heed, younfr driver, while you like him boast, You are not ' spilled ' against an ugly post." — Swift. INTRODUCTION. Our young friends ought to know, not only how to ride, but also how to drive. Erom the very earliest times, horse and chariot races were considered the noblest of sports, and Apollo is represented as driving the chariot of the sun. The four horses were typical of the four seasons of the year. Four horses driven abreast was common also to the Olympic games, and the Hippodrome was the scene of chariot races in wliich even a greater number was sometimes used. It was, indeed, an imposing sight to se3 the Hippodromic course at the time of one of these chariot festivals. The place set cipart for the contest was about a mile in length. Over a bar that ran across the entrance of the lists was placed a brazen dolphin, and upon an altar in the middle of the barrier stood an eagle of the same metal. By means of a machine, put in motion by the president of the games, the eagle suddenly sprang up into the air with its wings extended, so as to be seen by all spectators ; and at the same moment the dolphin sank to the ground, which was a sisnal for the cars to arrange themselves in order for the race. Besi(Jes the statue of Hip podamia, and the table on which were placed the crowns and palm- branches, there were several images and altars in the course, particu- DRIVING. 193 larly that of the genius Taraxippus, who, as his name imports, was said to inspire the horses with a secret terror, which was increased by the shrill clangour of the trumpets placed near the boundary, and the deafening shouts and outcries of the multitude. While the chariots were ranged in line ready to start, the horses, whose ardour it was difficult to restrain, attracted all eyes by their beauty, as well as for the victories which some of them had ahready gained. Piadar speaks of no less than forty chariots engaged at one and the same time. If we recollect that they had to run twelve times the length of the Hippodrome, in going and returning, and to steer round a piUar or goal erected near each extremity, we may imagine what confusion must have ensued when, upon the signal trumpet being sounded, thev slnrted amid a cloud of dust, crossing and jostling each other, and rushing forward with such rapidity that the eye could scarcely follow them. At one of the boundaries a narrow pass was left only for the chariots, which often baffled the skill of the expertest driver; and there were upwards of twenty turnings to make round the two pillars; so that at almost every moment some accident happened, calculated to excite the pity or insulting laughter of the assembly. In such a number of chariots at fuU speed, pushing for precedence in turning round the columns, on which victory often depended, some were sure to be dashed to pieces, covering the course with their fragments, and adding to the dangers of the race. As it was, moreover, exceedingly difficult for the cha- rioteer, in his unsteady two-wheeled car, to retain his standing attitude, many were thrown out, when the masterless horses plunged wildly about the Hippodrome, overturning others who had, perhaps, previously escaped every danger, and thought themselves sure of winning. To increase the confusion, and thereby afford better oppor- tunities for the display of skill and courage, there was reason to believe that some artifice was employed for the express purpose of frightening the horses when they reached the statue of Taraxippus. So great sometimes was their consternation, that, no longer regai'ding the rein, the whip, or the voice of their master, they broke loose, or overturned the chariot, and wounded the driver. Such is the ancient description given by a Greek writer of the chariot races of the Hippodrome. We have no coach racing now-a- days, except omnibus racing in the streets : not a gi'cat deal of "coaching." Now and then, indeed, we see the "Brighton four- horse," and start with wonder at the sight. But stUI there are necessities for private driving, more important at the present than at any former period ; and we hold driving to be not only a necessary, but an indispensable accomplishment to every young gentleman. THE HOaSE IN HARNESS. A horse fully equipped in harness, attached to a dennet or stanhope, is one of the most beautiful things to look at in the world: o 194 EVERY boy's book. few boys are trusted to drive a pair; nor have they physical power for the task. We will therefore confine our attention chiefly to single harness, adding only a short description of the various kinds of carriages in common use. If, however, the youthful charioteer can drive a single horse well, he will find no difficulty in controlling a pair, provided their mouths are sufficiently tender for his strength to manage. The horse is here represented harnessed to a light dennet- THE HOESE May be either a full-sized harness horse, or a ^oway, or a pony; the two last being the best fitted for juvenile diiving. THE HAKNESS, In every case, is composed of the same parts, which consist of three essential divisions : 1st, the di-iving, or guiding part ; 2d, the drawing part ; and 3d, that for holding up the shafts. The driving part comprises the bridle and reins. The bridle is made up of a front piece (1), a head piece (2), two cheek pieces and winkers (3), a nose band (4), and a throat lash (5). The cheek pieces are buckled to the bit (6) by means of leather loops, called billets, as also are the driving-reins (7), and the bearing-rein, which is attached to a sepa- rate bit called the bridoon (a plam snaffle), and then is hooked to the pad-hook. This is now very generally dispensed with, as shown in the cut at the head of this article ; but for young drivers it is often desirable when they have not strength to check the fall of a horse. The drawing parts consist of a padded oval ring fitted to the shouldens, and called the collar (10), sometimes replaced by a oadded strap across the chest called the breast-strap. On the collar are fastened two iron bars called hames (12), by means of a strap at the top and bottom (8—11), and these hames have a ring in the DRIVING. 195 upper part for the reins to pass through, called the hame terret (9) ; and nearer the lower parfc, a strong arm of iron covered with a coatbg of brass, silver, or leather, which receives in its eye the tug of the trace (13.) The trace (17) is a long and strong strap of double leather, stitched, which runs from the collar to the drawing bar, and may be lengthened or shortened by a buckle. The part for holding the gig up consists of a pad or saddle, which is buckled on to the horse Dy the belly-band Q6), and from which the shaft is sus- pended by the back-bana and shaft-tug.^ It is prevented from slipping forward by the crupper, which is slipped over the tail. Besides these parts, some horses have in addition a oreechen (18 — 19) which holds the shafts back in going down hiU ; and when they aa addicted to kicking, a strap is buckled over their hips to the snaft which is called a kicking-strap. THE CAREIAGE. The Dennet-gig, as represented in the last page, is the most common form for a two-wheeled carriage ; but tliere are also the Stanhope, the Cabriolet, as here shown, the Tilbury, and the Dog- cart. The various open four-wheeled carriages are the Britzschka, THE BRITZSCHKA. 196 EVERY boy's book. Barouche, and Phaeton ; and of closed four-wheeled carriages there if NEVr BKOUOHAU. are the Brougham and Clarence on elh'ptic springs, and the chariot and family coach with c springs. When these two last are made to open, tney are called the Laudaulet and Landau. THX FAHILT COACH. PUTTING TO. Before driving, it is necessary that the horse or pony should be "put to," which is effected as follows: 1st, slip the shstfts through the tugs, or, if there are hooks, drop them down into them ; 2d, put the traces on to the drawing-bar, either hooking them on, or else slipping them on to the eyes, and being careful to place the leather stops m these, to prevent the trace coming off; 3d, buckle the belly-band sufficiently tight ; and 4th, buckle the kicking-strap, or breechen, if either is used. After this, the reins are taken from the terrets, where they were previously placed, and the horse is ready. DntECTIONS IDE DEIVING. In driving, the reins are held differently from the mode already described as used in riding, the fore-finger being first placed between DRIVING. 197 them, and then both the reins are grasped by all the other fin^rs, and Uie near-side rein is also held firmly against the fore-finger by means of the thumb. In this way, on an emergency, the near or left rein may be pulled by itself, hr holding it firaly with the thumb, and snnering the other, or off rein, to slip through the finders, or vice versa. The most usual wav is to pull the left rein with the left hand, and the ri^ht with tne right nand, by hooking one or two finders over it while held firmly in the left. ^ In this manner, with the whip also held in the right hand, the horse is guided or stopped. The young driver should take care and keep his feet well before him, with his knees as straight and firm as possible, so that in case of a fall of the horse he may not be thrown forwards out of the vehicle he is driving. He should also sit square to his work, with his elbow held easily to his side, and his left thumb pointing to his horse's head, by which, as in riding, his elbow is pretty sure to be properly placed. The bit should not be too firmly pulled against, but a light and "^ve and take" kind of handling is the best, b^ which the horse is allowed freedom of action, and yet is checked if he makes a mistake. In meeting other vehicles, the rule is to keep to your left, and in passing them, to leave them also on your left. This should be rigidly aohered to for fear of the accidents which would otherwise constantly happen. Li reference to drivmg in America, nothing better can be given than the rules of the English school for driving. In America the rule governing the side to pass another rider on is the reverse of the English rule. In America the law is " drive to the right." In England it is to the left. The former anoears to us to be the "right" one. J^ENCING. FENcmG is the art of using the small-sword or rapier. The small- sword has a straight blade, about thirty-two inches in length, outside the guard, and is fashioned for thrusting only. Although it is an art of the greatest antiquity, very great improvements have been made in it during the last half-century, chiefly bv French masters, who excel those of all other countries. Tms has been attributed to various causes ; by some to the agility and acknowledged power of rapid physical action possessed by tms nation; by others, to their natural vivacity and mental quickness. In my opinion, however, a more direct ana powerful cause may be traced in the great encourage- ment and universal patronage which it has ever received from every grade of a chivalrous and military people. Every regiment has its maitre d'armes, and every barrack its fencing-school. Indeed, in so importaiit a light was the proper teaching of this art held, that one of the French kings (Louis XTV.) granted letters-patent to twenty eminent masters, who alone were permitted to teach in Paris. When a vacancy occurred, no^ interest and no favour could enable a candi- date to obtain this privilege : he had to fence in public with six of these chosen masters ; and if by any of them he was beaten by two distinct hits, he was considered unqualified to teach in the capital FENCING. 199 Independent of its value as the scientific use of tlie sword, — the gentleman's weapon of defence, par excellence^ — ^fencing stands un- rivalled as an exercise ; and it is in this sense that it will now be treated. The most eminent physicians which this country have pro- duced have all, in the most earnest manner, recommended it to the attention of the young. Thus, Dr. Clive says : — " Muscular exertion is essential in perfecting the form of the body, and those exercises which require the exercise oi the ^eatest number of muscles are the most conducive to this end. Tencmg causes more muscles to act at the same time than most other exercises. It pro- motes the expansion of the chest, and improves respiration, whereby the functions of the most important organs of the body are more per- fectly performed." Sir Anthony Carlisle uses similar language : — " According to my judgment, the exercise of fencing tends to pro- mote bodily health, and the development of athletic powers. It is likewise apparent, that the attitudes and exertions of fencing are con- ducive to the manly forms and muscular energies of the human figure." Again, Sir Everard Home, in stiU stronger terms : — " Of all the different modes in which the body can be exercised, there is none, ia my judgment, that is capable of giving strength and velocity, as well as precision, to the action of all the voluntary muscles of the body in an equal degree as the practice of fencing, and none more conducive to bodily hemh." I shall give one more extract from another physician of equal eminence. Dr. Babbington : — " I am of opinion that, in addition to the amusement which this exercise (fencmg) affords, it is particularly calculated to excite in young persons a greater degree of energy and circumspection than they might otherwise possess ; and it is obvious that, m respect of health, that mode of exertion is superior to all others^ which, while it gives motion and activity^ to every part of the body, produces at the same time corresponding interest in the mind." Sir John Siaclair, Dr. Pemberton, &c., speak in terms equally recommendatory. To avoid all danger in the lessons and practice, foils are sub- stituted for real swords. Strong wire masks are worn on the face, a well-padded glove on the hand, and the upper part of the body, at which alone the thrusts are aimed, is protected by a strong jacket, the right side and collar of which should be of leather. The first movement a begumer has to learn is the maimer of placing himself in the position called THE GTJAED. It is from this position that all movements are made, whether offensive or defensive. Let the beginner be placed with his knees 200 EVERY boy's book. straiglit, his feet at right angles, heel to heel ; the right foot, right side, and face directed to the master. The body must be held upright and firm, the arms hanging down by the side, but easily and "Without constraint; the left hand holding the foil a few inches beneath its guard. Next let him bring the right hand across the body, and seize the foil-handle; by a second movement, bring the foil above the head, the hands separating as they ascend, until both arms be nearly extended upwards and outwards. Here pause. This may be called i]iQ first position of the Guard. These movements should be frequently practised, as the^r accustom the arms to move independently of the body, flatten the joints of the shoulders, and give prominence to the chest. To arrive at the second position of the Guard, the right arm, with the foil, is brought down to the front, until the right elbow is a little above and in advance of the waist ; the fore-arm and foil sloping upwards ; the point of the foU being the height of the upper part of the face ; then, by a second movement, the learner must sink down, separating the knees, and stepping forward with the right foot four- teen or sixteen inches; for, of course, the guard of a tall man will be wider than that of a short one. However, his own comfort in the position will direct him as to the distance ; and the general rule is, that the knee of the left leg will jut over the toes of the left foot, and the right leg from ankle to knee be perpendicular. It is in this position that he will receive all attacks from an adversary, and from this position will all his own attacks be made. Also in this position will he ADVAirCE upon an adversary, when beyond hitting distance. The step in the advance is usually about that of the width of the Guard, although of FENCING. 201 course this would vary with circumstances. The step ls made by advancing the right foot the distance I have named; and on its reaching the ground, the left foot is brought up, and takes its place. To EETREAT, the reverse of the above movement is made. The left foot takes the lead, stepping to the rear about as far as the right had stepped to the front; the right occupying its place on its taking up its new position. The next movement, THE LONGE, is a very important movement, and is rather difficult to make pro- perly, and fatiguing to practise. Indeed, the first movements in fencing are the most trying to the learner ; and he must not be dis- couraged if he fails to do tliem correctly at first — practice only will give him this power. The Longe is that extension of body which accompanies every attack, and is thus made : The right arm is extended straight from the shoulder, the arm and blade being on the same level ; by a second movement, the right foot is raised from the ground, and a step made forward, about eighteen inches in length, while the left remains firnily planted in its place. At the instant that this step is made, the left hand is allowed to fall within a few inches of the left thigh, and the left knee is stiffened back until the leg is perfectly straight. The thigh of the right leg will now be in a position nearly horizon- tal; from the knee downwards, perpendicular. Having executed the Longe, the next movement to be made is THE EECOVER; that is, to return from the position of the Longe to that of the Guard, 202 EVERY boy's book. and is thus effected : The left arm is nimbly thrown up to its place, the right arm drawn in, and the left knee re-bent. These movements must DC made at the same time, as it is their united action that enables a person to recover from so extended a position as the Longe quick enough to avoid a thrust if his own attack has faOed. These movements must be frequently practised before any others are attempted — the Guard, the Advance, the Retreat, the Longe, and the Recover ; and when the learner has attained some proficiency in them, he may begin the more delicate movements of attack and defence. Of these I will now speak. THE ENGAGE. It is customary for adversaries, on coming to the Guard, to Ungaae, or to join blades, on what is called the inside, that is, the right sidfe ; although there are occasions on which it is advisable to engage on the outside, or on the left ; otherwise called the Quarte or Tierce sides. Two men thus opposed to each other will at once perceive that there are two lines of attack open to them, /. e. the line inside and the line outside the blade — these, and no more. But these may Idc, and in fencing are, subdivided into inside above the hand, and inside under the hand, and the same subdivision for outside. This gives four lines of attack— or, to speak more simply, gives four openings through which an adversary may be assailed. Now, to protect each of these assailable points, are four defensive movements, called PAHADES. Each opening has its own parade or defence, and each parade will guard its own opening, and, strictlv speak i'lg, no other. The opening inside above the hand is defended by two parades. Ab its name imports, the first and most natural parade is that of FENCING. 203 Prime. The action of drawing the sword from its sheath is almost exactly the movement made use of in the parade of Prime. In this parade, the hand is raised as high as the forehead, so that the fencer can see his opponent's face under his wrist. The blade of the foil is ahnost horizontal, but the point is rather lowered towards the ground. As this parade will throw the right side of the body open to the adversary's sword, it is good play to disengage from left to right, and deliver a rapid thrust at the adversary, m order to anticipate him before he can bring his own sword round for another thrust. His point will be thrown far out of line, so that he is behind- hand ia point of time. This IS a very useful parade for fencers of short stature, as they can sometimes get in their blade under their adversary's arm, after they have parried his thrust. The other parade is that of QUABTE. It is thus formed. On tlie approach of the point of an adver- sary's blade (and how these approaches are made I will presently explain), the right hand is moved a few inches — three or four will be enough — across the body on the inside; the hand being neither depressed nor raised, and the foil being kept on the same slope as in the Guard. This guards the body on the mside above the hand, but (and here comes an important law in fencing) the very movement which has guarded the body on one side has exposed it on the other: this is the case with all the simple parades. Suppose, now, that the exposed part outside above the hand were assailed, then the defence for it is the parade of TIERCE. It is formed by turning the hand with the nails downwards, and 204 ' EVERY boy's book. crossing to the opposite side some six or eight inches ; the hand and point at the same elevation as before : this will guard this opening. If, however, the attack had been made under instead of over the hand, then the proper parade would have been Seconde. There is another method of parrying, called Quartey over the arm, nrhich is executed by making almost the same parade as in^ierce, with this exception — ^first, the hand is retained in its original posi- tion, with the^nails upwards ; and, secondly, the point is not raised above the eye of the adversary. It is rather more delicate than tierce, but wants its power and energy. The Ripostes, or reply thrusts, are made, as they would have been had the parade been that of Tierce. FENCING. 20.") SECONDB is formed by turning the hand in the same position in which it was turned for Tierce, but the point of the foil slopes as much downwards as in Tierce it did upwards ; the direction and distance for the hand to traverse being the same. Again, had the attack been delivered at none of these, but at the inside under the hand, then the proper parade would have been DEMI-CERCLE, which, as its name expresses, is a half-circle, described by a sweep of the blade traversing the under line. Next comes the parade of 206 EVERY BOYS BOOK. OCTAVE. In this parade the hand is held as in Qnarte ; the hilt of the foil is kept lower than that of the opponent; the blade is almost horizontal, the point being only slightly lower than the hilt, and directed towards the body of the adversary. Octave is extremely useful when the fencer misses his parade of Demi-cercle, as there is but a short distance for the point to traverse, and it generally meets the blade of the adversary before the point can be properlv fixed. Moreover, it brings the point so near the adversary s body, that he will not venture to make another thrust until he has removed the foil. Thus I have enumerated, and partly explained, the forms and uses of these four parades : they are called Simple Parades, to distinguish them from another set of defensive movements, called CONTRE-PARADES. I have said and shown that a man standing foil in hand, in the Eosition of the guard, is exposed in four distinct places to thrusts •om an adversary within longing distance. I have also shown that he has a defence for each of these exposed places ; but if a man has but one defence for each assailable part, then his adversary, knowing beforehand what the defence must be, would be prepared "beforehand to deceive him. But if he has a reserve — if he has a second defence for each part, then the adversary camiot tell what the defence wiH be, until his attack, false or real, is begun. To meet this contingency, a second series of defences have been devised, which are of an entirely different nature from the SimpU Parades. FENCING. 207 A^aui, as each of the simple parades is framed to guard only one opemng, it was found desirable that the contre-parades should be of a more comprehensive character. They are therefore devised so that each is capaole of protecting the entire front. It is evident that this object could not oe attained without the sacrifice of quickness, because a larger space must be traversed, and therefore more time is occupied with a contre than a simple parade. To know one contre-parade is virtuaUy to know all, as they are all formed on the sanae plan. They are all full circles in the position of hand and direction of foil of the different simple parades ; or more clearly speaking, each simple parade has a contre-parade ; there are, therefore, four simple ana four contre-parades, wnich may be thus arranged : — Quarte Contre de Quarte. Tierce Contre de Tierce. Seconde Contre de Seconde. Demi-cercle Contre de Cercle. I have said that a contre-parade is a full circle in the position ol hand and direction of blade of its simple ; thus, contre de quarte is made by retaining the hand in the position of quarte, while the foil describes a circle descending on the inside, and returning by the outside to the place of its departure. So with all the others, the foil following the direction of the simple parade, of which it is the contre. These complete the entire system of defences, I now come to movements of an opposite nature, namely, the ATTACKS, and shall begin with the most simple of them. I will again suppose two adversaries standing, en guard, within longing distance of each other : now the most simple movement that the attacking party could make would be, THE STBAIGHT THRUST to the outside or inside, according to his line of engagement. I have, in describing the longe, in effect described the straight thnist ; it is but a longe m a straight line, taking care, however, to feel firmly the adversary's blade, but taking care also not to press or leau on it during the delivering of the thrust. .Next in character comes THE DISENGAGEMENT. This attack is made by dropping the point of the foil beneath the adversar^s blade, and raising it on the opposite side, at the same time, rising with the arm fully extended; on the completion of the extension the longe is made and the thrust delivered. 208 EVERY boy's book. THE ONE-TWO is but a double disengagement, the first being but a femt or faise attack, to induce the adversary to form a parade to cover the part threatened, for the covering of one part of the body exposes the opposite : the second disengagement is made to take advantage ol tms exposure. The arm is extended halfway on the first, and then wholly on the second, to be immediately followed by the longe. THE BEAT AND THRUST. This is another variety of attack. Supposing the adversary's blade to be firmly joined to yours, when you wished to deliver a straight thrusty there would then be danger of your falling upon his pomt. This danger is avoided by giving a slight beat on, his blade the instant preceding your extension of arm, of course to be followed en suite by the longe. The companion attack to this attack is THE BEAT AND DISENGAGEMENT. l^hQ'leat here takes the character of the first disengagement in one-twOy i.e. becomes d^ feint ^ and is intended to induce the adversary to return to the place he occupied when the beat was made. You then immediately pass to the opposite side of his blade in the manner described in the disengaaement. It will be seen that all these movements pass under the adversary's blade. However, there are certain situations in the assault, as a fencing bout is called, when an adversary is more assailable over the point than under the blade ; for this purpose there is what the French call the coupe sur peint, or CUT OVER THE POINT. It is thus made : By the action of the hand, and without drawing it back at all, the foil is raised and brought down on the opposite side of the adversar^s blade, the arm being extended during its fall to the horizontal position, on attaining which the longe is dekvered. CUT OVER AND DISENGAGEMENT is on the same principle as the one-two and the beat and disengage- ment. On the adversary opposing the first movement (the cut) with a parade, the second movement (the disengagement) is made to the opposite side, to be followed of course by the longe; the extension of the arm being divided between the two movements. These attacks are called simple attacks, because they may be parried by one or more simple parades, according to the number of movements in the attack. In fact, every attack can be parried, and every parade can be deceived: it is the additional movement last made which hits or guards. JTENCINQ. 209 Thus, you threaten by a disengagement to the outside; your adversary bars your way effectually by the parade of tierce; you make a second disengagement to the inside, which is now exposed from the very fact of the outside being guarded (for both lines of attack cannot be guardedat the same time), thus converting your attack into one-two; but if your adversary parries quarte on your second movement, your attack would be warded off. This can be carried much further, but the above will, I think, be sufficient to explain the nature of simple parades and attacks. To deceive a crow^re-parade, a separate movement, called a double^ DOUBLE, has been invented; it is very simple in principle, and admirably answers the purpose. For instance, if you were to threaten your adversary by a disengagement to the outside, and if, instead of tierce, he parried centre de quarte, the double is then made by vour making a second disengagement to the same side as the first, lor it will be found that his cojitre de quarte has replaced the blades in the positions they occupied previous to your disengagement. You will tnen have an opening, ana may finish the attack by the longe. As all the contre-parades are on the same plan and principle, so are all the doubles. Of course, it is understood that you will make all the movements of the double en suite, and without allowing your adversary's blade to overtake yours. ALL FEINTS. The foregoing movements having been well practised in the lesson, the next step is that of all feints and all parades, and may be prac- tised either with a master or feUow-pupil. The practice consists of one pupU standing on the defensive entirely, while another assumes the offensive, and attacks him with all the feints of which he is master, the other, of course, defending with all his parades. It is excellent practice, as it accustoms the pupil to think for himself gra- dually, he havinff thus but one set of movements to think about. He is therefore enabled to make them boldly, without having to encounter unknown movements from his adversary. It also enables him to see the extent of his resources, both for attack and defence. When he can both attack and defend with some presence of mind, he may then begin THE assault; that is, he may encounter an adversary, to attack or defend as occar sion presents. He is then left to his own resources entirely. Th& following 210 EVERY BOY'S BOOK. GENERAL ADYICE, given by a very eminent fencer and excellent teacher, cannot fail to be of use : — " Do not put yourself on the position of the guard within the reach of your adversary's thrust, especially at the time of dramng your sword. " If you are much inferior make no long assaults. "Do nothing that is useless ; every movement should tend to yOTtr advantage. "Let your movements be made as much within the line of your adversary's body as possible. "Endeavour both to discover your adversary's designs, and to conceal your own. "Two skilful men, acting together, fight more with their heads than their hands. " The smaller you can make the movements with yoar foil, the quicker will your point arrive at your adversary's body. "Do not endeavour to give many thrusts on the longe, thus running the risk of receiving one in tne interim. " If your adversary drops his foil by accident, or in consequence of a smart parade of yours, you should immediately pick it up, and pre- sent it to him politely. " Alwajs join blades (if possible) previously to another attack, after a hit is given." BROADSWORD. The principal distinction between the broadsword and the rapier is, that the latter is formed only for thrusting, while the former is adapted for cutting also. Indeed, those who use the broadsword are, in my opinion, too apt to neglect the ujse of the point, and to give their attention almost exclusively to the cuts. The first lesson in the sword exercise is necessarily to know how to stand. The learner should be instructed to perform the different movements by word of command, remembering to consider the first parts of the word as a caution, and not to stir until the last syllable is uttered. At the last syllable, the movement should be performed smartly. In giving the word, the instructor always makes a slight Sause, in order to give his pupils time to remember what they must 0, For example, the words Draw Swords, is given thus. Draw Swords — the word swords being spoken smartly, in order that the movement may correspond. iiivOADSVVOiil). 211 POSITIONS. First Position. — ^Make the target^ about fourteen inelies in diameter, and place it on tlie wall, having its centre about four feet from the ground. Draw a perpendicular line from the spot at the bottom of the target to the ground, and continue it on tlie floor, in order to ensure the proper position of the heels. The learner stands perfectly upright opposite the target, with his right side towards it, nis heels close together, his right toe pointing to the target, and bis left foot at right angles with the left. His arms must be clasped behind his back, his right palm supporting the left elbow, and his left hand grasping the right arm just above the elbow. In this position, he must bend both knees and sink down as far as possible. This will not be ver^ far at first, but he wiU soon sink down quite easily. See accompanying figure (1). Fig. 1. Fig. 2. Second Position. — ^This is accomplished by placing the right foot smartly in front, about sixteen or fourteen inches before the left. See (2). He must accustom himself to balance himself so perfectly on his left foot, that he can place the right either before or behind it, without losing his balance. Third Posiiivn. — The third position must then be learned. This consists in stepping well forward with the right foot, until the left knee is quite straight, and the right knee exactly perpendicularly placed over the right foot. Great care must be taken to keep the heels exactly in the same line, and the body perfectly upright. See Figure (3). (1) For target, see next page. 212 EVERY BOYS BOOK. FIgr.8. These preliminaries having been settled, the learner stands npright before the target, as in (1). A sword is then put into his hand, and the target is explained as follows : — TAEGET. The interior lines represent the cuts. Cut one being directed from No. 1 diagonally through the target, coming out at 4. Cut two is the same, only from left to right. Three is made upwards diagonally, and four is the same, only in the opposite direction. Gut five is horizon- tally through the target, from right to left, and six from left to right. BROADSWOBD. 213 Cut seven is perpendicularly downwards. Care must be takea that the cuts are fairlv given with the edge. The swords orawn on the target represent the guards. The seventh guard ou^ht, however, not to be made directly across, but must have the pomt directly rather forwards and downwards, as a cut 7 glides oJBF the blade, and can be instantly answered either by a thrust or by cut 1. The two dark circles represent the places where the thrusts take effect. The learner begins by taking the sword in his ri^ht hand, having its edge toward the target and its back resting on his shoulder. His right arm is bent at right angles, and the elbow against his side. The left hand must rest upon the hip, the thumb being to the rear. At the word — CUTS AND GUARDS. CUTS. Cut 1. — The young swordsman extends his right arm, and makes the cut clear through the target. When the point has cleared the target, continue the sweep of the sword, and by a turn of the wrist bring it with its back on the left shoulder, its edge towards the left. The arm is then ready for Cut 2. — ^Bring the sword from 2 to 3, continue the movement of the sword, and turn the wrist so that the point is below the right hip and the edge towards the ground. Cut 3. — Cut through the target diagonally, bringing the sword from No. 3 to No. 2, and bring the sword onwards, so that it rests with the edge downwards, and point below the left hip. At Cut 4. — Cut from 4 to 1, and brin^ the sword round until its point is over the right shoulder, and its ta^Q well to the right. 214 EVERY BOY S BOOK. Cut 5. — ^At the word Five, make a horizontal cut from 5 to 6, and sweep the sword round until it rests on the left shoulder, with its edge to the left, and its point well over the shoulder. Cut 6. — Cut horizontally through the target, from 6 to 5, and bring the sword over the head, with its edge upwards, and its poiat hanging over the back. From this position, — Cut 7. — Make a downward stroke until the sword reaches the centre of the target. Arrest it there, and remain with the arm extended, waiting for the word POINTS. First Toint. — ^Draw back the sword, until the right wrist is against the right temple, the edge of the sword being upwards. Make a slight pause, and then tmrust smartly forward towards the centre of the target, raising the right wrist as nigh as No. 1, and pressing the left shoulder well back. FIRST lOINT. 8ECOKD POINT. Second Point. — Tui-n the wrist round to the left, so that the edge comes upwards, draw the hand back until it rests on the breast, and give the point forwards, to the centre of the target, raising the hand as before. Third Point. — Give the handle of the sword a slight twist in the hand to the right, so that the edge again comes uppermost, and the guard rests against the back of the hand. Draw back the hand until it rests against the right hip, and deliver it forwards towards the spot at the bottom of the target, raising the wrist as high as the spot m the centre. The object in raising the wrist is to deceive the eye of the opponent, who wiU be more likely to notice the position of your wrist than of your point. In all the thrusts, the left shoulder BUOAU8WORD. 215 THIRD POIKT. sliould be rather brought forward before the point is given, and pressed well back while it is being deKvered. GUAUDS. Wait after the third point has been delivered for the word Defend. — ^At this word draw up the hand smartly, and form the first guard. Make the other guards in succession as they are named, while the instructor proves their accuracy by giving the correspond- ing cuts. The guards must be learned from the target, by placiag the sword in exactly the same position as those delineated. The guards are these : — A First guard. E Eifth. B Second. E Sixth. C Third. G Seventh. D Fourth. The two spots h and i mark the places towards which the pointi are made, H for the first and second point, i for the third. PAHRT. The parry or parade of a thrust is executed with the back of the sword. The firmest way of parrying is to hold the sword perpen- dicular, with its edge to the right and its hilt about the height of and close to the right shoulder; then, by sweeping the sword round from left to right, any thrust within its sweep is thrown vride of the bcdv. The parry is executed with the wrist and not with the arm, which must not move. 216 EVERY BOY'S BOOK. HAIIGING GTJABD. When tlie pupil is acquainted with both cuts and guards, he should learn the hanging guard, a most useful position, as it keeps the body well hidden under the sword, and at the same time leaves the sword in a ^ood position to strike or thrust. It is accomplished in the following way. Step out to the second position, as in Figure 3, raise the arm until the hand is just over the right foot, and as high as the head. The edge of the sword is up- wards, and the point is directed downwards and towards the left. The left shoulder is pressed rather forward, and the neck and chest drawn inward. In this position, the swordsman is in a position to receive or make an attack as he may think fit. It is rather fatiguing at first, owing to the unaccustomed position of the arm and head, but the fatigue is soon overcome, and then it wiU be found that there is no attitude which gives equal advantages. HANGING GUARD. There are two other modes of standing on guard, each possessing their^ peculiar advantages. These are, the inside and outside gu^ The inside guard is made as foUows : — INSIDE GUAM). stand in the second^ position, having the wrist of the right hand nearly as low as the waist, the hand bemg exactly over the right foot. The point of the sword is raised as high as the eyes, and the edge is turned inwards, as will be seen from the accompanying engraving. BllOADSWOl.D. 217 -^-^>'*»'fc*'' IM8IDE GUARD. OUTSIDE GUABD. The outside guard is fonned in the same manner as the inside, with the exception that the edge of the sword is turned well outwards. OUTBIDS GUARD. To get to the hanging guard, the words are given as follows : — inside guard — outside guard — guard. A,TTACK AND DEFENCE. The swordsman having learned thus far, is taught to combine the 218 EVERY BOYS BOOK. three movements of striking, thrusting, and guarding, by the follow- ing exercise : — 1. Inside Guard. 2. Outside Guard. 3. Guard. 4. Cut One. 6. First Guard. 6. Cut Two. 7. Second Guard. 8. Cut Three. 9. Third Guard. 10. Cut Four. 11. Fourth Guard. 12. Cut Five. 13. Fifth Guard. 14. Cut Six. 15. Sixth Guard. 16. Cut Seven. 17. Seventh Guard. 18. First Point. [Prepare for the point in First Posi- tion.] Two [Thrust in Third Position.] 19. Second Point. [Pre- pare for it in First Position.] Two. [Thrust in Third Posi- tion.] 20. Third Point. [Pre- pare.] Two. [Thrust.] 21. Parry. [Prepare to parry in First Position.] Two. [Parry.] 22. Guard. Tlie young swordsman must remember that in this, as in all the exercises, the cuts and points must be given in the third position, as in the accompanying illustration, which shows the swordsman just as he has delivered the seventh cut, and is waiting for the next word before he resumes the first position. SEVENTH CUT. The guards, on the contrary, are given in the first position, as is seen in the figure on p. 605, which illustrates the seventh guard. These exercises are always learned with the single-stick, or basket- hilted cudgel, in order to avoid the dangers which would be inevitable if the sword were used. But as the single-stick is only an imitation of the sword, I will ^ve the method of getting the sword out of the sheath into any position required. DRAW SWOUDS. The first word of command is drato swords. At the word dratOt seize the sheath just below the hUt, with the left hand, and raise the hilt as high as the hip, at the same time grasping the hQt with the right hand, turning the edge of the sword to the rear, and drawing it partially from the sheath, to ensure its easy removal. BROADSWORD. 219 8ETENTH GUARD. At the word swoids, draw the blade smartly out of the scabbard, throwing the point upwards, at the full extent of the arm, the edge being still to the rear. RECOYEK SWORDS. ~ The wrist is now smartly lowered until it is level with the chin, the blade upright, and the edge to the left. This is the position of recover swords. The elbow must be kept close to the body, as in the cut. CARRY SWORDS. The wrist is now sharply lowered until the arm hangs at its full length, the wrist being in the line with the hip, the edge of the sword to the front, and its back resting in the hollow of the shoulder, the lingers lightfy holding the hilt. The left hand hangs at the side until the word inside guard, when it is placed on the left hip. SLOPE SWORDS. At the word swords, raise the right hand smartly, until it forms a right angle at the elbow. RETURN SWORDS. At the word, raise the blade until it is perpendicular, move the h£t to the hollow of the left shoulder, drop the pomt of the sword into the scabbard, (which has been grasped by the left hand and slightly raiaed,) RECOTEB, BWOKDS. 220 EVERY BOY S BOOK. at the same time tuniing the edge to the rear. Pause an instant, and send the sword smartly into the sheath, removing both hands as the hilt strikes against the mouth of the scabbard : drop them to the side, with the palms outwards, and stand in the first position. PBACTICES. There are many exercises with the broadsword, called Practices. I have ^ven one of them, which is to be practised alone ; but when the pupil has attained some confidence in the use of his weapon, he must be placed opposite another pupil, and they must go tnrough them, each taking the attack and defence in turn. The young swordsman must be provided with a very stout wire mask, which defends the face and part of the neck, and which should be worked in a kind of helmet above, to guard against the disastrous consequences of receiving the seventh guard. No practices, loose or otherwise, should be permitted without the masks, as neither party would be able to cut or thrust with proper confidence. SECOND PILA.CTICB. This is very useful in teaching the point and parry, as well as giving steadiness on the feet. Two boys are placed opposite each other, at just such a distance, that when perfectly erect the^ can touch the hilt of their adversary's sword with the point of their own. The one who gives the first point is called Front Rank, (there may be a dozen in each rank, each having tried the distance to his right by extending his sword,) and the one who gives first parry is called Rear Rank. WORD OF COUMAND. FRONT RAKK. REAR RANK. Guard. Hanging Guard. Hanging Guard. Third Point. Prepare to give Third Point. Prepare to Parry. SGive Third Point, and •when^ parried spring back to First I Parry Third Point, and pre- position, and prepare to ( pare to give Third Point, parry. ) p . X (Parry Third Point, and pre-\ Give Third Point, and pre- ^ • \ pare for Third Point. J pare to Parry. Point, &c. &c. This should be continued until both are weary. Both swordsmen should learn to do it more rapidly every time they practise. Next time of going through it, front rank and rear rank change places, as they must do in all the practices. THIRD PRACTICE. WORD OF COMMAND. FRONT RANK. REAR RANK. Guard. Hanging Guard. Hanging Guard. Leg. Cut Four. Cut Seven. Inside Guard. Inside Guard. Inside Guard. Leg. Cut Six [at Leg]. Cut Six [at Neck]. Outside Guard. Outside Guard. Outside Guard. Leg. Cut Five [at Leg]. Cut Five [at Neck]. Guard. Hanging Guard, Hanging Guard. Slope Swords. SJope Swords. Slope Swords. In this and the other practices, the cuts must be delivered in the .iVERSiTY ) BROADSWORD. 221 third position, and the guards in the first. In the third and fourth practices, the cuts must be given lightly, as many of them are not mtended to be guarded, but merely to show the powers of the sword in various positions. rOUBTH PBACTICE. WORD OF COMMAND. FRONT RANK. REAR RANK. Guard. Hanging Guard, flanging Guard. Head. Seventh Cut. Seventh Guard. Head. Seventh Guard. Cut Seven. Leg. Fourth Cut. Seventh Guard. Leg. Seventh Guard. Fourth Cut. Head. Seventh Cut. Seventh Guard. Head. Seventh Guard. Seventh Cut. Guard. Hanging Guard. Hanging Guard. Slope Swords. Slope Swords. Slope Swords. In this and the preceding exercise, the power of shifting the leg is shown. If two swordsmen attack each other, and No. 1 strikes at the leg of No. 2, it will be better for No. 2 not to oppose the cut by the third or fourth guard, but to draw back the leg smartly, and cut six or seven at the adversary's head or neck. In loose play, as it is called, i.e. when two parties engage with swords without following any word of command, but strike and guard as they can, both players stand ia the second position, because they can either advance or retreat as they choose, and can longe out to the third position for a thrust or a cut, or spring up to the first position for a guard with equal ease. It is often a kind of trap, to put the right leg more forward than usual, in order to induce the adversary to make a cut at it. When he does so, the leg is drawn back, the stroke passes harmless, and the de- ceived striker gets the stick of his opponent on his head or shoulders. We now come to a very complicated exercise, called the FIFTH PKACTICE. FRONT RANK. Draw Swords. Inside Guard. Outside Guard. Hanging Guard. Seventh Cut. Seventh Guard. Second Cut [at Arm]. Seventh Guard. Seventh Cut. Second Guard. Seventh Cut. Seventh Guard. Sixth Cut. Seventh Guard. Seventh Cut Sixth Guard. Hanging Guard. This practice is capital exercise, and looks very imposing. AH these practices ought to be so familiar, that the words of command are not needed, the only word required being First, Second, or Third Practices, as the case may be. WORD OF COMMAND. Draw Swords. Inside Guard. Outside Guard. Guard. Head. ; Head. Arm. ' Head.' Head. ' Arm. Head. ' Head. Right Side. Head. Head. Right Side. Guard. REAR RANK. Draw Swords. Inside Guard. Outside Guard. Hanging Guard. Seventh Guard. Seventh Cut. Second Guard. Seventh Cut. Seventh Guard. Second Cut [at Arm]. Seventh Guard. Seventh Cut. Sixth Guard. Seventh Cut. Seventh Guard. Sixth Cut. Hanging Guard. 222 EVERY boy's book. I remember once, ttat two of my pupils had attained sacli a mastery of their weapons, that we used often to go through the practices with real swords. On one occasion, we were acting a charade, and my eldest pupil and myself were enacting the part of two distinguished foreigners (country unknown) who were to get up a fight. So we began by a Jittle quarrel, and finally drew our swords and set hard to work at the fifth practice, which we could do with extreme rapidity, and without the use of words of command. The spectators were horrified, and the ladies greatly alarmed; for there seems to be no particular order in that practice, and an inexperienced eye would certainly fancy that the combatants were in earnest. PORT AND PEEBLE. The half of the sword blade next the hilt is called the "fort," because it is the strongest place on which the cut of an adversary can be received. Always parry and guard with the fort of your sword, as, if you try to guard a cut with the " feeble," which is the remaining haft of the blade, your guard will be forced, and the cut take effect. DRAWING CUT. The drawing cut'^is made best with a curved sword, and is exe- cuted by placing the edge of the sword on the object, and drawing it over it until it is severed. A good large mangel worzel is capital practice. Place the root loose on a table, stand at arm's length from it, ky the edge of the sword lightly on it, and shoe the root by rejjeatedly drawing the sword over it. This is very difficult, although it looks easy enough, and is sure to jar the arm from the wrist to the shoulder the first time or two, while the sword glides off as if the root were cased in polished steel. However, a Httle practice will soon overcome the difficulty. This cut is much in use among the Sikhs. GENERAL ADVICE. Never look at your own sword, but watch the eye and sword wrist of your opponent. Remember that the great point in this exercise, as in fencing, is to gain time. Endeavour, therefore, to advance your point nearer your adversary than his is to you. Begin the assault out of distance, so that neither party can com- plain of being taken by surprise. If the two parties exchange a cut or a thrust at the same moraent, the one who gave his cut or thrust in the third position is victorious. When a cut or thrust is made, the one who receives it passes his sword, i.e. stick, into his left hand, and his opponent comes to inside guard, i Always spring back to the second position after delivering a cut or thrust. Keep the line of direction carefully, or you will leave an open space for the adversary to get his sword into. Last and most important, Don't lose your temper. '' 1- '■■ 7 r FIVES. It is impossible to play at this excellent game unless there be a high wall, free from abutments, and a smooth, dry, paved ground before it. When this can be procured, a line is drawn on the waU, about 38 inches from the ground ; another line is drawn on the ground, about 10 feet from the wall, a ; and two others are drawn on each side as boundaries, b c. The instruments used in the play are a ball of tightly-sewn leather and a fives-bat. It has a long handle, and an oval bowl of wood. The ball is hard, rebounding, small, and white. The game may be played by two or four people ; in the last case, two on each side. The method of play is as follows : — The game may be played either single-handed or with partners. "When it is played with partners, the players toss up for innings. The first player takes the ball, and strikes it against the wall with his bat above the line on the wall, and so that it may fall without the line on the ground. The other then strikes it, and the players continue to hit it against the wall, either before it comes to the ground or at the first bounce, until one of them missing it, or driving it out of bounds, or beneath the wall-line, loses or goes out. Of course the ball may fall anywhere within the side boundaries, after being once struck up by the player who is in. The game is usually fifteen, but is_ some- times extended to twenty-five. The game above described is that known as bat-fives, and differs little from the game of rackets, except that it may be played in any open court, and that a differently-shaped bat and a larger ball are employed. Fives was originally played with the hand, instead of a racket, and in the fourteenth century was called Hand Tennis in England, and in France, Palm Play. It is said to have obtained the name of Fives, from ten of the Earl of Hertford's servants having played before Queen Elizabeth, five of a 224 EVERT boy's. BOOK. side ; but more probably on account of the five fingers of the hand. This game of " hand-fives " is the one ordinarily played by boys, and known technically as "fives." The ball is hit against the wall entirely by the hand, and no bat of any description is used. The fame may be played by two or more people, and is usually fifteen, layers with tender hands usually play with an ordinary kid or padded glove, either of which is quite admissible. There are variations of the game at different schools, owing to peculiarities in the shape of the courts. At Eton, for instance, a buttress of the chapel abuts into the court, and the Eton courts at Oxford are made on a similar plan. But the game as ordinarily played is that as described above. FOOT-BALL. Uncertain as to the date of its origin, there is no English game which is at once so popular and about which so much difi'erence of opinion exists. AH agree as to its manly character, its capabiHties for endurance, activity, hardihood, and strategical skUl, but there are very few who agree entirely as to the rules by which the game should be played. In ancient records there is no mention of the game before the reign of Edward III. ; and at that period it seems to have been so popular that by royal edict it was put down, as being antagonistic to the royal amusement of archery. But that it flourished, and flourished considerably, beyond that date, there is no doubt. In many market-towns of England and Scotland, and notably in that of Kingston-on-Thames, all business is suspended on Shrove Tuesday, and a great game of foot-ball is played in the market-place. All is officially conducted, and the mayor is honoured with the privilege of "kick-off." It would seem a pity at first sight that there is no authority like that of the Marylebone Club to revise the laws of foot-ball and insist upon their being observed in all places where the game is played. Eoot-ball as now constituted is not, and cannot be, a national game. There are hardly two schools in England that a^ee in its first principles, and that are not continually wrangling and disputing as to how the game should be played. To touch the ball with the hands is in some eyes a heresy, and in others an uncommon virtue. Some schools advocate running with the ball, while others consider suchhcence as antagonistic to the proper principles and well-being of the game. And, indeed, looking round at the various head- quarters of foot-ball in England, it really does seem a difficult matter to reconcile the games as now played so as to suit all tastes. Kugby and Eton foot-bSl can hardly be looked upon as the same game. POOT-BALL. 225 We have one set of people advocating the employment of only eleven, or at most twenty, players on a side, and another maintaining that a hundred or so on a side matters Uttle. We have one school playing the game against a brick wall, another using boundaries of canvas, another dashing the baU about in narrow cloisters, and another marshalling a little army of players, with regularly organized back and forward players, reserve forces, vanguard, scouts, runners, all of whom have their direct influence on the fate and fortunes of the game. The great essentials for foot-ball are pluck, endurance, and good temper. Half the disputes at foot-ball which are ascribed to " hack- ing" and "shinning" would not have occurred had good temper been observed. No one "hacks" or "shins" wilfully, except he loses his temper ; and a player in foot-ball, as in other games, who cannot keep his temper is unfit in every way to enjoy the game. As a match at foot-ball is now made, two parties, containing anv number of competitors, take the field, and, having tossed up for sides, stand between two goals, placed at a distance of some eighty yards apart. The party that loses the toss has the privilege of " kick-off." The goal IS marked by two upright poles, driven into the ground about ten yards apart. The ball, which used formerly to be made of a blown bladder, is now made of an inflated vulcanized india-rubber case, inclosed again in a case of laced and well-sewn leather. The object of each party is to drive the ball through the goal of their antagonists. The skill of the players is best employed in attacking and defending the goals. In the game of football the fewer the rules, and the simpler those rules are, the better. The great " bone of contention " with lovers of the game is, as to whether players should be allowed to touch tlie ball with their hands or not. Eton and Westminster players will be arguing for ever that the game is foot-ball, and not hand-hail; while Rugbseans, on the other hand, will contend that without the use of the hands as well as the feet the game is robbed of one of its prin- cipal charms. In the following rules a medium course is advocated, as, while nothing looks so bad as to see a lazy or inactive player, who does not care to follow the ball, playing fives with it whenever it comes within his reach, it would be equally absurd to stop a player who catches the ball fairly either on the fuU or first bound from running a yard or so with it in his hands, in order to allow him to get up tlie necessary impetus for a strong drop-kick. With regard also to " off-side," [at is essentially necessary that some clear and definite rules should be laid down. What can possibly look worse than to see a player, again one of those who are too indolent to " follow UT) " the ball, cooUy stand in the middle of the course, or, worse still, at the very door of his neighbour's goal, waiting until the ball is kicked up to him, in order that he, fresh and full of wind as he is, may follow it in to the goal ? It is hoped that the Q 226 EVERT boy's book. following rules may give general satisfaction, and prevent disputes and obstacles : — 1. A goal may be obtained by a fair full kick or drop-kick off the hand, provided the ball goes over the bar which runs between the goal-posts ; or a goal may be obtained by a fair foot-ball " bulley," which sends the ball through all obstacles anywhere between the posts. 2. The foot-baU course must be marked by side boundaries. When the ball is kicked outside these boundaries, a player of either side may kick it into the course again in a straight line from where it went out. 3. A player who shall not have been behind the last player on his own side who kicked the ball shall be considered " off his side." 4. No player who shall be " off his side " shall be allowed to kick the baU until it shall have touched one of the opposite side, when he becomes on his side again, and may join in the game. 5. A player who obtains a fair catch of the ball, either full or on the first bound, may take a short run, in order to obtain a " drop- kick," or may kick it at once full off his hands. 6. Any player of the opposite side may use his best endeavours to prevent a arop or full kick after a fair catch. 7. No "holding" must be allowed at any period of the game. 8. No "shinning" or "hacking" is to be allowed. 9. At the commencement of the game the captains of each side shall determine mutually how long the game is to last. 10. At the end of the time, no matter in what position the game is, one of the captains shall cry "no game," and the game shall immediately cease. GOLFING. Golfing is played with a club and ball. The club is from three tc four feet long, according to the height and length of arm of the player. It is curved and massive towards the end, to give strength ana weight. This knob is formed for strength from some very tough wood, as beech, and as it curves and proceeds upwards is planed off, so as to adapt itself to the handle, to which it is partly glued and tightly corded dovm. A want of due attention to these particulars in the making of it will render the head Hable to spht and fly off by either a very hard or indirect stroke. The face of the club is further secured by a piece of hard bone, and occasionally of ivory, at least half an inch thick. It is also loaded with from four to six ounces of lead, according to the will of the player. The handle is usually bound vrith cord, list, or velvet, at the pleasure of the owner. It is, however, to be remembered, that the form of the club, the material? of which it is made, and the numbers taken to the golfing ground, vary considerably, according to the circumstances and habits of the J GOLFING. 227 players, the attendant cad or caddie having usually many varieties, to suit every peculiarity under which the ball may be placed ; for in many clubs it can never be touched bv the hand untU holed. The golf ball is about the size of an t%^^ and is made very hard. It is composed of stout leather, which, having been previously soaked in boiling water, allows of its being first very firmly sewed, and then turned inside out, leaving a small opening only, by which it is very forcibly stulfed with feathers. The leather being yet wet, it contracts into a ball of the dimensions stated, but never gets circular, as that used in the game of cricket. It is afterwards painted over with several coats of white paint; in doing which it is requisite that the lead used should be very pure and exceedingly well ground down, as well as that each coat laid on should be perfectly dry and hard before another is apphed. The game is played by two or more persons, so that there be an equal number on each side ; but only two balls are used, one belonging to each party, each party also striking in turn : but if the last striker does not drive his ball as far as that of his opponent, one of his party must then strike one, or perhaps two more, and the game is thus marked by calling out one, two, or three more, as the case may be. If more than two are playing, the same person does not strike twice in succession : a miss is considered one. The party who puts the baU into the hole in the fewest strokes wins the game. The grounds used for this sport vary in different parts of Scotland. Some are nearly square, in which case a hole is made in eacTi corner; but if it be irregdar in figure, it is not uncommon to place one at each angle, so that the party shall traverse the whole surface, and finish at the spot from whence he started ; a quarter of a mile being usually allowed between each hole. Besides the stick, or club, already described, there are others, usually carried by an attendant for each party. These are called, by way of distinction, putters — of which, however, there are several sorts, one being short, stiff, and heavy, simOar in figure, but longer on the head, for making a steady and direct stroke when near the hole. Another, formed of iron, instead of wood, is used for making a hit at a ball when very unfavourably placed, as in a rut, where the common club would be in danger of breaking. When a ball falls into a hole or rut, from which it is impossible to strike it out, the party is allowed, by a special agreement, in some clubs, to take it out with his hand, and throw it up in a line with the spot, which is accounted as one, and he then strikes from where it choices to rest; but, as already observed, this indulgence does not extend to every Golfing Society. GYMNASTICS. INTRODUCTION. The study of Gymnastics is of the utmost impoiiance to young persons, as its object is to call into exercise, and to train to perfec- tion, all the corporeal or bodily powers. It is the education of the limbs, joints, and muscles ; and includes not only the systematic training of these, but also assists the sciences oi riding, driving, wrestling, rowing, sailing, skating, swimming, &c. In the following gymnastic exercises we have determined to intro- duce only those more simple and useful feats which may be said to make up the " Alphabet of the Science," and all the individual and progressive exercises are susceptible of being everywhere introduced. Thev may be j)erformed in very small spaces, and require no par- ticular p^reparation, expense, or place. By attention to the directions any pupil between the a^es of twelve and sixteen may train and exer- cise himself, and a number of other children younger than liimself ; and this excellent study may thus become a source of amusement and delight. u H < 1^ The firsi " J GYMNASTICS. 229 HISTORICAL MEMORANDA. The first gymnasium is said to have been established at Sparta, and some years afterwards at Athens. In the former city the exer- cises partook of a rude miUtary character ; but among the Athenians, who were always disposed to mingle the elements of the beautiful in whatever they undertook, gymnastics were refined, and the Gymnasia became temples of the Graces. In each there was a place called Palaestra, in which wrestUng, boxing, running, leaping, throwing the discus, and other exercises of the kind were taught. Gymnastics were afterwards divided into two principal branches — the Falastr^y taking its name from the PaJsestra, and the Orchesirce. The former embraced the whole class of athletic exercises; the latter dancing, and the art of gesticulation and declamation. The Gymnasia were spacious edifices, surrounded by gardens and a sacred grove. Their principal parts were : 1. The Portices, fur- nished with seats and side buildings, where the youths met to con- verse. 2. The Ephebeion, that part of the edifice where the youth alone exercised. 3. The Apodyterion, or undressing room to the Conisterium, or small court in which was kept the yellow kind of sand sprinkled by the wrestlers over their bodies after being anointed with the aroma, or od tempered with wax. 5. The Palaes- tra properly was the place for wrestling. 6. Tho Sphaeristerium, where the game of ball was played. 7. Ahterium, where the wrestlers anointed themselves with oil. 8. The Area or great court, where running, leaping, and pitchmg the quoit were performed. 9. The Xysta, open walks in which the youths exercised themselves in running. 10. The Balanea, or baths. Behind the Xysta lay the Stadium, which, as its name imports, was the eighth of a mile in length; and in this were performed all sorts of exercises, in the pi-esence of large numbers of persons and the chiefs of the state. To all these branches of gymnastics the Grecian youth applied themselves with pecuhar eagerness, and on quitting the schools devoted to them a particular portion of their time, since they regarded them as a preparation for victory in the Olympic and other games, and as the best possible means for promoting health and ripening the physical powers ; nor could anything be better adapted for those whose heroism was liberty, and whose first great aims were to be good citizens and the defenders of their country. The Romans never made gymnastics a national matter, but con- sidered them merely as preparatory to the military service; and, though forming a part of the exhibitions at festivals, th^y were practised only by a particular class trained for brutal entertainments, at which large bets were laid by the spectators, as is still the custom on our own racecourse : but when all the acquisitions of the human intellect were lost in the utter corruption of the Eoman empire and the irruptions of wandering nations, the gymnastic art perished. 230 EVERY boy's book. MODERN GYMNASTICS. The commencement of tournaments during the Dark Ages in some degree revived athletic exercises ; but the invention of gunpowder, the use of the small sword, the rifle, and scientific tactics, by which battles were gained more by skill than force, kept down the training of the body for athletic feats. But in the last century, when men broke loose from the yoke of authority, and education began to be studied, it was found that physical education had been forgotten. SaJzmann, a German clergyman, invented a system of physical exer- cises, principally confined to running, leaping, swimming, climbing, and balancing ; and at the commencement of the present century a German of the name of Volker established the first gymnasium in London, while Captain Clias, a Swiss, established one in the Royal MiUtary Asylum; and since then many of the best schools and colleges have a gymnasium attached to their estabhshments. It generally happens that the pupils of a gymnasium, after a time, lose their interest in the exercises. The reason of this appears to be that little or no difierence is made in the exercises of different ages, and it is natural that an exercise repeated for years should become wearisome. Gymnastics, therefore, when they are taught, should be divided into two courses. In the first course we would include walking and pedestrian excursions, elementary exercises of various tests, running, leaping in height, in length, in depth, leaping with a pole (in length and height), vaulting, oalancing, exercises on the single and parallel bars, climbing, throwing, dragging, pushing, lift- ing, carrying, wrestling, jumping (1. with the hoop; 2. with the rope), exercises with the dumb bells, various gymnastic feats or games ; and, lastly, swimming, skating, fencing, riding on horseback, rowing, &c. Gymnastic exercises may be begun by a boy of about eight years of age, or may be commenced at any age ; but in all cases he should begin gently, and proceed gradually, without any abrapt transitions. They should be commenced before breakfast in the mormng, or before dinner or supper ; but never immediately after meals : and the pupil should be very careful, after becoming heated by exercises, of draughts or cold, and especially refrain from lying on the damp ground, or from standing without his coat or other garments ; and rigidly guard against the dangerous practice of drinking cold water, which, in many instances, has been known to produce immediate death. WALKING. In all gymnastic exercises walking, running, and jumping deserve the preference, because they are the most natural movements of man, and those which he has most frequent occasion to use. This exercise, within the reach of everybody, ought to be placed among the number GYMNASTICS. 231 of tliose which are direct conservators of health, and which have the most important beneficial effects upon our mental and moral economy. Walking provokes appetite, assists digestion, accelerates the circula- tion, brings the fluids to the skin, strengthens the memory, and gives cheerfulness to the mind, and in fatiguing the limbs gives repose to the senses and the brain. It might be supposed that every one knows how to walk : not so, however : some persons crawl, some hobble, some shuffle along. Eew have the graceful noble movement that ought to belong to progression, or, however well formed, preserve a really erect position and an air of becoming confidence and dignity. To teach walking — that is to say, to teach young persons to walk properly — we should advise a class of them to unite, that they may be able to teach them- selves, which they may readily do if they follow the instructions given below. A company of boys being formed, the eldest, or the one best adapted to the task, should act as captain, and at the word of command, " Fall in," all the boys are to advance on the same line, preserving between each the distance of about an arm's length. At the word " Dress " each boy places his right hand on the left shoulder of the next, extending his arm at full length, and turning his head to the right. At the word "Attention" the arms fall down by the side, and the head returns to the first position. The captain should now place his little regiment in the following manner : — 1. The head up. 2. The shoulders back. 3. The body erect. 4. The stomach in. 5. The knees straight, the heels on the same line. 6. The toes turned very slightly outwards. The captain now stands before his men, and advancing his left foot, his knee straight, and his toe inclined towards the ground, he counts one, two, placing his boot on the ground, the toe before the heel ; he then directs Lis pupils to obey him, and to follow his motions, and says, " March," when each foot is advanced simultaneously, till he gives the word " Halt." He then makes them advance, wheel to the right and left, in slow time, quick time, always observing the position of the body, and requiring that they move ail together. THE TIP-TOE MAECH. This movement is preparatory to ruiming and jumping. The boys being in line, the word " On tip-toes " is given : each boy places his hands on his sides, and waits for the word, " Rise ; " when they all gently raise themselves on their toes, joining their heels together, and keeping the knees straight, remain in this position till the word " Rest " is given, when they fall back slightly on their heels, their hands at the same time falling down by their sides. Pro- ceeding in this manner through a few courses, with such changes as may present themselves, the pupils will soon acquire a habit of 232 EVERY boy's book. graceful walking, of the highest importance to every one who studies a gentlemanly bearing. EUNNING. Running is both useful and natural ; it favours the development of the chest, dilates the lungs, and, when moderate, is a highly salutary exercise. To run fast and gracefully one should as it were graze the ground with the feet, by keeping the legs as straight as possible whilst moving them forward. During the course the upper part of the body is inclined a little forward, the arms are as it were glued to the sides, and turned in at the point of the hips, the hands shut, and the nails turned inwards. The faults in running are swinging the arms, raising the legs too high behind, taking too large strides, bending the knees too much, and in not properly managing their wind. In all running exercises the young should begin gradually, and never run themselves out of breath at any time. Bv careful practice a boy may soon acquire the power of running a mile in ten minutes ; this is called moderate running : in what is called prompt running a thousand yards in two minutes is thought very good work, and in quick running 600 yards in a minute is considered good. The first distance that children, from eight to ten years of age, may be made to run is about 200 yards ; the second, for those more advanced, 300 yards ; and the tiiird, for adults, 400 yards. It is however most essential, that in running boys should not over-tax their strength or *' wind." We are not all constituted alike, and a boy who could last for 200 yards or so might injure himself considerably by racing for a mile. JTJMPING. Of all the corporeal exercises jumping is one of the most useful ; and during our lives very many instances occur of a good jump having done us essential service. To jump with grace and assurance one should always fall on the toes, taking care especially to bend the knees on the hips : the upper part of the body should be inclined forwards, and the arms extended towards the ground. The hands should serve to break the fall when jumping from a great height. In jumping we should hold the breath and never alight on the heels. Boys should exercise themselves in jumping, by jumping in length, and jumping from a height, with attention to the above cautions. They may make progressive exercises in lenath by varying the distance from time to time, and in height by jumping from a flight of stairs or steps, increasing a step at a time: thev will soon be able to jump in length three yards, and from a height six feet, without injury. GYMNASTICS. 233 LEAPING. Leaping is somewhat different to what is called jumping, as the object is to pass over an obstacle ; and, as in iumning, it is of great importance to draw in the breath, while the nands should be shut, the arms pendent, to operate after the manner of a fly-wheel or pen- dulum. It may be practised by a leaping stand, which can be easily made of two sticks or stakes sunk in the ground, in which little catches are made at various distances, on which an even piece may be laid, that may readily be knocked over, so as to offer no resistance to the jumper, and injure him by an ugly fall. The principal exercises in leaping are: — 1. The high leap without a run. 2. The high leap with a run. 3. The long leap vdthout a run. 4. And the long leap with a run. In the first of these the legs and feet are closed, the knees are bent till the calves nearly touch the thighs, and the arms are thrown in the direction of the leap, which increases the impulse. This leap may be practised at the following progressive heights, — eighteen inches, twenty-four inches, thirty-two inches, forty-eight inches, which last is perhaps what few lads would attain. The high leap with a run. — The run should never exceed twelve paces, the distance between the point of springing and the obstacle to leap over to be about three-lifths the height of the obstacle from the ground; and in making it the leaner should go fairly and straightly over without veering to the side, and descend on the ball of the foot just beyond the toes. The heights that may be cleared by the run- ning leap vary from three to six feet. A good leaper of sixteen years old ought to leap four feet six inches, and an extraordinarily good leaper five feet. Adults weU trained will leap six, and some have been known to leap seven feet. The long leap without a run. — The long leap may be marked out from four to eight feet, according to the agility and strength of the leaper ; and the object to be cleared, a small block of wood, which should in this kind of leap be never more than six inches high, placed midway. In leaping the body is bent forward, the feet are closed, the arms first sway forwards, then backwards, and then forwards at the moment of taking the leap. In this kind of leap ten or twelve feet is considered good work. The long leap with a run. — The run should be on firm level ground. The body should be incHned forward, and the run consist of about twelve paces, a small block of wood, as before, being placed mid dis- tance in the leap. The spring should be principally on the right foot, and the arms should be thrown forwards at the time of the leap. In descending, if the leap be a very long one, the leaper should descend principally upon his toes ; if the leap be iiot very long, he may descend on the balls of the toes. The leap is considered good if fifteen feet be cleared, but twenty may be done by a good leaper, and one or two individuals have fairly reached twenty-three feet. 234: EVERY boy's book. Vaulting. — Vaulting is performed by springing over some stationary body, such as a gate or bar, by the aid of the hands, which bear upon it. To perform it, the vaulter may approach the bar "v^ith a sHght run, and placing his hands upon it, heave himself up and throw his legs obliquely over it. The legs should be kept close together : while the body is in suspension over the bar, the right hand supports and guides it, while the left is free. The vaulter may commence this exercise with a bar or a stile three feet high, and extend it gradually to six feet. Leapi7ig with a Fole. — A great variety of leaps may be practised with a pole, which should be of a sufficient length, and shod at one end with iron, so as to take hold of the ground. The leaper should grasp with his right hand that part of the pole a Httle below the level of his head, and with his left that part of it just below the level of his hips ; he should then make a slight run, and, placing the pole on the ground, take a spring forward, and swing himself sHghtly round, so that when he alights the fall may be brought towards the place from which he rose. The pole is also employed in both long and deep leaps. In both of these the mode of holding the pole is similar ; but in leaping from a height the pole should be grasped at the level of the knee, and then the leaper, with a sHght circular swing, should descend on the balls of his toes. TO CLIMB UP A BOAHD. This should be firmly fixed at an angle of thirty degrees. The climber should seize both sides with liis hands, and place his feet in the middle on the soles. This ^ill teach him to hold firm by his hands, and to cling with his feet. As the climber gets used to this exercise, the angle of the board may be increased. The young gymnast can ascend when the plank is perfectly perpendicular. A pole may be mounted in the same manner. CLIMBING THE POLE. The pole should be about nine inches in diameter, and firmly fixed in the ground in a perpendicular position. In mounting, the pole is to be grasped firmly with both hands, the right above the left. The legs are alternately to grasp the pole in the ascent by means of the great toe, which is turned towards the pole. In descending, the friction is to be thrown on the inner part of the thighs, and the hands are left comparatively free. Climbing the mast is similar to cHmbing the pole ; but in this exercise the cHuiber is unable to grasp it with his hands, but holds it in his arms : the position of the legs is the same as for the pole. GYMNASTICS. 235 CLIMBING THE ROPE. In climbing the rope, it is firmly grasped by the hands, which are placed one above the other, and so moved alternately. The heels are crossed over the rope, which is held fast by their pressure, the body being supported principally by them. In the sailor's method the rope passes from the hands round the inside of the thigh, under the knee-joint, over the outside of the leg, and across the instep. But the enterprising gymnast will not be satisfied until he can climb the rope by his hands only, allowing the rest of his body to hang freely suspended. CLIMBING TREES. In cHmbing trees the hands, and feet, and knees, are all to be used ; but the climber should never forget that it is to the hands that he has to trust. He should carefully look upwards and select the branches for his hands, and the knobs and other excrescences of the trees for his feet. He should also mark the best openings for the advance of his body. He should also be particularly cautious in laying hold of withered branches, or those that have suffered decay at their junction with the body of the tree, in consequence of the growth of moss, or through the effects of wet. In descending, he should be more cautious than in ascending, and hold fast by his hands. He should rarely sHde down by a branch to the ground, as distances are very ill-calculated from the branches of a tree. THE GIANT STRIDE, OR FLYING STEPS, AND ITS CAPABILITIES. The valuable and invigorating apparatus which is called the Giant Stride in some places, and the Flying Steps in others, is to be found in many schools where an inclosed open-air playground can be secured. Excepting on a few occasions, or when the charm of novelty induces the boys to exercise, it is seldom in much favour, and is usually seen idle, with the ironwork rusting, the beam rotting, and the ropes yielding to exposure. In fact, it really seems as if the masters and teachers were doing their best to weaken their apparatus, and to cause a severe accident whenever it breaks down, as such is always the case, sooner or later. The rusty iron gives way to a harder pull than usual, the ropes snap, or the upright post breaks off level with the ground, and falls with dreadful force. We knew of a boy being killed by such an accident, and in consequence the parents of the other pupils laid the blame on the Giant Stride itself, instead of on those who allowed it to get into such a state of decay. Boys, too, soon get tired of it ; they take hold of the rojDes, run round a few times, and then leave it, naturally, seeing no interest in such a proceeding. But in reality the Giant Stride is a most 23C EVERY boy's book. useful article in the muscular education, as it exercises at tlie same time the arms and legs, is capital for the lungs, and strengthens those invaluable muscles about the loins which we so sadly neglect, and by reason of whose weakness many dangerous injuries occur to young and old. There is something most fascinating in the exercises that can be a)5hieved on this apparatus; the gymnast seems to be almost endowed with wings, and in his aerial course hardly touches the ground with his toes, flying, like feathered Mercury, through the air, and Uterally basking in the pure element. The common posture of holding the bars close to the breast, and then running round the post, is radically false, and deprives the Giant Stride of all its use, and the greater part of its pleasure. Being ourselves ardent advocates of this instru- ment as affording an amount of healthy exercise not to be obtained by any other means, we gladly take this opportunity of describing the manufacture and capabilities of the Giant Stride. Having fixed upon a suitable spot of level ground, well laid with gravel, and carefully drained, dig a hole at least seven feet in depth, and fill about eighteen inches with stones about the size of the fist, or, to use a homely but expressive simile, as if a sack of potatoes had been emptied into it. Pound and press the stones well down, and then pour rough gravel upon them until you have made the surface tolerably level. The object of these stones is to prevent the water from accum\ilating round the post and rotting it. Now for the post. This should be at least twenty feet long, so as to leave about fifteen feet projecting when set upright in the hole. The butt should be left very lar^e, as is done with ordinary wooden gate-posts, and the whole affair ought to be made of thoroughly seasoned wood. Unless this is the case, it is sure to rot, and then down it comes some day, when least expected. Triangular steps should be nailed upon opposite sides, like those on railway signal- posts, as otherwise the daily task of removing and replacing the ropes will be very irksome. Get a blacksmith to make a stout iron pin, such as is shown at «, „ ^ havmg a projecting shoulder, to prevent it from entering too far into the wood. He should also make a strong iron collar to put over the top of the pole, as is seen at b, where the pin is also shown fixed. The last piece of blacksmith's work is an iron disc, having a cap or thimble in the middle, which is intended to receive the iron pin, and to enable the disc to spin round freely. Four holes are GYMNASTICS. 237 nored througli the edge of the disc, as seen at c. Purchase four iron S hooks, and the same number of swivels, and good store of well-made half-inch rope, and the machine may then be set up. rirst char carefully the whole of the butt that is to enter the ground, and for about six inches above, in order to prevent the wood from being injured by wet. Place it upright in the hole, testing it by a plumb-Hne tied to the top, and fill m the hole with earth, pound- ing it down firmly with a heavy rammer. You cannot be too careful about this process, and the apparatus should not be used until the earth has had time to settle. While waiting for this operation, cut the rope into appropriate lengths, and fasten one end of each rope to a swivel, and the other to the centre of a stout baton of elm or oak wood, about eighteen inches long. Unless you are very sure of your powers of spHcing ropes and making " eyes," let the ropemaker do this for you, as it is a most important operation, and involves the security of the gymnast in no slight degree. It is necessary to have swivels, as the ropes would otherwise become so twisted as to lose their fi-eedom of play, or even to weaken their struc- ture. These preparations being completed, mount the post by the steps, taking the cap with you, gi'case the pin well with an end of tallow-candle, and slip the cap upon it, taking care to spin it well in order to assure yourself that all is right. Hang the swivels to the circular plate by means of the S hooks, one curve of which passes through the hole in the plate, and the other through the loop in the swivel. The ropes should be just so long that when they hang loosely along the pole the cross-bar should be two feet from the ground. As, however, new ropes stretch in a wonderful manner, it is needful to allow considerably for this property. One tbing more is needed, and then the whole apparatus will be complete. Measure the greatest distance which can be reached by the feet of any one swinging round by the ropes, and about one yard beyond that line erect a slender pole nearly as high as the central post, having pegs driven at intervals of four inches. This is mtended to aid the learner in leaping, and the mode by which this object is accomplished is seen in fig. 1. Having now everything ready, we first look to all the fastenings, a precaution which must never be neglected ; see that the pin and swivels are well greased, take the cross-bar of one rope in both hands, and retire from the post as far as the outstretched arms will permit. Of course, if there are four performers, each takes his stand exactly opposite his neighbour. It is better not to exercise alone, on account of the unequal strain on the post ; and it is evident that the opposite players should be as nearlj as possible of similar weights, so as to balance each other in their course. It may easily be imagined that the strain upon the base of the post is enormous, 238 EVERY boy's book. there being a leverage of fifteen feet, and tliat some precautions are necessary to prevent injury. Keej)ing our right sides to the post, and the rope tightly stretched, we begin to run, throwing as much weight as possible on the rope, and as little as possible on the feet. As the pace increases, the feet are taken off the ground, and touch it at longer intervals, until, when at fuU speed, they only come to the ground occasionally, just sufficient to maintain the impetus. Having kept up this speed as long as is agreeable, we slacken the pace gradually, and stop. Next time we take care to run the con- trary way, keeping the left side towards the pole. This is done tc JFia. t. exercise equally the muscular system on both sides of the body; and to save time and space, we wiU say, once for all, that when any feat is described, it must be accompHshed in either direction with equal ease. We will now explain the method of leaping, one of the most exciting of all these exercises. Set the string to quite a low elevation, — say two feet from the ground, — stand with your back to it, the cross-bar in your hands, and run quickly round. When you come about one quarter of the distance, try to fling yourself into the air, not by jumping with the legs, but by letting the whole weight depend on the rope, so that GYMNASTICS. 239 Ene centrifugal force takes you off your feet. As you touch the ground, take about three long steps, and at the third step hurl yourself again off the gi'ound, with the body straight, and the feet extended well behind, and the impetus will carry you over the string, and land you neatly on the other side. You will soon learn to increase the height of the jump, untU you can pass over the string at an elevation of ten feet with perfect certainty. Another very pretty, though not so dashing, a feat is to spin round on your own axis as you run round the course. At first it is needful to manage this cautiously, as a slip of the foot is sure to disturb your balance, and send you ignomioiously scraping your way over the gravel in a derogatory and rather painful position. When, however, you have mastered this art, you can go round revolving the whole time, keeping your legs straight, feet together, and toes pointed. There are many modifications of these exercises which I should right well like to describe ; but as our space is limited, we must content ourselves with two more. At the same time I may say, that if any of the readers of this book succeed in achieving them, they will bid fair to attain no mean position in the gymnastic art. In the first of these exercises the performer never moves hand or foot, but holds himself straight, stiff, and immovable as an Egyp- tian statue, and in the course of his progress round the central post his feet describe a series of circles, or rather spirals, while his hands merely move in a circle, and serve as the axis on which the body revolves. This feat is not very easUy made intelligible, but with the help of two diagrams we hope that our readers will comprehend it. Fig. 2 shows the method of commencing it. The performer grasps the cross-bar in both hands at the full stretch of his arms, holds himself quite straight and stiff, points his toes, and then falls for- ward, as shown in the en^aving. If he has the strength and nerve to hold himself quite stiff, though his face comes rather near the ground, the whole body swings off the ground, the hands being the pivot, and the feet take the course denoted by the dotted line, the hands retaining their position. It is possible, by dint of practice, to manage so as to make the entire circuit of the pole in four such revolutions, and the course of the performer is shown by the accom- Fio. 2. 240 EVERT BOY S BOOK. pauyiiig diagram (fig. 3), where tlie dark circle in the centre repre- sents the pole, the dotted line is the course taken by the hands, and the continuous line the course of the feet. This is a most elegant and graceful performance, and never fails to elicit the admiration and applause of the bystanders. There seem to be no means of propulsion, and the performer appears, to an uninitiated spectator, to be impelled by a simple act of volition. The last is the most daring and difficult of all the feats, being nothing less than passing over the string with the head downwards and the feet in the air. This need not be attempted by any but a tolerable gymnast, and is achieved by running at the string in the manner already described, and just as the body is rising in the swing drawing the hands smartly to the breast, throwing the feet into the air, and clasping the rope between them. It is a most dashing feat, and generally takes spectators entirely by surprise. We should well have liked a longer disquisition on a favourite sub- ject, but must now take our leave, merely assuring the reader that the few exercises which we have described are the keys to the thorough mastery of the Giant Stride. Fig. 3. As a last caution, let us recommend that the ropes should be taken down every evening and put in a d.Tj spot, as they are liable to-be much weakened if permitted to hang in the open air. In wet weather the same precaution should be teieiL PARALLEL BARS. 241 PARALLEL BARS. These are two pieces of wood, from six to eight feet in length, and about four inches square, the edges rounded. For lads, they are fixed at about eighteen inches apart, and supported by two round stand ards, firmly fixed in the ground, from three to four feet high, accord- ing to the stature of the boys. Balancing. — ^Beinff placed between the bars and in the centre, put your hands right and left on the bars at the same time. After a little jump upwards, preserve your equilibrium on both wrists, the legs close; this is called the nrst position. Then communicate to your body a gentle movement of balancing from behind, forwards, and continue this for several times, the body moving as it were upon a pivot. This should be practised until the body swings freely backwards and forwards. To bring both legs over. — From the first posi- tion, after a Httle movement of balancing, bring both legs, close and at once, over one of the bars forwards, without touching it or moving your hands from the place. The same ought to be made backwards, from right to left. To jump out. — ^After having communicated to the body a movement of balance, the moment at which the legs are raised over the bars, f/ ^' jump backwards over the right without touching it with the feet oi waist; then perform the same jump forwards. By the vaulting jump you may easily come between the bars, and also bring your body over both without touching them otherwise than with your hands. To rise and sink down. — ^Being in equi- librium in the middle of the bars, place the legs backwards, the heels close to the upper part of the thigh. From this position, come gently down, till the elbows nearly meet beWd the back, then rise up gently without any impulse or touching the ground with your feet. To kiss the bar behind the hands. — In the same position as before, bring the body gently down between the bars without touching the ground with your knees; kiss the bar behind each hand alternately, and then rise up in the first position. Jumping on the Bars. — Keep the knees straight and jump along the bars backward and forward. Afterwards, do the same with the fingers turned inside. These will be learned easier, if the young gymnast tries them first with bent knees. 243 EVERY BOY S BOOK Walking on the Bars.-^'Wd^ on the hands to the end and back again. In walking backwards, take care to keep the elbows straight, or you will come down. When this is done with ease, do the same, only keep your fingevs inside the bars. VAIKIKO ON TH£ BARS. L. — Sit on the ground between the bars; take hold of the bars with vour hands and raise your body still in the sitting position, and stay there as long as you can. When that is learned, jump along the bars in the same attitude. Keep your knees straight, and don't mind if your limbs ache a little. The Arm Swmg, — ^Rest the fore arms on the bars, and swing. When tired of swinging, let the body hang straight^ and then rise on the hands. Not easy at first, but soon done with practice. The Roll. — Rest on the fore arms, swing backward, ana turn com- pletely over, catching the bars under the arms. It looks difficult, but IS easy enough, only wanting a little nerve. The Janus. — Sit astride the bars, having your hands rather behind. Now raise the feet, swing through the bars, and come up astride on the other side. Your arms vdll then be twisted, and your face wiU be looking in the opposite direction. Swing boldly, or the shins will be knocked against the bars. The Sausage.— ^Kneel on the bars. Stretch the hands as far forward as possible, and hitch the toes over the bars behind, at the same time stretching them backwards as far as possible. Now let the body sink between the bars, being supported by the hands and in- Now rise again. Difficult, but soon learnt. To stand on a bar. — Sit astride one of the bars. Place the heel of the right foot on the bar, hitching the left instep under it. Draw yourself up by means THE HORIZONTAL BAR. 243 of the left instep. Take care of your balance. This is a very nse- ful accomplishment, and may possibly stand the gymnast in good stead. The Drop. — Stand on the bars \nth each foot over one of the posts. Spring slightly, into the air, put the feet together, and come down stiff, catching yourself by your hands. This should be done over the posts, as the bars might oe broken, were the weight of the faller to come in the middle. The Spring. — Swing at one end, and with a sudden impulse leap to the other on your hands. Take care of the balance of the body, or you will come on your back between the bars. The Barbel's Curl. — Hang on one end of the bars as in the L. Keep the knees straight, and turn over slowly, not letting the feet come to the ground. Stay there while you count ten, and copcie back the same way. THE HORIZONTAL BAB. Let two strong upright posts be firmly fastened into the ground, about six feet apart, and let a wooden bar be strongly mortised into their tops. The bar should be made of white deal, about two inches and a half in diameter. The bar must have no knot in it, or it will break. It should be so high from the ground that a spring is required to reach it with the hands. The surface of the bar should be free from all roughnesses, but not polished. The'Gra&p. — The fingers should be hooked over the pole, keeping the thumb on the same side as the fingers. Hang as bug as possible, first with both hands, then with each hand by turns. — See p. 244 The JFalk. — Hang by the hands, and walk by them from one end of the pole to the other, backwards and forwarcis. Do not slip. Do it first with both hands on the same side of the pole, afterwards with a h£«nd at each side. — See p. 244. r2 244 EVERY BOY S BOOK. THX GRASP. THE WALK. BREASTING THE BAR. Breasting the Bar. — Hang by the hands, and draw up the body slowly untu the chest touches the bar. Practise this as often as possible- -knees straight. Kicking the Bar. — Hang by the hands and draw up the feet very slowly until the instep touches the pole. Do it several times. Difficult at first, but soon learned. Do not kick about, or jerk yourself up- ward, or you may strain yourself. Swinging. — ^Hang by the hands and swing backwards and forwards. Practise this until your heels are considerably above your head each way. After a while, let go of the pole as you swing back, and catch it again as you come down. An inch or two at first is enough, but do not be satisfied until the hands can have a space of eight or ten inches between themselves and the bar. To sit on the Bar. — Hang by the hands, and pass one of your feet tuTOUgh them, hitching your knee over the bar. Then give a good THE HORIZONTAL BAR. 245 swing backwai'ds, and come up sitting on the bar with one leg. Nov draw the other leg over, and do not tumble off. Circling the Bar. — Hang by the hands, and curl the body gently over the bar. If it is too difficult, stop for a minute or two, try some- thing else, and after an intei-val try it again. It will be soon learned. Tlie true Lover's Knot. — Grasp the bar ; pass the left knee through the right arm, so as to let the knee rest in the elbow; pass the rignt knee over the instep of the left foot ; let go with the left hand, and with it grasp the right foot. You will now be suspended by thr- right hand, and will be packed up in a remarkably small space. Take care of the right wrist, or you will spin round and twist off. TRUE lover's knot. CIRCLIKG TUK BAR. PASSING THROUGH THE ARMS. Tassing through the Arms. — Hang by the hands, and biing the feet between them, permitting them to pass through until they can nearly touch the ^ound ; now return iii the same way. This cannot be done properly without practising, as the muscles of the shoulder blades must be capable of great relaxation, together with great power. THE GRASSHOPPER. HANGING BT THE LEG*. The Grasshopper. — Sit on the pole, grasping it with the fingers to the front. Slide gradually off, until the small of the back rests against the pole, while the arms are elevated at the elbows like a grasshopper's legs. Now draw yourself up again. Hanging by the legs. — This is easy enough, and a capital preservb- 246 EVERr BOY S BOOK. fHE ARM-CHAIR. tiye against determiiiation of the blood to the brain. First practise it with both legs over the pole; then take off the left leg and hitch it over the right instep; then learn to hang by one leg omy, while you try to caiTy a weight in your hands. When you are perfect and con- fident, sit on the pole, and drop off backwards, catching yourseK by the legs. This must be done with a fall like a plummet, or the body will swing, and probably unhitch the legs from the pole. The Arm chair. — Hang on the bar by the arms just below the elbows, keeping the elbows firmly pressed to the side. The hands should be lower than the bar, to counteract the swing of the body. Hanging hv the feet. — ^Hang by the hands, and curl up the boay, until the msteps are well hitched over the bar. Let go the nands cr.u- tiously, and permit the body to hang at full length. The Dcst way to reach the bar again is to seize one of your legs, and pull yourself up by it. To leave the Bar. — ^Never get on the bar or leave it in a clumsy manner; there should be art about everything. To leave the bar effec- tively is well worth practising. Here are six modes : — 1. Sit on the bar; drop and hang by the legs, at the same time giving the bo(fy a swing HANGiKo BT THE FEET, forwards which will loosen the hold of the legs. Alight on the hands, and ^et gently on the feet. This is rather a brifliant finish, and not so difficult as it appears. 2. Sit on the bar, place both hands on one side, and vault over. 3. Sit astride, place both hands on the bar in front, bring up both feet, at the same time spiinging upright; ran along the bar and jump off the end, or slide down the post if it is too high to jump. 4. Hang by the hands, draw up the body until the chest touches the bar ; spring off backwards by the force of the arms. 5. Hang by the hands, and swing completely round once, letting the impetus hurl you forward. Take care to cross the feet and come down on the toes. 6. If you are tired and cannot perform any of these things, merely hang by the hands, and come round through them, but never merely loose the pole. THE HOBSE. There is not a more graceful or more interesting series of exercises than those performed on the Wooden Horse. Tney are very useful THE HORSE. 2.47 also, as they give exceeding pliancy to ^he limbs, and teach the gym- nast how to take advantage of the weight of each member. They have also the advantage of requiring some daring, and a spirited lad will always surpass at these exercises. The horse is made of a great cylinder of wood mounted on four legs, which are firmly fastened into the ground — ^their ends should be charred as was directed for the Giant Stride. Nearer one end than the other a piece of stout rough leather is firmly nailed, to represent the saddle, and two curved pieces of wood bound the saddle and represent the pommels. The hind pommel should be nearly half an mch higher than the other. They may be covered with leather also. On the off side of the horse a pit about a foot deep and four feet square should be dug and filled with sawdust, while on the near side the paving should be either very fine gravel, or, if possible, sand. There should be several horses, adapted to the different sizes of boys who are to practise on them. When a boy can place his chm on a level with the saddle, he should change to a higher horse, as the top of the saddle ought to be on a level with the nose of the gymnast Mounting. — Stand by the horse, place one hand on each pommel, spring up, so that the body is supported by the hands, while the legs rest lightly agamst the horse. Keep the body upright and knees straight. Do\vn and up again several times. Always come down on the toes. Now do the same thing ; but, in springing up, throw out the right leg until it is nearly at right angles with the body, then the left. Afterwards spread both legs as widely as possible. When this can be done with ease, spring up as before, rest a moment, then throw the right leg easily over the saddle, removing the right hand, and there you are. Dismounting. — ^Put the left hand on the fore pom- mel, right hand on the saddle, spring off and come to the ground, keeping your right hand still on the saddle. Be sure in all these exercises to come down on the toes. Sustaining the body. — 1. Spring up as in mount- ing, and throw the body away from the horse, brmging it back agaia without coming to the ground. 2. Mount, and putting both hands on the front pommel, raise the body as high as you can. Don't be afraid of going too high. 3. Do the same, but swing the body backwards and forwards. Hard work, but capital exercise. 4. Do the same, and slap tlie soles of your shoes together. 248 EVERT BOY S BOOK- Knee practice. — 1. Put your hands on the pommels, spring up, and lodge your right knee on the Saddle- Down, and then the left knee. Then both knees. Practise these well. 2. Hands on pommels, leap up and touch the saddle with both toes, JUMPIKG OFF. KNEE PRACTICE. TOUCH SADDLE. 3. Kneel on the saddle with both knees; now lean well forward and jump off. Very easy, but requires confidence. Swingi7ig practice. — 1. Sit behmd the saddle, put the left hand on the front pommel, and the right hand on the other. Euise the body and swing round the horse, seating yourself on his neck, before the saddle. Change hands, and swing round until you regain youi former position. 2. Put both hands on the front pommel, raise the body, and sud- denly swing boldly upwards, turning round and crossing the legs, so that you will sit on the saddle with your face to the tail. Keep the hands in their places, and swing back again in the same manner. Miscellaneous Exercises. — ^Hands on pommels, spring up and put the rieht leg through the arms, letting the left hang straight. Withdraw the ri^ht leg, and spring up again, using the left leg, and letting the right hang down. Hands on pommels, spring up, and seat yourself like a lady behind the saddle; spring down to the ground, and seat yourself in a similar manner before the saddle. THE SWING. 249 Hands on pommels, spring up, cross your feet, pass them tlirongb the hands, and come to the ground on the opposite side. Take a short run, place the hands on the pommels, and vault com- pletelY over the horse, keeping the knees straight. Sit behind the saddle, put both hands on the hind pommel, and throw yourself off over the horse's tail. Hands on pommels, spring up, make the body into an L, let the feet pass through the hands and rest suspended without touching the saddle. Knees quite straight. A good one for a finish. — Take a run, put both hands on the very top of the pommels, and throw yourself over in a regular somerset. That is not bad, but vou can do better after the somerset has been well learned. Throw the somerset as before, only do not let go the hands. You will now be standing with your back to the horse, the spine considerabl;^bent, and your arms thrown over your head. Wait so for a few seconds, and then with a powerful effoi-t throw yourself back a^ain, so as to come on the ground on the same side of the horse from which you started. This is really difficult, as it requires practice, strength, and confidence, but it looks so well that it is worth learning. The writer of these few in- structions has often astonished the natives with it, and has lately repeated it after two years' absence from any gymnasium. THE SWING. Let no one despise this exercise. It is worth learning, if only as a preservation against sea sickness. If any one can stand a twenty* 250 EVERT BOY S BOOK. Fig. 1. feet swing for haLf-an-hour, the sea may toss its worst, for he will come off unscathed. Now, I do not mean to say that merely sitting on a board and getting swung by some one else is any great object : hv from it. But there are some very graceful exercises to be managed on the swing. Here are some: — 1. The way to get into the swing is as follows : — Take one rope in each hand, just above the seat ; walk backwards until the ropes are freely stretched. Now run sharply forwards, letting the hands ^lide up the ropes as far as possible, and the mstant that you feel a check, grasp the rope tightly, and spring into the seat standing. When there, work easily up by alternately bending and straightening the knees. (See 1.) 2. When m good swing, slip the feet off the seat (which should not be more than four iaches wide); let the hands shde down the ropes, and come down sitting. To recover the standing position, reach upwards with the hands as hi^ as possible, and draw >^ourself upwards as the swing is going for- wards, when the seat wiU place itself exactly under your feet. 3. Now for some feats. Let the swing go very gently. Place both hands at the level of the shoulders, and sud- denly extend them, keeping the arms straight. Take care, as there will be a violent vibration, and you will be shot out of the swing before you know where you are. Practise it first while the swing is stiU, but do not be satisfied until you can do it while in strong swing, and without closing the hands, merely letting the palms rest against the ropes. (See 2.) Swing still. Stand up on the seat, and grasp Fig.2. the rope with the hands as low as possible, without bending the body or the knees. Now lean forward, making •your hands the pivot, and do not be asto- nished at finding your heels in the air, and your head downward. To recover yourself, the bodv must be bent a little. (See 3.) Stand sideways on the seat, grasp one rope with both hands leaning your back against the other, taking care to have the Fig.z. rope well between the shoulder blades. Put the inner centre of the left foot against the opposite rope, and fix the right foot in the same manner agamst the left heel. Now let go both hands, and lean well backwards, when you will be exactly balanced. When you ai'C secure with a quiet swing, practise it while the swing THE SWING. 251 is aioving, until you can lie securely against the rope while you are moving freely. The balance is entirely kept b;y- the shoulder blades against the rope, and the arms must be folded in order to throw the shoulder blades well back. If the gymnast gets sJarmed, and puts his hands out to save himself, the rope slips off his back, and out he goes. (See 4.) While the swing is working, suddenly hang out at one side, sup- porting yourself by one hand on the rope, and one foot on the seat. Practise this on both sides. (See 5.) Fig. 4. Fig. 5. Fig. 6 Seize the left rope with both hands, press the feet fii-mly against the ropes where they join the seat, and fall out forwards. The ropes win now cross, and when the swing is in fult operation, the curves described are most elegant. To recover the ordinary position, wait until the s\vmg is going backwards, and a powerful twist of the body will uncross the ropes, when the right hand should take hold of the right rope and steady the swing. (See 6.) When the swing is in motion, ^asp the ropes as tight as possible, and raise the feet until they are high in air between the ropes. -Take care of the balance in the back swing, as, if the body_ is suffered to bend backwards, the hands will hardly bear the strain. Now slide slowly and carefully down the ropes until the head rests on the foot- board. To make a telling exit from the swing, two ways niay_ be adopted. First way : — Get the swin^ into a firm, steadv movement, sit down, and bring both hands inside the ropes; and just as the swing has passed its centre, strike the seat away with the hands and you wiU shoot forward several yards. Take care to come down on the toes, and to lean weU backwards as you leave the swing, as the impetus wiU bring you upright as you touch the ground. (See 7.) 252 EVERT boy's book. The second method is, to seat yourself iii the same mamier, and as the swing crosses its centre backwards, lean well forwards and strike away the seat. You wiU then be hurled back- wards, and if your balance is ^ood, wiU come to the ground in a very elegant attitude. Be sure to lean well forward, cross the feet, clasp the hands, and come down on the toes. (See 8.) Great care must be taken to lean well backwards if you shoot out forwards, and well forwards as you shoot backwards, or in the one case you wiU come with your nose on the ground, and in the other '^ ^* you wiU find the back of your head rather damaged. So practise with gentle swings at first, and then increase. I have often done it with the swing at full speed, and in one instance in a public gymnasium, I shot so far forward that the spot was marked by a row ol ii'on nails driven into the floor. In a volume of this nature, it is impossible to give more than a comparatively shght sketch of any subject. I am sure, however, that if the reader will master even these short instructions in gymnastic exercises, he will be able to realize that great blessing, the sound body, m which only a sound mind can reside. His trained eye wiU be accustomed to measure instinctively any obstacle in his way, and the training of his body wiU enable him to put forth the fuU. power of his muscles to overcome the obstacle. Danger will lose half its perils to him who thus knows how to meet it. A strong rope will be as safe as a staircase to him; it will be perfectly indif- ferent to him whether his head or his heels be uppermost, and he will be enabled by the presence of mind which such studies engender to think out calmly modes of escape from danger which would in- stantly overwhehn those whose bodies are uninstructed. But even to pass by the question of utihty, it is a duty of man to presei've his body in health, and to develop its powers. Every man would think himscK wron^ to neglect the mina; surely then, every man ought no less to think it wrong to neglect the body, which is made by the same mightjr Hand that implanted the mind within it. Indeed, the neglected body is sure to injure the mind, and therefore those who improve their bodies are at the same time improving their minds. I know one young man, who owes all his nealth, and probably his life, to gymnastic exercise. From his earliest childhood he was always ailing, and through the whole of his childhood was never suffered to sleep unwatched. When he entered upon manhood, the childish iUness changed into annual fevers, which held their sway until he had been for some time at one of the Universities. His medical attendant advised him to take regular exercise, and recommended the study of gymnastics. He rapidly unproved in health and strength, his fever has not attacked him for eight or nine years, and he actually led the gymnasium for a whole year. THROWING THE JAVELIN. 253 Were I to have the charge of a school, I should consider the grymnasiuin as part of the regular school discipline, and take care that the boys were exercised as carefuUy in their bodily as their mental powers. TimOWING THE JAVELIN. This play is very interesting, and gives strength to the arm, and exactness to the eye. In playmg it, a sauare target must be procured, fliade of thick wood, about four feet in diameter, and on which should be marked concentral circles, the same as those of a target in archery. This should be weU supported behind by two stout back pieces, restmg in the ground, so as to prevent the target from being easily over- turned. The circles may be several in number; the centre should be black, and about six inches in diameter, and count ten; the second circle should be red, and should count five; and the third should be Hght blue, and count three. The other parts of the target to count as may be agreed. The javelins should consist of poles of ash or fir, about an inch and half in diameter, and should be five feet six inches in length. They should have a spike in one end, which should be sui-rounded with a rim of iron ; the spike should be about two inches long, thick, and strong, so as to enable it to become fixed in the target without splitting it. The game may be played by any number of uoys, and is commenced as follows : — One player takes a javelin in his right hand, and walking to a distance from the target, previously agreed upon by the players, he poises his javelin, by holding it in the hoUow of ^^ bis hand, between the ball of the thumb ' *"^ c ^=^3= and the fleshy part at the side, and his elbow is at the same time bent, and his arm elevated so that his hand is a little above his ear, the javeHn being at the same time nicely balanced with the smaller fingers, touching it so as to direct its course; it is then launched forward at the target, and, if properly poised, directed and thrown, will go to it in a direct Hue. The point at which it strikes the target is then marked, and then the other players foUow in the same way for twelve times in succession : the person who scores the most marks being the victor. The javelin wifl fly better and straighter if a rotatory movement is communicated to it by a slight pull of^the little finger as it leaves the hand. When some skill has been obtained in darting, blunt javelins with padded ends should be procured, and the players should accustom 254 EVERY boy's book. themselves to avoid, parry, or catcli a javelin thrown at them. Whei ihey can do so with certainty, they may storm a fort. The best fort IS a hedge with gaps. The players divide into two parties, one de- fending and the other attacJdn^. Each player shomd be furnished with three javelins at least, weU padded and nicely balanced. The art of catching and returning a javelin is exceedingly useful in this game. We well remember an occasion when, on stcJrming a fort, one of our opponents, whose frame was larger than his soul, had prudently retired mto the background until aU our spears were exhausted, but, on seeing us weaponless, he with great courage ran up to the hedge and hurled his spear, as we were running forward to pick up a fallen lance. The moment he had thrown the javelin he ran away as fast as he could, but was overtaken by his own weapon, which took him in the rear, and toppled him over in beautiful style. We have only known one accident at this game, and that was caused by the impetu- osity of one of the garrison, who on seeing an enemy crawlii^ up through the gaj), and finding himself without a sj)ear, snatched up a dow that was lying near, and made a thrust at him, which sent the sharp horn tip of the bow through his under lip. TUB TllAPEZE : SINGLE AND DOUBLE. Should the intending gymnast possess a strongly-built bam or outhouse, which is large enough to permit the trapeze to have fair play, and strong enough to enaure the stress of the swinging weight, the ropes can be suspended from a beam, either belongmg to the building or inserted for the express purpose, and resting at each end on strong brackets. But as such buildings are very seldom to be obtained, we here give a sketch of a plan invented, we believe, by- Messrs. Snoxell, the well-known furnishers of gymnasia. Although its structure may appear to be light and flimsy, it is in reality pos- sessed of strength which renders a fracture impossible, and is indeed far more fitted to resist the enormous strain which is laid upon it, than if it were made of massive beams morticed. In the first place the upright poles (a) do not pass into the ground, but are supported upon stone slabs, so there is no fear of that terrible enemy of the gymnasium — rotting wood, which silently decays and suddenly snaps off level with the surface of the grouni The cross piece (b) is affixed to the uprights by a simple cap, bent at right angles, as is seen at/! The cross piece is permanently secured into the cap, but the uprights can be sHpped in arid out without difficulty. At c may be seen four slender wire ropes, the upper ends of which are fastened to the uprights, and the lower ends are furnished with hooks. These hooks are intended to be sHpped into the staples (e), which are fn-mly secured into the gi'ound, just as the old bull-rin^s were fixed. At d are seen the tightening screws, which are simply turned by hand, and shorten the wire ropes just as the connecting screws of a railway train draw the carriages together. GYMNASTICS. 255 The apparatus is so perfectly simple that it can be set up or taken down by two boys in five minutes, or by one boy in rather a longer period. The process is as follows : — The upriglits are shpped into the caps, and the hooks at the ends of the wire ropes or stays are hitched into the staples of one side, say at e. The upriglits are then reared^ and their bases set on the stones. The hooks of the opposite stays are then hitched into the staples at e e, and the screws at d turned until the stays are quite tight and the uprights are perfectly perpendicular. It seems rather a compUcated process to read about, but it is remarkably simple when reduced to action.^ We have mounted and dismounted one of thece ingenious contrivances in a wonderfully short space of time, and without any assistance. For practising the feat of passing through the air from one trapeze to another a double set of apparatus is required ; but for most useful purposes one set is sufficient. The ropes by which the bar is sus- pended must be thoroughly stretched before they are attached to the tar, or there will be no certainty in the swing. Pew persons who have not had practical experience on this subject would imagine how 256 EVERY boy's book. greatly the length of a rope is increased by the process of stretching, and how absolutely necessary is this precaution. The ropes are passed at each end over an iron eye, the upper one of which is hitched over a hook on the cross bar, and the other receives the hook which suspends the bar. On looking at the illus- tration the reader will notice these hooks just above the bar. They are useful, because, when nee'ded, a pair of rings can be substituted for the bar, and permit certain variations in the performances. Still, their presence or absence is quite optional, and the only remark that need be made is, that they should be furnished with springs hke the fastening of a bres:uet chain, so as to guard against the j)OssibiHty of shpping. The oar itself must be very heavy, or otherwise it will not have suflBcient weight to keep the cords at full stretch, and in consequence will not swing truly. Those which were employed by Leotard were iron, with a mere sneU of wood, so as to give a pleasant hold for the hands, and we have seen them made of iron, coated with leather. The last point that needs notice is the perch or stand from which the performer launches himself. This may be fixed at any convenient elevation, and its centre should exactly coincide with the centre of the bar. Having now the apparatus ready, let us commence the performance. Set the bar swinging boldly ; ascend the perch quickly, and seize the bar in both hands. Wait for a moment, until the ropes are fully stretched, and then launch yourself for a swing. Now there are two ways of doing everything — a right and a wrong way ; and the present instance affords no exception to the rule. The wrong way — and the nsual way — is to fall forwards from the perch. Now this is quite wrong ; and if you act in such a manner you will bungle your sway, and will not retain sufficient impetus to enable you to return to the perch. The right mode of starting is as follows : Stand as seen in the accompanying illustration — the spine weU bent backwards, the body tolerably stiff, and leaning T^ll against the heavy bar. Now draw yourselt up gently by the arms, as if you were trying to lift your chin above the bar, and you will find yourself started without any trouble. Keep the back stiU bent, and as you descend allow the arms gradually to assume a perfectly straight position. You will then swing out fairly and boldly, and by the least possible sway at the end of the swing will retain sufficient impetus to enable you to resume your stand on the perch. Even in this there is an art. If you merely allow yourself to swing back as you swing forward, you 'will be disagreeably reminded of your error, by hitting the back of the leg smartly against the edge of the perch. In order to avoid this misfortune, draw up the legs sharply just before you reach the end of the return swing, and you will find them come down on the perch with perfect ease. If you are using the rings instead of the bar, you can vary this GYMNASTICS. 257 part of the performance by turning round in the air, and crossing the ropes so that you alight on the perch with your back towards the trapeze, though it is necessary to give a sharp twist as your foot touches the perch, and so to turn in the direction in w^hich you started. Take notice that the arms are always at full length during the swing, and that the illustrations which represent the performer swinging with bent arms are entirely erroneous. There is another fault into which the artists mostly fall. Thinking that they are obtain- ing pictorial effect, they represent the ropes which sustain the bar as forming an angle with the arms of the performer, whereas the arms, body, and ropes are, or ought to be, all in the same Hne. The real attitude in the trapeze is given ia the accompanying illustration, wherein it vdll be seen that the ropes, the arms, and the body are all in the same line ; and, indeed, a little reflection will prove that they must be so. Note the position and action, or rather 258 EVERY boy's book. the non-action of the body, and be careful to imitate it. During the swing, let the body and limbs hang at full length, and be sure to keep the feet nearly together, and the toes pointed. The illustrations are aU T^Tong in this respect. They always will show the performer in an attitude which the di-aughtsman is pleaded to think a graceful one ; but it is inexpressibly graceless and ridiculous in the eyes of a gymnast. When you. have accomplished the swin? and return satisfactorily, you may advance another step. Swing off as usual ; and, when you have reached the extremity of the swing, you will find yourseK balanced for a moment motionless, the attraction of gravitation being balanced by the impetus of the swing. Just at this important point, shift your hold on the bar, and change sides, as you would do if the bar were hanging quietly. You will then face the spot whence you started, and in landing on the peich you must be careful to give yourself a twist as you place jour feet on the perch, and with a slight exertion of the arms ^ou will draw yoursell upright without difficulty, and without running GYMNASTICS. 259 the risk of faUiiig off the perch again^a frequent and ignominious misfortune. It will now be time to practise the descent from the swinging trapeze to the ground. Begin by sitting on the bar, grasping it with the hands, and faUing off backwards, taking care to come to the ground with pointed toes and crossed feet. The reason of this precaution is that, if the feet are crossed, the knees are separated, and that when the body yields — as it must do when it touches the earth— there is no danger of hitting the chin against the knee, and thereby receiving a momentary shock to the brain by the teeth striking together. When you can manage the " fall-back," as it is called, with tolerable ease and certainty, seize the bar with the hands, set it swinging, keeping your face to the perch, and whe^ you are nearly at the full extent of the swing loosen your hold, and allow yourself to come to the ground. Be very careful to point the toes, as has already been described, and continue the practice until you can stand on the perch, launch yourself backwards, and fly off at the highest point of the swing. Always leave the bar while you are swinging backwards^ because the attitude of the body is then such as to insure your coming to the ground in the correct position ; whereas, if you do so while swinging forward, you are nearly certaia to overbalance yourself, and either fall on your nose, or go staggering along in a very ignominious style. The next process is to start as usual, raise yourself in a sitting position on the bar, and ask some one to remove the perch. F^ back as before, only, instead of coming on the ground, hang by the legs, and accustom yourself to swing in this attitude, wlien you can accompHsh that feat without difficulty, and feel no nervousness at your strange position, remove one leg from the bar and hang by the other. Practise this with both feet. It is not nearly so difficult as it looks, and is an important feat to perform, because it gives such perfect presence of mind. The next feat looks positively awful, but, as usual in gymnastic performances, is perfectly easy, requiring no skill at all and only a little courage. Sit on the bar when it is still, and do the " fall-back." But, instead of allowing the feet to pass between the ropes, spread the legs as far apart as possible, and bend up the feet rigidly. The consequence is, that the insteps hitch in the ropes, sHde down them, and the body becomes suspended by the feet, which are finnly hitched between the ropes and the bar, as seen in the accompanying illustration. If you possess a second trapeze, you may now proceed to the beautiful series of performances which are achieved upon them. Let them at first be set moderately near each other, so that when 1 he bar of the first trapeze is at full swing, it passes within a yard or s2 260 EVERY boy's book. four feet of the second. Start off as usual, and just as you are well on the rise, after passing through the upright, loose your hold of the bar, and you will pass through the air towards the second bar which you catch rapidly. K you perform the feat nicely, you wiU have so much impetus to spare that you will be carried along on the second bar, and may either attempt to return or quietly drop to the ground at the end of the swing. If you prefer the latter course, be sure to turn through your arms and come down on your toes. lou will find that the return to the perch, simple as it looks, is by far tlie most difficult feat that has yet been mentioned. Make but the least mistake and failure is certain. If you do not catch the bar exactly at the right moment, you lose your impetus, and if you do not seize it exactly in the right place you do not swing truly between the uprights, and consequently cannot land on the spot at which you aim. The method of performing this feat is as follows : Swing off the perch, pass to the second bar, and while at the fall extent of the GYMNASTICS. 261 swing, change sides, and give yourseK a slight impulse with the feet. You ^ill now meet the first bar swinging towards you, and if you can seize it just at the right moment, you will find yourself with sufficient impetus to reach the perch. If not, swing once more, give yourself a hearty impulse with the legs and try it again, failure IS certain at first, but after a little practice the feat becomes easy. Here we must protest against the totally erroneous ideas of artists respecting the attitude of the body while the performer passes from one bar to another. We think that without an exception they all represent him as shooting horizontally through the air, with his hands stretched out, and with one leg bent and the other straight. Kow, if any one will watch a performer on the trapeze, he will see that the attitude is nearly perpendicular, and that any other position is really absurd and impracticable. In the accompanying illustration, we have given a sketch of the real attitude of the performer, vviierein it will be seen that the body is nearly perpendicular, and that the arms are kept bent, with the hands close to the shoulders, ready to be darted out in a moment when the trapeze swings within distance. 202 EVERY boy's book. We are the more particular in giving these illustrations, because they are needed in order to correct the very false notions which are prevalent respecting this beautiful exercise. Parents especially are apt to form their judgments from the illustrations which are seen upon advertising bills and in illustrated journals, and thinking that the exercise must be attended with great danger, do not like to give their permission for their sons to learn it. Let our readers be assured that there is no more danger in this beautiful exercise than in jumping over a chair — perhaps not quite so much— while the manner in which it develops the muscular powers of the arms, shoulders, and loins, is unapproachable by any other system. One caution is, however, needful. Take care that every loop and splice he perfectly secure, look over the whole of the apparatus daily, and never venture upon the trapeze until you have ascertained that nothing is likely to give way. If you perceive the slightest feeling of insecurity, the whole enjoyment of the exercise is lost, and no benefit can be expected from it. TRICKS AND FEATS OF GYMNASTICS. The book. — Yyl a book between the toes of the feet, and, by a jerk, throw it over the head. The chalk line. — Draw a line with chalk on the floor ; against this place the toes of both feet; then kneel down, and rise up again without leaving the line, or using the hands. Stepping through. — Take a small piece of cane abont a foot long, and holding it between the hands, leap through it. Afterwards take a tobacco-pipe, and perform the same feat without breaking ; after this, join the hands together, and leap through them, which is not very difficult of accomplishment. Armless. — ^Lyin» upon the back with the arms across the chest, the attempt must be made to rise on the feet again. Eop against the wall. — Stand with one toe close against the wall, about two feet from the ground, and turn the other over it, without removing the toe from the wall.' Stoop if you can. — One boy having placed his heels against the wall, another must place near his toes a sliilling, and tell him he may have it if he can pick it up. This he will find to ue impossible for him to do while his heels touch the wall, as there is no room for his back to balance the other parts of his body. The spring from the wall. — Placing yourself at a proper distance from the wall with your face opposite to it, throw yourself forward until you support yourself by one hand. Then spring back into your former position. J3egin this feat at a short distance from the wall, and increase the distance by degrees. The " athlete " will, in a short time, be able to stand at nearlv the length of his body from the wall. This feat is sometimes called the palm spring, but the palm has really GYMNASnCS. 263 nothing Ic do with it The thumb spring is similar, but dangerous, and many have sprained their thumbs in attempting it. The lonq reach. — This is a somewhat difficult feat, and requires great caution in its performance. A line is chalked on the floor, at which the toes must be placed, and from which they are not to remove. The left hand is then to be thrown forward in a long reach until the body descends upon it, without any part touching the floor in its descent; the right hand is now to be stretched out as far forward as possible, and with a piece of chalk, a mark is made on the floor at its fullest extent, the body being sustained by the left hand during the operation. The boy should now recover the upright position on his le^s, by springing back from the left hand without touching the floor in any way. The length reached, and the perfection with which the body recovers itself,, distinguishes the winner of the game. The stooping stretch. — In this feat a line is drawn on the floor, at which the outer edge of the left foot fs placed, and behind this, at a short distance, the right heel. Taking a piece of chalk in the left hand, the youngster passes it be- tween the legs, and under the bend of the left knee, chalking the floor with it as far forward as he can. He then recovers his position without moving his feet from the line at which they had been fixed. The chair feat. — Place three chairs in the situation indicated in the cut (p. 264), and lay down upon them, the head resting on one, the heels upon another, and the lower part of the body on the third or middle chair, which should be much lighter than the others.^ Then, by stiffening the body and limbs, and throwing up the chest into a state 264 EVERY BOY S BOOK. of rigidity, it will not be difficult for a boy to remove the middle chair, and to pass it quite over on the other side of him. The poker feat. — Take a common poker and hold it the lower end downwards, in the manner shown in the cut, i.e. by the fingers, tlmrab, and ball of the palm. Then, by the mere motion of the fingers and thumb, and the fulcrum of the palm, work the poker upwards till you raise it through the whole length to that part of it which goes into the fire. This trick depends mainly upon the strength of the muscles of the hand and fingers, combined with a certain knack to be acquired by practice. The stick feat, or from hand to mouth. — Take a piece of stick of the length of the fore arm, measuring from the elbow to the end of the middle finger. Hold it in the hand horizontally before you, the knuckles being down and the nails upwards, and the elbow being on a line with the hand. Then raise the left end of the stick from the breast to the mouth, without any other movement of the hand than the arm at the wrist This is a difficult feat, but may be easily acquired by practice. Walking on stilts. — Among the Swiss, and in several districts in toe South of France, walking on stilts is not only an amusing, but a HOCKEY. 265 useful practice, as by means of these crane-like legs men and women transform themselves into the order of "Waders," emulating the long-legged storks and herons, and can cross over marshes and flooded grounds without wetting their feet. Stilts are easily made, being nothing but a pair of poles, with a wooden step at tne sides for the feet to stand on. The poles are kept in their proper place by the hands. A little practice will soon render a youth " eas^ on his stilts," and they may be made an amusing and healthy exercise. HOCKEY. In all the general principles, hockey bears a great resemblance to foot-ball, the game consisting in driving a ball through a goal. The ball, however, is of much smaller dimensions, even where a ball, and not a bung, is used ; and it is impelled, not by the foot, but by certain sticks, or clubs, called hockeys, or hookeys, because the end with which the bail is struck is more or less hooked. The shape and dimensions of the hockey-stick are entirely arbi- trary, being left to the peculiar taste of the owners. Some like their hockeys to be sharply hooked, while others prefer them merely bent over at the end. Some players like a very thick, heavy stick, which can be put down in front of the ball in order to neutralize the u blows of the opposite side, while others can play best with a slight and springy weapon, that can be used with one hand, and is employed to tap the ball away just as an opponent is about to strike, and to coax it, as it were, towards the goal through the mass of adverse sticks. The four sticks shovm in the engraving are very ^ood samples of the forms best adapted for use. Fig. 1 is much in favour with some players, and is there- fore given; but for our own part we never could play to our satisfaction with it, the large and deep curve deceiving the eye and causing the player to let the ball pass through the hook, besides running the risk of entanglement in the opponent's stick. Fig. 2 is usually a favourite, but the angle of the head with the handle is arranged according to the fancy of the player. Some like the head to be made of horn, backed with lead like a golf-stick; but this formation is hardly necessary, costing a rather large sum, and not conveying correspondent advantages. Fig. 3 is a queer and eccentric form, which is not suitable to every ^ "5^ 266 EVERY boy's book. player on account of its weight and generally large proportions. We nave, however, seen it employed with extraordinary effect by a player who was accustomed to drive his opponents into a state of consider- able excitement by his faculty of stopping the ball with this over- grown weapon, and then planting it so firmly that all the opposing sticks could not get at the ball in spite of their battering. In this way he would save manv a game that had well-nigh been given up as hopeless, and by thus checking the ball on its way to the goal, would give time for his own side to come up and turn the tables. The great Hooked end of this club was bound with very strong iron wire. The same player was equally successful with a stick the exact reverse of the preceding, and represented as fig. 4. This was a very slight ashen stick, with a small, but rather heavy head, so that when shaken it would bend and spring like whalebone. This little stick was used for darting among the struggles and clatter of contending weapons, and giving the ball just a wee pat now and then at critical moments, so as to edge it a liltle nearer the goal, and at the same time to knock it away just as the blow of the opponent descended. The ball used for this game is sometimes an ordinary cask bung. As this would speedily be knocked to pieces, it is generally quilted with string, as shown in the illustration, for the better preserving its integrity. Sooner or later, however, it goes to pieces, for the string is sure to be cut or worn through, and the cork soon gives way. Balls, too, are apt to get their jackets knocked off, and if struck hard will sometimes fly in the face of a player, who cannot avoid it at so short a distance, and do no small damage. A hollow india- rubber ball is very good ; but the best that we have yet seen, was a common globular mdia-rubber bottle, such as can be procured at any stationer's, with the neck cut off, and partly filled up by leaving a strip of the neck and securing it by the proper varnish. It made a capital ball. Nothing could hurt it, and it could hurt no one. We have had it driven into our face at two yards' distance, and felt little the worse for it five minutes afterwards. It would not roll very far by itself, but required to be edged carefully by the sticks ; it never could get cut against flints, or spoiled by thorns or splinters ; it was big enough to be easily seen if knocked into a ditch or over a hedge, and if struck into water it would act sink but come to the surface at once, bobbing about as if to dra^w attention to its f)resence. It remained in constant action for two years to our know- edge, had been employed for several seasons before we made its ac- quaintance, and for aught we know may be in use now. In fact, if it were only kept out of tne way of a fire or an ostrich, we know nothing that would hurt the ball except burning or swallowing. Even in the latter case we fancy that tlie ostrich would be the sufferer rather than the ball. HOCKEY. 2G7 Having now described the instruments, we will proceed to the method of playing the game. As has already been mentioned, this game is in principle similar to foot-ball. Two goals are set up, at a convenient distance from and exactly opposite to each other, as in foot-ball. The same goals indeed will answer as for that game, only the cross pole should be lashed to the uprights at a much lower elevation, say three feet six inches or four feet from the ground, and the uprights should be within six feet of each other. Very good and simple goals can be made by taking long osiers, willow branches or brambles, pointing the two ends, ben'^ng them over and sticking the pointed extremities into the earth, so as to make an arch. A peg is driven exactly half-way be- tween the goals, goal-lines are drawn as at foot-ball, and the ground is til en laid out. The players, having previously chosen their sides, arrange them- selves between the goals, facing each other, and always having their left sides towards the enemy's goal and their right towards their own. The ball is then thrown in the air, so as to fall on or near the wooden peg, and each party try with their sticks to drive it through the goal of the enemy. The rules of this fine game are few and simple. 1. The game is won by the ball passing through the enemy's goal. 2. The ball must be struck through the goal with the stick, not thrown or kicked. 3. Each player shall strike from right to left, and any player in- fringing this rule is liable to the penalty of a blow on the sl)ins from any of the opposite side. 4. Each player shall remain on his own side, and if he crosses to that of the opponents is liable to the same penalty. 5. No player sliall raise the head of his stick higher than his shoulder, on pain of the same penalty. 6. The ball may be stopped witii the stick, or with any part of the person, provided that the intervening player is on his own side. 7. If the ball be kicked or thrown through the goal, or if struck beyond the goal-lines, it is to be fetched by the junior player of the side who struck the last blow, and gently thrown towards the centre 8. Any player wilfully striking another, except when inflicting the penaltv coutaiued in rules 3, 4, and 5, is immediately to be excluded from tide game. By means of these rules, the game of hockey is shorn of the danger consequent on the loose and unrestrained play that is sometimes seen, the sticks brandished in all directions, and the two sides so intermixed that it is hardly possible to discriminate between them. Many a person has been seriously damaged by such undisciplined play, and teeth have been struck out, or even eyes lost in the contest. By strict adherence, however, to the above rules, there is no fear of 268 EVERY boy's book. incurring any injuries, and this really fine game is rendered as safe as it is exciting. As a general rule, a good 'Dlayer seldom if ever strikes the ball with any violence, bat keeps it well in hand, trundling it along rather than knocking it forcibly, and endeavouring, if he finds it likely to pass out of hit control, to strike it gently towards another of hLs own side, who may keep it in its course towards the enemy's goal. A bad player, on the contrary, rushes about without any definite purpose, shouts continually at the top of his voice, brandishes his stick to the danger of other persons' eyes and the detriment of his own hands, which are sure to be painfully blistered in half an hour, and exhausts his strength and breath so early in the game, that he fails just at the critical moment, and sees the ball driven past him without being able to check it. As a parting word of advice, let us recommend to our readers to play this game as quietly as they can contrive to do, and as a golden rule, always to keep the head of the hockey-stick close to the ground. Above all, keep your temper intact, and don't lose it even if one of your oven side should make some stupid mistake, and lose you a winning game. Take especial care to keep strictly to the rules, and if your opponent should break them and render himself liable to the penalty, oe merciful to his shins, and inflict the punishment as a warning to deter from future transgression, and not as a spiteful opportunity for giving a blow which cannot be returned. EACKETS. This game is not easily played without what is called a racket ground, which consists of a large space of ground, a parallelogram, ot not less than fifty yards long, by twenty-five broad. Where such an advantage presents itself, the game may be easily attempted. Sometimes the high dead wall of a garden may be made into a racket wall, by fixing up some boards and net-work along the top, supposing there is space enough below, when the game may oe played in a small way. The wall should be painted black, and tlie ground be divided into four equal divisions, which should be distinctly marked either by chipping a groove in it by a spade, or by chalk. It is very Qgsential, however, that the flooring of the court should be paved. These di^'isions are, two close to the waU, as A and B, and two in front of them, as C and D, which divisions are occupied by those who play the game. The wall should be marked by a broad line of white payit at fort^r-two inches from the ground, and above this line ever}' ball must strike. The ball is, according to law, only to weigh RACKETS. 269 one ounce, and is either white, or made so from time to time by dipping into a bag of chalk, that it may be the better seen against the black wall by the players. The ball is made of pure white and tightly- sewn leather. The bat used to propel the ball is of a legal make, and its lower end of a spoon form, over which is placed a strong net-work of silk-wire, or catgut. The bat is called a racket. \ ,, How the game is played. — Rackets is '|'|IiFi'il'!|'^^ e " .jjlii^ a very simple game, and may be played IN'' either by two or more players. When it is played by four persons, one stands in each of the compartments, A, B, C, D; those near the wall being called in- hand, and those furthest from it out- hand players. When two play, each player takes two of the divisions, and the one who takes the A first from the wall is called in-hand player, and the other out-hand player. Having determined by lot who is to begin the game, the in-hand player nearest the wall strikes his ball against it ; if it strikes under the line, goes over the wall, does not rebound into the out-hand spaces, or goes beyond the racket ground, the striker is out, and the out-hand player takes his place ; but if the player is more successful, and the ball rebounds into the out-hand spaces, and hopping from the ground is sent back to the wall again, to rebound into one of the in spaces, the game goes on. In a close-court game the " server " who serves the ball properly above the line but not accurately into his adversary's court is allowed three trials before his "hand" is out. The play of the game is, that the in-player should send the ball in such a manner against the wall that, on its rebound, the opposite party, or player, shall be able to pick it up or hit it. WTienever this happens, he who struck the ball counts one point, or an ace, and the play is continued until one player or party scores eleven, or, as is sometimes and now more fre- quently played, fifteen. This capital game, so conducive to health and affording such excellent exercise, may be played either in an open court — that is, a court with only one wall, against which the game is played — or in a closed court which is surrounded by four walls. Sometimes a com- promise is made by the employment of the ordinary high front wall, and a smaller back wall, omitting the side walls altogether. The closed court game is the best and far the most scientific, but the great expense necessary for erecting a proper court compels many to content themselves with an ordinary old-fashioned open court game,, for there seems little doubt that the open court game is the oldest and the one which in old days was held in highest favour. RIDING. " Fleet as the wind, he shoots along the plain. And knows no check, nor heeds tlie curbing rein ; His flery eyeballs, formidably bright, Dart a fierce glory, and a glowing light ; Proud with excess of life he paws the ground. Tears up the turf, and spurns the sand around."— BZacfctocfc. A BOY on horseback is a king on Ms throne ; he feels more than " boy " the moment he gets astride of anything in the shape of a nag. Boys have an instinct for riding, an impulse they camiot resist, like the instinct for eating, breathing or moving. In his earhest days, in the very "boyhood of being," "Kide a-cock horse to Banbury Cross" is a ditty of infinite delight, and long before the days of cor- deroys the equestrian exercise of " Grandfather's Stick " aifords him "joy ineffable." Then comes the noble game of Hippas, or the wooden "Bucephalus," on which he feels greater than Alexander ; and last, though very little, yet still not least, the " pet Shetland," which adds to the bhss of being mounted, a positive progressive locomotion, and the " greater than Alexander " is made greater still. Considering, therefore, that all boys love riding, it is for us to tell them how they may "mount the fiery Pegasus," and ride with elegance and safety, " To witch the world with noble horsemanship." .>'■■'? ..^BlBl =^2^-^' .'^ mhlxoMfLik «!(!','«Vi;f / lii' .;■ |;' " •'^.;f; «^ ;• ^^/r ' ,: 1 ■ 1 a ^«1 1' ■4h 1 «g^^ 1 .- 1 ^m ■i i'i Mr ^mm ii 1 1 or RIDING. 271 THE nORSE. The horse is one of the most beautiful and graceful animals in nature, and uerhaps the most useful to man, though in this respect it would be difficult to say which of the four or live domesticated quadrupeds bears the palm. During life, the horse and the dog would each contest the point; while in relative value after death, the bullock, sheep, and swine, are fairly entitled to an equal share with them. But there is something very captivating in the appear- ance of the horse, whether used for the purposes of war, or for racing, or for hunting, or road- work; and in all these several capacities the readers of this book may possibly admire him, though it is chiefly as the riding-horse, or hack, that he usually attracts their notice. In the animal kingdom, the horse belongs to the division Verte- BRATA, and class JSIammalta, he having a back-bone composed of vertebrae, and his young being suckled. His broad and undivided '^oof places him among the ungulata ; and lastly, his teeth are as follows, viz. six front teeth, above and below, called " nippers ; " two canine in each jaw, called " tusks ; " and the remainder, consisting of grinders, having flat surfaces opposed to each other, with rough ridges on them, by which the grass, hay, and com are rubbed- or ground down to a fine pulp, adapted to the stomach. These teeth are moved or rolled on each other by a peculiar action of the muscles of the jaw, so as to aid the process. THE MARKS OF AGE IN THE HORSE. By means of the gradual wearing down of the front teeth, or nippers, the age of the horse may be known. Each of the nippers has a hollow in its upper surface, which is very deep and black when the tooth first rises above the gum, and is gradually effaced by the friction caused by the cropping of the grass, or by biting at the manger, or other kinds of rubbing ; but as these vary a good deal accordmg to circumstances, so the precise degree of wearing away will also be liable to fluctuations ; and the rules laid down only approximate to the truth, without positive accuracy as to a few months. There are also two sets of teeth ; a milk set, which first rise, beginning at once after birth, and a permanent set, which replace the milk-teeth as they fall out. The milk-teeth come up two at a time, but all are up by the end of the first year. The permanent teeth, also, make their appearance by twos, the first pair showing themselves in the place of the two middle milk-teeth in the third year, and being generally level with the other milk-teeth by the end of the fourth year, by which time the next pair have fallen out, and the permanent teeth have shown themselves in their places. At five years of age the horse has lost aU his nippers, and his corner permanent teeth have nearly completed their growth. The tusks 272 EVERY BOYS BOOK. are also above the gums. The centre nippers are now much worn, and the next are becoming sHghtly so. At six years old the " mark '* in the centre nippers is quite gone ; at seven years of age this dis- appears from the next pair, and at eight from the comer nippers ; after which, none but a professed judge is Hkely to make out the age of the horse by an inspection of his mouth ; and, indeed, at all times the tyro is liable to be deceived by the frauds of the low horse-dealer, who cuts off the top of the teeth, and then scoops out a hollow with a gouge ; after which a hot iron gives the black surface which in the natural state is presented to t^e eye. This trick is called " bishopiiig." THE PACES OP THE HOESE. The natural paces of the horse are the walk, trot, and the gaUop ; to them are added by man the canter, and sometimes the amble and the run. In the walk, each leg is taken up and put down separately. one after the other, the print of the hind foot in good walkers generally extending a few mches beyond that of the fore foot. The order in which the feet touch the ground is as follows : 1st, the off fore foot ; 2d, the near hind foot ; 3d, the near fore foot ; and 4th, the off hind foot. The gallop consists of a succession of leaps, during a great part of which all the feet are off the ground. As the feet come to the f round they strike it in regular succession ; but the exact order will epend upon the lead, which may be either with the off or near fore leg. When in action and the horse is leading with the off fore foot RIDING. 273 (which if well broken he would do), the off hind and near fore feet touch the ground simultaneously next the near hind foot, and lastly, the off fore foot which he leads with. In the trot, the two legs of opposite les are moved exactly together, and touch the ground at the same loment ; whilst in the amble the two legs of each side move sther, and the horse is supported for the instant upon the half of usual and regular foundation. To counteract this deficiency 274 EVERY boy's book. in the centre of gravity, the body is balanced from side to side in a waddHng manner. TERMS USED BY HORSEMEN. The left side is called the " near side/' the right the " off." Four inches make " a hand." The upper part of the horse's neck is called his " crest ; " the bony ridge in front of the saddle the " withers , " the part between the saddle and the tail the " croup ; " the bony points, one on each side the bosom, the " shoulder points ; " and the line between these and the back of the withers, corresponding with the shoulder blade, is the " line of the shoulder." The body between the hip and shoulder line is called the ** middle piece." In the fore legs, the two divisions are called the " arm " and " cannon ; " above which is the "elbow-joint," and between them the "knee-joint." In the hind leg, the two parts are called the "thigh" and "cannon ;" tod the joints are the " stifle " and " hock." Below these, in both the hind and fore legs, are the upper and lower " pasterns," then the " coronet," or ring between the leg and foot, and lastly, " the hoof." FORM OF THE HORSE. Ij; is a common observation of the horseman that the horse can go in all forms ; and this is borne out by the fact, that he does occa- sionally do so ; but nevertheless, it is well known, that among a large number it will be found that those whose form is most in accordance with the shape considered the best by good judges, will turn out the best movers. In technical language, the horse whose " points " are the best will be the best horse. These points are considered to be : a neat head well set on a lean wiry neck, the latter with a very gentle curve, whose convexity looks upwards (the opposite form to this makes the " ewe neck ") ; moderately high withers ; a sloping shoulder, wide in th6 blade, which should be well furnished with muscles : strong muscular loins ; a croup not too straight nor too drooping, with the tail set on with an elegant sweep; ribs well rounded, and carried back near to the hips, so as to make the horse what is called "well ribbed;" circumference or girth of good dimen- sions, indicating plenty of " bellows' room ; " thighs and arms muscular ; hocks and knees bony and large, without being diseased ; cannon bones large and flat, with the suspensory ligament and tendon large, strong, and clearly defined ; fetlock joints strong, but not round and '"nflamed. The eye should be full, clear, and free from specks; and the ears should be moderately small and erect; the feet should be round, and not contracted at the heels, with a well-formed frog. VARIETIES OF THE HORSE SUITABLE EOR BOYS. Besides the several kinds of horses suitable for grown people, those for boys are the galloway, the cob, and the pony. The first of RIDING. ^NIVER8(TY 275 these may be considered either a small horse or a large pony, and is usually about fourteen hands high ; and though strong ana capable of carrying weight, yet of a moderately light and active make. He is so called from the district where he was originally bred in large numbers. The cob is a thick and very strong pony, or galloway, frequently made to look still more so by cutting his tail and mane short, called " hogging " them^ thus — Correctly speaking, a pony is understood to be under thirteen hands in height, a galloway between tliirteen and fourteen and a half, any- thing over that a horse. Many ponies are now bred almost of pure Arabian blood, and they are well suited for lads who have mastered the early difficulties con- nected with keeping the seat under all ordinary circumstances ; but as they are generally very high-spirited, they are scarcely suited for the beginner, and he had better content himself with an animal of more plebeian pedigree and sluggish temperament. THE ACCOUTREMENTS AND AIDS Required by the young amateur, are either a pad or saddle, according to his age, together with a bridle and a whip or stick. Spurs are seldom desirable for any but the accomplishea rider, as they are apt to irritate the pony if not used with discretion, and it is rather diffi- cult to put an old head upon young shoulders. If the learner is very young, a pad which is made without any tree affords a better hold for the knees than a regular saddle, and will also enable him to ride without stirrups, which feat he will hardly manage on an ordinary smooth saddle. The stirrups are of the following form, but are often, for boys, made much lighter. They ought always to be t2 276 EVERT B0T*8 BOOK. used with strong stirrup leathers, and these should be attached to the saddle by spring-bars, which release the stirrups in case of the leg being entangled in them after a fall. The groom should always remove the leathers after the ride, and replace them on the opposite side of the saddle, by which means their tendency to hang as shown at («), is recti- fied, and they assume the posi- tion indicated by the one marked (A), both representing the left, or near, side. The bridle is either a single or a double-reined one, accord- ing to the mouth of the pony riaden. A single-reined bridle is usually a snaffle, it being very improper to allow any one to ride with a curb alone, unless he has very steady and light hands. The snaffle oit is merely a jointed bar of iron (5 5) in the accompanying sketch, but when used alone it has a li^ht cross-bar as well as the rmg there shown, in order to prevent the bit being pulled through the mouth. This, however, in the double-reined bridle is omitted, since it would interfere with the action of the curb. Snaffles are either smooth or twisted, and are made of all sizes, the smallest being only adapted for occasional use, and not for the hands of the learner, who should have a large smooth one. The , curb-bit consists of three parts ; the mouthpiece (1), which usually I has a bend in it called the port, for the purpose of pressmg against " the roof of the mouth ; secondly, of the cheek-piece (2), which has a ring (3) at the lower end for the attachment of the rein, and another at the upper end for the head-piece of the bridle; and thirdly, the curb-chain (4). This chain is pressed against the outside of the lower jaw, by the upper arm of the curb used as a lever, and it should be hooked up sufficiently tight to act upon it by pulling the rein, whilst at the same time it should be loose enough to prevent its fretting the jaw. This delicacy of adjustment requires some little practice, and the young rider should always ask his teacher to show him the proper mode of applying the curb-chain. Sometimes RIDING. 277 a martiiigaJe is needed, in order to keep the pony's head down, but generally the young rider is better without it, if he will keep his hands well down, and avoid all jerking of the mouth. MOUNTING. The rider, even at the earliest age, should first examine the girths and the bridle, and see if they are properly adjusted; for though when leaving home he may be able to depend upon a steady and experienced groom, yet, after putting up at strange stables, he is liable to be led into an accident by careless servants, and therefore it is better to get into the habit of always inspecting these essentials to safety and comfort. If there is an attendant groom, he should hold the rein with his right hand, standing by the off shoulder of the horse, so as with his left hand to hold tlie stirrup iron for the rider's right foot as he throws it over the horse's back. The next thing to be done is for the rider to stand at the shoulder of the pony with his left side towards that pai-t. He then lays hold of the reins with his left hand, drawing them up so short as to feel the mouth, and at the same time twisting a lock of the mane in his fingers so as to steady the hand. Next, the left foot is placed in the stirrup when the accompanying attitude is presented, exactly as here shown. At this moment a spring is given from the right foot, the right hand reaches the cantle of the saddle, and the body is raised till the right leg is brought up to the level of the left,' when the slightest imaginable pause is made, and then the right leg is thrown over the back of the pony, keeping the toe down and heel elevated, or with the spur on mischief may happen, while the right hand leaves its hold, and the body falls into its position in the centre of the saddle ; after which, the right foot has only to be placed in the stirrup to complete the act of mountii^. 278 EVERY BOY^S BOOK. DISMOUNTING Is exactly the reverse of the last process, and requires, first, the reins to be shortened and held in the left hand with a lock of the mane ; secondly, the right leg is taken out of the stirrup, and is thrown over the back of tlie horse until it is brought down to the level of the other leg. After this, if the pony is of a small size, suitable to that of the rider, the body is gently lowered to the ground, and the left leg is liberated from the stirrup ; but if the horse is too high for this, the foot is taken out of the stirrup by raising the body by means of the hands on the pommel and cantle of the saddle, and then the body is lowered to the ground by their assistance. THE MANAGEMENT OF THE REINS Is of great importance to the comfort of the rider, and also to his appearance, for unless they are held properly, the body is sure to be RIDING. 279 awkwardly balanced. When the single rein is used, the best position is to place the middle, ring, and httle fingers between the two reins, and then to turn both over the Jore-finger, where they are tightly held by the thumb. In aU cases the thumb ought to point towards the horse's ears, by which the elbow is sure to be kept in its place close to the side, and a good command of the reins is insured. If a double-reined bridle is employed, the middle finder separates the two snaffle reins, and the httle one those attached to the curb, all being turned over the fore-finger, and firmly held by the thumb In both cases the ends of the reins are turned over the left, or near, side of the pony's shoulder. When it is intended to turn the horse to the left, it is only necessary to raise the thumb towards the chest of the rider ; and on the contrary, when the desire is to turn him to the right, the little finger is turned downwards and backwards towards the fork. In many well-broken ponies the mere moving of the whole hand to the right or left is sufficient, which, by pressing the reins against the neck, indicates the wish of the rider, and is promptly responded to by the handy pony. This action, however, is objected to by some good horsemen, though, in my opinion, most erroneously, as it is capable of being made highly effective in practice. THE SEAT Should always be square to the front, without either shoulder being in advance ; the loins moderately arched inwards without stiffness ; the elbows close to the side, but held easUy ; the knees placed upon the padded part of the flat m front of the stirrup-leathers ; toes turned very sHghtly outwards, and the foot resting on the stirrup, the inside of which should be opposite the ball of the great toe, and the outside corresponding with the Httle toe. In hunting, however, it may be placed " home," that is, with the stirrup close to the instep. The heel should be well lowered as far as possible beneath the level of the toe, which gives a firm seat. But the great point is to obtain a good grasp of the saddle by the knees, which should be always ready to lay hold like a vice, without however constantly tiring the muscles by such an effort. The left hand is now to be 280 EVERY boy's book. held very slightly above the pommel of the saddle, and the right easily by the side of it^ -with the whip held in a slanting position, as at page 273, in which however both hands are much too high above the withers. In order to show the effect of an incorrect mode of holding the reins, the rider has only to place his hands with the knuckles in a horizontal position, and the elbow is sure to be turned out in a most awkward manner. THE CONTROL OP THE HORSE Is effected by the reins, heels, voice, and whip, variously used according to his disposition and temper. Some require only the most gentle usage, which in fact is almost always the most efficacious, especially by young people, for whom the horse and dog seem to have an especial affection, and to be always more ready to obey them than might be expected, when their want of strength to enforce their wishes is considered. The young rider will therefore generally find it to his own interest, as well as that of the noble animal he bestrides, to use his whip and heel as little as possible, and to effect his object solely by his voice and the gentlest pressure of the bit. In this way the most high-couraged horses are kept in order by young lads in the racing stables, and the amateur will do well to follow their example. It is astonishing how fond horses and dogs are of being talked to by their juvenile masters, and it is right to gratify their love of society by so doing on all occasions. The reins serve, as already explained, to turn to tlie right or left, or by drawing tight to stop the horse, and on the contrary, by relaxing them to cause him to proceed, aided if necessary by the voice, heel, or whip. When it is desired that the right leg should lead in the canter or gallop, the left rein is pulled and the left leg pressed against the flank, by which means the body of the pony is made to present the right side obliquely forwards, and by consequence the right leg leads off. On the other hand, if if. is wished to lead with the left leg, or to change from the right, the right rein is pulled, the right leg {)ressed to the side, and then the left shoulder looks forwards and the eft leg leads off. » MANAGEMENT 01 THE WALK. When it is wished to make the pony walk, be must be quieted down by soothing him with the voice if he has been excited by the gallop or trot ; and then, by sitting very quietly in the saddle, and loosing the reins as much as will allow the head to nod in unison with the action of the body and legs, the walk is generally at once fallen into, and there is no farther difficulty except to, prevent a stumble. A tight rein is not desirable in this pace, since it prevents that liberty of action which is required, and leads to a short walk, or very often a jog-trot ; and yet there should be such a gentle hold, or RIDING. 281 preparation for a hold ratlier, as will suffice to check the mouth in case of a mistake. This is a very difficult art to acquire, and is only learnt by long practice ; but as few ponies fall at this pace, great liberty may generally be allowed to their mouths. Besides this, little is necessary, more than to sit steadily, hut not stiffly, in the saddle, and not to sway about more than is sufficient to avoid the appearance of having swallowed a poker. THE TROT AND CANTER Are eiFected by rather different methods, but both require a very steady hand, and a quiet treatment. In order to cause the pony to trot, the reins are taken rather short in the hand, and the mouth is held somewhat firmly, but taking great care not to jerk it. The animal is then slightly stimulated by the voice, and the body, if necessary, rises from the saddle, as in the trot, so as to indicate what is wanted. This seldom fails to effect the purpose, and the horse at once breaks into a trot ; or, if very irritable, he may be compelled to do so by laying hold of an ear and twisting it, to avoid which he drops his head, and trots ^s a natural consequence. The canter is also an acquired pace, and for its due performance a curb-bridle is required. In order to make the pony begin this pace, the left rein is pulled, and the rider's left leg pressed against the side, by which the horse's right leg is made to lead off, this being the most usual, and certainly the most comfortable " lead " for the rider. The hands must make a very gentle and steady pidl on the curb-rein, and the body generally must be very quiet in the saddle, whilst, at the same 282 EVER? boy's book time, a very gentle stimulus is given by the voice, which must be repeated at short intervals, or the canter will be changed to a trot. or walk, both of wliich are preferred to it by most ponies and horses. Young riders should avoid cantering long upon one leg, as it leads to inflammation of the joints, and they should either change the lead or alter the pace to a trot or walk. THE MANAGEMENT OF THE GALLOP Requires little instruction, practice being the main agent in effecting a good seat during this pace. The seat is either close to the saddle, with the body inclining backwards (p. 275), or standing in the stirrups, in which position the knees and calves only touch the saddle, and the body is bent forwards over the withers (p. 273). It should be the endeavour of the rider, while he bends his shoulders forwards, to throw his loins well back, so as to avoid straining the horse's fore- quarters, by bearing too much weight upon them. This is done by the hold of the knees on the saddle, and by keeping the feet back, also by rounding the loins backwards, and thus throwing the centre of gravity as far as possible behind the stirrup leathers. The object of standing in the stirrups is to save the horse when at his full gallop, as in racing, or in hunting, wlien he is going over plouglied ground or up hill. In either of these cases, this attitude allows the horse to exert himseK without feehng the weight of the rider impede his movements more than can be avoided. LEAPING Is only an extra exertion added to the ordinary snring of the gallop, the attitude benig exactly the same. It is best learnt by beginning with small ditches, which the rider is soon able to clear without difficulty. He may next try sheep-hurdles, or very low stiles ; but the latter being Strong and firmly fixed, are dangerous to the rider, unless the pony is very sure of clearing them. A leaping-bar, if procurable, should always be adopted in preference to either, as a fall over it is not attended with any bad consequences. The groom should place it at the lowest notch, and the pony then may be suffered to clear it at a moderate gallop ; after which, if the young rider is able to sit pretty closely, he may be indulged with a higher notch, and gradually it may be raised until the Hmits of the pony's powers are reached. In ridmg at a bar, the learner should lay hold of a snaffle-rein in each hand, taking care to keep them close together, by the right rein being held also in the left hand. The pony is then to be urged to a smart canter or hand gallop, and lield straight to the bar in this way, so that he is obHged to leap ; or if disliking the act, being urged by the whip down the shoulder, or the spur, or the groom's voice and whip behmd. Young riders, however, should never be put upon a bad or reluctant leaper, but should be taught upon one wliich is fond of the amusement. At the moment of rising into the air for the leap the RIDING. 283 reins axe relaxed, but should not be left quite loose ; wliUe the pony is in the air the body becomes upright, and as he descends it leans well back, until, after a high leap, it almost touches the croup. During this period the reins should be suffered to remain nearly loose, the hand barely feeling the mouth; but as the pony reaches the ground a stronger hold is taken, in order to guard against a mistake, which might require the aid of the rider to prevent a fall. It is not that he can keep the animal up, but that he checks him, and makes him exert himself in a double degree. There are various kinds of leaping ; as the flying leap, the standing leap, the leap in hand, &c. The flying leap is merely one taken at a fast pace, and when the ridei can maiutaia a good seat in the gallop, it is the easiest of all to sit. The standing leap is effected from a state of quiescence, and is much more difficult to sit, because the horse rises and falls more suddenly and abruptly. Between the two is the slow or steady leap, which is only effected safely by the clever hunter or well-broken pony ; but when perfect it is almost as smooth as a rocking-horse. This is the mode in which the young rider should be taught to leap. Leaping in hand is necessary for most p '^nies in the hunting field, which would otherwise never be able to compete with full-sized hunters in the way they do. The young hunter, when he meets with a gate or other strong fence, which he knows is too much for the powers of his pony, at once gets off and leads him over by the rein ; and when well taught, these little creatures will often tilt themselves over high timber, &c. in a marveUouslv clever mariier, so that I have known them in this 284 EVERY boy's book. way obtain a good place in long and severe runs. If, therefore, my readers are allowed to partake in this exciting sport during their Christmas holidays, they should teach their ponies to leap in hand, or they will be sure to be thrown out. TEEATMENT OF VICES. The chief vices which are met with among ponies are — 1st, Obsti- nate Stopping; 2d, Stumbhng from Carelessness; 3d, Rearing; 4th, Kicking • 5th, Shying ; and 6th, Running Away. Obstinate Stopping, which in its worst forms is called "jibbing," is a very troublesome vice, and even in the saddle is sometimes attended with danger, whilst in driving it is so to a dreadful degree. The rider should never attempt to force his pony forward with the whip or spur, which only aggravates the bad-tempered brute ; but should patiently sit quiet in the saddle, and keep his temper, until the pony chooses to move forward again. In this way sometiroejs very vicious animals are cured when they find that their stable is not the sooner reached by their device ; on the other hand, if the whip is used, the pony, especially if of Welsh breed, is very apt to lie down and roll his rider in the dirt, or even sometimes to bolt into a river, or pond, and leave him in danger of his life. My young friends will therefore remember my advice when being mounted upon an obstinate pony, and having lost their tempers, they have proceeded to use their whips, and are bemired or half drowned m consequence. Stumbling is more a defect of conformation than a vice ; but never- theless, it greatly depends upon a want of spirit to keep up a steady action of the fore legs. It often happens that a pony trots along for BIDING. 285 a mile or two safely enough ; but after going that distance he becomes lazy and careless, and trips with one foot and then with the other, a sure prelude to such a fall as the following, which would be a very bad one, and sufficient to cut both knees to the bone, and to cause serious damage to the rider. The only way to avoid such accidents is to keep the pony at a steady pace, fast enough to keep him alive, but not enough so to tire him. Loose stones and broken ground should be avoided, and a careful hold should be kept upon the mouth, without being so tight as to gag it. When a stumble actually takes place, the body should be weU thrown back and the mouth forcibly jerked, so as to make the pony exert himself to keep his legs. An unsafe animal of this kind is, however, wholly unfit for young riders, and they should never be allowed to ride one. Rearing is a very dangerous vice, and not very common among ponies after they are once broken in. If the rider should, however, be placed upon a rearer, he should be careful to avoid hanging upon the bit when he rises in the air, but on the contrary should loose the reins entirely, and clasp the neck, if the pony should rise very high in the air. The accompanying sketch shows this vice in a very trifling degree, and in such a case the seat thus represented is sufficiently forward to prevent accidents. The rider wiU, however, observe that the reins are quite loose. It often happens that this vice is produced by too tight and severe a curb in a tender mouth, and that upon changing the bit, or letting out the curb chain, the tendency to rise is entirely gone. ' Whenever, therefore, the young rider finds his pony inclined to rear, let him look 286 EVERT boy's book. well to his bit, and at once drop the curb rein if he has one. If, however, he has only a snaffle, he may rest assured that it is a regular habit, and at once make up his mind either to battle \fith it or to change his pony. Kicking is much more common among ponies than rearirg, and very many of these little animals are given to practise it. It is RIDING. 287 perhaps partly owing to the teasing of their young masters that it is 80 common ; but whatever the cause, there can be no doubt that it. is too prevalent among them. Sometimes it exists as a regular attempt to unhorse the rider, which is a very troublesome habit, and one very difficult to break, because it so often succeeds that the pony is tempted to try again. When this vice is met with, the rider should do all in his power to keep his pony's head up, by jerkibg the bit, and at the same time he should sit well back, with his feet well forwards, with heels down, and trust to his knees in holding on. When kickiug is only the result of high spirits and " freshness," the best remedy is a smart gallop, which soon stops all these pranks, and makes the most riotous animal quiet. Shying is also very common among ponies, and in them is often the result of cunning, which leads them to pretend a greater degree of shyness than they really possess. The best mode of treatment is to take as little notice as possible of the shying, but carefully to make the pony pass the object at which he is 'looking, without regarding how this is effected. The whip should seldom be used at all, and never after the object is passed. Bolting^ or Running Away, is often the result of want of exercise, but sometimes it is a systematic vice. A powerful bit and a steady seat, with good hands, are the best means of grappling with this habit, which is sometimes a very dangerous one. If the pony really runs awav, the rider should not pull dead at his mouth, but should relax his hold for a short time, and then take a sharp pull, which is often effectual. A good gallop until he is tired will often cure a runaway for the rest of his life. There are a variety of -bits intended expressly to counteract this vice, such as the Hanoverian Pelham, the curb with a high port, &c. ; but nothing is perfectly effectual where there is a determination to run away. A nose-band has lately been invented for the purpose, which answers better than anything hitherto brought out ; it consists of a long nose-band which crosses behind the jaw and then hooks on to the bit in the same way as the ordinary curb-chain. When the rein is pulled hard, this nose-band is drawn tight round the jaw, by which the mouth is closed, and the port is pressed strongly against the roof of the mouth, causing a great degree of pain, sufficient to stop most horses. This powerful remedy, which has been named the Bucephalus nose-band, should not lightly be used ; but in the case of a runaway horse, or pony, it is the only really efficacious one. ROWING. •A "boat, a boat, is the toy for me. To rollic about in on river and sea ; To be a child of the breeze and the gale, And like a wild bird on the deep to sail, This is the life for me ! " — Procter. HISTORICAL MEMOBANDA. The sea service is the gloiy of Old England, notwithstanding all the glorious land service of ancient and modern days. A country having nearly ten thousand miles of sea-coast, with numerous ports, harbours, estuaries, river mouths, and capacious bays, must ever be a maritime nation, and look for its supremacy to the sea — to her sons being amphibious ; and nothing is better calculated to develop the inherent instinct for sea duties than the amusements of boating, of rowing, of sailing, and other aquatic sports. Every young gen- tleman in England should know how to manage a boat, and to sail a cutter ; and it will be our duty to initiate him into the methods of doing so. The origin of ships must be traced to the ark of Noah ; but this was not a sailing or a rowing vessel, but simply a large floating house or receptacle for Noali and his family, and ^ihe various types ol animated nature. The first navigators were the Phoeniciaoa, who R01WIN0. 289 who ascended the throne in 872, commenced the first English fleet in person, and is said to have suggested a variety of improvements in the structure, as well as greatly to have increased the size of the vessels, some of the largest of which carried sixty oars. After the death of Alfred, the naval power of England seems to have lain dormant ; and this, no doubt, tempted the Norman invasion in 1066, under William the Bastard, who sailed for the coast of England with a fleet of 900 vessels ; and so sensible was he of the imjportance of the naval service, that he gave certain privileges to certam towns on the sea-coast, wliich were from their number called the Cinque Ports. Richard I. fitted out large fleets ; and his successor, John, asserted the exclusive right of the English nation to the dominion of the seas. The reign of Edward I. was ^o distinguished for successes at sea. Henry VII., on gaining the throne, in 1485, put the navy into a respectable condition ; and a large ship, called the " Great Harry," which may properly be termed the first ship of the British navv, was built at a cost of 14,000/. The discovery of America, about tne period of tlie accession of Henry VIII., gave a new stimulus to our navy, and many ships were then built of large tonnage, some of a thousand tons. But Queen EHzabeth, deeply impressed with the maxim, that " whosoever commands the sea, commands the trade of the world," and that " whosoever commands the trade, commands the riches of the world," and consequently the world itself, so encouraged and restored the marine, that she may be called the "Restorer of the naval power of England ;" and, in a few years after, the invasion of the Spanish Armada put our naval power to the proof. Charles I., the great and courageous Cromwell, and even tne pleasure-loving Charles 11., were all impressed with the great advantages of a for- midable navy ; and in the reign of Anne, fifty-two Erench ships, con- taining more than 3,000 guns, were captured. And dunn^ the reign of George III. the naval superiority was placed by a series of glorious successes beyond all dispute ; and it is to be hoped that the reign of our beloved Queen Victoria, who is herself a sailor, and full of every generous aspiration that belongs to a British Tar, will, not- withstanding the " mistakes of the Admiralty," prove that England still retains the sovereignty of the ocean, and on that element she will defy the world. CONSTRUCTION OJ? ANCIENT SHIPS AND GALLEYS. The Egyptian vessels are the earliest of which any well-authen- ticated graphic illustration has been preserved. We here ffive a vie\f of one of their earliest sailing vessels. The celebrated Egyptian vessel called the "Isis" is said to have been in length 180 feet, m u 390 EVERY BOY 8 BOOK. breadth 45 feet, aad in height, from the upper ed^e of the deck to th« bottom of the well, 43 feet. The well-known sbp of Hiero, king o! Syracuse, was nearly 400 tons burden. SOMAN GALLEYS, SHIPS, ETC. They were In length about 125 feet, and in breadth 10 feet. Their first requisite was swiftness, and no part of the side was left vacant where an oar could be put out ; hence they had often three banks of oai's, one above the other. In most ancient ships, there was placed at the prow an image called " the sign." The part of the vessel that cut tne water was called the " goose." At the stem, which generally re- sembled a shield, was set or some way delineated a representation of the deity to whose tutelary favour the ship was committed, and to which dailv prayer and sacrifice were offereoL War ships were chiefly rowed witn oars, that they might be able to tack about. The first long ships were rowed with fifty oars, but afterwards a larger number was used. In the more penect condition of ancient navigation, there were some ships that had as many as five tiers of oars, and three hundred rowers. Two large holes at the prow of the vessel, occa- sionall^r used for oars, were called the ship's " eyes ;" and a wooden projection at the orow, covered with brass, was called a " beak;" and pieces of wood placed on each side of the prow of a vessel, to ward off the force of the enemy's beak, were called the ship's "cars." Over these vessels were certain raised platforms, and on thf J- fore- castles were towers on which the soldiers stood, wiiose shields were ROWING. 291 usually hung upon the railings which begirt the ship. The sides ol the prow were called " cheeks." The anchors at first used were often large stones, or even bags of sand; afterwards, however, the ancient ships carried anchors with one, two, and four flukes. The larger anchor was called the " sacred anchor," and reserved for the most trying occasions. Among the ancients, ships were usually termed " horses," which explains many ancient fables. The elder Pliny, for instance, tells us of a boy who was carried by water some miles every day on the back of a dolphin to school; the vessel, in all probability, having a dolphin at the prow. Arion, the famous musician of Lesbos, having made great wealth in foreign parts by his profession, was returning home by ship, when the sailors resolved to kill him, and seize upon his riches. Playing once again, at his last request, a favourite tune, he leaped into tne sea. A dolphin, attracted by his melody, received him safely on its back, and carried him again to the coast where Periander lived. Arion, doubtless, escaped by a boat, the fore-part of which consisted of a dolphin. Having thus given the young reader a notion of ancient boats and ships, we shall now proceed to make him acquainted with the modem practices of rowing, coating, sailing, &c. OP BOATS. A Boat is properly a vessel propelled by oars. In a more extensive seuse the word is applied to other small vessels, which differ in construction and name, according to the services in which they are employed. Thus they are light or strong, sharp or flat-bottomed, open or decked, according as they ai-e mtended for swiftness or burden, deep or shallow water, &c. The Barye is a long, light, narrow boat, employed in hairboturs, and unfit for sea. The Long Boat is the largest boat belougmg to a ship, generally furnished with two sails, and is employed for cruising short distances, brin^g the cargo and bales on board, &c. The Launch is more flat-bottomed than the long boat, which it has generally superseded. The Pinnace resembles the barge, but is smaller. The Cutters of a shijp are broader and deeper than the barge or pinnace, and are employed in carrying light articles, single passen- gers, &c. on board. Yawls are used for similar purooses to the bar^e and pinnace. A Gig is a long, narrow boat, used for expedition, and rowed with six or eight oars. The Jolly Boat is smaller than a yawl, and is used for going on shore. A merchant ship seldom has more than two boats, — a long boat and a yawl. A Wherry is a light, sharp boat, used in a river or harbour for transporting passengers. A Bunt is a flat-bottomed boat, chiefly used for fishing on a fresh water river. A Skiff is a small sharp-nosed boat, used in rivers. A Dingy is a very small stiff boat used by yachts. A Yacht is a pleasure sailing-boat. A Lugger is a boa* 292 EVERY boy's book. which is furnished with sails of a peculiar cut. A Funny is a small light boat used iu river rowing, and made with her bow and stem nearly alike. THE COMPONENT PARTS Of BOATS. Bowing boats consist of the bows (1); the stem, or entrance (2); the stem (8), where are the rudder and the lines for steering ; the rowlocks (3), for giving purchase to the oars ; and the thwarts, or «eats (4). At the bottom are the foot-boards (5), which are easily removed, in or4er to bail out any water which may leak into the boat. Besides these parts there is a board placed across the boat for the feet of the rower, called a sti-etcher. The whole boat is com- Eosed of one or more planks, called streaks, nailed upon a Hght oak •amework, called the timbefe, or ribs ; and the upper streak, upon which the rowlocks are placed, is called the wale-streak. Boats with two rowlocks opposite each other are called sculling boats, and are propelled by a pair of light oars called scull?, the art being caUed " sculling," When a boat is fitted with a pair of rowlocks not opposite each other, it is called a pair-oared boat. If with two in the middle opposite each other, and two others, one before and the other behind^ but not opposite each other, it is called a randan. When a boat has four rowlocks, none of which are opposite one another, it is called a four-oared boat, and so on up to ten oars, which is the utmost limit in common use for any kind of boat but the pleasure barge, which sometimes has twenty-four oars, as in the City barges of London. The rowlock nearest the bow is called the bow rowlock, or No. 1 ; the next No. 2, and so on ; and the oars used iu them receive the same number, the one nearest the stern being called the " stroke oar." The rowlocks in river and sea boats are somewhat different in shape though identical in principle, both consisting of a square space of about the breadth of a man's hand, and both lying on the wale-streak ; but in river boats being generally bounded before and behind by a flat piece of oak or ash called, re- spectively, the thowl-pin and stopper ; whilst in sea boats they are merely common round wooden pins dropped into holes made in the wale-streak, but stUl receiving the same names. The thowl-pin is for the pui-pose of pulling the oar against, whilst the stopper prevents the oar from sbpping forwards when the rower is pushing it in that drcction after the stroke. ROWING. 293 THE OAHS AND SCULLS. A scnll is a small oar used with one hand, and requiring a pair, as in the case of oars, one being placed in the rowlock on each side the boat, and the pair being used by one person with his right and left hands. Oars are used by both hands, and a pair-oared ooat conse- quently requires two oarsmen ; a four-oared boat four, and so on. Both sculls and oars consist of the same parts, except that the handle of the oar is made long enough for both hands, as at {Jj). In every case there is a rounded handle [a b), a loom, square in form, and extending from the handle to the button, or about one-third of the length of the oar ; and beyond the button is the blade, which ^1 ^ is first nearly round, and then gradually ^ - ■ I widens, until it assumes the form best ^ adapted for laying hold of the water, which is now found to be broad rather than long, as was formerly thought to be desirable. The button is a piece of leather nailed on to prevent the oar from slipping through the rowlock, but only used m river rowing, as it is not adapted for the rough work which is often met with m. sea rowing. SEA HOWTNG. This is necessarily less elegant than river rowing, because of the rough nature of the element on which the exercise is pursued. The oar must be held firmly in the hands, the inside hand being placed at Qj), and the outside at {a), and both hands grasping the oar between the thumbs and fingers. The whole art consists in the crew moving backwards and forwards together, called " swinging," and laying nold of the water as well as they can, taking care to avoid pulling in the air with great force when there is a trough or interval between two waves, and on the other hand equally avoiding a heavy wave, which has a tendency to dash the oar out of the hand. All this reauires practice in the rowers, and also in the steersman, called the coxswain, who should watch for the high waves, and warn his men when a heavy one is coming. He should also take care to cross the roll of the sea as much as possible, so as to avoid being struck on the side of the boat called " the counter," which would either swamp her, or else knock the oars out of the rowlocks. In this kind of rowing, the " feathering " of the oar, to be presently described, is not attempted, on account of the rouglmess of tne water, but it merely is pulled steadily, but strongly, backwarda, and is then poshed forwards in the rowlocks. BIVER ROWING. Tlie art of river rowing is capable of a high degree of elegance, and few sights are more pleasing to a lover of graceful forms than Wklfi/e-B»fi^ 294 EVERY BOYS BOOK. that (^ a crew of fine lads, or young men, rowing well together and in good style. To do this requires great practice, and attention to a few essential points, which I will here endeavour to describe. MANAGEMENT OF THE OAR. ^ The rower should, as far as possible, take some good oarsman for his model, and endeavour to imitate him in every respect, which is the only mode of acquiring a good style. Description is useful in putting the learner in the way of acquiring what is to be taught, but it is not all-sufficient for the purpose. In the first place, the learner should place himseK square on the seat, with Ms feet straight before him, and the toes slightly turned out. The knees may either be kept together, in the Newcastle or Clasper style, or separated con- siderably, as practised generallv in England, the latter being in my opinion the better mode, as it allows the body to come more forward over the knees. The feet are to be placed firmly against the stretcher, which is to be let out or shortened, to suit the len^h of the indi- vidual ; and one foot may be placed in the strap which is generally attached to the stretcher m modem boats. The oar is then taken in hand, raising it by the handle, and then either at once placing it in the rowlock, or else first dropping it flat on the water, and tnen raising the handle it may gently be lowered to its place. The outside hand is placed upon the handle at {a), with the thumb as well as the fingers above it, while the other hand firmly grasps it lower down at (b), keeping the nut towards the person. The arms are now quickly thrust forward till they are quite straight at the elbows, after which the back follows them by bending forward at the hips, carefully avoiding any roundness of the shoulders. When the hands have reached their full stretch they are raised, and the blade quietly and neatly dropped into the water; immediately after which, and with the water just covering the blade, the boay is brought back with a graceful yet powerful action, tiU it reaches a part a little behind the perpendicular of the back of the seat, wen the hands are brought back to the ribs, the elbows gliding close bv the hips ; and at the last moment, as the hand touches the rib, tne wrist of the inside hand is depressed, the knuckles being at the same time brought against^ the chest, and the oar is made to rotate in the rowlock, which is called " feathering " it, and by which it is brought cleanly out of the water. The next action is to push the oar rapidly forward again, first however restoring it to its original position in the rowlock, wnich is effected by raising the wrist, and then darting the arms forward till the elbows are quite straight, which brings the rower to where we started from in the description. In. " baddng water " the reverse of these actions takes place. The oar is first reversed in the rowlock, and then it is pushed through the water with as much power as is needed, and pulled through the air. Wben the oars on one side are puUed, and those on the other are backed, ROWING. 295 the boat is made to turn on its own water. " Holding water " is effected by the oars being held in the position of backing without moving them. THE ESSENTIAL POINTS IN E.O-\VING. 1st. To straighten the arms before bending the body forward ; 2d, to drop the oar cleanly iuto the water; 3d, to draw it straight through at the same depth; 4th, to feather neatly, and without bringing the oar out before doing so; 5th, to use the back and shoulders freely, keeping the arms as straight as possible ; and 6th, to keep the eyes fixed upon the rower before them, avoiding looking out of the boat, by which means the body is almost sure to swing backwards and forwards in a straight Hne. MANAGEMENT OF THE BOAT. Every boat without a rudder is manoeuvred in the water, either by pulling both sides alike, in which case it progresses in a straight line, or bv reversing the action of the oars, equally on both sides, pushing them through the water instead of pulling them, and called hacking water, when the boat recedes ; or by pullmg one side only, on which the boat describes a segment of a circle, which is made smaller by pulling one oar, and backing the other. By means of a rudder the boat is made to take a certain course, independent of the rowers, called "steering," the chief art in which consists in keeping the rudder as stiU as possible, by holding the lines " taut,'* and avoiding pulling them from one side to the other more than is absolutely necessary. Some steersmen think it necessary to swing backwards and forwards with a great effort, but this is quite useless, and the more stiU they keep the better. Every coxswain should know the course of the stream or tide ; and when meeting other boats he should, if he is going down stream, give them the side nearest the shore, so as to allow them the advantage of the slack water, which is quite prejudicial to him. When a crew are steered by a competent coxswain, they ought to be perfectly obedient to his commands, rowing exactly as he tells them. His orders are communicated by the foUowing words, viz. when desiring his crew to row he says, " Pull aU;" or if wishing any one oar to be pulled, he says "PuU bow," or "PuU, No. 3," or 4, &c. as the case may be. If they are to stop rowing, he says " Easy d\" or for any one oar, " Easy bow," or No. 2. The same kind of order is conveyed when " backing " or " holding water" is desired; the only variation, as before, being between con- fining his order to any one or more oars, or extending it to all. In this way aU. the evolutions practicable on the water are managed, and the coxswain has complete control over the boat, being able to caiise her to be rowed slowly or quickly, or to be stopped, backed, ot turned on her own centre. 296 EVERY boy's book. ROWING TOGETHEB. Is of the utmost importance to the success of a boat when she is manned by a crew; and they should all endeavour to attain the same style as the " stroke-oar," who should be the best in the boat, and as free from faults as possible. In a four or eight-oared boat, every one of the crew would do well to imitate his stroke by rowing with him occasionally in a pair-oared boat, or else, if this is not practicable, by pulling behind a waterman who rows in the same style as the stroke- oar. In this way an uniform kind of rowing is attained, and the boat is propelled equally by aU at the same time. The great object is for all to lay hold of the water at the same moment, and pml their oars tlirougli it and out with the same power and at the same time ; this is called " keeping stroke." " Keeping time " means, aU " feathering " the oar together, by which the peculiar cHck of the oars in the rowlocks is made exactly at the same instant. \VTien this is not done precisely together, the " time " is defective, and the ear at once detects the error ; but even when the " time " is ever so good, the want of keeping stroke is fatal to the speed of any boat, however good the indiviauals may be. CAUTIONS TO YOUNG BOWEHS. Do not be over anxious to avoid " catching crabs," which is an event Ukely to occur in early practice ; and should it happen, throw the oar quickly upwards out of the rowlock, and no mischief will ensue. The young rower should be at once shown how to free his oar in this way, and then he may puU with that freedom from restraint which is necessary to produce a good style. Do not stand on the seats, or lean out of the boat, and neve/ attempt any practical jokes on the water, as it is a dangerous element to trifle with. SAILING. " The tar's a jolly tar, that can hand, reef and steer, That can nimbly cast-off and belay; Who in darkest of nights finds each halliard and gear, And dead reckoning knows well, and leeway : But the tar to please me must more jolly be, He must laugh at the waves as they roar." — Dibdin. It would be very difficult to trace to its origin the art of sailing. Perhaps the curled leaf passing over the water, with one end erect, might have given to observant man the first notion of a sail. It has been supposed that the Nautilay Argonaut, or sailor-fish, was sug- gestive of the first sailing-vessel ; but long before the Argonaut had been noticed, sails of some kind or other had no doubt been common. A man could not stand in the simplest boat without perceiving that the wind exerted a power upon him and his boat ; and therefore the idea of a sail must have been identical with the first launching of the rudest boat. l!\ie, science of sailing, however, has grown up gradually through a succession of a^es, and has now reached a perfection of which the ancients had no idea. We will first speak of the various kinds of vessels, which are dis- tinguished principally by the number ol' masts, an.l the number and shape of their sails. A Sloop is properly a vessel with one mast, having her sails, with the exception of ner topsails, set in the plane of her length, which is techricaUy called " set fore and aft." Her topsail is a square sail. 298 EVERY BOY S BOOK. ri^ed at right angles to the plane of her length. The bowsprit is generally elevated from the bovs, inclining slightly to the deck. Tlie term "sloop" is now usually applied to a man-of-war, ship-rigged, and cwrying less than 18 guns. A Gutter differs from a sloop in being without a square sail, and in having her bowsprit horizontal; her mast at the same time "raking" aft. Her topsail is fore and aft, and triangular in shape. A Brig is a square-rigged vessel, with two masts. SAILING. 299 A Schooner is a two-masted vessel, with fore and aft topsails, T^'hicb are called gaff-topsails. Sometimes she has a square fore-topsail and top-gallantsail. A Brigmtmei^ something "between a schooner and a brig, and is worked either with oars (called sweeps) or sails. BPTCH «»ll-ROT. 300 EVERY boy's book. A Butch Galleot is riffged like a schooner, but of a broader and more Chinese build, her Dottora bein^ nearly flat. A Billy-hoy is rigged sometimes like a sloop, and sometimes like a schooner; but her bottom is nearly flat, ana she draws but little water. A Smack is a small vessel with one mast like a cutter, used prin- cipally for fishing. A Canoe is a Doat used by savages, usually made of a trunk of a tree, hollowed. A Felucca has two triangular sails, is used in the Mediterranean, and is particularly swift. It can also use oars in calm weather. A Junk IS a Chinese vessel, used eltber for war 61* tnerchanfllsr is built very heavily. . NIVSRHITY } 8A1L1N0..^^^°^ ,.,^y 301 A Proa is used by the natives of the LadronelslanS^f'" '^ is remark- able for its swiftness and sailjng close to the wind. The I ide is quite straight, and the weather-side is convex, like a common uoat. Both head and stem are equally sharp; and in working her there is no necessity to tack or turn at any tune. Besides this peculiarity of con- stniction, the proa has on her lee-side what is callea an " out-rigger," which is made of two poles, extending about 10 feet from her side, havinff at their extremity a piece of solid wood. This prevents her from having any lee-way. She will sail with a good wind twenty miles an hour. The natives of the Society Islands use a canoe, averaging in length from ten to forty feet. It is made of a trunk of a tree, hollowed out; and is just wide enough for a person to sit down. It will carry from one to as many as thirtv persons. It also has an outrigger, like a proa. When a native leaves one island to go to another, ne joins two large canoes together, and builds on them a small hut, which will hold all his family. This is the most convenient way to travel in a canoe, for it is difficult to see anything but one's knees when sitting down in the ordinary manner. These canoes carry a square sail in the fore-part. We will now speak of the vessels we have most to do with — viz. yachts. CHAIIACTEK3 OF 4 YACHT. Speed, safety, and accommodation are the three first qualities of a yacht. She ought to be pleasing to the eye when afloat, of such JV breadth as to carry her canvass with ease, and at the same time so 302 EVERY BOY S BOOK. uliarp in her bow and well-shapen astern as to displace her weight of water smoothly and gradually, while she leaves it in the same way. VARIOUS KINDS OP YACHTS. Yachts are of various kinds, according to their size. If more than eighty tons burden, the schooner is most suitable ; for, as the spars are more numerous, they are proportionably lighter. The schooner, as lias been before observed, has two masts — the foremast and mainmast; the one bearing the sail called the boom-foresail, and the other a mainsail. She has two or more headsails, called staysail, fore-staysail, and jib. Her topsails are either square or fore and aft. The Cutter has one mast and four sails — ^viz. mainsail, maintopsail, foresail, and jib. Some smaller craft have larger jibs, and no foresail The 'Dandy-rifj^ed Yacht differs from a cutter, in having no boom for her mainsail, which can consequently be brailed up by a rope passing roun4 it. She has a mizen-mast standing in the stem, which sets a sail caJled a mizen, and which is stretched on a horizontal spar, projecting over the stem. This style of rig is more safe for a yacht, as the boom in ordmary cutters is liable to sweep persons overboard ; and the sail can be taken in quicker by brailing it up than by lowering it down. The Hatteener has only two sails, a fore and a main sail, of a triangular shape. Each has a spar standing from the deck to the peak of the sail, and a boom at the bottom, like a cutter. This rig, from setting more canvass abaft, is weU adapted for xarrow waters. One of the most handy rigs for a yoking sailor is a triangular main- SAILING. 303 sail and foresail rig, on a good-sized open boat/ She should be at least twenty feet long, and five feet on her beam. The foresail is carried over the stem for about a foot, by means of an iron bowsprit, which ships and unships on the nose of the boat. Her mainsail has a spar reaching from the lower part of the mast to the ofthe ■' — ■ ■ " upper corner of the sail ; a rope is fastened in the middle of this spar, r—\^ a^d passes through a block on the mast, by which I H- — '''~ the sail is hoisted. The advantages of this rig are, that it can be easily managed, while under it the boat is much safer than under most other kinds of rig; for, should a squall arise, the yachtsman has only to let fly his foresheet and_ put ms hehn alee, and the boat will ri^ht immediately. With this rig, a boat stands very well to windward, and may be easily brought about. DESCEIPTION OP THE CUTTER YACHT. But the vessel with which we have most to do in our directions for sailir V is the Cutter Yacht, which stands closer to the wind than any other kind of European boat ; and of which we propose, in the first instance, to give a general description. CONSTRUCTION OP THE HULL. The first step in the construction of the hull is laymg down the keel or backbone of the vessel ; which is done by fixing a strong piece of wood, generally oak, upon blocks, that the rest of the timber may be securely added ; the stem is then joined to the fore-post, nearly at right angles, slanting a little forward as it ascenas ; and the stern-poat to its after or hinder part, sloping upwards and backwards. The b04 EVERY BOYS BOOK. timbers and ribs are next cut out of solid wood, and placed trans- versely on the keel, tlieir width varying according to the lines ol a plan previously dra^vn out, — being, of coui'se, farthest apart at the beam ; these, as well as the planks of larger craft, are made to bend into the required shape by being steamed and bolted in while hot. The skeleton being completed, her planks are tlicn secured by copper or iron naUs to the timbers, and riveted. The deck is made of narrow planks, running fore and aft. From the level of the deck, her sides are raised by upright timbers, called " stancheons," cased over by the bulwarks, and sunnounted by a rail called the "gunwale." Some yachts are only half-decked, the after-part being left open and fitted with seats ; but, in order to prevent the water from getting in, a por- tion of deck, called water-ways, is left at each side ; which opposes a further barrier by its terminating on the inner edge in a high crest oi combing. The stepping tlie mast requires great care, since the good or bad sailing of the boat depends very greatly upon it. If we divide the length of a good yaclit into three pai-ts, the point at which the foremost part joins the middle part will oe the widest part, and there will be nearly the place for the cutter's mast. But the American builders have departed from this rule in the construction of their celebrated yacht, " Tlie America^" whose model, after all the stud^ and ingenuity that hayo been applied to yacht-building, seems to resemble the simple yet beautiful model which nature has given us ii^ the duck. The bow of this vessel rises very gradually for some dis- tance along the keel, like the breast of the duck ; and, further imi tating the same model, her beam or widest part is abaft, or further back than the centre. This superior vessel will sail nearly four point? BAILING. 305 off the wind, and -will probably work an entire change in the present style of yacht-building. We have now glanced at all the principal parts of the hull, except that all-important part, the rudder ; which Awings by a hinge from the steni-post, and is moved by a handle fixed to its upper part, bearing the name of " a tiller," and which is used to' steer the boat. Before proceeding with our instructions for sailing a yacht, it will be necessary to describe the action of the rudder ; as the art of steering is the nicest and most important branch ot seamanship. The rudder is a flat board, with a pole rising up on the side, which is fastened to the vessel ; on the top of which is fixed the tiller. In large vessels, there are two rop(?s fastened to the tiller, which are car- ried through blocks on each side of the vessel; then brought back through blocks fastened on the mizenmast, and passed round a wheel, by which means a greater command is obtained over the rudder. When the tiller is moved to the right (starboard), the rudder, of course, is forced in the water to the left (port). As the vessel moves on, the water presses against the rudder on the port side, and thus forces her stem to the starboard side, and her bow to the port. When the tiller is moved to the left, it of course produces a contrary effect. If the ship is moving backwards, then, by moving the tiller to the right, the bow is also turned to the riglit ; for the water presses against the rudder behind it on the left side, and thus pushes the stem to the left. In steering, care must be taken not to steer too much, — that is, not to move the rudder too violently or more than is necessary, — as this materially stops her way. We here present the young yachtsman with a cutter at anchor, with her ropes and spars numbered ; and wliich ought to be thoroughly known, as well as the uses to which they are applied in sailing a yacht : — * 1. stem. 11. Vane and Spindle. 21. Forestay. 2. Stern. 12. Cross-trees. 22. Topping Lift. Tiller. 13. Trussle-truei. 23. Lift Blocks. i Anchor, 14. Gaff. 24. Mainsheet. Cable. 15. Boom. 25. Peak Halliards, Bowsprit. 16. Topmast-shroud, 28. Foresheet, i Bobstay. 17, Topmast-backstay. 29. Signal Halliard)* , Mast. 18. Topmast-stay. 30. Companion. , Topmast. 19, Runner and Tackle. 31. Forecastle , Truck. 20. Traveller for Jib. X 32. Rudder. S06 EVERY BOY S BOOK. CUTTER AT ANCHOR. SOMETHING ABOUT THE MASTS, SPABS, EOPES, ETC. The Ma^t (8) is a spar set nearly upright, mclining a little aft, to support yards and sails. In a yacht, it is kept in its place by two shrouds on each side, made of strong rope, and fastened to the sides of the vessel. The Bowsprit (6) is a spar carried out from the forepart of a yacht, secured at its inner end between two strong posts piercing the deck, called "the bitts." It is kept in its place by the bobstay (7), which is fastened to the stem, and by a shroud on each side secured to the bow. The Boom (15) is that spar which sets out the mainsail below, and is attached at one end to the mast by a swivel cable, called the ** goose-neck," and is eased oif or hauled in at the other by the main- sheet (24), which is a rope passing from the end of the boom through a block on the side of the vessel. The GaJ" (14) sets out the mainsail above, and slides up and down (he mast by means of a crescent end, which embraces it. The sides of this curve are called "horns." The Topmast (9) stands above the mast, and is made to slide up and down. On it a topsail {i. e. a gaff-topsail) is set in light winds ; but both sail and mast are generally lowered in squally weather. It SAILING. 307 is kept steady by a backstay (17) on eajch. side of the foretopmast stay. The latter is brought down to the bowsprife " CVTTXR BEFORE THB ITIKB. Rones. — ^There are various ropes to hoist and lower sails, called haulyards (pronounced halliards). There are also other ropes of great importance, especially those palled the sheets, which are to haul in the sails, and make them stand to the wind. In a yacht, the mainsail has sometimes a sheet each side ; and sometimes only one sheet reeved through double blocks, which travel on an iron rod, called " a horse," from side to side. The jib has two sheets, the starboard and port (right and left). The foresail has the same, except in some instances,^ when it has but one sheet worlopg on a traveller, like the mainsail. _ The topsail has only one, which is rove through a sheave at the end of the gaff and a block at the throat of the gaff, and then down to a cleat or TOPMAST ANt) FORETOPMAST STAY, fastening pkcc ou the deck. Signal ^08 EVERY boy's BOOK- haulyards are for hauling up the colours, and pass throi^ta a small sheave in the truck (10), at the end of the topmast. The ensign haulyards are reeved through a small block at the peak end, and lead down to the boom. The other ropes on board a jacht are for the support of the spars, and are called " standing riggmg/' while those used for the sails are called " running rigging." SAILING A YACHT. If the reader has paid attention to our instructions, he ought now to be pretty well conversant with build, rigging, spars, and sails of a yacht ; the next tiling, therefore, is to explain the actual practical sailing of a yacht. The number of hands must depend on the tonnage of the boat and the number of sails. It is best to have a steersman, and one hand for each sail. Our yaclit is now lying at anchor, or moorings, which consists of a chain and buoy, fastened to a heavy anchor sunk in the bed of the river. Having got on board, by means of the little boat called a "dingy," we first unloose the fore and mahisail, and forestaysail ; haul out the jib on the bowsprit, ready for hoisting; hoist the colours, with the name of the yacnt or club to whicli she belongs, to the gaff-end ; and stand by to hoist the canvass. We wiU suppose it just past high water, the yacht swinging ebb, and tlie wind up stream ; we shall, therefore, have tide witn us, and the wind against us. We now hoist the throat and peak halliards, till the former is well up block to block; then, by hauling at the peak- halliards tiU the after part of the sail is taut (tight), the mainsail is set, and she swings head to wind. The next tiling is to hoist the forestaysail and the lib, which must be well purchased up, and the sheet well hauled in, before we can get her on the wind, i. e. sail close up to the wind. The ropes must now be coiled up, and hung on the cleat belonging to each. Our canvass being now up, we may cast off, slack out the mainsail, haid in jibsheet on the contrary tack to which we intend to sail, and we are under weigh. We have already told the reader that " starboard" means right, and "port" means left. Formerly, the word "larboard" was used for left.; but, owing to the smularity between the two words starboard an'i larboard, the word port was substituted for the latter. A boat is said to be on the starboard tack, when the wind is blowing from the star- boai-d side ; the port side is then called the lee side, and the starboai-d the weather side. She is on the port tack when the wind blows from the Dort side, which is then callea the weather side, and the starboard the lee side. When in steering she is brought nearer the wind, she is said to "luff;" and when fui-ther from it, to "bear away." When tlie helm is put so as to cause the boat to luff, the helm is " put up ;" when it causes the boat to. bear away, it is "put down," or a-lee. Proceeding to our cruise, we must haul the jib-sheet weU in, put tiie holm up, find sail close to the wind; as, tne wind being agajnst us, we shall have to " beat up," that is, sail in a zigzag direction. In SAILING. 309 sailing closfi to the wind, we must always take care not to sail too close, but always keep the canvass quite fall. Upon the skill of the steers- man, mainly depend the motions of the boat ; he must endeavovir to attain the happy medium of keeping the boat close to the wiud, and yet not allowing the canvass to shake. The practised yachtsman fecla with his helm every variation of the wind, and meets it with a turn lo port or starboard ; but the yoimg sailor would do well to watch the colour at the masthead, and, by keeping it in a line with the guif, he will not steer veiy ^vildly, We are now getting near tlie opposite bank from whence we started, and must therefore tack. If the boat is quick in stays {i. e. will go round quickly), and the bottom is not muddy, and is deep enough for the boat, we may go pretty close to the bank before we tack ; but if she is a slow tub, we must begin in good time. First, we must see that all the canvass is quite full ; then the mainsail must be hauled to the middle of the boat, or amidsliips, and the helm put gradually down. When she is head to wind, let fly the jibsheet ; if she is on the starboard tack, haul in the port fore- sheet taut, which is called backing the foresail ; the wind, by blowing on the foresail, assists the boat round. When she begins to fill on the other tack, cast off the port (now the weather) foresheet, and haid in the leeshect and also the jibsheet, and trim the mainsail (/. e. let go, or haul in, the mainsheet), according to the direction of the wiad. If when the boat is in stays, or head to wind, she moves neither way, put the helm amidships ; if she moves back, put the helm the contrary way to what you had it before, resuming its former position when she moves on again. When the wind gets more on our beam {i. e. blows directly across us), we may slack out the canvass a little ; the more aft it blows, so much more we must square our sails. There is a heavy cloud in the wind's eye, that admonishes us that a squall is brewing, and the dark ripple of the water to windward tells us that it will soon be here. Keep her well full, that as the squall strikes her she may have good way on ; and luff into the wind as soon as the squall beKns : and if she does not right at once, let go jib and fore- sheets ; if that fails, cast off the mainsheet, and send a hand to stand by tne fore and jib halliards, which must be let go when the squall becomes violent. We must now reef the mainsail; to effect this, allow plenty of room for driving to leeward ; set taut the " topping- lift," a rope which hoists up the end of the boom ; lower the halliards ; hook at the end of the boom an earring which is higher up in the sail, and tie up the reef-poirits ; then, having set up our mainsail, hoisted a smaller jib, and drawn in the foresheet, we arc under sail again. We must take care always to observe the lules of sailing, when meeting with another yacht Whichever boat is running free must make way for one close hauled ; for a boat when close hauled cannot conveniently alter her couise, but when she is running free she is tdways able to move to which side she pleases. As we get into %vider water, we shedl find more swell, that impedes the boat to windward • 310 EVERT boy's book. but, if the waves be long enougli, there is a way of easing her over them, by putting down the helm slightly, iust before the highest of them strikes her bow ; thus, by stopping the boat's way, she strikes the sea with less violence. BUINGING UP. Our destination outward bound beine in sight, we must prepare to bring up. The anchor must be got on deck; the cable passed through the hawsehole, and shackled or fastened to the anchor, with its stock made ready and secured ; then suspended over the bowsprit shrouds, and made ready to let go. Lower the head-sails, put do'wn the helm till she is head to wind, and when she is fairly stopped we may drop the anchor. MAXING SNUG. The mainsail may now be triced up, with the peak lowered, and with the hehn to one quarter or the otner, according as the tide sets; we may then hope to lie securely as long as we choose. GOING BA.CK. In getting under weigh once more, first haul the cable short ; get ail the canvass ready to set up ; wei^h anchor, and, as the wind is fair, set the head sails first and the mainsail afterwards ; the peak should not be two high in running, nor the back of the mainsail fast, but raised slightly to let the vnnd into the head sails. The tide is now against us ; we must, therefore, keep out of the strength of it as much as possible. JIBING. In rounding the next point we shall jib, or jibe, one of the most difficult manoeuvres in s ailing ; for in doing so there is danger of broach- ing-to, so as to run on shore; of being swept overboard by the boom as it passes from side to side; and of carrymg away or snapping the boom itself. To avoid these mischances, give the shore a wiae berth; take in the mainsheet, keeping its coils clear for running out ; trice up the tack of the mainsail, and if the breeze is strong, lower the peak ; you may then put your helm to the opposite side to which the boom swings, Mid, on the instant the mainsail has traversed to the other side, change your helm to the reverse and meet her; — ^this pre- vents the broaching-to which would otherwise occur. BEINGING UP AT MOORINGS. We are stiU against the tide, and our moorings are in sight. To bring her up handsomely calls for more skill than even handling her well. Our object now must be to lay her stiU at the moorings from whence we started, and at the same time to have enough way to reach them. In our present case it wiU be best to round ner to about ai> SAILING. 811 hundred yards short of the moorings, and, when head to wind, lower the mainsail, leaving the head sails standing — ^this with puttine up the hebn will bring her head round again — ^then take in the jib, and, if she has way enougn, the foresail also ; and with the opposing tide we may steer our craft so steadily to the buoy as to take it on board with ease. Having informed the young sailor of what is necessary to be done on board, we will now impress on his mind a few useful nautical terms and maxims, which may lead to the preservation of life and limb. OF THE MARINERS* COitPASS, AND VARIOUS NAUTICAL TERMS. The ancients, whose only guides over the trackless waters were the heavenly bodies, so often obscured by clouds, could not venture far from snore. It is the compass which has enabled us to steer boldly across the deep. The directive power of the loadstone has been long known to the Chmese, and it was brought over to Europe about the year 1260. The communication of the magnetic power to steel and suspending it on a pivot, is undoubtedly an European invention. The compass is composed of a magnetic needle suspended freely on a pivot, and supporting a card marked with the thirty-two points of direction into which the horizon is divided, and which are thence called the points of the compass. The needle always points nearly north, and the direction of the boat may be easily seen by looking at the card, The whole apparatus on board a ship is enclosed in a box with a glass cover, to allow the card to be seen without being disturbed by the wind. This box is also sometimes suspended, to prevent the needle being affected by the motion of the vessel. The whole is then placed at the binnacle, in sight of the helmsman. In the inside of that part of the compass-box which is directly in a hne with the bow, is a cleai 312 EVERY boy's book. black stroke, cabled the lubber line, which the hebusman uses to keep his course ; that is, he must always keep the point of the card which indicates her course pointing at the lubber line. Every young yachts- man must learn to box the compass ; that is, to repeat all its points in order. CAUTIONS AND DIRECTIONS. 1. Never leave anytliing in the gan»Avay, and keep the decks clear. 2. Coil up all ropes ; and have a place foj everything, and eveiy- thing in its place. 3. Take care that in tacking or jibing the boom does not knock you overboard. 4. Stand clear of ropes' ends and blocks flying about, when you are tacking, and the sails shaking. 5. Keep a good look out aliead, and also for squalls, which may generally oe observed to windward. 6. Always obey the orders of the steersman promptly. 7. Keep all your standing rig^uig taut. 8. When the boat is on me wind, sit on the weather side. 9. Should the boat capsize, keep yourself clear of the rigging, and swim ashore. The young yachtsman should on no account attempt to take com- mand of a boat till lie is thoroughly experienced, and should never go in one without having at least one experienced hand on board ; he should also always have his eyes open to what is going on, and bo ever ready to lend assistance with the greatest promptitude. Quick- ness and agility are the characteristics of a sailor ; without these, nu- merous would oe the losses at sea. Tlie casting ofF or belaying a rope quickly, is often attended with the most important consequences, m which the losing or saving of life may be concerned ; and we would therefore advise all who are emulous of being sailors, to be attentive to their duties, quick in their evolutions, and steady in all their doings. NAUTICAL TERMS. Aback, the situation of the sails when the wind presses their surfaces against the mast. Abaft, towards the stem; e.g., abaft the mainmast, behind the mainmast. About, on the other tack; going about, tacking. Abreast, alongside of. Adrift, broken from moorings. Afloat, on the surface of the water. Ahead, in the du'ection of the vessel's head. Amidships, in the middle of the vessel. Apeak, when the cable is hove taut, so as to bring the vessel nenrlj over the anchor. Astern, in the direction of her stem. Avastt an order to stop. SAILING. 313 Athwart, across — as " thwart hawse." Bachtai/s, ropes running from topmast and top-gallantmast to her (jides. Ballast, heavy materials placed in the bottom of the boat, to bring her low in the water. Beacon, a post or buoy placed over a shallow bank, to wara vessels. Bearing^, the widest part of the vessel below the upper deck. The bearings of an object is its direction according to the points of the coit^pass. BelaT/y to; to make a rope fast. Bend, to; is to make a sail fast to the yard, or a cable to the anchor. Berth, the place where the vessel lies ; a man's sleeping place on board. Biilwarlcs, the woodworks of a vessel above deck; also the wooden partition between cabins. Bunting, the woollen stuff of which ships' colours are made. Buoy, a floating cask or piece of wood. Cabin, the after part of the vessel in which the officers live. Capstan, a machine iplaced perpendicularly on deck, roimd which the cable is passed, in order to hoist the anchor. It is moved roimd with bars of wood stuck into it, which are called handspikes or cap- stanbars. Cathead, large pieces of wood over the bow, having sheaves within them, by which the anchor is hoisted or lowered. Cleat, pieces of wood on which ropes are belayed. Combings, raised woodwork round the hatches, to prevent the water going down to the hold. Companion, ladder leading doAvn to the state cabins. Davits, rods of timber or iron, with sheaves or blocks at their ends, projecting over a vessel's side or stem, to hoist boats up to. Draught, the depth of water which a vessel requii-es to float her. Feather, to; to lift the blade of the oar horizontally as it comes out of the water. Fe-tiders, pieces of wood or rope hanging over the side of a boat, to keep it from chafing. Fathom, six feet. Flat, a sheet is said to be hauled flat, when it is hauled down close. Fore and Aft, lengthwise with the vessel. Forecastle, the part of the vessel before the foremast. Foul Anchor, wnen the cable has a turn round the anchor. Gaff, a spar to which the head of a fore and aft sail is bent. Gage, depth of water in a vessel — this water is called " bilge water." Gangway, that part of a vessel's side through which people pass in and out of the vessel. Gaskets, pieces of rope or plaited stuff, used to fasten the sail to the yard when it is furled. Qiv9 %Dayt to ; to row more forcibly. 314 EVERY boy's book. Grapnely a small auclior with several claws, generally four, used to secure boats. Chinwale, (pron. Gunnel,) the upper rail of a boat or vessel. G^be^ or Jibe^ to ; to shift over the boom of a fore-and-aft sail. Halliards, ropes used for hoisting or lowering yards and sails. Hatchway, an opening of the deck. Hatches, the coverings of hatchways. Hawser, a large rope. Helm, the steering apparatus. Hold water, to; to stop the progress of a boat, by keeping the oars in the water. Jib, a triangular headsail. , Jib-boom, a spar rigged out beyond the bowsprit. Jurymast, a temporary mast rigged in the place of a lost one. Lee Board, a board fitted to the lee side of flat-bottomed boats, to prevent their drifting to leeward. Log, a journal of the proceedings of a vessel ; also a line with a triangular piece of board, called the log ship, which is cast overboard to ascertaiQ the ship's rate of sailing. Luff, to ; to steer the boat nearer the wind. Lurch, the sudden rolling of a vessel to one side. Marling-spike, an iron pin sharpened at one end, to separate the strands of a rope. Martingale, or Dolphin-striker, a short perpendicular spar under the bowsprit's end. Miss stays, to fail going about. Oakum, pieces of yam picked to pieces, used for caulking. Overhaul, to; when a rope is passed through two blocks, m order to make a tackle, the rope wmch is hauled on is called the fall; if one of the blocks gets loose, the act of hauling on the rope between the blocks, in order to separate them, is caUea overhauling. Painter, a rope attached to the bow of a boat. Fendant, a long narrow flag at the mast-head. Quarter, that part of the vessel between the stem and the main chains. Ratlines (pron. UaflitCs,) ropes fastened across the shrouds, like the steps of a ladder. Scud, to; to drive along before a gale with no sail, or only enough to keep her ahead of the sea. Also, low thin clouds flying swiftly before the wind. Spanker, or Driver, the after sail of a ship or bark. It is fore and aft sail set with a boom and gaff. Splice, to; to join two ropes together by entwining their stra?iINO ACOUSTICS. AERONAUTICS. CHEMISTRY, ELECTRICITY. GALVAITISM. HEAT. HYDRAULICS. MAGNETISM. MECHANICS. MICROSCOPE. OmCS AND OPTICAL ILLUSIONS. PHOTOGRAPHY. PNEUMATICS. SPECTRUM. ACOUSTICS. Acoustics is the science relating to sound and hearing. Sound is heard when any shock or impulse is given to the air, or to any other body which is in contact directly or indirectly with the ear. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SOUND AND NOISE. Noises are made by the cracks of whips, the beating of hammers, the creak of a file or saw, or the hubbub of a multitude. But when a bell is struck, the bow of a violin drawn across the strings, or the wetted finger turned round a musical glass, we have what are pro- perly called sounds. SOUNDS, HOW PROPAGATED. Sounds are propagated on all bodies much after the manner that waves are in water, with a velocity of 1,142 feet in a second. Sounds in liquids and in solids are more rapid than in air. Two stones rubbed together may be heard in water at half a mile ; solid bodies convey sounds to great distances, and pipes may be made to convey the voice over every part of the house. TO SHOW HOW SOUND TRAVELS THROUGH A SOLID. Take a long piece of wood, such as the handle of a hair broom, and placing a watch at one end, apply your ear to the other, and the tickings will be distinctly heard. TO SHOW THAT SOUND DEPENDS ON VIBRATION. Touch a bell when it is sounding, and the noise ceases ; the same may be done to a musical string with the same results. Hold a musical pitch-fork to the lips, when it is made to sound, and a quiver- ing motion will be felt from its vibrations. These experiments show that sound is produced by the quick motions and viorations of dif- ferent bodies. MUSICAL FIGURES RESULTING FROM SOUND. Cover the mouth of a wine glass, having a foot-stalk, with a thin sheet of membrane, over which scatter a layer of fine sand. The vibrations excited in the air by the sound of a musical instrument, held within a few inches of the membrane, will cause the sand on its surface to form regular lines and figures with astonishing celerity, which vary with the sound produced. 348 EVERY boy's book. TO MAKE AN iEOLIAN HARP. This instrument consists of a long narrow box of very tHn deal, about six inches deep, with a circle in the middle of the upper side of an inch and a half in diameter, in which are to be drilled small holes. On this side seven, ten, or more strings of very fine catgut are stretched over bridges at each end like the bridges of a fiddle, and screwed up or relaxed with screw pins. The strings must all be tuned to one and the same note,^ and the instrument should be placed in a window partly open, in which the width is exactly equal to the length of the harp, with the sash just raised to give the air admission. When the air blows upon these strings with different degrees of force, it will excite different tones of sound. Sometimes the blast brings out all the tones in full concert, and sometimes it sinks them to the softest murmurs. A colossal imitation of the instrument just described was invented at Milan in 1786, by the Abbate Gattoni. He stretched seven strong iron wires, tuned to the notes of the gamut, from the top of a tower sixty feet high, to the house of a Signer Moscate, who was interested in. , the success of the experiment; and this apparatus, called the "giant's harp," in blowmg weather yielded lengthened peals of harmonious music. In a storm this music was heard at a greater distance. THE INVTSIBLB GIRL. The facility with which the voice circulates through tubes was known to the ancients, and no doubt has afforded the priests of all religions means of deception to the ignorant and credulous. ^ But of late days the light of science dispels all such wicked deceptions. A very clever machine was produced at Paris several years ago, and afterwards exhibited in London J under the name of the " Invisible |i ^___^__^ ^^^ ^^ Girl," since the apparatus was so r^v^^^g-^^J !!!^^s;^^ constructed that tlie voice of a I ^U Lf r^ female ?it a distance was heard as MMHA f I if it originated from a hollow globe, xV^WB, I not more than a foot in diameter. *^ c . A "It consisted of a wooden frame something like a tent bedstead, formed by four pillars a a a a, connected by upper cross rails b b, and similar rails below, while it terminated above in four bent wires c c, proceeding at right angles of the frame, and meeting in a central point. The hollow copper ball (1) D is a good note for it. The upper string may be tuned to the upper D, and the two lower to the lower D and D D, The "hannonics " are the sounds produced. ACOUSTICS. 349 d, with four trumpets 1 1^ crossing from it at right angles, hung in the centre of the frame, being connected with the wires alone by four narrow ribbons r r. The questions were proposed close to the open mouth of one of these trumpets, and the reply was returned from the same orifice. The means used in the deception were as follow : a pipe or tube was attached to one of the hollow piUars, and carried into another apartment, in which a female was placed ; and this tube having been carried up the leg or pillar of the instrument to the cross-rails, had an aperture exactly opposite two of the trumpet mouths ; so that what was spoken was immediately answered through a very simple mode of communication. VENTHILOQIJISM, This is an art by no means very difficult of acquirement, if the young reader will take the pains. It is produced by a reflection of sound within the mouth, the voice being brought to the lowest pos- sible place in the larynx. When the art is acquired by practice, the voice may be made to appear as if coming from any part of a room, from up a chimney, or from the depths of a cellar. The celebrated Dr. Wolcott, better known as Peter Pindar, used to amuse his friends in a remarkable manner with this art. He would represent his landlady as demanding payment of her rent, and hold a coUoquy with her, which would at last rise to terms of reproach and fury, and end bv a noise as if the landlady had been kicked down stairs. The marvellous powers of Matthews, Le Lagg, Alexander, and, lastly, !Mr. Love, are familiar to most persons. To ]carn the art, the young practitioner must have the power of enunciating well, and that with- out motion of the lips, — of disguising the voice, so as to imitate other sounds, — and of adapting the degree to the apparent source of the sound. By practice this art is attainable by any person whose organs of speech are completely and fully developed. AEEON-AUTICS. BALLOONS. The art of sailing or navigating a body through the air is called aeronautics. In remote ages, Icarus is said to have risen so high in the air that the sun melted his wings, and he fell into the ^gean sea, and was drowned; and there is leason to believe, from some figures that have recently been discovered on Egyptian and Assyrian monuments, that the ancients possessed means of rising in the air Kith ivhich we are not now acquainted. AEBONAUTICS. 351 The air-balloon, as now constructed, is a bag of silk of large dimensions, usually cut in gores, and is, when expanded bv gas, of a pear-shape. It ascends in the atmosphere because its whole bulk is much lighter than the air would be in the space it occupies. It is, in fact, a vessel fiUed with a fluid which will float on another fluid lighter than itself. HOW TO MAKE AN AIK-BAIiLGON. The best shape for an air-balloon, or rather a gas-balloon, is that of a pegtop. Aud in preparing the gores proceed as foUows : Get some close texture silk, and cut it into a form resembling a narrow pear with a very, thin stalk. Fourteen of these pieces will be found to be the best number ; and, of course, the breadths of each piece must be measured accordingly. When sewing them together, it will be of advantage to coat the parts that overlap with a layer of varnish, as this will save much trouble afterwards, and hold the silk firmer in its place during the stitching. The threads must be placed very regu- larly, or the balloon will be drawn out of shape, and it wiU be found useful if the gores are covered with a interior coating of varnish before they are finally sewn together. Take care not to have the varnish too thick. To the upper part of the balloon there should be a valve opening inwards, to which a string should be fastened, passing through a hole made in a small piece of wood fixed in the lower part of the balloon, so that the aeronaut may open the valve when he wishes to descend ; and this should be imitated on a small scale, so that the youn^ aeronaut may be per- fectly familiar with the construction of a balloon. The gores are to be covered with a varnish of India-rubber dissolved in a mixture of turpen- tine and naphtha. Over the whole of the upper part should be a net- work, which should come down to the middle with various cords, pro- ceeding from it to the circumfe- rence of a circle about two feet below the balloon. The circle may be made of wood, or of several pieces of slender cane bound together. The meshes should be small at top, against which part of the balloon the inflammable air exerts the greatest force, and mcrease in size as they recede from the top. The car ia made of wicker-work; it is usuaUv covered with leather, and is well varnished or painted. It is suspended by ropes proceeding from the net which goes over tht 352 EVERY BOY'S BOOK. balloon. Balloons of this kind cannot be made smaller than six feet in diameter, of oUed silk, as the weight of the material is too great for the air to buoy it up. They may be made smaller of thin slips of bladder, or other membrane glued together, or of thin gutta- percha cloth, which is now extensively used for this purpose ; wiih this they may be made a foot in diameter, and will rise beautifully HOW TO FILL A BALLOON. Procure a large stone bottle which wOl hold a gallon of water, into this put a pouad of iron filings, or granulated zinc, with two quarts of water, and add to this by degrees one pint of sulphuric acid. Then take a tube, either of glass or metal, and introduce one end of it through a cork, which place in the bottle, then put the other end. into the neck of the balloon, and the gas will rise into the body of it. When quite full withdraw the tube, and tie the neck of the balloon with strong cord very tightly. If freed it will now rise in the air. TO MAKE PIBE-BALLOONS. Cut the gores, according to the forms already given, from well- woven tissue paper, paste the gores nicely together, and look weU over the surface of the paper for any small hole or slit, over which paste a piece of paper, and let it dry. Pass a wire round the neck of the balloon, and have two cross pieces at its diameter a Httle bent, so that a piece of soft cotton dipped in spirits of wine may be laid on them. When all is prepared let some one hold the balloon from its top by means of a stick, while you dip the cotton in spirits of wine till it is thoroughly saturated, place it under the balloon and set fire to it, but be very careful you do not set fire to the balloon. When the air is sufficiently heated within, the balloon will indicate a desire to rise, and when it puUs very hard, let it go, and it will ascend to a great height in the air, and at night present a very beautiful appearance. PARACHUTES. These are easily made by cutting a piece of paper in a circular form, and placing threads round the edges, which may be made to converge to a point, at which a cork may be placed as a balance. They ascend by the air getting under them, and are frequently blown to a great distance. SCIENTIFIC PURSUITS. CHEMISTEY. In the eleventh century, and during the reign of King Henry the First, surnamed Beauelerk, or the fine scholar, tnere appeared for the first time in certain books, professing to teach the art making of gold, the words chemistry, chemist, derived from the Greek xw^'^^- Seven hundred years and more have passed away, and that which was only the pursuit of a shadow called alchemy, has resulted in the acquisition of a great and noble science, now and again called chemistry. When we go to the French Exposition, we shall doubtless pass by much that is worthy of notice, and bring away with us only a general im- pression of the wonders it contains. So it is with the great edffice Chemistry ; we may, in these brief pages, peep in at the open door, but should we desire to go beyond the threshold, there are numerous guides, such as Roscoe, Wilson, and Fownes, who will conduct us through the mazes of the interior, and explain in elementary language the beautiful processes which have become so useful to mankind. A A 354 EVERY BOYS BOOK. Chemistry is one of the most comprehensive of all the sciences, and at the same time one which comes home to us in the most ordinary of our daily avocations. Most of the arts of life are indebted to it for their very existence, and nearly all have been, from time to time, improved by the application of its principles. Chemistry is, in fact, the science which treats of the composition of all material bodies, and of the means of forming them into new combinations, and reducing them to their ultimate elements^ as they are termed, that is, bodies which we are unable to split up, as it were, or separate into other bodies. To take a common suDstance as an illustration; water, by a great number of processes, can be separated into two other substances, called oxygen and hydrogen, in the proportion by weight of 8 parts of the first to 1 of the second ; but no power that we at present possess can separate the oxygen and hvdrogen into any other bodies ; they are therefore called ultimate elements, or undecomposable bodies. Again, sulphate or magnesia (common Epsom salts) can be very easily separated into two other substances, — sulphuric acid and mag- nesia ; and in this instance, both these substances can again be sub- divided — the acid into sulphur and oxygen, and the magnesia into a metallic body called magnesium and oxygen ; but sulphur, oxygen, and magnesium are incapable of further division, and are therefore called ultimate elements. These ultimate elements amount to 64 in number, according to the present state of our knowledge, and may be arranged in various ways ; the simplest plan, perhaps, is dividing them into Non-metallic and Metallic elements. The Non-metallic elements are: — I. Oxygen. 2. Hydrogen. 3. Nitrogen. 4. Chlorine. 5. Iodine. 6. Bromine. 7. Fluorine. 8. Carbon. 9. Sulphur. 10. Selenium. 11. Tellurium. 12. Silicon. 13. Boron. 14. Phosphorus. The last-named element is the con- necting link with the metals through arsenic, which phosphorus closely resembles in its chemical properties. The Metallic elements may be sub-divided into the metals of the alkalies, the metals of the alkaline earths, the metals of the earths, and the other metals sometimes called metals proper. 1st. The metallic bases of the alkalies : — potassium, sodium, lithium, ammonium, caesium, rubidium. 2d. The metallic bases of the alkaline earths : — calcium, strontium j barium. 3d. The metallic bases of the earths : — aluminium, glucinum, zirco- nium, thorium, yttrium, erbium, cerium, lanthanum, didymium. 4th. The metals proper, the most important of which are : — pla- tinum, gold, silver, mercury, copper, iron, tin, lead, nickel, zinc, bismuth, antimony, manganese, cooalt, arsenic. Now, from these elementary bodies, united together in various proportions, is formed the infinite variety of substances around us, CHEMISTRY. 355 whether animal, vegetable, or mineral ; in fact, a few only are gene- rally employed ; — in the case of animals and vegetables, oxygen, hycirogen, carbon, nitrogen, with occasionally some sulphur, calcium, phosphorus, and silicon, suffice for building up the beautiful forms of animated nature ; while the fabric of our globe itself consists for the most part of the earths ; silex, i. e. flint or crystal ; lime, in the shape of chalk, marble, or limestone, such as our flagstones are com- posed of; slate and granite, which are compounds of aluminium, silica, and small quantities of oxide of iron, and sometimes a little potash, &c. ; and through their masses are projected irregular streams — veins as they are termed — of the metals, either in a pure state, as is the case sometimes with gold, silver, platinum, mercury, and perhaps one or two others ; or combined with one of the non- metallic elements, or with one another. Late calculations have determined the composition of the earth's solid crust in 100 parts by weight to be Oxygen 440 to 487 SiUcon . 22-8 „ 36-2 Aluminium 99 ,. 61 Iron 99 „ 24 Calcium 66 „ 09 Magnesium 2-7 „ 1 Sodium 2-4 „ 2*5 Potassium 1'7 „ 3*1 100- 100- All these combinations are effected by certain powers, termed forces ; those which cause the union of the elements are called the forces of attraction; those causing their separation, the forces of repulsion. The force of attraction when exerted between masses of matter, is termed gravitation ; when it unites particles of matter of a similar kind and produces masses, it is called the attraction of cohesion ; when the particles united are of a dissimilar character, it is then termed chemical or elective affinity. Eor example, the crystals of Epsom salts are formed from minute particles of the salt, united into a larger or smaller mass by the attraction of cohesion, while the elements of which each particle consists, namely, the sulphur, oxygen, and magnesium, are united by the attraction of chemical affinity. Cohesion thus unites particles of a similar kind ; chemical affinity, of a dissimilar nature. It is to cohesion that the existence of masses of matter is owing, and its power increases as the squares of the distances diminish, in an inverse ratio to the squares of the distances of the particles on which it acts. The power exerted by cohesion may be exhibited in vanous ways. aa2 356 EVERY boy's book. This is one ; Procure two discs of glass about three inches in diameter, their surfaces being ground efxtremely smooth ; fix each into a square piece of wood, taking care that they are placed accu- rately in the centre ; then put them together, by sliding their edges very carefully over each other, so as to avoid any air getting between them, and you will find a great force necessary to separate them. A hook should be fixed into the centre of each piece of wood, so that they may be suspended, and a weight hung to the lower one. It is almost impossible for any one to separate them by merely pulling them with both hands ; a weight of many pounds is required for that purpose. In like manner two freshly-cut surfaces of caoutchouc will, on being squeezed together, conere so perfectly, that it is difficult to tear them asunder, and it is in this way that tubes of caoutchouc may be rapidly prepared for experiments, where little or no pressure is exerted. Chemical affinity is sometimes called elective, or the efi'ect of choice, as if one substance exerted a kind of preference for another, and chose to be united to it rather than to that with which it was previously combined ; thus, if you pour some vinegar, which is a weak acetic acid, upon some pearlash (a combination of potash and carbonic acid), or some carbonate of soda (a combination of the same acid with soda), a violent eflfervescence will take place, occasioned by the escape of the carbonic acid, displaced in consequence of the potash or soda preferring the acetic acid, and forming a compound called an acetate. Then, if some sulphuric acid be poured on this new compound, the acetic acid will in its turn be displaced by the greater attachment of either of the bases, as they are termed, for the sulphuric acid. Again, if into a solulion of blue vitriol (a combina- tion of sulphuric acid with oxide of copper) the bright blade of a knife be introducea, the knife will speedily be covered with a coat of copper, deposited in consequence of the acid preferring the iron, of which the knife is made, a quantity of it being dissolved in exact proportion to the quantity of copper deposited. It is on the same principle that a very beau- tiful preparation, called a silver-tree, or a lead- tree, may be formed thus : — Fill a wide bottle, capable of holding from half a pint to a pint, with a tolerably strong solution of nitrate of silver (lunar caustic), or acetate of lead, in pure distilled water; then attach a small piece of zinc by a string to the cork or stopper of the bottle, so that the zinc shall hang about the middle of the bottle, and set it by where it may be quite undisturbed; in a short time, brilliant plates of silver or lead, as the case may be, will be seen to collect around the piece of zinc, assuming more or CHEMISTRY. 357 less of the crystalline form. This at first is a case of elective affinity; the acid with which the silver or lead was united prefers the zinc to either of those metals and in consequence discards them in order to attach the zinc to itself, subsequently a voltaic current is set up between the two metals, and the process will continue until almost the whole of the zinc is taken up, or nearly the whole of the silver or lead deposited. Again, many animal and vegetable substances consist for the most part of carbon or charcoal, united with oxygen and hydrogen in the proportion which forms water. Now oil of vitriol (strong sulphuric acid) has so powerful an affinity, or so great a thirst for water, that it will abstract it from almost any body in which it exists ; if you then pour some of this acid on a lump of sugar, or place a chip of wood in it, the sugar or wood will speedily become quite black, or be charred, as it is called, in consequence, of the oxygen and hydrogen being removed by the sulphuric acid, and only the carbon, or charcoal, left. When Cleopatra dissolved pearls of wondrous value in vinegar, she was exhioiting unwittingly an instance of chemical elective affinity ; the pearl being simply carbonate of lime, which was decom- posed by the greater affinity or fondness of lime for its new ac- quaintance (the acetic acid of the vinegar) than for the carbonic acid, with which it had been united all its life, — an example of inconstancy in strong contrast with the conduct of its owner, who chose death rather than become the mistress of her lover's conqueror. GASES. The three permanent gaseous elements are oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen. The compound gases are very numerous, some being combustible, and others supporters of combustion. Gases are for the most part transparent and colourless, with a few exceptions, and of course, like the air of the atmosphere, invisible. They are little affected by the attraction of cohesion, hut rather, on the contrary, the particles composing them have a constant tendency to separate from each other, so that their force of expansion is only limited by the pressure under which they may be kept, and the tem- perature they may be exposed to. They have a tendency to penetrate each other, as it were ; for instance, if you take a jar of heavy gas, such as carbonic gas, set it with its mouth upwards, then invert over it another jar containing hydrogen, a gas nearly twenty-two times lighter; in a very short time the two gases will have become thoroughly mixed, the heavy carbonic acid having risen, and the light hydrogen fallen, until the gases are thoroughly mixed, each jar containing an equal quantity of each gas. 358 EVERY boy's book. OXYGEN GAS. This gas, so named from two Greek words signifying the maker of acid, was discovered by Dr. Priestly in 1774. He obtained it by heating the red oxide of mercury in a glass retort, when the gas escaped in considerable quantities. In the ensuing year Scheele obtained it by a variety of methods, and a few years afterwards Lavoisier discovered that it was contained in atmospheric air, where it exists in the proportion of about one-fifth, the remaining four-fifths being almost entirely nitrogen. Oxygen gas may be obtained for^he purpose of experiment, by heating to redness the black oxide of manganese in an iron bottle, to the mouth of which a flexible tube is attached to convey away the gas as fast as it is liberated from the manganese. The first portions should be allowed to escape, being mixed with the air in the tubes and bottle, and the remainder may be collected in a gasometer, or in glass jars inverted over water. Another method to obtain the gas, and one to be used 0!ily in the absence of other ingredients, is to mix in a retort some of this same oxide of manganese with about half its weight of strong sulphuric acid, and apply heat to the retort, when the gas will come over in considerable quantities ; the first portions must be allowed to escape as before.^ If the gas is required very pure, a small quantity of the salt called chlorate of potassa may be heated in a retort, and oxygen gas will be evolved, and may be collected as before. If you have an iron bottle, the first mode is by far the cheapest, as the heat of a bright fire is sufficient for tiie operation, and a large quantity of gas is obtained in a short time from a very inexpensive material. The most rapid and convenient process of all is to heat a mixture of two parts chlorate of potash, and one of powdered black oxide of manga- nese, in a common clean oil fiask, to which a cork and bent tube has been adapted. Care must be taken not to mistake sulphide of anti- mony for black oxide of manganese, as very serious accidents have arisen from this cause. Oxygen is largely distributed over our globe, both in its uncom- bined state, and in union with other substances. Besides forming one-fifth of the atmosphere, it forms eight-ninths by weight of aU the water in the ocean, rivers, and sprmgs on the face of the whole earth. It also, in combination with various metals, forms the various earths and minerals of which the crust of the earth consists, so that it is the most abundant and widely distributed substance in nature, and in combination with other elements, forms nearly half the weight of the sohd earth. In its uncombined state it is a colourless gas, somewhat heavier (1) Some boiling water should be added to the mass left in the retort directly the gas has ceased to come away, or it will adhere to the glass so firmly, that the retort will certainly be spoilt. CHEMISTRY. 359 than atmospheric air, without taste or smell. Is is a powerful sup- porter of combustion, and is absolutely necessary for the support of animal life, which camiot exist for any time without a free supply of this gas, which is constantly consumed in the act of breatliing, and is replaced by an equivalent portion of carbonic acid gas. The want of oxygen'is partly the cause of the oppression felt in crowded rooms, where the air cannot be renewed so fast as is required for the miraber of persons who are constantly consuming the oxygen; and if an animal be confined under a glass jar inverted over water, it will presently die, just for the same reason that burning tapers are extinguished under similar circumstances. If a jet of this gas be thrown upon a piece of charcoal, sulphur, or almost any combustible body in a state of ignition, it will make it burn with great vividness and rapidity. Por a complete series of experiments with oxygen see " The Boy's Play-book of Science." EXPERIMENT. But by far the most intense heat, and most brilliant light, may be produced by introducing a piece of phosphorus into a jar of oxygen. The phosphorus may be placed in a small copper cup, with a long handle of thick wire passing through a hole in a cork that fits the jar. The phosphorus must first be ignited; and, as soon as it is introduced into the oxygen, it gives out a light so brilliant that no eye can bear it, and the whole jar appears filled with an intensely luminous atmosphere. It is well to dilute the oxygen with about one-fourth part of common air to moderate the intense heat which is nearly certain to break the jar if pure oxygen is used. EXPERIMENT. If a piece of charcoal, which is pure carbon or nearly so, be ignited, and introduced into a jar containing oxygen or common atmospheric air, the product will be carbonic gas only, of which we shall speak presently. As most combustible bodies contain both carbon and hydrogen, the result of their combination is carbonic ac.d and water. This is the case with the gas used for illumination; and in order to prevent the water so produced from spoiling goods in shops, various plans have been devised for carrying off the water wh n in the state of steam. This is generally accompHshed by suspending over the burners glass bells, communicating with tubes opening into the chimney, or passing outside the house. To show that oxygen, or some equivalent, is necessary for the sup-* 360 EVERY BOY 8 BOOK. port of combustion, fix two or three pieces of wax-taper on flat pieces of cork, and set them floating on water in a soup-plate, light them, and invert over them a glass jar ; as they burn, the heat produced may perhaps at first expand the air so as to force a small quantity out of the jar, but the water will soon rise in the jar, and continue to do so until the tapers expire, when you will find that a consider- able portion of the air has disappeared, and what remains will no longer support flame ; that is, the oxygen has been converted partly hito water, and partly into carbonic acid gas, by uniting with the carbon and hydrogen, of which the taper consists, and the remaining air is principally nitrogen, with some carbonic acid ; the presence of the latter may be proved by decanting some of the remaining air into a bottle, and then shaking some lime-water with it, which will absorb the carbonic acid and form chalk, rendering the water quite turbid. NITEOGEN. This gas is, as its name implies, the producer of nitre, or at least forms a portion of the nitric acid contained in nitre. It is rather lighter than atmospheric air, colourless, transparent, incapable of supporting animal life, on which account it is sometimes called azote — an objectionable name, as it is not a poison like many other gases, but destroys life only in the absence of oxygen. This gas extinguishes all burning bodies plunged into it, and does not itself burn. It exists largely in nature, for four-fifths of the atmosphere consists of nitrogen gas. It is also an important constituent of animal bodies, and is found in the vegetable world. Nitrogen may be most easily obtained for experiment by setting fire to some phosphorus contained in a porcelain or metallic cup, placed under a gas jar full of air, and resting on the shelf of the pneumatic trough, or in a soup-plate filled with water. Nitrogen coiribines in five different pro- portions with oxygen, producing five distmct chemical compounds, named respectively nitrous oxide, nitric oxide, nitric tri-oxide, nitric tetr-oxide, nitric pent-oxide, which last, united with water, forms nitric acid, now called hydric nitrate, as nitrous acid is termed hydric nitrite. Nitrous oxide gas is generally known by the name of "laughing gas," from the jolly sensations experienced on inhaling it. It may be procured by distilling in a glass retort a salt called nitrate of ammonia, which yields the gas in considerable quan- tities, and it should be kept standing in jars over water for some hours before it is used. It should be transferred into a CHEMISTRY. 361 silk air-tight bag, furnished with a stopcock and mouthpiece, from •which the gas may be breathed; a little practice is required to do this easily, and more resolution to desist when the gas begins to produce its effects, as it appears to fascinate the experimenter, and actual force is often necessary to remove the bag from the mouth. The effects produced vary according to the temperament of the person inhaling it ; they are, however, always of a highly pleasurable nature, muscular action being generally greatly exalted, compelling the indi- vidual to race round the apartment and execute leaps and pirouettes perfectly astounding. Some persons shout and sing, and I have seen one expend his superfluous animation in twisting his features into such ludicrous grimaces as would be the envy of the candidates at a grinning match, and beat them all out of the field. Sir H. Davy was the discoverer of this gas, and of its peculiar effects on the nervous system, and a full account of it may oe found in his "Researches on Nitrous Oxide Gas." This gas is heavier than air, and supports combustion nearly as energetically as oxygen, as may be shown by introducing a piece of ignited phosphorus into a jar of this gas. It will not, however, sup- port the life of small animals, such as mice, which introduced into it die very quickly. mm ,^ o o p o — -TZ=-- ff t \ ^ - PLAN OF PNEUMATIC TROUGH. SECTION OF PNEUMATIC TROUGH The next compound of nitrogen with oxygen, when one proportion of nitrogen unites with two of oxygen, is termed nitr^^ oxiae gas. It may be easily procured by heating in a retort some copper turnmgs in dilute nitric acid. It is colourless and transparent, and has the property of combining with oxygen to form other compounds. EXPERIMENT. Into a jar of this gas standing over water pass some oxygen gas. The jar will be filled with red fumes, which will be rapidly absorbed b^ the water. If atmospheric air he used instead of oxygen, there will remain in the jar the nitrogen of the air, amounting to four- fifths of the air employed. 362 EVERT boy's book. This gas is destructive to animal life, in consequence of its property of uniting with the oxygen in the lungs, and producing the highly corrosive nitrous acid gas. It will, however, support the combustion of a few substances, phosphorus for instance, provided it is sufficiently heated before being plunged into the gas. We pass over the third and fourth compounds of nitrogen with oxygen, as they are not calculated for amusing experiments. Nitric acid is easily prepared on the small scale, by gradually heating equal parts by weight of nitric and sulphuric acid in a retort to which a receiver has been adapted. The receiver, which may be a clean oil flask, should be kept cool with wetted blotting paper. Nitrogen combines with chlorine and iodine, forming detonating compounds, the former being so extremely dangerous that it will be better to pass it by. The compound with iodine, called iodide of nitrogen, may very easily be made by pouring strong solution of ammonia (a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen) upon some iodine in a phial, shaking them well together, and after letting them stand for a few hours, pouring off the fluid; the black powder remaining in the phial is the explosive compound, the iodide of nitrogen. When dry, it is very apt to de- tonate spontaneously; it should therefore be shaken out of the phial while wety and spread in very small quantities on separate pieces of blotting paper, which should be kept apart from eacn other. When thoroughly dry, the slightest touch with the point of a feather, shaking the paper on which it rests, or even opening too rapidly the door of a closet where it has been put to dry, will cause it to explode, producing a quantity of violet-coloured fumes. The explosion is somewhat violent, producing a sharp cracking noise ; and the greatest care should be taken in experimenting with it. ATMOSPHERIC AIR. As has been already mentioned, nitrogen is the principal constituent of the air of the atmosphere which surrounds our globe, extending to a height of about forty-five miles above it, and playing a most important part in the economy of nature, inorganic as well as organic. This atmospheric air consists by volume of nearly four-fifths of nitrogen, and rather more than one-fifth of oxygen, viz. seventy-nine of the former to twenty-one of the latter, or twenty-three parts by weight of oxygen and seventy-seven of nitrogen ; it generally con- tains also a variable proportion of the vapour of water, and a very small quantity of carbonic acid gas, being only about four volumes to ] 0,000 of air. Its constituent parts are easily separated, as it is a mechanical mixture and not a chemical compound, though the mixture by diffusion is so complete that chemists have not been able to ascertain any difference m the composition of air taken from all parts CHEMISTRT. 3G3 of the world, and from different heights, up to the highest point which has to this time been attained. The atmosphere presses on the surface of the globe, and every being on it, with a force of about fifteen pounds to every square inch of surface, but as it presses equally in all directions, upwards as well as downwards, its weight cannot be perceived unless the pressui'e be removed from one surface by some artificial means. Atmospheric air contains, besides the oxygen and nitrogen, its principal constituents, a small proportion of carbonic acid gas, as has been mentioned, and this may be shown by filling a tube about half full of -lime-water, and shaking it with the air contained in the other half, when it will become slightly turbid from the insoluble carbonate of lime formed. When we consider tliat every living animal is constantly consuming oxygen, and replacing it by carbonic acid gas, and that all burning bodies, fires in our dwellings, furnaces, artificial lights of all kinds, act in the same way in abstracting the oxygen from the air, and re- placing it by immense quantities of carbonic acid gas, which is a poison to all animals who breathe, or attempt to breathe it, we must wonder what becomes of this irrespirable gas, as it is found to exist in the air in quantities so minute, and by what means the oxygen is restored, and the air again made fit for respiration. This is effected by one of those laws which the wisdom of the Creator has impressed upon matter, by which one part of creation as it were balances another, and all proceeds in an endless cii'cle of change. This car- bonic acid, which is so poisonous to animal life, is the food of the vegetable world, plants havin^ the power of taking up the carbonic acid into their pores ; converting the carbon into their own substance, and rejecting the oxygen, which is again respired by animals, &c. In the same way, all animal refuse is the food of vegetables, and is used under the name of manures. The atmosphere contains also a variable quantity of vapour of water, invisible as long as it is in the state of vapour, but it may be rendered obvious by bringing any very cold body into warm air, when the vapour will condense on the cold body in the form of small drops of water. A tumbler of fresh-pumped water brought into a crowded room, is almost immediately covered with moisture, and it may also be seen on bottles of wine which have been put into ice before coming to table. Togs are occasioned by the condensation of vapour produced by mixing a current of warm air with a colder air. The banks of Newfoundland are notorious for dense fogs, occasioned by the warm air brought from the south by the great Gulf stream, mixing with the cold air from the Arctic regions, and thus preci- pitating the vapour in a visible form, rendering everything but itself ^visible. The famous London fogs depend upon the same preci- pit-ation of the vapour of water, with the addition of the smoke from VN/VEP8 n 364 EVERY boy's book. tlie numerous sea-coal fires, wliich give it tliat interesting yellow tinge for which it is so remarkable. Aqueous vapour appears to impart a transparency to air, and permits objects to be seen more distinctly in proportion to its quantity ; hence, when distant hills appear nearer, and objects upon them more distinct than usual, rain may be expected, the air being fully charged with vapour ready to be deposited on the shghtest cause. HYDKOGEN. Hydrogen gas is the lightest substance known, being fifteen times lighter than atmospheric air. It is colourless and transparent, inca- pable of supporting combustion or respiration, but is itself com- bustible. Hydrogen, as its name implies (being derived from two Greek words, signifying the generator of water), is a constituent of water in the proportion of one-ninth by weight, and is always ob- tained by decomposing that fluid, by presenting to it some body to take up its other ingredient, oxygen, and so set the hydrogen at liberty. If tlie steam of water be passed through a red-hot gun barrel, containing iron filings, the water is decom- posed, the iron taking the oxygen, and the nydrogen comes over in torrents ; but as every one has not a gun barrel and furnace to heat it, the usual mode is to employ dilute sulphuric acid, and iron filings, or zinc, in small pieces, and it may be collected over water by means of a bent tube issuing from the bottle in which it is formed. It is so light that it was used to fill balloons before coal gas was to be had, and if you procure a light air-tight bag of silk, or thin membrane such as a turkey's crop, and fill it with the gas, it will ascend rapidly, and dance about the ceiling of a room. EXPERIMENTS. 1. Attach a tobacco-pipe to a bladder filled with this gas, and blow some soap-bubbles with it; they will rise very rapidly, and if a lighted taper be applied to them they burn. If you mix in a soda water bottle one-tliird of oxygen with two- thirds of hydrogen, and apply flame, the mixture will explode with a sharp report. Great care must be taken in all experiments with the mixed gases. To avoid danger the gases are placed in separate india-rubber bags, and are only brought together at the jet. This ia CHEMISTRY. 365 an expensive apparatus, and should only be used by experienced persons. 2. If a jar of tliis gas be held with its mouth d^^onwards^ and a hghted taper passed up well into the jar, the taper will be ex- tinguished, and the gas take fire, and burn quietly at the mouth of the'jar ; if mixed with oxygen or atmospheric air, it will explode. Hold over the jet of hydrogen issuing from a small tube, hollow cylinders of glass or earthenware, Florence flasks, or hollow glass balls, and musical sounds will be produced, which were supposed to depend on some pecuhar property of hydrogen gas, until Mr. Faraday tried flame from coal gas, olefiant gas, and even the vapour of ether, when the sounds were still produced, and he attributed them to a continuous explosion, or series of explosions, produced by the union of oxygen with the hydrogen of the flames. WATEK. With oxygen, hydrogen unites to form the important compound water, which exists not only in the obvious form of oceans, rivers, lakes, rains, dews, &c. &c. but is found intimately combined with many substances, giving them some of their peculiar properties. Many crystals have a definite proportion of water combined with them, and on losing this water they lose their crystalline form. Many acids also cannot exist as acids without water. The slaking of Ume depends upon the union of water with the lime, the dry powder resulting from the process being a hydrate of lime, the water having become solidified^ and in passing from the fluid to the solid state gives out its latent caloric, producing the heat observed duiing 366 EVERY BOY S BOOK. the process. When a large quantity of lime, a barge-load for instance, has got wetted by accident, the heat evolved has been sufficient to set fire to the Mrge. At the temperature of 32° of Falirenheit's thermometer, water loses its fluid form, and becomes ice. As it solidifies, it starts into beautiful crystals, which unite and cross each other at determinate angles. Ice is hghter than the water on which it floats, forming a protection to the water beneath, and preventing it from being frozen so rapidly ; else, if the ice were heavier than water, and consequently sank as soon as formed, each portion of water would be frozen in its turn, until rivers became soHd throughout, and every living creature in them must be destroyed. Now, the temperature of the water under the ice is seldom much below 40°, and if care be taken to break holes at intervals to allow access to the air, the fish and other aquatic animals seldom suffer even in our coldest winters. Although it is impossible to raise ice even one degree above 32° without thawing, it is not difficult to reduce water many degrees below that point without freezing it. In order to obtain both the constituents of water in a separate state, it must be decomposed by galvanism, each pole of a battery terminating in a separate tube ccntaining water, when the result vill be that at the positive pole oxygen gas will be evolved, and hydrogen at the negative, the latter being double the quantity of the former. Now, if you mix the gases thus obtained, intro- duce them into a vessel called a " Eudiometer," and pass an elec- tric spark through them from a Leyden phial, a sudden flash will be seen, and the gases will entirely disappear, being again converted into water. If you have a mercurial trough, and perform this experi- ment over mercury, the inside of the eudiometer will exhibit minute drops of water. Thus you have proved both by analysis and synthesis, that water consists of oxygen and hydrogen, in the proportion of one volume of the former to two of the latter. EXPERIMENT. Take some perfectly pure distilled water, filter it, surround it with a mixture of light snow, or powdered ice, and salt, taking care to keep it perfectly still, a thermometer having been previously placed in it. The mercury will gradually sink many degrees below the freezing point 32° (it has been reduced as low as 4°), the watei still remaming fluid ; when all at once, either from shaking the table, or CHEMISTRY. 367 simply because the reduction can be carried no further, ifc suddenly starts into ice, and the thermometer jumps up at once to 32°, where it remains until the whole is frozen, when the temperature gradually sinks to that of the surrounding medium. Now if you remove the glass of ice from the freezing mixture into the apartment, and watch the thermometer, you wiU find it gradually rise to 32°, and there remain until all the ice is melted, when it wiU gradually acquire the temperature of the room. The reason of this is, that the water in passing from the solid to the fluid form absorbs, and in passing from the fluid to the solid form gives out caloric, so maintaining the temperature at 32°, the point at whicli the change of form takes place, until it is completed. Between the temperature of 32° and 212°, water exists in a fluid form, under ordinary circumstances ; but at the latter point it assumes the form of vapour or steam, and acquires many of the properties of gases, being indefinitely expansible by heat, the force increasing as the temperature is raised, provided the steam be con- fined, until it becomes irresistible, — witness the frequent explosions of steam-engines even in this country ; and in America, where the engines are worked at a high pressure, accidents are of daily occurrence. The temperature at which water boils is modified by the pressure applied to it. Thus, as you ascend a mountain, and so pass through a portion of the atmosphere, water boils at a lower temperature, until at great heights it boils at so low a heat, that good tea cannot be made because it is impossible to heat the water sufficiently. Under the exhausted receiver of an air-pump, water boils at about 140^ CHLORINE. Another gaseous element, sometimes called a supporter of com- bustion, is named chlorine, from a Greek word signifying yellowish green. This gas was formerly called " oxymuriatic acid," being supposed to be a compound of oxygen and muriatic acid gases, until Sir H. Davy, in a series of masterly experiments carried on during the years 1808-9-10 and 11, proved that it contained no oxygen or muriatic acid, and that it was in fact a simple or undecompounded substance, and changed its name to chlorine, which name was, after some dis- cussion, accepted by the scientific world, and is still in use. This gas may be obtained for experiment, by gently heating in a retort a mixture of muriatic or hydrochloric acid, hydrochloride, as it is nrvw called, with some black oxide of manganese : the muriatic acid, a compound of chlorine and hydrogen, is decomposed, and so is the oxide of manganese, giving out some of its oxygen, which takes the hydrogen from the muriatic acid to form water, while the chlorine 368 EVERY boy's book. gas, with which the hydrogen liad been united, is set at liberty, and may be collected in jars over water. Chlorine gas is transparent, of a greenish yellow colour, has a pecuHar disagreeable taste and smell, and if breathed even in small quantities, occasions a sensation of suffocation, of tightness in the chest, and violent coughing, attended with great prostration. I have been compelled to retire to bed from having upset a bottle containing some of this gas. It destroys most vegetable colours when moist, and IS in fact the agent now universally employed for bleaching purposes. It has also the power of combining with and destroying all noxious smells, and is invaluable as a purifier of foul rooms, and destroyer of infection. For those latter purposes it is used in combination with lime, either in substance or solution, under the name of " Chloride of Lime." Sir W. Burnett has lately discovered that the chloride of zinc answers the same purposes as the chloride of lime, and has the advantage of being itself destitute of smell, and his fluid is frequently substituted for the other. Chlorine gas is a powerful supporter of combustion, many of the metals taking fire spontaneously when introduced in a fine state of division into the gas. EXPERIMENTS. 1. Into a jar of chlorine gas introduce a few sheets of copper leaf, sold under the name of Dutch foil, when it will burn with a dull red light. 2. If some metallic antimony in a state of powder be poured into a iar of this gas, it will take fire as it falls, and bum with a bright white light. 3. A small piece of the metal potassium may be introduced, and will also take fire. 4. A piece of phosphorus will also generally take fire spontaneouslv CHEMISTRY. 369 when introduced into this gas. In all these cases direct compounds of the substances with chlorine are produced, called chlorides. 5. If a lighted taper be plunged quickly into the gas, it will con- tinue to bum with a dull light, giving off a very large quantity of smoke, being in fact the carbon of the wax taper, with which the chlorine does not unite ; while the other constituent of the taper, the hydrogen, forms muriatic acid by union with the chlorine. 6. This substance has the property of destroying most vegetable colours, and is used in larii;e quantities for bleaching calico, linen, and the rags of which paper is made. Jt is a curious fact that it shows this property only when water is present, for if a piece of coloured cloth is introduced dry into a jar of the gas, also dry, no effect will be produced — wet the cloth, and reintroduce it, and in a very short time its colour will be discharged. 7. Introduce a quantity of the infusion of the common red cabbage, which is of a beautiful blue colour, into a jar of this gas, and it will instantly become nearlv as pale as water, retaining a slight tinge of yellow. A solution ot sulphate of indigo can always be obtained, and answers well for this experiment. MURIATIC ACID GAS, OR HYDRIC CHLORIDE. With chlorine, hydrogen forms a compound called muriatic, or hydrochloric acid gas. It cannot easily be formed by the direct union of its elements, but is procured from some compound in which it exists ready formed. Common salt (chloride of sodium) is gene- rally employed ; and when acted on by strong sulphuric acid (or oil of vitriol), the gas is disengaged in abundance. It must be collected over mercury, for water absorbs it, forming the liquid muriatic, or hydrochloric acid. " A lighted taper plunged into this gas is instantly extinguished. It is very dangerous to animal life if respired. It has the property of destroying animal effluvia, and was once employed to purify the cathedral of Dijon, which was so filled with putrid emanations from the bodies buried in it, that it had been closed for some time. It perfectly succeeded, but it is so destructive to all metallic substances that it is not used now, for the chlorides of lime and zinc have since been discovered to act more effectually than the muriatic ac;d gas, without its inconvenience. 'i'he compounds of hvdrogen with iodine are passed over. I With nitrogen, hydrogen unites and forms one of the most extra- ordinary compounds in the whole range of chemistry, — the gas called ammonia. This is the only gas possessing what are called alkaline properties; i.e. it changes the blue colour of certain vegetables to green, yellow to deep brown, and unites with the acids to form neutral compounds, just as the other alkalies, potash and soda, which are oxides of metals. It may be procured in abundance by heating the hydjrocl lorate of ammonia, or sal ammoniac, as it is usually B B 370 EVERY BOY'S BOOK. called, with quick -lime, which takes the hydrochloric acid, and sets free this remarkable gas. It must be received over mercury, as it is absorbed to almost any extent by water, forming the fluid sold as " spirits of hartshorn " in the shops. This gas is colourless and transparent, lighter than atmospheric air, and will not support combustion ; it has a very pungent but not disagreeable smell. Under certain circumstances it is combustible. EXPEKIMENTS. 1. Take a bottle containing chlorine gas, and invert over its mouth another filled with amraoniacal gas ; then if the bottles be held in the hand (guarded by a pair of gloves), and suddenly turned, so that the chlorine be uppermost, the two gases will unite so rapidly that a white flame fills the bottles for an instant. 2. Substitute for the chlorine of the last experiment a bottle of carbonic or hydrochloric acid gas ; in either case the gases disappear, and a light white powder settles on the sides of the bottles, being the carbonate or hydrochlorate of ammonia, accordmg to the acid used. Carbonate of ammonia is the substance sold for " smelling salts ; " and the hydrochlorate, or muriate of ammonia, is the salt called "sal ammoniac," whence the alkahne gas was first obtained, and from which it got its name of ammonia. The salt itself was so called, because it was formerly brought from the deserts near the ruins of the temple of Jupiter Ammon. This salt is, as has been shown, a compound of muriatic acid gas and ammoniacal gas, containing therefore only three simple elements — hydrogen, chlorine, and nitrogen, all gases, and known only in the gaseous state, its symbol being NH^Cg'; yet they by union form a solid body, resembling m all essential qualities the salts of potash and soda, which are oxides of known metals. Moreover, if some mercury be placed in a solution of this salt, and subjected to the action of galvanism, the negative pole being apphed to the mercury, and the positive to the sal ammoniac, the mercury presently loses its fluidity, increases greatly in size, and in fact presents the same ap- pearance as when it is mixed with some metal, forming what is called an " amalgam." When the battery ceases to act, a succession of white films forms on the surface of the amalgam, and the mercury soon returns to its original state. How is this to be explained ? Some chemists have supposed that there must be a base united to the mercury, and have named this hypothetical substance " ammo- nium," to correspond to potassium and sodium, the bases of potash and soda, which resemble ammonia in so many properties. But what is this ammonium ? and how is it formed ? for hydrogen and nitrogen are simple elementary bodies. Are all metals compounds of gases ? and are there but a few elements instead of the 64 now enumerated? This, however, is a difficult question, not fitted for discussion here. CHEMISTRY 371 Carbonate of ammonia may be obtained by mixing together pow dered clialk (w^hich is a carbonate of lime) and muriate of ammonia, and beating the mixture in close vessels, when the salt in question will rise in fumes, and be condensed in a mass in the upper part of the vessel. It is, however, so largely produced in other manufactures, particularly in gas-works, that there is no necessity to resort to the more expensive and direct method. It is the well-known " smelling salts." The only other salt of ammonia worth our notice here is the nitrate, from the destructive distillation of which is obtained the nitrous oxide, or laughing gas, already mentioned. IODINE — BROMINE — PLTJOillNE. On the coasts of certain islands belonging to the Duke of Argyll, vast quantities of sea- weed are occasionally torn up from their ocean beds and deposited on the shores. This weed, after being partially dried by exposure to the sun and air, is burnt in a shallow pit ; the ashes are then collected, and form the commercial raw material called kelp, froin which iodine is procured by a gradual series of processes. EXPERIMENTS. Iodine has a beautiful metalUc lustre, with a bluish black colour, and should be kept in a well-stoppered bottle. A small quantity placed in a clear flask and heated, affords a magnificent violet vapour, which may be poured from the flask into another glass vessel, when it condenses again into crystalline plates. The colour of the vapour originates the name of this element, so called from the Greek ImSrjs, violet-coloured. If a little iodine be placed in contact with a thin silice of phosphorus, the latter takes fire ahnost immediately. BROMINE, So called from the Greek ^pofxos, a bad odour, is most intimately alUed with chlorine and iodine ; like these elements it belongs to the sea, and is a constituent of sea-water. Bromine is a very heavy fluid, and should be preserved by keeping it covered with, water in a stoppered 4Dottle. Experiments with liquid bromine are not recommended, as all the most interesting ones can be performed with the vapour, which is easily procured by letting fall a few drops of bromine into a warm dry bottle. EXPERIMENTS. Pounded antimony sprinkled into the vapour takes fire immediately. A thin slice of phosphorus placed in a deflagrating ladle and placed into the vapour of bromine ignites very quickly. A solution of sulphate of indigo, or an infusion of red cabbage, are easily bleached by being shaken violently with the vapour of bromine. bb2 372 EVERY boy's book. FLTJORINE. In many parts of England, especially in Devonshire, Cornwall, and above all in Derbyshire, is found a very beautiful mineral, known by the name of Eluor Spar, Derbyshire Spar, and called by the miners Blue John, to distinguish it from another mineral found in the same locality, called Black Jack. It occurs in very regular and frequently large crystals in the form of cubes, and occasionally in octoedra. It is a compound of calcium with fluorine, and is very abundant in certain fossil bones. This element, in combination with hydrogen and called hydrofluoric acid, acts so energetically upon all substances containing silica, that it cannot be preserved in vessels of glass or Eorcelain — very few of the metals are capable of resisting its action, ;ad being nearly the only common metal possessed of this power. Gutta percha may also be emplojred for vessels to hold it. This property of dissolving siUca, has caused this acid to be used for engraving on glass. EXPERIMENT. Mix one part of powdered fluor-spar, quite pure, with two parts of oil of vitriol, in a saucer, and apply a gentle heat, when the acid will be disengaged in the form of vapour. Prepare a piece of glass after the manner of engraving on copper, by coating it with a thin covering of wax, placing a paper over the wax, and then drawing any design with a sharp-poijitea instrument, when, on removing the paper, the wax-coating will be found to be removed wherever the mstrument has passed over it. Now invert. this glass over the fumes of the acid for half an hour or so, and then heat the glass so as to soften the coating, and wipe it off; the design will then appear ** bitten in " as the term is, that is, the acid will have dissolved the glass wherever it was not protected by the wax, and will exhibit the design indelibly fixed on the glass. This acid requires the greatest care in handling, for it is extremely corrosive, producing very troublesome ulcers if it comes in contact with the skin ; even the fumes will produce smarting if the skin is long exposed to them. CABBON. The next substance in our list of elementary bodies is named carbon. The purest form of carbon is the precious stone called diamond, which consists entirely of carbon in a crystalhzed form. The Erench chemist Lavoisier was the first who proved the combustibility of the diamond ; and Sir H. Davy found that when once set on fire it would continue to burn in oxygen gas air, and that the product of the combustion was carbonic acid gas, exactly equal in quantity to the gas produced by burning an equal weight of pure charcoal, the most common form of carbon. CHEMISTRY. 373 Plumbago, or " black-lead," as it is very improperly called, is also nearly pure carbon,, a very small quantity of iron being united with it. By far the greater part of all vegetable, and a very large portion of animal bodies consists of carbon ; and in the state of carbonic acid in combination with Hme and some other earths, it forms nearly the half of all the chalk, marble, and limestone of our hills ; so that it is, in one shape or other, one of the most widely diffused bodies in nature. Carbon forms two gaseous compounds with oxygen ; the first, called carbonic oxide, is easily obtained by boiling oxalic acid with its own bulk of sulphuric acid, in a flask to which a cork and bent tube is ^attached. The gas comes over in large quantities, and must be collected in a gas jar, or the pneumatic trough. It is inflammable, and bums with a lambent blue flame. The other compound, carbonic acid, is transparent, colourless, much heavier than atmospheric air, has an agreeable taste, has the power of irritating the mucous membrane of the nose, (as any one can tell who has drunk soda-water), without possessing any particular odour, is absorbed by water, does not support respiration, and extin- guishes flame. Carbonic acid gas may be obtained with the greatest facility by pouring some muriatic or sulphuric acid, diluted with about six parts of water, upon some pieces of marble or hmestone in a bottle with a tube attached, when the gas comes over in torrents. It may be collected over water. EXPERIMEOTS. 1. To show the great comparative weight of this gas, place a lighted taper at the bottom of a tall glass jar, then take a jar full of carbonic acid gas, and pour it as you would pour water into the jar containing the lighted taper ; you will soon find the taper will be extinguished as effectually as if you had poured water on it, and the smoke of the taper will float on the surface of the gas in very beau- tiful wavy forms. 2. Heat a piece of the metal potassium in a metal spoon (platinum is best), and if introduced in a state of ignition into the gas, it will continue burn- ing brilliantly, producing a quantity of dense smoke, which is the carbon from the carbonic acid, the potassium having seized the oxygen and being con- verted by it into potash. 3. If a mouse, bird, or other small animal, be placed in a jar of this gas, it becomes insensible almost immediately, but if speedily removed it will ^^ ,, •^' r J STOPPERED BOTTLE occasionally recover. for holding gas. 4. Shake up some water with some of this gas in a bottle ; the greater part of the gas will be absorbed by the wq»nr. 374 EVERT boy's book. wliicli acquires a sparkling appearance and a pleasant sharp taste ; with the addition of a little soda this becomes the ■well-known beverage called soda-water, so famous for removing the morning lieadaches caused by " that salmon " having disagreed at yesterday's dinner. It is the presence of this gas which renders it so dangerous to descend into deep wells, for by its great weight it collects at the bottom, and instantly suffocates any unfortunate person who incau- tiously subjects himself to it. Hence it is prudent always to let down a hghted candle before any one descends into a well, or other deep excavation, and if the candle is extinguished, it is necessary to throw down several pails of water, lime-water if possible, and again to try the candle, wluch must burn freely before it is safe for any one ^ to descend. It is this same gas under the name of "choke-damp," which proves so dangerous to miners, particularly after an explosion ot " fire-damp," for it is the principal product of the explosion, and it is by no means an easy matter to dislodge it. Carbonic acid gas has been condensed into the fluid form by causing it to be disengaged under great pressure ; the fluid acid has the appearance of water. When the pressure is removed, as by allowing some of the fluid acid to escape from the vessel in which it has been condensed, it instantly reassumes the gaseous form, and in so doing absorbs so much latent caloric that a portion of the acid is actually solidified, and appears in the shape of snow, which may be collected and preserved for a short time. After a lecture by Mr. Addams before the Ashmolean Society of Oxford, I carried a kind of snowball of carbonic acid for a distance of 500 or 600 yards, and placed it in a saucer in a room. It evaporated very rapidly, and left no residue, not even a mark where it had lain. It was too cold to be touched by the naked hand without pain. Carbonic acid and lime are mutually tests for each other. If a jar containing a httle lime-water be put into a jar of this gas, it speedily becomes turbid, the gas uniting with the lime, and producing chalk (the carbonate of Ume), which is insoluble in water. This gas is produced in large quantities by the respiration of animals, as may be proved by respiring through a tube immersed in lime-water, when the water will be instantly rendered turbid from the formation of chalk. CARBON AND HYDEOGEN. To the combination of these elements in various proportions, and with the occasional addition of other substances, we are indebted for all, or nearly all, our means of obtaining hght and heat. Coal, wood, spirit, oil, and all the varieties of fats, are composed principally of carbon and hydrogen, and may easily be converted into the gas with CHEMISTRY. 375 which our hvouses and streets are lighted, which is nearly pure carburetted hydroo;en. The two chief definite gaseous compounds of these two elements ai'e the liglit carburetted hydrogen, and the heavy carburetted hydrogen, or olefiant gas. The first is easily procured by stirring the bottom of stagnant water on a hot summer's day, and collecting the bubbles in a bottle filled with water and inverted over the place where the bubbles rise. This gas burns with a yellowish flame, and when mixed with a certain proportion of air, or oxygen gas, explodes with great violence on the application of a flame. It is the much dreaded fire-damp generated so profusely in some coal-mines, and causing such fearful destruction to life and property when accidentally iyflamed. The other compound, the heavy carburetted hydrogen, forms part of the gas used for illumination ; and, in fact, whatever substance is employed for artificial Hght, whether oil, tallow, wax, &c. &c. it is converted into this gas by heat, and then furnishes the light by its own combustion. This gas has some very curious properties, and may be obtained nearly pure by mixing in a retort, very carefully, one part of spirits of wine and four of sulphuric acid. A lamp must be placed under the retort, when the gas will be speedOv disengaged, and come over in great abundance ; it may be collected over water. This gas is transparent,' colourless, will not support combustion, but is itself inflammable, burning with a brilKant white light, and being converted into carbonic acid and water. If mixed with three or four times its bulk of oxygen, or with common atmospheric air in much larger proportions, it explodes with great violence. This gas is sometimes called *' olefiant gas," from the property it has of forming an oily substance when mixed with chlorine. EXPERIMENT. Into a jar standing over water half full of this gas, pass an equal quantity of chlo- rine gas. The gases will speedily unite and form an oily-looking liquid, which may be collected from the sides of the jar as it trickles down. By continually supplying the jar with the two gases as i\^j com. ^^^ ^^^ collecting gases. bme, a considerable quantity of this sub- stance may be collected. Care should be taken that the olefiant gas is rather in excess. The substance produced is insoluble in water, with which it should be washed by shaking them together in a tube, and has a pleasant sweetish taste and aromatic smell, somewhat resembling ether. 376 EVERY boy's book. COAL GAS. The ^as so universally employed for the purposes of illumination is a mixture of the carbu retted and the bi-carburetted hydrogen, with minute portions of other gases scarcely worth mentioning. It is procured by submitting coals to a red heat in iron retorts, having a tube passing from one end, along which passes all the fluid and gaseous matter separated from the coal, namely, gas tar, ammoniacal tiquor, and various gases, carburetted hydrogen, carbonic acid, sul- phuretted hydrogen, &c. &c. The tar and ammoniacal liquor remain in the vessel in which the tubes from the retorts terminate, and the gaseous productions are conveyed through watfer and lime to separate the impurities; the remaining gas, now fit for use, passes into large iron vessels, called gasometers, inverted over water (like the jars in a pneumatic trough), whence it is sent through pipes and distributed where required. What remains in the retorts is called coke. It consists principally of charcoal, mixed with the earthy and metallic particles contained in the coal. EXPERIMENT. If you possess an iron bottle, fill it with powdered coal, and attach a flexible tube to it, and put it in the fire : as soon as it becomes red hot, large quantities of smoke will escape from the end of the tube, being the gas mixed with all its impurities. By passing it through water (if mixed with lime it will be better), the gas may be collected in jars standing over water, and submitted to experiment. If you do not possess a bottle, take a tobacco-pipe with a large bowl, (a " churchwarden " for example) ; fill tl»e Dowl with small coal, cover it with clay or putty, and wnen dry put it into the fire, and the gas will soon appear at the other end of the pipe, when it may be lighted, or the was may be collected over water, as in the former experiment. The Tight carburetted hydrogen contained in this gas is given off spontaneously in some coal-mines, and as it forms explosive mixtures with atmospheric air, the mines where it abounds could not be worked except at tlie greatest risk until about the beginning of the present century, when Sir H. Davy, while prosecuting some researches on the nature of flame, found that flame would not pass through metallic tubes, and he gradually reduced the length of^ the tubes, until he found fine iron wire gauze formed an effectual barrier against the jiassage of flame. He then thought that if the light in a lantern were surrounded with this gauze, it might safely be used in an in- flammable atmosphere, where a naked light would instantly cause an explosion. Upon submitting the lamp to experiment, he found that by passing coal gas by degrees into a vessel in which one of his lamps was suspended, the flame first became much larger, and then was extinguished, the cylinder of gauze being filled with a pale flame, and though the gauze sometimes became red-hot, it did not ignite CHEMISTRY. 377 the gas outside. As the supply of coal gas was diminished, the wick of the lamp was rekindled, and all went on as at first. A coil of platinum wire was afterwards suspended in the lamps, which becomes intensely heated by the burning gas, and gives out suflBcient light to enable the miner to see to work. As long as the gauze is perfect it is almost impossible for the external air to be kindled by the wick of the lamp, but the miners are so careless that they will often remove the gauze to get a better light, to look for a tool, or some cause equally trivial, and many lives have been lost in consequence of such carelessness. The efiFect of fine wire gauze in preventing the passage of flame may be shown by bringing a piece of the gauze gradually over the flame of a spirit-lamp, until it nearly touches the wick, when the flame will be nearly extinguished, but the vapour of the spirit passes through, and may be lighted on the upper side of the gauze, which will thus have a flame on either side, though totally unconnected with each other. The flame from a gas-burner will answer as well as the spirit-lamp. Nearly all the fluids, and solids also, used for procuring artificial light, such as naphtha, various oils, tallow, wax, spermaceti, spirits of wine, ether, &c. &c. are compounds of carbon and hydrogen in different proportions, with the occasional addition of some other elements, especially oxygen and hydrogen, in the proportions to form water ; as a general rule, those bodies containing the greatest pro- portion of carbon give the most light, though not necessarily the most heat. PHOSPHORUS. The next body we' have to notice is phosphorus, a most remarkable substance, procured from the earthy part of bones by a process not worth detailing here. It should be always kept under water, and the naked finders should not be allowed even to touch it, for the smallest piece getting under the nail will inflame the first time the hand comes near the fire, and produce a sore very painful and difficult to heal. It should be cut under water by a knife or scissors, and removed with a pair of forceps. Its combustible properties have been fre- quently mentioned. It has also the property of shining in the dark, so that if you write on a wall with a solution of phosphorus in oil, the letters will appear luminous in the dark — there is no danger, excepting from the greasiness of the oil. Of the compounds of phosphorus with oxygen we have nothing to do here, but it forms with hydrogen a very curious gaseous compound, which takes fire spontaneously on the contact of air, or almost any gjs containing oxygen. EXPERIMENTS. It may be procured in either of two ways, according to the purpose for whicn it is wanted. The simplest way is to put a lump or two 378 EVERT bot's book. of phosphuret of lime into a saucer, about two inches in depth, con- taining some very diluted hydrochloric acid; bubbles of gas will speedily arise, and bursting on the surface of the fluid will bum with a slight explosion, and a circular wreath of smoke wUl rise into the atmosphere, enlarging as it rises, and wreathing itself round and round in the most elegant forms. Care must be taken that the phosphuret is fresh, and has been kept in a well-closed bottle, or the experiment will fail. The apartment must be free from draughts. If you desire to collect the gas, another method must be employed. Fill a small retort quite full, neck and all, of a solution of caustic potash, drop five or six pieces of phosphorus into it, place the finger on the end of the retort, and immerse it in a basin also containing a hot solution of potash, remove the finger, and on applying the heat of a lamp to the retort, the gas will soon be disengaged rapidly, and drive out the fluid in the retort ; it then escapes into the air, when it inflames with the same appearances as before described. Or it maybe collected in gas jars fillea with the potash solution, and held over the mouth of the retort. The object in using hot solution of potash in the basin is, that when the gas ceases to be given off, and the heat of the lamp is withdrawn, the hot fluid may gradually fill the vacuum which will form in the retort, and so prevent its being broken. This gas is transparent and invisible, like most other gases. It is very poisonous if inlialed. If kept for any time, it loses its property of spontaneous inflammation, ana must therefore be made at the time it is required. SULPHTIEL Sulphur, or brimstone, as it is frequently called, is sold in the form of sticks, or roll brimstone, or in fiue powder called flowers of brim- stone. It is capable of showing electric phenomena when nibbed, giving out slight sparks, and first attracting and then repelling light bodies, such as small pieces of paper, &c. It is so bad a conductor of heat, that if grasped suddenly in a hot hand, it will crack and split into pieces just as glass does when suddenly heated or cooled — of course I am speaking of the roll brimstone. Water has no effect on it, as maj be seen in the pans placed for pet dogs to drink out of, where CHEMISTRY. 379 the same piece of brimstone lies for years entirely unaltered, tbongh it is supposed to prevent the dogs from having the mange ! Sulphur is largely used in the arts, principally in the manufacture of gunpowder, and fireworks of various kinds. It combines with hydrogen, and forms a gaseous compound called sulphuretted hydrogen, which is almost the most poisonous of all the gases. It fortunately has so abominable smell, that due notice is given of its presence. Rotten eggs, a dirty gun-barrel, cabbage water, putrid animal and vegetable matter, &c. are indebted to this gas for their inviting odour; and it is found in certain mineral springs, as at Harrogate, where the water contains a considerable quantity of this gas, and is found useful in many diseases of the skin. It is also given off in a gaseous form by some volcanoes. This gas may be obtained by pouring dilute hydrochloric acid upon a metallic sulphuret, such as that called crude antimony, being a native sulphuret of that metal. The gas may be kept for a short time over water. It is colourless and transparent, inflammable, but quite irrespirable, a small bird dying instantly when placed in air containing only T-s^Tjth of this gas. Its most remarkable property perhaps is the effect it has on certain metallic oxides, and other metallic salts, blackening them instantly. Wliite paint is easUy stained by this gas, and it wiU darken the colour of a metal in a scjlution, especially of lead, even when diluted with 20,000 times its \\ eight of water. By way of experiment, slips of riband, silk, or even jjaper, may be wetted with various metallic solutions, such as silver, mercury, lead, &c. or words may be written with the solutions, and on holding them over a stream of this gas they wiU be instantly darkened. If this gas be collected in the pneumatic trough, which is usually painted ?^^/^^, you will have the pleasure of seeing the colour changed to a very dark brown, when your experiments are finished. With this very limited description of some of the non-metallic elements and their combinations, we must, for want of space, take leave of this division of chemistry ; " the beginning of which is pleasure, its progress knowledge, its objects truth and utility." — ifiavy^ METALS. We have a few words to say about a class of bodies called metals, which are of the utmost importance to mankind, and indeed without some of them, especially iron, few of the arts of civilized life could exist. Pifty substances are now included in the list of metals ; some of them, however, are only supposed to exist, such as ammonuim, the supposed base of ammonia ; and very many are to be viewed rather in the Hght of chemical curiosities, as from their great rarity they are too expensive for use, even if possessed of valuable properties of which others might be destitute. 380 EVERi boy's book. Several metals have been known from the earHest period of which we have any record; such were iron, gold, silver, copper, lead, tin, mercury, and probably zinc, or at least its ores ; for brass, which is an alloy of copper and zinc, is frequently mentioned in the early part of the Old Testament. In the sixteenth century others were discovered, such as antimony and bismuth. In the last century, cobalt, arsenic, platinum, nickel, manganese, and chromium, together with several unimportant metals, were discovered by various philosophers ; while in the present century. Dr. Wollaston discovered rhodium, the hardest and nearly the most indestructible of all the metals ; and a few years later, Sir Humphry Davy found that the alkalies, potash, and soda, with many of the earths as they were called, had each a metal for its base, to which he gave the Latin name of the alkali or earth, with the termination um, as potassie^/w, the base of potassa, sodi^^w of soda, calci2^»» of calx (lime), &c. Until Sir H. Davy's discovery of the metals of the alkalies, great specific gravity was regarded as one of the most striking character- istics of a metal, the lightest of them being much heavier than the heaviest earth ; but potassium is very much lighter than water, and not much heavier than spirits of wine. The other metals vary from a specific gravity of nearly twenty-one — or twenty-one times heavier tlian an equal bulk of water — that of platinum, to somewhat less than seven, which is the specific gravity of antimony. Wlien pure, they all have a lustre, differing indeed among them- selves, but so pecuhar that it is called the metallic lustre, for instance, gold and copper are yellow and red — nearly all the others white, but of a different shade; still there is no mistaking their metallic character, no other substances at all equalling them in this respect. They are also opaque, although some, Hke gold, when re- duced to thin films, allow light to pass through them. They are all good conductors of heat and electricity, though some possess that property to a greater extent than others. Many of them are what is called malleable, that is, may be ex- tended or spread out by rolling, or beating them with a hammer ; and ductile, or have the property of being drawn out into wire. Gold, silver, copper, and iron, are the most remarkable in this- respect. AH the metals are fusible, but some require very different degrees of heat to render them fluid, — platinum requiring the heat of the oxy-hydrogen blowpipe, while tin melts in the flame of a candle, and mercury is fluid at all temperatures in this climate, but becomes solid at 40° Fahr. below 0, — a temperature occasionally experienced in the Arctic regions, where the mercurial thermometer is useless, the mercury becoming sohd. They are all excellent conductors of heat and electricity, and have the property of reflecting Ught and forming mirrors ; for looking- glasses owe their power of reflecting objects principally to what is CHEMISTRY. 381 called tlie " silvering ; " that is, a mixture of mercury and tin spread over the back of the glass, which being transparent, allows the image reflected from the metal to pass through it. The following classification is most instructive, because it suggests to the young student that there must be identical properties in the metals thus placed together : — Class 1. Ammonium, caesium, lithium, potassium, sodium. Class 2. Calcium, barium, strontium. Class 3. Aluminium, cerium, didymium, erbium, glucinium, lanthanum, thorium, yttrium, zirconium. Class 4. Zinc class : cadmium, magnesium, zinc. Class 5. Iron class : cobalt, chromium, indium, iron, manganese, Lickel, uranium. Class 6. Tin class : niobium, tantalum, tin, titanium. Class 7. Tungsten class : molybdenum, tungsten, vanadium. Class 8. Arsenic class : antimony, arsenic, bismuth. Class 9. Lead class : lead, thallium. Class 10. Silver class : copper, mercury, silver. Class 11. Gold class : gold, iridium, osmium, palladium, platinum, rhodium, ruthenium. POTASSIUM. Potassium was discovered by Sir H. Davy in the beginning of the present century, while acting upon potash with the enormous gal- vanic battery of the Royal Institution, consisting of 2,000 pairs of 4-inch plates. It is a brilliant white metal, so soft as to be easily cut with a penknife, and so light as to swim upon water, on which it acts with great energy, uniting with the oxygen, and liberating the hydrogen, which takes fire as it escapes. EXPEEIMENr. Trace some continuous lines on paper with a camel's-hair brush dipped in water, and place a piece of potassium about the size of a pea on one of the Hnes, and it vrill follow the course of the pencil, taking fire as it runs, and burning with a purplish hght. The paper wiU be found covered with a solution of ordinary potash. If turmeric paper be used, the course of the potassium will be marked with a deep brown colour. — Corollary. Hence, if you touch potassium with wet fingers you will burn them ! If a small piece of the metal be placed on a piece of ice, it will instantly take fire, and form a deep hole, which will be found to con- tain a solution of potash. In consequence of its great affinity for oxygen, potassium must be kept in some fluid destitute of that element, such as naphtha. Caution ! — As the globules of potassium after conversion into potash, when thrown on ice or water burst, strewing small particles of caustic hot potash in every direction, the greatest care should be 382 EVERY boy's book. taken to keep at a sufficient distance wMst perfonning the above experiment. Saltpetre, or nitre, is a compound of this metal (or rather its oxide) with nitric acid. It is one of the ingredients of gunpowder, and has the property of quickening the combustion of all combustible bodies. Mix some chlorate of potash with lump sugar, both being powdered, and drop on the mixture a little strong sulphuric acid, and it will instantly burst into flame. This experiment also requires caution. Want of space precludes us from considering the individual metals and their compounds in detail; it must suffice to describe some experiments showing some of their properties. The diiferent affinities of the metals for oxygen may be exhibited in various ways. The silver or zinc tree has already been described, page 357. EXPEEIMENTS. 1. Into a solution of nitrate of silver in distilled water immerse a clean plate or slip of copper. The solution, which was colourless, will soon begin to assume a greenish tint, and the piece of copper will be covered with a coating of a light grey colour, which is the silver formerly united to the nitric acid, which has been displaced by the greater affinity or liking of the oxygen and acid for the copper. 2. When the copper is no longer coated, but remains clean and bright when immersed in the fluid, all the silver has been deposited, and the glass now contains a solution of copper. Place a piece of clean iron in the solution, and it wiH almost instantly be coated with a film of copper, and this will continue until the whole of that metal is removed, and its place filled by an equiva- lent quantity of iron, so that nitrate of iron is found in the hquid. The oxygen and nitric acid remain imaltered in quantity or quahty during these changes, being merely transferred from one metal to another. A piece of zinc will displace the iron in like manner, leaving a solution of nitrate of zinc. Nearly all the colours used in the arts are produced by metals and their combinations ; indeed, one is named chromium, from a Greek word signifying colour, on account of the beautiful tints obtained from its various combinations with oxygen and the other metals. All the various tints of green, orange, yellow, and red, are obtained from this metal. Solutions of most of the metalhc salts give precipitates with solu- tions of alkahes and their salts, as well as with many other substances, such as what are usually called prussiate of potash, hydro-sulphuret of ammonia^ &c. ; and the colours differ according to the metal em- ployed, and so small a quantity is required to produce the colour that the solutions before mixing may be nearly colourless. CHEMISTRY, 383 EXPERIMENTS. 1. To a solution of sulphate of iron add a drop or two of a solu- tion of prussiate of potash, and a blue colour will be produced. 2. Substitute sulphate of copper for iron, and the colour will be a rich brown. 3. Another blue, of quite a different tint, may be produced by letting a few drops of a solution of ammonia fall into one of sulphate of copper — a precipitate of a light blue falls down, which is dissolved by an additional quantity of the ammonia, and forms a transparent solution of the most splendid rich blue colour. 4. Into a solution of sulphate of iron let fall a few drops of a strong infusion of galls, and the colour will become a bluish-blac^ — in fact, ink. A little tea will answer as well as the infusion of galls. This is the reason why certain stuffs formerly in general use for dressing gowns for gentlemen were so objectionable; for as they were indebted to a salt of iron for their colour, buff as it was called, a drop of tea accidentally spilt produced all the effect of a drop of ink. 5. Put into a largish test tube two or three small pieces of granulated zinc, fill it about one-third full of water, put in a few grains of iodine and boil the water, which will at first acquire a dark purple colour, gradually fading as the iodine combines with the zinc. Add a little more iodine from time to time, untU the zinc is nearly all dis- solved. If a few drops of this solution be added to an equally colourless solution of corrosive sublimate (a salt of mercury) a pre- cipitate will take place of a splendid scarlet colour, brighter if possible than vermilion, which is also a preparation of mercury. CRYSTALLIZATION OF METALS. Some of the metals assume certain definite forms in returning from the fluid to the solid state. Bismuth shows this property more readily than most others. EXPERIMENT. Melt a pound or two of bismuth in an iron ladle over the fire ; remove it as soon as the whole is fluid ; and when the surface has become sohd break a hole in it, and pour out the still fluid metal from the interior; what remains will exhibit beautifully formed crystals of a cubic shape. Sulphur may be crystalhzed in the same manner, but its fumes when heated are so very unpleasant that few would wish to encounter them. One of the most remarkable facts in chemistry, a science abounding in wonders, is the circumstance, that the mere contact of hydrogen, the lightast body known, with the metal platinum, the heaviest, when in a state of minute division, called spongy platinum, produces an intense heat, sufficient to inflame the hydrogen: of course this 384 EVEllY BOY'S BOOK. experiment must be made in the presence ot atmospheric air or oxygen. Time and space (or rather the want of them) compel us to con- clude with a few experiments of a miscellaneous character. TO FORM A SOLID FROM TWO LIQUIDS.^ Prepare separately, saturated solutions of sulphate of magnesia (Epsom salts) and carbonate of potash. On mixing them the result will be nearly solid. Solutions of muriate of lime and carbonate of potash will answer as well. TO FORM A LIQUID FROM TWO SOLIDS. Rub together in aWedgewood mortar a small quantity of sulphate of soda and acetate of lead, and as they mix they will become Hquid. Carbonate of ammonia and sulphate of copper, previously reduced to powder separately, will also, when mixed, become liquid, and acquire a most splendid blue colour. The greater number of salts have a tendency to assume regular forms, or become crystallised, when passing from the fluid to the solid state ; and the size and regularity of the crystals depends in a great measure on the slow or rapid escape of the fluid in which they were dissolved. Sugar is a capital example of this property; the ordinary loaf-sugar being rapidly boiled down, as it is called : while to make sugar-candy, which is nothing but sugar in a crystallized form, the solution is allowed to evaporate slowly, and as it cools it forms into those beautiful crystals termed sugar-candy. The threads found in the centre of some of the crystals are merely placed for the purpose of hastening the formation of the crystals. EXPERIMENTS. 1. Make a strong solution of alum, or of sulphate of copper, or blue vitriol, and place in them rough and irregular pieces of clinker from stoves, or wire -baskets, and set them by in a cool place, where they will be free from dust, and in a few days crystals of the several salts will deposit themselves on the baskets, &c.; they should then be taken out of the solutions, and dried, when they form very pretty ornaments for a room. 2. Fill a Florence flask up to the neck with a strong solution of sul- phate of soda, or Glauber's salt, boil it, and tie the mouth over with a piece of moistened bladder while boiling, and set it by in a place where it caijnot be disturbed. After twenty-four hours it will pro- bably still remain fluid. Pierce the bladder covering with a penknife, and the entrance of the air will cause the whole mass instantly to a) Saturated solutions are made 1 y adding the salt to boiling water until it will take up no more, letting it stand till cold and tlien pouring off the liquid. CHEMISTRY. 385 crystallize, and the flask will become quite warm from the latent caloric, of which we have spoken before, given out by the salt in passing from the fluid to the solid state. It is better to prepare two or three flasks at the same time, to provide against accidents, for the least shake will often cause crystallization to take place before the proper time. CHANGES OF COLOUR PRODUCED BY COLOURLESS LIQUIDS. Make a strong infusion of the leaves of the red cabbage, which will be of 'a beautiful blue colour ; drop into it a few drops of dilute sulphuric acid, and the colour will change to a bright red ; add some solution of carbonate of potash, or soda, and the red colour will gradually give way to the original blue ; continue adding the alkaline solution, and the fluid will assume a bright green colour. Now resume the acid, and as it is dropped in, the colour will again change from ^reen to blue, and from blue to red. Now this simple experi- ment illustrates three points : first, that acids change the colour of most vegetable blues and greens to red ; second, that alkalies change most blues and reds to green; and third, that when the acid and alkali are united together, they both lose their property of changing colour, and become what is called a neutral salt, i.e. a compound possessing the properties of neither of its constituents. c c ELECTKICIITT. No branch of science is more capable of affording amusement, combined with instruction, than electricity, and there are few sciences in which the experiments are more easily performed. We woaid therefore especially recommend it to our youug friends. The term electricity is derived from the Greek word electron, signi- fying amber, because electrical attraction was first discovered from its being noticed that when amber was rubbed into a certain degree of warmth, it had the power of attracting small bodies to itself. Electricity therefore primarily treats of the phenomena and effects produced by the friction or rubbing together of certain bodies called electrics. These consist of glass, amber, resinous matters, silks, hair, wool, feathers, various vegetable substances, and atmospheric air, and the electricity so obtained is usually called Trictional Elec- tricity, to distinguish it from that produced by chemical action, and called Voltaic Electricity. SIMPLE MEANS OF PRODUCING ELECTRICITY. To show the nature of electrical action, rub a piece of sealing-wax or amber upon the coat-sleeve, and it will attract light bodies, such as ELECTRICITY. 387 straws or small pieces of paper. If a clean glass tube be rubbed several times through a silken or leather cloth, and- presented to any small substances, it will immediately attract and then repel them; and if a poker suspended by a dry silk' string be presented to its upper end, then the lower end of the poker will exhibit the same phenomena as the tube itself, which shows that the opposite electrical condition may be induced upon other bodies by the mere neighbourhood and approach of another electrified body, and the effect so produced is called induced electricity. When an electrified conductor is sup- ported by non-conductors, so that the electric fluid cannot pass from the con- ductor to the earth, it is said to be insulated : thus the human body is a con- ductor of electricity — but if a person standing on a glass stool (as represented in the drawing) be charged with elec- tricity, the electric fluid cannot pass from him to the earth, and he is said to be insulated; and if he be touched by another person standing on the ground, sparks will be exhibited at the point of contact, where also the person touching will feel a pricking sensation. r *c ATTRACTION AND REPULSION EXHIBITED. In order to illustrate certain remarkable facts in this science of an amusing character, attention must be directed to the figure a b, which is a ' metal stand ; c is a small piece of cork or pith, which is suspended from the hook by a dry silken thread. Having rubbed an electric, as a dry rod of glass, and presented it to c, the ball will be instantaneously attracted to the glass and will adhere to it. ^ After they remain in contact for a few seconds, if the glass be withdrawn without being touched by the finders, and again presented to the ball, the latter will be repelled instead of attracted, as in the first instance. By being touched with the finger, the ball can be deprived of its electricity, and if after this has been done we present a piece of sealing-wax in the place of the glass formerly employed, the very same phenomena will take place. On oo2 388 EVERT boy's book. the first application the ball will be attracted^ and on the second repelled?- JSefore the young reader can perform any very important experi- ments with electricity, he must become possessed of an electrical MACHINE, which is an instrument contrived for the purpose of rubbing together the snrfaces of glass and leather. They generally consist of a cylinder, or plate of glass, and a piece of silk or leather for it to rub against, covered with an amalgam, the method of preparing which we shall hereafter describe. HOW TO MAKE AN ELECTRICAL MACHINE. It is very easy to make a glass machine of the cylindrical form, if the maker cannot afford to buy one. First procure a common wine Dottle of good dimensions, and thickish glass. Drill a hole through its bottom, with a file moistened with dilute sulphuric acid. A blacksmith, if supplied with the acid, would undertake to do this part of the work. Through this hole and the mouth pass a spindle, as represented in the cut. The end of b should be squared to fix a handle on, and the spindle should be fixed firmly in the bottle. The bottle is then to be fixed in a frame in the following manner : the end of the spindle c passes through a hole at B ; and the other end at c has the handle for turning the machine. Next make a cushion of wash-leather stuffed with wool, and fastened to the top of a frame of the following figure. This frame is to be of such a height that the cushion shall press against the sides of the bottle, and a piece of black silk is sewn on to the top of the cushion, and hangs over the bottle d. The cushion should be (1) For a more complete account of this interesting science we would refer the youug reader to " The Boy'a Play book on Science," or, if more advanced, to " Noad's Manual of Electricity." BLECTRICITY. 389 smeared with an amalgam, formed by melting together in the bowl of a tobacco-pipe one part of tin with two of zinc ; to which, while fluid, should be added six parts of mercury. These should be stirred about till quite cold, and then reduced to a fine powder in a mortar, and mixed with a suflBcient quantity of lard to form a thickish paste. When all is done, the machine is complete. cushion. THE CONDUCTOR. The electricity being generated by the friction produced between the rubber and the bottle from the motion imparted by the handle, it is necessary to draw it off for us& This is performed by what is called a conductor. Tliis is made by covering a cylinder of turned wood six inches long and two and a half inches in diameter, and nicely rounded at the ends, with tinfoil, which is then mounted on a stand on a glass rod. When used, it is to be placed in the direction of the length. In it some pins are inserted, with the points outside, in a Ime even with, and about half an inch from, the bottle, and it should be of such a height as to come just below the silk apron. When it is wished to charge a Leyden jar, it is to be placed at the round end of the conductor. By these simple means a great variety of pleasing experiments may be performed ; but to show the various phenomena connected with this interesting study, we shall now describe an electrical machine of the newest construction, and perform our experiments with it. THE PLATE ELECTRICAL MACHINE. Formerly the electrical machine was made in the form of a cylinder, but now it consists of a plate a, as seen in the engraving. The plate is turned by the handle r through the rubber b b, which diffuses the excitement over the glass. The points or balls at each side of the plate carry off a constant stream of positive electricity to the prime conductor c. Negative electricity is generated by insulating the conductor to which the cushion is attached, and continuing the prime conductor with the ground, so as to carry off the fluid collected from the plate. HOW TO DRAW SPARKS FROM THE TIP OP THE NOSE. If the person who works the machine be supported on a stool having glass legs, and connected with the conductor by means of a 390 EVERY BOr 8 BOOK. glass rod, tlie electricity will pass from the conductor to him, and as it cannot get away, owing to the glass on which he stands being a non-conductor, any person on touching him can draw the electricity from him, which will exhibit itseK in small sparks as it passes to the person who touches him. If touched on the nose, sparks of fire will issue from it. HOW TO CHANGE A LEYDEN JAR. A most useful piece of electrical apparatus is called the Leyden jar, here represented. It is employed for the purpose of obtainirig a quantity of elec- tricity, wliich may be applied to any sub- stance. It consists of a glass jar, coated both inside and without, four-fifths of the way up, with tinfoil. A knob rises through a wooden top communicating with the in- side of the jar. When it is wished to charge the jar, this knob is applied to the prime conductor of the electrical machine when in action, and a quantity of electricity being given off, the jar will remain charged with it till a connexion is made, by some good conductor of electricity, between the knob and the outside tinfoil. A piece of brass chain must hang from the •tern that carries the knob, and connect it with the interior of the jar. THE ELECTRICAL BATTERY. If several of these jars be united, a large quantity of electricity can be collected ; but, in arrang- ing them, all the interior coatings Biust be made to communicate by metallic rods, and a similar union must be effected among the ex- terior coatings. When thus ar- ranged, the whole series may be charged as if they formed but one jar. For the purpose of making a direct communication between the inner or outer coatings of a jar or battery, by which a discharge is effected, an instrument called a discharging rod is employed. It consists of two bent metallic rods, terminating at one end by brass balls, and connected at another by a joint which is fixed to the end of ELECTRICITY. 391 a glass handle, and which, acting like a pair of compasses, allows of the balls being separated at certain distances. When opened to the proper degree, one of the balls is made to touch the exterior coating, and the other ball is then brought into contact with the knob of the jar, when a discharge is effected ; while the glass handle secures the person holding it from the effects of the shock. DANCING BALLS AND DOLLS. Get two round pieces of wood, a b, and coat them with tinfoil ; dir two pieces of metal plate ; attach one of them to the prime conductor by a chain, and let it hang about two or three inches from the knob. Place some pith-balls upon the bottom piece of wood b, and bring it under the other. Immediately this is done, and the upper piece is charged with electricity from the machine, the pith-balls will jump up and down, and from one to the other with great rapidity. If some of the pith be formed into little figures, they will also dance and leap about in the most grotesque manner. The same may be made to dance by merely holding the inside of a dry glass tumbler to the prime conductor for a few minutes, while the machine is in action, and then if this be placed over them they will jump about, to the astonishment of the spectators, as the cause of their motions is not quite so apparent. THE ELECTRICAL KISS. This amusing experiment is performed by means of the electrical stool. Let any lady challenge a gentleman not acquainted with the experiment to favour her with a salute. The lady thereupon mounts the glass stool, and takes hold of a chain connected with the prime conductor. The machine being then put in motion the gentleman approaches the lady, and immediately he attempts to imprint the seal of soft affection upon her coral lips, a spark will fly in his face, which generally deters him from his rash and wicked intention. RINGING BELLS. Bells may be made to ring by electricity in the following manner. Let tliree small bells be suspended from a brass wire, d d, and 392 EVERY BOY S BOOK. X supported by a glass pillar a, passing through bsll b to the beU e. The electrical apparatus being attached to the knob e, the electricity passes down the wires d d to the bells, which are then positively electrified and attract the clappers c c, that are negatively so, in consequence of being insulated by the silken strings, which are not conductors. The bells therefore attract the clappers tiU they are charged, when they strike against the centre bell to discharge them- selves, and thus a peal is rung on the bells until the electricity is driven off. ,lx WORKING POWER OP ELECTRICITY. This may be shown in a variety of ways. The subjoined machine will exhibit the principle upon which many ingenious toys may be made bv the young philosopher. In the figure a is a wooden board or stand, b b b b, four pillars of ■lass, gutta-percha, or sealing-wax, aving fine wires, c c, stretched above. On these rest the rotatory wire or wheel p, having its points turned the reverse ways. By means of a chain attached to the conductor, and to the instrument at B, the electricity passes over the pillar b, up the wire c into the wheel, and off at the points, which causes it to be turned round on an inclined plane till it reaches the top. THE ELECTRIPIED -WIG. While a person is on the electrical stool, if he be charged with much electricity, " Each hair will stand on end. Like quills upon the fretful porcupine." A wooden head — ^not your own, but a real wooden head — with a wig of stream- ing hair, and a handsome face to cor- respond, may be made in the following form, with a wire in the neck to sup- port it by, and fixed in the conductor of an electrical machine. When this is put in motion the hair will rise up, as m the figure, in a manner to astonish even the '* big-wigs." ELECTRICITY. 393 IMITATION THUNDERCLOUDS. To show the manner in which thunderclouds perform their opera- tions in the air, a a is a wooden stand, on which are erected two uprights, B B ; c c are two small pulleys, over which a sUken cord can puU easily ; e is another silken line stretched across from one J* ^ %.^i ^ .^ ^___j upright to another ; on these sUken cords two pieces of thin card- board covered with tinfoil, and cut so as to represent clouds, are to be fixed horizontally, and made to communicate, by means of tliin wires p and g, one with the inside, and the other with the outside, of a charged jar, d. Now, by pulling the loop of the silk line, the clouds wlS be brought near the cloud 2 ; continue this slowly, untU the clouds (which are furnished with two small brass balls) are within an inch of each other, when a beautiful flash, strongly resem- bling Ughtning in miniature, will pass from one cloud to the other, restoring electrical equihbrium. THE LIGHTNING STROKE IMITATED. If the jar d be put behind the stand, and the cloud 2 removed, a vessel communicating by means of a wire with the outside of the jar may be swum in water under the remaining cloud ; the mast being made of two pieces, and but sHghtly joined together, with a hollow space in one half of the mast, into which the ends of the conductor pass, but do not touch, leaving an interval of about a quarter of an 394 EVERY boy's book. in ell between them. The hollow is then filled with gun-cotton, and closed with cork. When the cloud is passed over the vessel, the mast will be struck and shattered to pieces. A strip of tinfoil, arranged with pins over the hollow part of the mast, will show how a continuous conductor will convey the discharge safely away. THE SPORTSMAN. This apparatus is capable of affording much amusement, a is a stand of wood, b is a common Leyden jar, out of which proceed the wires h h — one terminating in ball f, the other in the ball d — to which are attached a number of pith birds by silken strings ; E is a shelf for the birds to rest upon ; c is the sportsman; g his gun. To put this operation in motion the Leyden jar is to be charged with electricity by affixing a chain to the bottom part of it, and connect- ing it with an electrical machine in the usual manner, or by applying it to a prime conductor, when the birds will fly off the knob to which they are fixed in consequence of their being repelled. If the sports- man and gun be then turned, so that the end of his gun shall touch the knob f, an electric spark will pass from one to the other, a report will be heard, and the birds will M down as if shot, in consequence of the electricity having been taken from the Leyden jar. There should be a communication between the sportsman and the jar formed of tinfoil, or some metal, as shown by the dotted line on the stand. Such are a few of many numerous experiments which may be made by the young experimenter, who is fond of science and has any ingenuity ; but should he like to amuse himself with an electrifying machine of little cost, he may warm a sheet of brown paper, and then rub it briskly on a teatray with india-rubber ; on raising the paper in a dark room, he will see many pretty electrical sparks. The back of a black torn cat is sometimes recommended as a cheap electrical machine; but as the wishes of the animal have to be consulted, perhaps it is wiser to leave the cat alone. \ or GALVANISM, OE VOLTAIC ELECTEICITY. " To play with fire They say is dangerous ; what is it then To shake hands with the lightning, and to sport With thunder?"— Tyleb. Galvanism, or electricity of quantity, in contradistinction to frictional electricity, called electricity of intensity, owes its name to the experiments on animal irritability made in 1790 by M. Galvani, a professor of anatomy at Bologna. These experiments were sug- gested by the following circumstances. , ORIGIN OF GALVANISM. It happened that the wife of Galvani, who was consumptive, was advised to take as an article of food some soup made of the flesh of fi'ogs. Several of these creatures were killed and skinned, and were lying on the table in the laboratory close to an electrical machine, with which a pupil of the professor was making experiments. While the macliine was in action, he chanced to touch the bare nerve of 396 EVERY boy's book the leg of one of the fro^s with the blade of the knife that he had in his hand, when suddenly the whole limb was thrown into violent convulsions. Galvani was not present when this occurred ; but being informed of it, he immediately set himself to investigate the cause. He found that it was only when a spark was drawn from the prime conductor, and when the knife or- any other good conductor was in contact with the nerve, that the contracting took place ; and after a time he discovered that the effect was independent of the electrical machine, and might be equally well produced bv making a metallic communication between the outside muscle and the crural nerve. SIMPLE EXPERIMENT TO EXCITE GALVANIC ACTION. If the young experimenter will obtain a piece of zinc of the size of lalf a CTOwn and place it on the top of his tongue, and place a half- crown underneath it, and bring the edges of the half-crown and zinc in contact in front of his tongue, he wiU notice a peculiar sensation in the nerves of this organ, and some taste will be imparted to his mouth at the moment of contact. WITH METAL PLATES IN WATEB, If we take two plates of different kinds of metal, platinum (or copper) and zinc, for example, and immerse them in pure water, ^..^^ having wires attached to them above, /zj/jN then if the wire of each is brought into |pi|TP^ \ contact in another vessel of water, a gal- incnBl \ vanic circle will be formed, the water will Itp J^i I ^^ slowly decomposed, its oxygen will be I I ■ ' V ^ ^^ *^^ ^^^ ^^' ^^^ ^^ *^® ^^^^ I I fl ' \ time a current of electricity will be trans- Lj^H, i \ mitted through the liquid to the platina or ^^^^^^ ^ )? copper wire, on the end of which the other ^^ ^ gg^ ^^ ^^'^^-y " element of water, namely, the hydrogen, -^-^^i^^^^^H will make its appearance in the form of minute gas bubbles. The electrical cur- rent passes back again into the zinc at the points of its contact with the platina, and thus a continued current is kept up, and hence it is called a galvanic circle. The moment the circuit is broken by separating the wires the current ceases, but is again renewed by making them touch either in or out of the water. If a small quantity of sulphuric acid be added to the water, the phenomenon will be more apparent. The end of the wire attached to the piece of platinum or copper is called the positive pole of the battery, and that of the wire attached to the zinc the negative pole. The current of electricity here generated will be extremely feeble ; Dut this can be easily increased by multiplying the glasses and the GALVANISM. 397 number of the pieces of metal. If we take six such glasses instead of one, partially fill them with dilute sulphuric acid, and put a piece of zinc and copper into each, connecting them by means of copper wire from glass to glass through the whole series, a stronger current of electricity will be the result. The experimenter must be careful not to let the wire and zinc touch each other at the bottom of the tumblers, and must also remember that the copper of glass 1 is connected with the zinc of glass 2, and so on. TO MAKE A MAGNET BY THE VOLTAIC CURHENT. To effect this, make a connexion between the poles of the above or any excited battery with the two ends of a wire formed into a spiral coil, by bending common bonnet-wire closely round a cylin- der, or tube, of about an inch in diameter ; into this coil introduce a needle or piece of steel wire, laying it lengthways down the circles of the coil. In a few minutes after the electric fluid has passed through the spiral wire, and consequently round the needle or wire, the latter will be found to be strongly magnetized, and to possess all the properties of a magnet. EFFECTS OF GALVANISM ON A MAGNET. If a galvanic cunent, or any electric current, be made to pass along a wire under which, and in a line with it, a compass is placed, it will be found that the needle will no longer point north and south, but will take a direction nearly across the current, and point almost east and west. CHANGE OF COLOUR BY GALVANISM. Put a teaspoonful of sulphate of soda into a cup, and dissolve it in hot water ; pour a little cabbage blue into the solution, and put a portion into two glasses, connecting them by a piece of linen or cotton cloth previously moistened in the same solution. On putting one of the wires of the galvanic pole into each glass, the acid accumulates in the one, turning the blue to a red, and the alkali in the other, ren- dering it green. If the wires be now reversed, the acid accumulates eventually in the glass where the alkali appeared, while the alkali passes to the glass where the acid was. 398 EVERY boy's book. THE GALVANIC SHOCK. If the ends of the wires of a small sralvanic battery are connected with a proper electro-magnetic coil, which may now be purchased at a very cheap rate, and the wires from the coil be placed in separate basins of water, then, on dipping the fingers of each hand in the basin, a smart shock will be felt, with a particular aching accompanied with trembling. With a strong battery and larger coil this effect is felt as high as the shoulders. The shock will also be felt by simply holding the wires of a powerful galvanic battery, one in each hand, provided the hands be moistened with salt and water. Several persons may receive the shock from the battery and coil together by joining hands. THE ELECTROTYPE. The electro-galvanic current has in no case been more interestingly employed than in the process of electrotyping. It consists of a mode of obtaining the copy of coins, medals, engraved plates, and other objects, which may be easily illustrated. HOW TO MAKE AN ELECTROTYPE APPARATITS. • Take an earthen jar and a porous tube fill the tube ; with ten parts of water and one of sidphuric acid; put it into the jar, into which pour as much of a solution of sulphate of copper (blue vitriol) as will fill three parts of it; place in the tube a piece of zinc, to which a copper wire is soldered and bent round, so that one end be immersed in the sulphate of copper ; and a deposit of the copper will be immediately formed upon the wire. If there be plenty of acid and water, so as to allow of the action enduring for a long time, this process will go on till it has deposited all the copper. This is the principle upon which electrotyping proceeds, — a principle referable to electro- cnemical decomposition. The diagram represents an outer vessel of wood, glass, or earthen- ware, capable of holding a pint of liquid, within wMch there is sus- pended a short lamp-glass a, the one end being open, and the other, B, closed with a diaphragm of plaster of Paris ; c is a small bag of crystals of sulphate of copper, to keep up the strength of the solution; z IS the zinc, and m the metal. I HEAT. 399 TO OBTAIN THE COPY OF A COIN OR MEDAL. Never place the original medal iii the apparatus, or the deposited copper may adhere so tightly to it that the removal destroys the beauty of the medal. Having taken an impression in sealing-wax, cover the latter with black-lead, and attach a wire so that it is in contact with the black-lead. To the wire and cast thus arranged a piece of sheet or cast zinc, amalgamated with mercury, must be attached, and we are at once furnished with the materials for the battery, as the object to be copied supphes the place of the copper. The medal must always be placed horizontally. Now let the apparatus be charged with the solution, by pouring ifito^the outer vessel a portion of the coppery solution, so that it will stand about an inch above the medal ; then pour in the glass the dilute acid to the same height as the former ; now introduce the zinc into the acid, and the oDJect to be copied into the solution of copper, which wUl immediately be deposited on the medal, and when of a sufficient thickness may be taken off. HEAT. HEAT, OR CALORIC. Tfie chief agent in causing the repulsion or separation of th« particles of bodies from each other is heat, or more correctly caloric^ by which is understood the unknown cause of the effect called heat. Philosophers are not agreed upon the nature of this wonderful agent. It pervades all nature, is the cause of nearly all the changes that take place both in organic and inorganic matter, and has great influence in the meteorological phenomena which we observe in the atmosphere that surrounds our planet. It appears to be intimately connected with light, electricity, and magnetism, — subjects which the genius of Earaday and others have investigated, and by their discoveries brought us nearer to the knowledge of the real nature of these most wonderful forces. Caloric, then, exists in all bodies, and has a constant tendency' to equalize itself, as far at least as its outward manifestation, called tem« 400 EVERY boy's book. perature, is concerned; for if a hot body be brought near colder ones^ it will give up heat to them, until by its loss and their gain they all become of the same temperature ; and this proceeds more or less rapidly, according as the original difference of temperature was greater or less. Some other circumstances also influence this equali- zation. The converse will take place on introducing a cold body among warmer ones, when heat will be abstracted from all the bodies within reach of its influence, until it has absorbed sufficient caloric to bring its own temperature to an equality with theirs. This is the true explanation of the apparent production of cold. When, for instance, an iceberg comes across a ship's course, it appears to give out cold, whereas, it has abstracted the heat from the air and sea in its neighbourhood, and they in turn act upon the ship and everything in it, until one common temperature is produced in all the neigh- bouring bodies. It does not follow that the bodies thus equalized in temperature contain equal quantities of caloric ; far from it. Each body requires a particular quantity of caloric to raise its temperature through a certain number of degrees ; and such quantity is called its sjpecific caloric. A pound of water, for instance, will take just twice as much caloric as a pound of olive oil, to raise its temperature through the same number of degrees ; the specific caloric of water is there- fore double that of oil Mix any quantity, of oil at 60° of tempera- ture with an equal weight of water at 90°, and you will find the temperature of the mixture to be nearly 80°, instead of only 74° or 75°, showing that while the water has lost only 10° of caloric, the mixture has risen 20°. If the oil be at 90°, and the water at 60°, the resulting temperature will be only 70°, or thereabouts, instead of 75°, the mean; thus, here the hot oil has lost 20*^, while the mixture has risen onlv 10°; the water, then, contains at the same temperature twice as much caloric as the oil ; its specific caloric is double that of the oil. This mean temperature does result when equal weights of the same body at different temperatures are mixed together. The sensations called heat and cold are by no means accurate measures of the real temperature of any substances, for many causes influence these sensations, some belonging to the substances them- selves, others to the state of our organs at the tune. Every one has remarked that inetals in a warm room feel warmer, and in a cold room colder than wooden articles, and these again than wooUen or cotton articles of dress or furniture ; this arises from metals being what is termed better conductors of heat than wood, and this better than wool, &c., that is, thev give out or absorb caloric more rapidly than these last. Some philosophers, wishing to ascertain how much heat the human body could endure, had a room heated with stoves, every crevice being carefully stopped, until the temperature rose so hiffh that a beefsteak placed on the table was sufficiently cooked to be eaten. They were dressed in flannel, and could with impunity touch ^' HEAT. 401 the carpets, curtains, &c., in the room ; but the iron hancQes, fire-irons, and all metallic substances, burnt their fingers ; and one who wore silver spectacles was obliged to remove them to save his nose. The fallacy of our sensations may be easily shown by taking two basins, placing in one some water at 100°, in another some water at as low a temperature as can easUy be procured — hold the ri^ht hand in one, the left in the other, for a few minutes, and then mix them, and place both hands in the mixture ; it will feel quite cold to the hand that had been in the hotter water, and hot to the other. In order to arrive at a correct estimate of the temperature of bodies, instruments are made use of called thermometers, or measurers of heat, which show increase or diminution of temperature by the rising or falling of a column of some fluid in a tube of glass, one end of wmch is expanded into a bulb, and the other hermetically sealed. This effect is produced by the expansion or swelling of the fluid as caloric is added to, ana its contraction when caloric is abstracted from it. Coloured spirits of wine, or quicksilver, are the most usual thermometric fluids, and the tube containing them is fixed to a wooden or metallic frame, on which certain divisions are marked, caUod degrees. That in general use in England is called Fahrenheit's, from the me of the person who first introduced that particular scale. In ;his thermometer, the point at which the mercury in the tube stands when plunged into melting ice, is marked 32°, and the distance between that point, and the point to which the mercury rises in boiling water, is divided into 180 equal parts, called degrees ; so that water is said to boil at 212° =180^ + 32°. There are two other scales of temperature used in different parts of the world, but it is not worth while to notice them here. Not only do different bodies at the same degree of temperature contain very different quantities of caloric, but this also is the case with the same body in different forms. Ice, water, and steam, are three forms of the same body, but ice at 32° contains much less caloric than water at the same temperature, and water at 212° con- tains much less caloric than steam (or water in a state of vapour) at that temperature. Place m a jar any given quantity of snow, or small pieces of ice, at 32°, and in another the same weight of water at 32°, pour on each an equal weight of water at 172°, and you wiU find that m the first case the ice will be melted, but the temperature will remain at 32° or thereabouts, wliile the temperature of the water in the other vessel will have risen to 100° or tnereabouts, beinff as near as possible the half of the excess of the temperature of the hot water, 140* over that of the cold, namely 70° added to 32°, the original temperature. Now, what has become of the heat which was added to the ice, and is apparently lost ? — it is absorbed by the ice in its passage to the fluid state; so that water may be said to be a compound of ice and caloric. DD 402 EVERY boy's book. Again, take 10 ounces of water at about 50", and add 1 oz. of water at 212°, and the temperature of the mixture will be about 66° ; then condense some steam at 212°, into another 10 oz. of w^ater until it has become 11 oz,, and you will find the temperature will be nearly 212'^. Why does the ounce of steam at 212° raise the temperature of the water so much higher than the ounce of water at the same temperature ? Obviously because it contains hidden in its substance a vast quantity of caloric, not to be detected bv the thermometer ; in fact, that steam is a compound of water and caloric, as water is a com- pound of ice and caloric ; and this caloric which exists, more or less, in all bodies without producing any obvious effect, is called latent caloric, from the Latin verb lateo, to lie hid. The quantity of caloric thus absorbed as it were by various bodies, differs for each body, and for the same body in different forms, as mentioned above. EXPAIfSION. As a general rule, all bodies, whether solid, liquid, or gaseous, are expanded by caloric. This may be shown by experiments ia each form of matter. Have a small iron rod made, which when cold just passes through a hole in a phite of metal ; heat it, and it will no longer pass ; after a time the rod will return to its former temperature, and then will go through the hole as before. The rod increases in length as well as width ; if you have a gauge divided into y^ of an iach, and place the rod in it when cold, noting its position, on heating it wiU extend to a greater length in the gauge, returning to its former place when cooL The effect of caloric in causiog fluicfe to expand is actually employed as a measure of quantity iu the thermometer, the rise of the fluid in the tube when heated depending on the increased bulk of the fluid occasioned by the addition of caloric. The same fact is to be noticed every day when the cook fills the kettle, and places it on the fire. As the water becomes warmer it expands, that is, takes up more room than it did before, and the water escapes by slow degrees, mcreasing as the heat increases, up to the poiut of boiling, when a sudden conmiotion takes place from the condensation of a poiition of the water into steam. But it is in the form of vapour or gas, (which by the bye is not the same thing, i) that the expansive force of caloric is most obvious. The gigantic powers of the steam-engine depend entirely on the tendency of vapour to expand on the addition of caloric; and this force of (1) It may be well to state here, that by vapour is generally understood the aerial form of a substance usually existing in a solid or fluid form at ordinary temperatures ; as the vapour of iodine, a solid; of mercury, water, spirits, and other fluids: while the term gas is applied to those bodies usually known in the aerial state; thus oxygen, nitrogen, carbonic acid, hydrogen, &c. &c., are called gases. It is, however, but an arbitrary distinction ; for many of these gases have, by the combined influence of cold and powerful pressure, been converted into fluids, and even solids — carboniA acid ga« for instance I HEAT. 403 expansion appears to have no limit ; boilers made of iron plates an incc or even more in thickness, and the buildings or ships containing them, having been torn to pieces and scattered in all directions by the expansive power of steam. Take a bladder, and fill it about half full of air, and tie the neck secm-ely; upon holding it to the fire it will swell out, and become quite tense from the expansion of the contained air. The principal source of caloric is the sun, whose beams, diffused through all nature by the refractive property of the atmosphere, are the source of vitality both to vegetables and animals, and when concen- trated by a large convex lens, produce the most intense heat, sufficient to light a piece of diamond, and melt platinum. Caloric is also pro- duced or evolved by combustion, by friction, percussion, chemical combination, electricity, and galvanism. The evolution of heat by friction may be witnessed daily in a thou- sand instances. Lucifer matches are lighted by rubbing the highly hiflammable substances with wliich they are tipped against a piece of sand-paper. Nearly aU savage people procure ni-e by rubbing a piece of hard wood violently against a softer piece. The axle-trees of steam-engines, and even of carriages, have been known to be so heated by friction as to endanger burning the carriage; and it is very usual to DC obliged to pour a quantity of cold water on the iron axle of the carriages of an express train after an hour of constant and rapid work. If you merely rub the blade of a knife rapidly on a piece of wood, it will become hot enough to bum ^rour hand. Percussion is merely a more energetic kind of friction, and is often resorted to by the blacksmith to light his furnace. He places a nail or other piece of soft iron on his anvil, and beats it rapidly with the hammer, when it becomes actually red hot. The production of sparks by striking flint against steel, or two pieces of flint one against the other, are familiar instances of heat produced by percussion. One of the most powerful means of producing heat is the process of combustion. Combustion, as the word imports, is the hurtling together of two or more substances, a chemical union of oxygen generally with carbon and hydrogen in some shape or other. In our ordinary flres we bum coal, a hydro-carbon as it is called; and the gas which is now so universally used for the purpose of illumination, is a compound of the same bodies — so wax, tallow, oil of various kinds, both of animal and vegetable origin, are all hydro-carbons. On the application of a sufficient heat, and a free access of atmo spheric air, or of some other gas containing oxygen in a certain state of combination, these bodies take fire, and continue to bum either with flame, or a red or even white heat without flame, until they are consumed ; that is, until they have entered into new combinations «rith the oxygen, and are converted into carbonic acid and water, the 2tu:bon forming the fii'st product, the hydrogen the ofchei, dd2 404 EVERY boy's book. ^ The following experiment shows the production of heat by chemi- cal acti9n alone. Bruise some fresh prepared crystals of nitrate of copper, spread them over a piece of tin-foil, sprinkle them with a little water ; then fold up the foil tightly as rapidly as possible, and in a minute or two it wiJl become red-hot, the tin apparently burning away. This heat is produced by the energetic action of the tm on the nitrate of copper, taking awav its oxygen in order to unite with the nitric acid, for which, as well as for the oxygen, the tin has a much greater affinity than the copper has. Combustion without flame majr be shown in a very elegant and agreeable manner, by making a coil of platinum wire oy twisting it round the stem of a tobacco-pipe, or any cylindrical body, for a dozen times or so, leaving about an inch straight, which should be iliserted iuto the wick of a spirit-lamn ; light the lamp, and after it has burnt for a minute or two extinguish the flame quickly; the wire will soon become red hot, and, if kept from draughts of air, will con- tinue to burn until all the spirit is consumed. Spongy platinum, as it is called, answers rather better tnan wire, and has been employed in the formation of fumigators for the drawing-room, in which, instead of pure spirit, some perfume, such as lavender water, is used ; by its combustion an agreeable odour is diffused through the apartment. These little lamps were much in vogue a few years ago, but are now nearly out of fashion. Expeiiments on combustion mkht be multiplied almost to any amount, but the above will be sufficient for the present. When we come to treat of the properties of the gases and some other sub- stances, we shall have occasion to recur to this subject. The production of caloric by chemical combination may be exhi- bited by mixing carefully one part of oil of vitriol with two of water, when sufficient heat will be produced to boil some water in a thin ind narrow tube, which may be used as a rod to stir the mixture. The production of heat by electric and galvanic agency belongs to another subject. I will content myself with saying here, that these forces afford the most powerful aid in decomposing and uniting various bodies, and that it was by the immense power of a battery of 2,000 pairs of plates, belonging to the Royal Institution in London, that Sir H. Davy disoovered the metallic bases of the alkalies and earths. HYDEAULICS. The science of Hydraulics comprehends the laws which regulate non-elastic fluids in motion, and especially water, &c. Water can only be set in motion by two causes — the pressure of HYDRAULICS. 405 the atmosphere, or its own gravity. The principal law concerning fluids is, that they always preserve their own level. Hence water can be distributed over a town from any reservoir that is higher than the houses to be supplied ; and the same principle will enable us to form fountains in a garden, or other place. Should any of our young friends wish to form a fountain, or jet-d' eau, they may, by bringing a pipe from t, a water-tank, which should be at the upper part oi the house, convey the water down to the garden. Then bv leading it through the earth, underneath the path or grass-plot, and turning it to a perpendicular position, the water will spring out, and rise nearly as high as the level of that in the tank. The part of the pipe at b should have a turnkey, so that the water may be let on or shut ojff at pleasure. THE SYPHON. The syphon b is a bent tube, having one leg shorter than the other. It acts by the pressure of the atmosphere. In order to make a syphon act, it is necessary first to fill both legs quite fuU of the fluid ; and then the snorter leg must be placed in the vessel , to be emptied. Immediately upon vrith- 1 drawing the finger from the longer leg, tthe liquor wiU flow. Any young person may form a syphon by a Ismail piece of leaden pipe, bent into [the form above. THE PUMP. The action of the common pump is as follows : When the handle a jis raised, the piston-rod b descends, and brings the piston-valve, [called the sucker, or bucket, to another valve, c, which is fixed, and 406 EVERY boy's book. opens inwards cowards the piston. When the handle is drawn down, the piston is raised, and, as it is air-tight, a vacuum is produced between the two valves ; the air in the barrel of the pump, betwixt the lower valve and the water, then forces open the lower valve, and rushes through to fill up this vacuum ; and the air in the pump being less dense than the external atmosphere, the water is forced a short way up the barrel. When the piston again de- scends to the lower valve, the air between them is again forced out by forcing open the upper valve ; and when the piston is raised, a vacuum is again produced, and the air below the lower valve rushes up, and the water in consequence is again raised a little further. This operation continues until the water rises above the lower valve ; at every stroke afterwards, the water passes through the valve of the descending piston, and is raised by it, on its ascent, until it issues out of the spout. THE HYDRAULIC DANCER. Make a little figure of cork, in the shape of a dancing mountebank, sailor, &c. In this figure pkce a small hollow cone, made of thin leaf brass. When this figure is placed upon any jet-d'-eau, such as that of the fountain recommended to be constructed, it will be suspended on the top of the water, and perform a ffreat varietur of amusing motions. If a hollow ball of very tlun copper, of an inch in diameter, be placed on a similar jet, ii Km HYDRAULICS. 407 remain suspended, turning round and spreading the water all about it. THE WATER SNAIL, OR ARCHIMEDEAN SCREW, may easily be constructed. Purchase a yard of small leaden pipe, and twist it round a pole, as in the following figure, a ; place a handle at its upper end, b, and let its lower end rest in the water. Between the last turn of the pipe and the orifice place a paddle-wheel, c. Now, should the water be that of a running stream, the force of the stream will turn the pipe, and the water will rise in it till it empties itseli into the trough at d. Should the water have no motion, the tumin» oi the handle at b will elevate the water from the lower to the highei level. MAGNETISM. The attractive power of the loadstone has been known from a very remote period. The natural magnet appears native in a grey iron ore in octahedral crystals, composed oi 168 parts of iron, and 64 parts of oxygen, Fe^O*. Its properties seem to have been studied in Europe during the dark ages, and a directive power is alluded to bv Cardinal James de Vitri, who flourished about the year 1200, who observed, that it was indispensable to those who travel much by sea. In modern times, the history •as well as the nature of the magnet has engaged remarkable attention; and it has been determined beyond all dispute that the magnet was used by the Chinese under the name of the tche-chy (directing-stone) about 2604 years before Christ. It passed from them to the Arabs, and was first used in Europe after the Crusades ; and Ludi Vestomanus asserts, that about the year 1500 he saw a pilot in the East Indies direct his course by a mag- netic needle like those now in use. EELATION OP MAGNETISM TO ELECTEICITT. The most remarkable theories have been invented to account for the phenomena of magnetism. Halley imagined magnetic globes to be moving to and fro in the interior of the earth. Barlow's theory. MAGNETISM. 409 which refers the whole to electricd currents, is the most rational. Dr. l^araday, for whose kindness to us in early days we always feel grateful, in a series of very curious experiments, has succeeded ' in identifying magnetism with galvanism, by directing galvanic currents at right angles to the direction of powerful magnets. And its con- nexion with this and the common species of electricity has deprived it of all its conjuring powers, and reduced it to the well-defined action of electrical bodies. It is not for us to write either a history of this interesting subject, or to treat it as a science to be acquired ; but as it embodies a great number of most instructive and amusing experiments, we think it proper to introduce it here. TO MAKE AETIFICIAL MAGNETS. This may be done by stroking a piece of hard steel with a natural or artificial magnet. Take a common sewing-needle and pass the north pole of a magnet from the eye to the point, pressing it gently in so doing. After reaching the end of the needle the magnet must not be passed back again towards the eye, but must be lifted up and applied again to that end, the friction being always in the same direction. After repeating this for a few times the needle will become magnetised, and attract iron filings, &c. HOW TO MAGNETISE A POKER. Hold it in the left hand in a position slightly inclined from the perpendicular, the lower end poiuting to the north, and then strike it smartly several times with a large iron hammer, and it will be found to possess the powers of a magnet, although but slightly. TO SHOW MAGNETIC REPULSION AND ATTRACTION. Suspend two short pieces of iron wire, n s, n s, so that they will hang in contact in a vertical position. If the north pole of a magnet » N be now brought to a moderate distance between the wires, they will recede from each other, as in figure 1. The ends s s being made south poles by induction from the north ilO EVERY boy's book. pole N, will repel each other, and so will the north poles n n. This jeparation of tlie wires will increase as the magnet approaches them, but there will be a particular distance at which the attractive force of N overcomes the repulsive force of the poles s s, and causes the wires to converge, as in figure 2 ; the north poles n n still exhibiting their mutual repulsion. KOHTH AND SOUTH POLES OF THE MAGNET. Each magnet has its poles, north and south — the north or south poles of one magnet, repel the north and south pole of another. If a magnet, as in the fol- lovdng figure, be dipped in some iron filings, they will be immediately attracted to one end. Supposing this to be the nortn pole, each of the ends of the filings, not in contact vdth the magnet, will become north poles, while the ends in contact will by induction be- come south poles. Both wiU have a tendency to repel each other, and the filings will stand on the magnet as in the figure. POLARITY OP THE MAGNET. The best method of proving this is to take a magnet or a piece of steel rendered magnetic, and to place it on a piece of cork by laying it in a groove cut to receive it. If the cork be placed in the centre of a basin of water, and allowed to swim freely on its surface, so that it is not attracted by the sides of the basin, it will be found to turn its north pole to the nortn, and its south pole to the south, the same as the manner's compass. If you fix two ma^ets in two pieces of cork, and j)lace them also in a basin of water, and they are in a parallel position with the same poles together, that is, north to north, and south to south, they will mutually repel each other; but if the con- trary poles point to one another, as north to south, they will be attracted. TFB MAGNETIC PISH. Fish are to be purchased at the toy- shops, by which the young " magnetique " may perform this experiment; they are made hoUow, and will float on the water. In the mouth of each should be inserted a piece of magnetic wire. The angHng rod is like any other rod, and has a silken thread for a line, and an iron hook also strongly magnetised. To catch the fish it is only necessary to put MAGNETISM. 411 the hook in contact with the noses of the fish, and thej wiU be taJcen without any of the baits mentioned in the former part of this work. THE MAGNETIC SWA3I. The figure of a swan should be cut in cork, and within its beak a small strongly magnetised piece of steel should be placed. The swan should then be covered with a coating of white wax, and fashioned further into the shape of a swan, and glass beads may be placed in its head for eves. This should be placed in a small tub or large basin of water, ana to make it swim about, you should place in a white stick about nine inches long a magnetic bar, on which the north and south poles are marked. If you wish to bring the swan towards you. present to him the north pole of the wand, if you wish it to retire, present the south pole, and thus you may direct the swan to any part you desire. TO SUSPEND A NEEDLE IN THE AIR BY MAGNETISM. Place a magnet on a stand to raise it a little above the table ; then bring a small sewing- needle containing a thread, within a little of the magnet, keeping hold of the thread to prevent the needle from attaching itself to the magnet. The needle in endeavouring to fly to the magnet, and being prevented by the thread, will remain curiously suspended in the air, reminding us of the fable of Mahomed's coffin. TO MAKE ARTIFICIAL MAGNETS WITHOUT THE AID EITHER OF NATURAL LOADSTONES OR ARTIFICIAL MAGNETS. Take an iron poker and tongs, or two bars of iron, the larger and the older the better, and fixing the poker upright, hold to it with the left hand near the top p by a silk thread, a bar of soft steel about three inches long, one fourth of an inch broad, and one twentieth tliick ; mark one end, and let this end be downwards. Then grasping the tongs T with the right hand a Httle below the middle, and keeping them nearly in a vertical line, let the bar b be rubbed with the lower end L of the tongs, from the marked end of the bar to its upper end about ten times of each side of it. By this means the bar b will 412 EVERY BOY S BOOK. receive as much magnetism as will enable it to lift a small key at the marked end ; and this end of the bar being suspended by its middle, or made to rest on a joint, wiU turn to the north, and is caUed its north pole, the \mmarked end being the south pole. This is the method recom- mended by Mr. Caxton, in his process, which he regarded superior to those in former use, and of which a more detailed account will be found in his interesting volume. HORSE-SHOE MAGNETS. The form of a horse -shoe is generally given to magnetised bars, when both poles are wanted to act together, which frequently happens in various experiments, such as for Lftiag weights by the force of magnetic attrac- tion, and for magnetising steel bars by the process of double touch, for which they are exceedingiv convenient. The following is the method of making a powerful magnetic battery of the horse- shoe form. Twelve bars or plates of steel are to be taken, and having been previously bent to the required form, that is, the horse-shoe shape, they are then bound toge- ther by means of rivets at their ends ; before being finally fastened thev are each separately magnetised, and afterwards finally united. Horse-shoe magnets should have a short bar of soft iron adapted to connect the two poles, and should never oe laid by without such a piece of iron adhering to them. Bar magnets should be kept in pairs with their poles turned in contrary directions, and they should be Kept from rust. Both kinds oi magnets have their power not only preserved but increased, by keeping them surrounded with a mass of dry filings of soft iron, each particle of which will re-act by its induced ma^etism upon the pomt of the magnet to which it adheres, and maintain in that point its primitive magnetic state. EXPERIMENT TO SHOW THAT SOFT IRON POSSESSES MAGNETIC PROPERTIES WHILE IT REMAINS IN THE VICINITY OF A MAGNET. Let M be a magnet and k a key, held horizontally near one of its poles, or near its lower edge. Then if another piece of iron, such as a small nail, be applied to the other end of the key, the nail wiU hang from the key, ana will continue to do so while the magnet is sbwly withdrawn ; but when it has been removed beyond a certain distance, the nail wiU drop from the key, because the magnetism induced id MAGJJfETISM. 413 tne key becomes at that distance too weak to support the weight of the nail. That this is the real cause of its falling off may be proved by taking a still lighter fragment of iron, such as a piece of very slender wire, and applying it to tne key. The magnetism of the key wiU still be sufficiently strong to support the wire, though it cannot the nail, and it will continue to support it even when the magnet is yet further re- moved; at lengtn, nowever, it drops oft. ELECTRO-MAGNETISM. The identity of magnetism with electricity alluded to in a former paragraph, has led to the formation of a new science under the above name, and to some of the interesting experiments connected with it, we shall briefly allude for the amusement of the young reader. POWER OP THE ELECTRO-MAftNET. The same influence which affects the mag- netic needle already described, wiU also com- municate magnetism to soft iron. If a bar of that metal bent, as in the drawing, be sur- rounded with a common bonnet wire, or a cop- per wire prevented from touching the iron by a winding of cotton or thread, and then if a current of voltaic electricity be sent through the wire, the bar becomes a powerful magnet, and will continue so as long as the connexion with the battery is preserved. On breaking the contact, the magnetism disappears. This experiment may be easily made by the young reader with a horse- shoe magnet, surrounaed by several coils of wire, p is the positive, and n the negative pole. TRE MARINERS COMPASS AND EXPERIMENTS WITH A POCKET COMPASS. The mariner's compass is an artificial magnet fitted in a proper box, and consists of three parts — 1, the box ; 2, the card or fly ; and 3, the needle. The box is suspended in a square wooden case, by means of two concentric brass circles called gimbals, so fixed by brazen axes to the two boxes, that the inner one, or compass-box, retains a horizontal position in all motions of the ship. The card is a circular piece of paper which is fastened upon the needle, and moves with it. 414 EVERY BOYS BOOK. The outer edge of the card is divided iato thirty-two points, as shown m the engraving, called points of the compass. The needle is a slender bar of hardened steel, having a hollow a^ate cup in the centre, which moves upon the point of a pivot made of brass. VARIATION OP THE NEEDLE. The magnetic needle does not point exactly north and south, but the north pole of the needle takes a direction to the west of the true north. It is constantly changing, and varies at different pails of the earth, and at different times of the day. DIP OP THE NEEDLE. Another remarkable and evident manifestation of the influence of the magnetism of the earth upon the needle is the inclination or dip of the latter, which is a deviation from its horizontal place in a down- ward direction in northern regions of its north, and in southern regions of its south pole. In balancing the needle on the card, on account of this dipping, a small weight or moveable piece of brass is placed on one end ot the needle, oy the shifting of which either nearer to or further from the centre, the needle will always be balanced. USEPUL amusement with the pocket COMPASS. Pocket compasses are to be bought for five or six shillings, and may be used in many ways. In travelung over mountains or a wide ex- tended moor, tney are indispensably necessary ; and no one should go a tour into Wales, Scotland, or the lakes without such a companion, and it will be a very useful and amusing exercise for any young per- son to take the bearings of his own or some particular locality, and make out what may be called a bearing card. This he may easily do in the follovring manner. Supposing he wishes, for instance, to take the bearings of his own house, ne has nothing to do but to set hia pocket compass upon a map of the district, — a county map will do very MAGNETISM 415 vrell, unless his house stands on the verge of a county, then two county maps will he necessary. He must make the north of the map exactly comcide with the north, as^ indicated bv his compass, and having fixed his map in this situation, he should take a ruler and piece of paper, and dot down the exact bearings of each important town, or place, or village, around him. Let him suppose himself, for instance, in the town ot Cambridge, and laying down liis map as indi- cated by the compass, north to north and south to south, he will find the following places due north, Wilberton, Wentworth ; Little Wnbraham, Teversham, due east ; Duxford and Chesterfield, south ; Coton and St. Neots in Huntingdonshire, west. The other points of the compass may be filled up in the same manner. Should therefore our young friend be upon any elevated situation near his own dwell- ing, or upon any other elevated spot from which the bearings have been taken, he will be able to inform his youn^ friends that such and such a place lies in such a direction, that this place lies due north, the other north-west, a thii-d south-east, the fourth south-west, &c. &c. ; INTERESTING PABTICTJLARS CONCERNING THE MAGNET. Pire-irons which have rested in an upright position in a room during the summer months are often highly magnetic. Iron bars standing erect, such as the gratings of a prison cell, or the iron railings before houses, are often magnetic. The great iron-clad ships, which have now replaced the wooden walls of Old England, are powerfully magnetic, and therefore affect the compass by which the vessel is steered ; ingenious arrangements are therefore made to correct the effect of the local attraction, so that the man-of-war may be steered correctly. 416 EVERY boy's book. Magnetism may be made to pass through a deal board ; to exhibit which, lay a needle on the smooth part above, and run a magnet along the under side, and the needle will be found to follow the course of the ma^et. A magnet dipped into boiling water loses part of its magnetism, which however returns upon its coohng. A sudden blow given to a magnet often destroys its magnetic power. MECHANICS. "Ihese are machinations comical." — Ford. Theke is no subject of such importance as Mechanics, as its pria- ciples are founded upon the properties of matter and the laws oi motion; and in knowing something of these, the tyro will lay the foundation of aU substantial knowledge. The properties of matter are the following : SoHdity (or Im{)ene- trabib'iy). Divisibility, Mobility, Elasticity, Brittleness, Malleability, Ductility, and Tenacity. The laws of motion are as foUow : — 1. Every body continues in a state of rest or of uniform rectilineal motion, unless affected by some extraneous force. 2. The change of motion is always proportionate to the impeUing force. 3. Action and reaction are always equal and conti'ary. EXPERIMENT OF THE LAW OF MOTION. In shooting at "taw," if the marblebe struck "plump," as it is called, it moves forward exactly in the same line of direction ; but if struck sideways, it wiU move m an oblique direction, and its course wiU be in a line situated between the direction of its former motion and that of the force impressed. This is called the resolution of forces. as EVERY BOY S BOOK. BALANCING. The centre of gravity in a body is that part about which all the other parts equally balance each other. In balancing a stick upon the finger, or upon the chin, it is necessary only to keep the chin or finger exactly under the point which is called the centre of gravity. THE PRANCING HORSE. Cut out the figure of a horse, and hav- ing fixed a curved iron we to the under part of its body, place a small ball of lead upon it. Place the hind legs of the horse on the table, and it will rock to and fro. If the ball be removed, the horse would immediately tumble, because unsupported, the centre of gravity being in the front of the prop; but upon the ball being re- placed, the centre of gravity immediately changes its position, and is Drought under the prop, and the horse is again in equi- hbrio. TO CONSTRUCT A FIGURE, WHICH, BEING PLACED UPON A CURVED SURFACE, AND INCLINED IN ANY POSITION, SHALL, WHEN LEFT TO ITSELF, RETURN TO ITS FORMER POSITION. The feet of the figure rest on a curved pivot, which is sustained by two loaded balls oelow; for the weight of these balls being much greater than that of the figure, their effect is to bring the centre of gravitv of the whole beneath the point on which it rests; conse- quently the equilibrium will resist any slight force to disturb it, TO MAKE A CARRIAGE RUN IN AN INVERTED POSITION WITHOUT FALLING. It is pretty well known to most boys, that if a tumbler of water be placed within a broad wooden hoop, the whole may be whirled round without falling, owing to the centrifugal force. On the same principle, if a small car- riage be placed on an iron band or rail, it will ascend the curve, become in- verted, and descend again, without fall- ing. O^ TO CAUSE A CYLINDER TO ROLL BY ITS OWN WEIGHT UP-HILL. Procure a coffee-canister, and loading it at f with a piece of lead, which may be fixed in with solder, the position of the centre of pravity is thus altered. If a cylinder so constructed be placed on an MECHANICS. 419 inclined plane, and the loaded part above, it will roll up-hill without assistance. THE BALANCED STICK. Procure a piece of wood, about nine inches in length and about half an iuch in thickness, and thrust into its upper end the blades of two penknives, on either side one. Place the other end upon the tip of the fore-finger^ and it will keep its place without falling. ^ THE CHINESE MANDAHIN. Construct out of the pith of the elder a little mandarin ; then pro- vide a base for it to sit in, like a kettle-drum. Into this put some heavy substance, such as half a leaden bullet ; fasten the figure to this, and in whatever position it may be placed, it will, when left to itself, immediately return to its upright position. TO MAKE A SHILLING TUKN ON ITS EDGE ON THE POINT OF A NEEDLE. Take a bottle, with a cork in its neck, and place in it, in a perpendicular position, a middle- sized needle. Fix a shilling into another cork, by cutting a nick in it; and stick into the same cork two small table-forks, opposite each other, with the handles inclining outwards and downwards. If the rim of the shilling be now poised on the point of the needle, it may easUy oe made to spm round without faUing, as the centre of gravity is below the centre of sus- pension. E E 2 420 EVERY boy's book. THE DANCING PEA. If you stick through a pea, or small ball of pith, two pins at right angles, and defend the points with pieces of sealingwax, it may be kept in equilibrio at a short distance from the end of a straight tube, by means of a current of breath from the mouth, which imparts a rotatory motion to the pea. * OBLIQUITY OP MOTION. Cut a piece of pasteboard into the following shape, and describe (I) The pins are only used to bold the pea steady before it is blown from the pii>o. M the pea alone will dance quite as well. MECHANICS. 421 on it a spiral line ; cut tliis out witli n penknife, and then suspend it on a large skewer or pin, as seen in tne engraving. If the whole be now placed on a warm stove, or ever the flame of a candle or lamp, it wiU revolve with considerable velocity. The card, after being cut into the spiral, may be laade to represent a snake or dragon, and when in motion will prod ace a very pleasing effect. THE BRIDGE 07 KNIVES. Place three glasses, a a a, in the form of a triangle, and arrange three knives upon them, as shown in the figure, — the blade of No. 1 over that of No. 2, and that over No. 3, which rests on No. 1. bridge so made will be self-supported. The THE TOPER S TRIPOD. Place three tobacco-pipes in the posi- tion shown in the engraving, the mouth of the bowls downwarcfe, and the lower end of the stems upon the stem just by the bowls. This tripod, if carefully put to- gether, win support considerably more than a pot of "Lockwood's home-brewed," equally celebrated with the trick. THE MICROSCOPE. At any time of the year or hour of the day there are few pursuits more interesting, and at the same time instructive, than the study of Nature by means of the microscope. This instrument has revolutionized science, solved many problems that had wearied the souls of older naturalists, and even in its simplest form is beyond all value to those who love Nature and the objects which they see abound them. The microscope opens a new world to us. When the first telescope was directed to the heavens, and unlocked the mysteries of the skies, when it crumbled into dust all the theories of the past centuries, and told mankind that the planets were not merely instruments of fortune-telling, whose voices were mteUigible to a chosen few, but orbs far vaster than our own; even then the new world of thought into which man entered was no wider than that which is displayed by the poorest lens that possesses the power of magnifying. All of us must admire the more than awful grandeur of that universe whereof we form so infinitesimal a part, wherein the stars are scattered as the sand on the sea-shore, and every star a sun, the centre of a system of orbs too distant for the eye of man' to perceive. Looking at our nearest planet, and observing on her face vast mountam-chains, ravines into which the Ught of the sun can never penetrate, and volcanoes whose craters are so wide that they would take in the whole of London, the whole of Birmingham, and all the country between them, we can judge by analogy of the unseen wonders which must exist in the world beyond our ken. But to him who cai^ read Nature rightly, the microscope is a teacher as grand as its sister instrument, and the awful magnificence of Nature is as evident in a midge's wing as in the more patent glories of the sun, moon, and stars. In the following pages we hope to put the readers of this book in the way to read their micro- scope rightly — ^possibly to make it — and to show that much can be done with small means when "there's a wiU," and to indicate to them that objects of no small interest can be found without stirring from the room in which we sit, or even from the table on which our microscope is placed. Some of our readers may say, when they read the heading of this paper, that they should hke a microscope very much, but that they have no money to buy it, and that their parents cannot afford one. THE MICROSCOPE. 423 This is just the feeling which we used to have when a boy, for in those days microscopes were microscopes indeed, and you had your choice between a little instrument, with a series of brass cups, having glasses in them, which magnified sHghtly but defined clearly, or a great composition of brass and iron, looking like a rocket-tube, with an eye-piece at one end and a glass shot at the other. Tv was very costly, very imposing, and magnijfied very highly ; but it strained the eyes painfuUy, had no defining capacities, and made all the objects look as if they were seen through a thick fog. Practically, therefore, the former was the only instrument that was available. A still more useful instrument, however, was that which can always be obtained for a few shiUings, and which is now made - wonderfully cheap and wonderfully good ; we mean the double or treble pocket-lens. So we say, if you cannot afford a really good microscope, do not waste your money upon inferior and pretentious instruments, but get a sound pocket-lens. It has a thousand advantages. It is portable, and is even more useful in the fields than in the house. It defines very clearly, and needs little trouble in manipulation. We need not say how difficult is the task of getting a complicated instrument to define properly, how impossible with a bad one. The object and the glass can be held in any hght, — a matter of no small consideration when examining any- thing new, and trying to make out its structure. It is not easily put out of order, and if treated with the most ordinary care, will last for a lifetime. You can push it under water, and it will magnify as well as in the air ; and if you are wandeiing on the river-side, you can He down on the bank, dip the upper part of your head into the water, together with the glass, and watch carefuUy the subaquatic objects without removing them. The water will not hurt the eye in the least, though a non- swimmer may perhaps find a httle difficulty in his first attempt. It makes a good burmng-glass, should fire be needed, and no other means of procuring a spark be at hand. It can be used so as to show the principle of a camera obscura, and to illustrate the manner in which photograpliic portraits are taken. It can be made into an admirable dissecting microscope, and needs scarcely any practice in the manipulation. These are some of its advantages, and there are many others which need not be mentioned. Even if jou should be able to procure a good microscope, get a I pocket-lens as well, for you will want them both, and we may say that the most practised microscopists, and those who are possessors of the most elaborate instruments, are the very men who are most cer- tain to have a pocket-lens about them, and to use it most frequently. Practise well with the pocket-lens before you meddle with the com- pound microscope. You will waste no time, but will rather gain by it ; for you will be learning the rudiments of a new science, and lay- 424 EVERY boy's book. out his pocket-lens in a business-like way, use it skilfully, and put it back with a mechanical facility tliat tells of constant practice, we know that there is a lad wh'> has learned the chief lesson of a naturalist, — namely, the art of observing. We speak highly of the pocket-lens, because we think highly of it and owe much to it. One or two practical remarks on the proper handling of the pocket- lens may be of use. Do not always employ the same eye in lookiug through the lens, but use the eyes alternately. There is always a temptation to employ the same eye, which thus receives a kind of training in vision; but it is a temptation always to be resisted. With some persons the right eye is most in favour, and with others the left ; and when the favourite e^e gets all the work, it too frequently suffers. Whether you look with the right or the left eye, kee'p both eyes open. It is a pitiful sight to see a human face all screwed up into a corner, the lids of the unused eye convulsively squeezed together, and the mouth slanting upwards, as if in sympathy with the eye. Not only does the human face become repulsively mean and por- tentously ugly by such action, but the sight of the eye is seriously strained, and sometimes impaired for life. At first the beginner will find a httle difficulty in restricting his vision to one eye while the other remains open, just as a beginner on the pianoforte feels himself puzzled when he tries to make his ri^ht hand ^o one way and his left Land another ; but in either case a little practice and plenty of per- severance are sure to overcome all obstacles, and in a wonderfully short time the difl&culty will not only be overcome, but forgotten. We speak here with some feeling, because, while engaged on a work on the microscope, we were necessarily obliged to work much at night, and inadvertently employed the left eye more than the right; the consequence of which imprudence was that we have been obliged ever since that time to give the left eye perfect rest, as far as artificial vision goes, and, except when looking through a binocular instrument, we have not ventured to use it either to a micro- scope or telescope. The vision accommodates itself to circumstances with wonderful ease, and the observer learns the curious art of cut- ting off all communication between the unused eye and the brain ; so that, although the objects around may imprint themselves upon the retina, the mind is as totally unconscious of them as if they had no existence. If possible, always examine an object without removing it, as thereby you see it as it is, without altering any of the conditions \vith which it is surrounded. Should this not be practicable, take the object to be viewed in the left hand and the lens in the right. Place the wrists of the two hands together, and then you will find t hat one supports the other, and that the lens can be held in the proper focus without the least difficulty. After you have used the lens for some little time, you will learn to liit upon the fight focus THE MICROSCOPE. 425 almost to a hair's breadth, — so as to lose no time, a matter of some importance when a hving creature is to be examined, especially if it be in motion. As to the selection of objects, none is necessary. Look at every- thing ; and the uglier and more unpromising it is, let it be the closer examined. We do not merely use our aids to vision for the sake of seeing beautiful things, though the microscopist sees more beauty in a day than others will see in a year. We want to see how the world and its constituent parts are made ; and though admiration will not be wanting, yet it does not, or ought not, to hold the first place. Always have a motive for looking at every object, and if you have none, try to make one. One of our friends, known by name at least to most of my readers, struck out, some years ago, a most curious train of thought while looking at an object which is seen daily by thousands of human beings, and will probably soon give the public the benefit of it. We have seen the object hundreds of times, but the ideas which it suggested did not happen to occur to us. We are now about to suggest a verv simple piece of mechanism, by whicQ the pocket-lens can be converted into a microscope that wiU serve for dis- section and many other purposes. The accompanying sketch is taken from an instrument of our own manufacture. It is of very rough make, and by an old Indian officer would be contemp- tuously termed "cutcha." Measured, however, by its performance, it is quite as satisfactory as those instruments which are made by professed opticians, and which the same old Indian would class under the honoured title of " pucka." Melt three or four pounds of lead in an iron ladle, and make a mould, consisting of a hollow hemisphere of paper or cardboard, through the centre of which an iron rod has been passed. The liollow of the paper should resemble an ordinary saucer. Pour the lead into the saucer, and let it cool. The paper mould will be scorched by the heat and rendered useless, but an outer coating of lead will be cool and hard before the paper is quite destroyed. The rod and leaden stand will now appear as in the illustration. Next take a piece of stout brass wire and a wine-cork ; twist the wire round tne cork several tiuies ; cut off one end close to the cork ; sharpen the other, and turn it up as seen in the engraving. Bore a hole through the cork, just large enough to allow the upright rod to slip through it, and there is the "stand" of your K' roscope. Now take your pocket-lens, and get an optician to e a hole through one end of it, just large enough to receive the 426 EVERY BOY S BOOK. upturned end of the wire ; slip the lens on the wire, and the micro- scope is complete. The cork, though grasping the upright stem with tolerable firm- ness, can be slid up and down so as to insure the correct focus, and can be pushed aside whenever the object has to be viewed with the naked eye and must not be removed from its f)lace. This instrument is a capital one for dissecting purposes, and will answer quite as well as those expensive affairs that are to be purchased in the shops. If, however, our readers would like to possess a real and well-made instrument, he cannot do better than get one of Ross's Dissecting Microscopes, which are very steady, and, as may be seen, can be adjusted to almost any position. A rack-and-pinion movement for elevating or lowering the sliding pillar would be useful. ROSS'S DISSECTING MICROSCOPE. If the object be transparent, and requires to be seen by transmitted light, the following plan will answer : — Take a thin piece of wood, cut or punch a round hole out of the middle, and support it on four legs. Wires or wooden pegs fixed in corks will answer the purpose well, and if the corks be glued to the corners of the board, the legs can be inserted or removed at pleasure. The wood of which cigar- boxes are made will answer the purpose very well. Its dimensions should be about three inches in length by two in width. Now buj one of the doll's looking-glasses that are sold for a penny, and put it under the stand. Lay a flat piece of glass over the hole, place the object upon it, and direct the light through it by means of the mirror below. If such a mirror cannot be obtained, it is easy enough to make one, by mounting a piece of looking-glass in a cork frame, and making it swing on pivots, like the glasses of our dressing-rooms. The young microscopist must remember that when he is examining THE MICROSCOPE. 427 any object by transmitted light, he must arrange it as flatly as possible on the glass. In many cases, a still neater manipulation is required, — as, for example, when the petals of flowers arc under examination. Thin glass is to be purchased at any optician's, and if cut in squares, instead of circles, is very much cheaper, and quite as useful for all practical purposes. Lay the petal on the glass plate, place a piece of the thin glass upon it, and press it gently while examining it. If it still remains thick and dull, put a drop of pure water on the petal, and replace the thin glass, when the structure will almost invariable be detected. Everything depends on the proper management of the object and the arrangement of the hght. Some opaque objects can be seen best by direct light, and others by transmitted light. If a leaf be examined, particularly if it be a thick and heavy one, like that of the ivy, the upper and lower membranes must be stripped apart, — a task which is easily performed by tearing a small sht, and then rip- ping it smartly across. A pair of forceps will be required for this and other delicate work, and may be obtained at a cheap rate. Care must be taken to keep the points exactly even, and if at any time one of them appears to be shorter than the other, they should be rubbed on a hone until they are brought perfectly level. These should be made of steel ; but the young microscopist will find that ^ second pair made of brass, and much rougher in finish, are invaluable aids as he takes his walks into the country. By their aid he can pick up minute objects, draw insects out of crevices with- out damaging them, and pluck the tiniest flowers without harming their petals. They can be carried in the waistcoat pocket, and the cost is sixpence. Any lad who knows how to handle solder can make a pair for himself in a few minutes. A penknife with one blade kept scrupulously sharp is essential, and we have found an old lancet of the greatest service. Lancets have gone so much out of fashion, that the second-hand instrument shops abound with them. We did not allow our own lancet to be shut up, but removed the blade from the tortoise-shell handle, and fixed it upon a wooden handle, about four inches in length, so that it looked very clumsy, but was extremely useful. Two pairs of scissors are needful, — one very fine, and the other moderately strong. Both pairs, however, must Cave very short blades and verj' long bandies, and the scissors such as ladies use are of very little use, the short handles causing the fingers of the right hand to shade the object. As to the fine'pair, it is hardly possible to have 428 EVERY boy's book. —^^^ the handles too long or the blades too short ; for if the points can be separated a quarter of an inch, nothing more is needed. If a pair of bent scissors can also be obtained, they are extremely pleasant to work with, and save much trouble. I'or arranging the objects under the microscope, there are no instruments equal to those which are here engraved. They are nothing more than ordinary needles stuck into the handles of camel's-hair brushes. , The uppermost is made of the largest'ized darning-needle, and is useful for making little holes, and similar purposes. The two next instru- ments are the most generally useful, and several of each should be always at hand. Nos. 4 and 5 are for special purposes ; the former for holding tissues aside, and the latter for lifting them up. The needles must not be longer than those in the illustratiou, as they would otherwise be too springy, and apt to tear tbe object instead of pulling or pushing it. The bending is readily done in the flame of a spirit-lamp, or even of a common candle; but in the latter case the needle is always covered with soot, which must be wiped off before its shape can be seen. The elasticity of the needles is lost by the operation, but is easily restored by heating them red-hot, and plunging them imme- diately into cold water. The end of the handle should be wrapped with thread, in order to prevent it from splitting. Pill-boxes of various sizes are of very great service Tto the microscopist. We always have them Arranged in " nests," i.e. six or seven inside each other, so that space is greatly economized, as long as they are not in ^JC^^ absolute use. All delicate objects should be placed in ^Hj g^ separa'e boxes, and the preaaceous insects must be I^Sdl treated in the same manner, or they will certainly ^^luM^^^ destroy one another, or, at all events, inflict such injuries ^^ as will make them useless for microscopic purposes. When the insects are to be killed on the spot, we employ another and a very simple plan. We take one of the old-fashioned wooden lucifer-match boxes, bore a hole in the lid, and push through the hole a swan-quiU or the barrel of one of the swan-quill steel pens. A glass tube is still better, but is too fragile. Beeswax is tightly worked into the junction of the tube with the wood, so as to make it as nearly air-tight as possible. A cork stopper is then cut to fit the tube. The accompanying illustration will show the box com- pleted. When this is milshed, we take the smallest-sized pill-box, THE MICROSCOPE. 429 bore a number of holes in it with a red-hot needle, place a little fiece of solid ammonia within it, and inclose it in the lucifer-box. ts effects are almost instantaneous; for scarcely has the insect touched the bottom of the box before it is helpless, and in a very- few moments it is quite dead, so powerful is ammonia towards insects. The reader will of course understand that the pill-boxes must never have been used for pills, and that the match-box must be carefully cleaned be I ore employing it in the microscopic service. Moreover, any boxes that have been used for lepidopterous insects become use- less, inasmuch as the scales always fall from the wings, and cling to the sides of the box, so as to mix with succeeding objects, and verv much puzzle the observer. Aquatic and marine objects require bottles, and, as a general rule, these bottles ought always to have wide mouths. Indeed, if there be no shoulder at all, their purpose will be better served, as a small object is very apt to be caught under the shoulder, and to give much trouble before it can be removed without injury. Wide and short test-tubes answer admirably for collecting; and it will always be advisable to have a few small test-tubes ready fitted with corks, for the purpose of isolating those specimens which might receive or cause injury by being mixed with others. To remove minute objects from one vessel into another is a very easy process. Take a glass tube, mark off a portion about eight inches in length, cut a little notch with a file, and bend it smartly, when it will break neatly across, without leaving points or haviQ^ the regularity of its ends injured by gaps. Turn each end round ana round in the flame of the spirit-lamp, and you have an ordinary "pipette." The object of placing the ends of the tube in thu flame is to render the edges quite smooth and rounded. Now mark off the same length of tube, and place the marked portion in the flame, taking care to warm it well first, lest the sudden heat should crack the glass. Keep it continually turning between the fingers, and when it is quite soft, and of a fine red heat, draw the hands smartly apart, and you will produce a couple of tubes tapering to very fine points. Break off the tapering portions at any convenient point, round the edges as before, and you will then have pipettes suitable for small objects. As there are many specimens, especially the smaller animalculse, which have a habit of retiring into the remotest comer, it is necessary to bend another pipette, so as to follow them. For our own part, we prefer the pipette to be bent nearly to a right angle. The mode of using these simple instruments is as follows : — Place the forefinger or thumb firmly on the large end, and push the point under water. When the opening is close to the sought-for object, lift the finger suddenly, and admit the air into the tube. The vv^ater will immediately rush in at the lower end, and if the orifice has been properly directed, will carry the object into the tube. The finger is 430 EVERY boy's book. again applied to the mouth of the tube, and the object can be ther carried off. As with the pocket-lens almost every object is to be viewed by- means of direct light, the young observer will find himself much aided by a suitable background. Any small object, such as a minute insect, a seed, or a hair, becomes very indistinct if held up against the Hght, or even when viewed against a broken background of trees, houses, or herbage. The simplest plan of securing a proper background is to take a disc of ivory, bone, or even of white cardboard, and to blacken one side of it. The black paint which is used for this purpose must be without gloss, and have what is called a " dead " surface. Ink answers very well for the purpose, and so does ivory-black ; but Indian ink is too glossy to be serviceable. To procure specimens from the water is a matter of some difficulty if managed badly, but easy enough when the collector knows hJB busiuess. It is of course needful to attach the collecting vessel to the end of a rod, and to plunge it into the spots which look most favourable. Now even so simple a matter as this requires some little care, if the young microscopist really wishes to obtain the best specimens. A common walking-stick will answer most purposes; but the most efficient rod for the purpose is one of the common waiking-stick fishing-rods without the top joint, as it can be carried without attracting attention, and can be lengthened at will by adding the different joints. I C Many methods have been proposed by which the vessel is to be attached to the rod ; but that which I am about to describe is certamly the simplest and most effective that I have tried. Get a piece of gutta-percha tubing, just large enough to be shpped on the end of the rod or stick ; mark off an inch or so, and cut the tube THE MICROSCOPE. 431 nearly through, as at « in Fig. 1. Now cut it away longitudinally, so that a long tongue of gutta-percha is left, as at d, and the instru- ment is completed. Its appHcation is as simple as its structure. Bend the tongue over, so as to form a loop, and push the end through the short tube. Shp the neck of the bottle into the loop, and draw the tongue until it IS tolerably tight. Push the end of the stick into the tube, taking care to hold the tongue firmly in its place, and the vessel will then be fastened at right angles to the stick. The whole arrangement can be seen in Tig. 2, where a represents the gutta-percha tube, h the tongue, c the stick, and d the vessel. The method of collecting by means of this instrument is as follows : — Immerse the vessel in the water, with the mouth down- wards, so that no water may enter. Push it gently towards the spot which is to be investigated, move it about a Httle, so as to cause a disturbance, and then turn the vessel with its mouth upwards. Water will instantly rush in, carrying with it the objects which are to be examined. The contents of the vessel may then be transferred to the large bottle, and another dip made. Confervoid growths, especially those which accumulate in a kind of scum on the surface, should be obtained very quietly^ without previous disturbance of the water. After the pond or stream or ditch has been well searched, the bottle should be roughly examined, by means of a pocket-lens, and the contents sorted into the smaller tubes, as has already been mentioned. This precaution is especially needful when any of the minute Crustacea caUea Entomostraca are captured, as they are most voracious beings, and wiU make sad havoc among other specimens, unless they are placed in separate bottles. They are mostly large enough to be detected with the naked eye, and look something like little fleas, as they move along. As the Entomostraca cast their shells repeatedly during their lives, some species performing this operation every two days, a beautiful series of objects can be obtained by gathering the cast shells, and preparing them for the microscope, according to the directions that will be found in the following pages. These shells are peculiarly valuable, as they retain the chief external characteristics of the creature to which they belonged, the Hmbs, plumes, and even the dehcate bristles being preserved entu-e. It is in the power of the microscopist to retard or hasten the change of shell, heat and hght aiding develop- ment, and cold and darkness retarding it. The remarkable " ephip- pium," or saddle, which is found on the backs of the Daphnia, the Moina, and other Entomostraca, and which is used as a receptacle for eggs, should be searched for and preserved. A very thin and very flat bottle is a most useful assistance in detecting the character of any unknown object, especially if it be living. Such a bottle may easily be made by heating one of the 432 EVERY boy's book. small test-tMbes in the spirit-lamp until it is of a glowing red heat, and then pressing the sides together. Some little neatness is required in this process, as an unskilful operator is apt to press the sides unequally, and to leave a bulging projection at the end. Should a higher power be required than is furnished by the pocket- lens, a " Coddington " lens is the very best that can be obtained. In general shape it resembles the well-known " Stanhope " lens ; but the latter is so very inferior an article, that it ought never to be pur- chased. The two glasses can easily be distinguished by the shape of the ends ; those of the Coddington being alike, while in the Stanhope one is much more convex than the other. At first the young observer generally finds some difficulty in arranging this lens, so as to bit off the focus exactly; but if he adopts the following plan, he will soon handle a Coddington as easily as an ordinary pocket-lens. The object should be held in the left liand and the glass in the right. Let the wrists be placed firmly against each other, and the lens brought as close as possible to the object, without quite touching it. Now bring the eye to the lens, taking care not to disturb the arrangement, and then gradually draw the object away from the lens. The moment that the proper focus is obtained the object will be seen with beautiful clearness, and by drawing the object from the lens, instead of approaching the lens to the object, there is no danger of injuring the one or the other by contact. The great advantages of the Coddington are the exceeding clear- ness with which it shows the object, the perfect definition of every line its achromatic character, and its freedom from colours, and the flatness of the "field;" so that the circumference is defined as per- fectly as the centre. It can now be obtained very cheaply at any of our microscopical opticians, and should always be mounted on a tolerably long handle. THE COMPOUND MICROSCOPE. We have already described the simpler forms of magnifymg instruments, together with the best method of using them. We now purpose to describe the more complicated instrument called the compound microscope, and hini s will be given as to the best method of making preparations for it. The great distinction between the simple and compound microscope is, that whereas the former instrument magnifies the object, the latter magnifies the magnified image of the object. In the least elaborate form of this instrument there are two glasses, one at each end of a tube, the small glass magnifying the object, and being therefore called the " object glass," while the other, which magnifies the image of the object, is placed next to the eye, and is therefore termed the "eye- glass," In practice, however, this arrangement is found to be so THE MICROSCOPE. 433 extremely defective, that the instrument was quite useless, except as an experimental toy ; for the two enemies of the optician, chromatic and spherical aberration, prevailed so exceedingly, that every object appeared as if surrounded with prismatic colours, and every line was blurred and indistinct. In this uncertain state the compound microscope remained for many years, its superb capabilities being scarcely recognised. The^ chief fault was thought to be in the material of which the object- glass was made, and for a long series of years all experiments were conducted with a view to an improvement in this respect. When, however, the diamond had been employed as an object-glass, and had failed equally with those of less costly material, attention was directed to the right point — namely, the arrangement of the different glasses, — and at length opticians succeeded in. obtaining a pitch of excellence wliich can be almost termed perfection. It would be impossible to describe the method w^hich is employed for this purpose, and it must suffice to say that the principle is that of playing off one defect against another, and so making tliem mutually correct their errors. The magnifying powers of the compound microscope can be very great, and it is therefore necessary that extreme care should be taken in its manipulation. It will be possible for a clumsy person to do more damage to a good instrument in three minutes than can be repaired in as many w^eeks. Before proceeding to the management of the microscope and the construction of the " slides," we will briefly describe one or two chief forms of the compound microscope. The accompanying illustration represents the simplest form of the compound microscope as at present made. It consists of a stand and a sliding tube, in which are set the glasses which magnify the object and its image. At the top is the tube, which is capable of being slid up and down in the shoulder of the stand, so as to obtain the proper focus. Above is seen the eye-glass ; and the object-glass is shown at the bottom of the tube. Below the object-glass is the " stage " on which the object to be magnified is laid ; and lowest of all is a mirror, which serves to reflect the light upwards through the object, and which can be turned by means of the knobs at the sides. The object-glass is composed of two pieces, which can readily be separated. If both are used, sufficient magnifying power is gained to show the scales on a butterfly's wing and similar minute objects ; while, if one is re- moved, the object is not magnified to so great an extent, but a larger P F 434 EVERY BOY S BOOK. portion can be seen, and the definition is clearer. The cost of this instrument, together with a few accessories, is half-a-guinea. There is another microscope constructed on the same principle, which is a very superior instrument, though it does not at first sight present any remarkable difference. It possesses, however, four times the magnifying power of that which has just been mentioned. In- stead of two magnifiers, there are four, and several subsidiary articles '^re sent with it, — such as a condenser, a live box, an aquatic box, and half a dozen shdes ready prepared. This instrument costs one sovereign. But if the reader can by any possibiUty afford it, let us advise hisa in the strongest terms to devote three guineas to the purpose, and get a really good instrument. For this small sum a microscope may now be obtained which could not have been purchased for twenty times three guineas only a few years ago. One of these beautiful instruments is seen in the accompanying illustration; in which may be seen the tube, with its eye-piece and object- glass, and the stand, containing the stage and the mirror. The arrangement, however, is very different; for the focus is not obtained by sHding the tube up and down, but by turning the large milled heads which we see on a level with the stage, and which raise or depress the tube by means of a rack and pinion. A^ an extremely high power can be used with this instrument, a still finer adjustment is required, so as to obtain a very accurate focus. This is seen on the front of the tube. The reader will notice that the microscope can be inclined backwards, for it is so made that it can be set to any angle which may best suit the observer. The value of this arrangement is very great, as it permits the observer to sit at his ease in a chair, without being forced to crane his neck over the microscope, and look perpendicularly down. Another ad- vantage attending this arrangement is that the secretions which lubricate the eye do not interrupt the vision, as is apt to be the case when looking directly downwards. THE MICROSCOPE. 435 The mirror, too, can be turned in any direction, and its distance from the stage lessened or increased by means of a draw-tube. Three different powers are supplied with this microscope, together with a live-box, dissecting and stage forceps, &c. ; and the whole is made so as to admit of additional apparatus. The microscope fits into a neat square box, in which is plenty of room for various articles which will presently be described. These three microscopes can be obtained from Messrs. Baker, 244, High Holbom ; and we mention them, not because we wish to make any invidious distinctions between the many excellent opticians who now make microscopes, but because we happen to have used Messrs. Baker's instruments for some years^ and can bear practical testimony to their performance. Another three-guinea microscope ought, however, to be mentioned. It is the Society of Arts microscope, which is made by Messrs. Field, opticians, of Birmingham. In form it closely resembles the instru- ment which has just been mentioned, but differs in some of the details, as it possesses a " diaphragm-plate " under the stage for regulating the admission of light, and, instead of three object-glasses and one eye-piece, has two object-glasses and two eye-pieces. Dr. Carpenter mentions that, up to 1861, no less than eighteen hundred of these microscopes had been sold. To this instrument the medal of the Society of Arts was awarded. Either of these microscopes affords all that an ordinary observer is likely to need ; and if he adds a few articles of supplementary apparatus, he will find himself possessed of a microscope that will serve all purposes except scientific controversy. Presuming that the reader has supplied himself with one or other of the compound microscopes, we wiU proceed to show the method of using them. The manipulation of a compound microscope is not so easy as it looks. The possessor of a really good instrument may fail hope- lessly in his attempts to see a single object. Now, there are three essential points which a microscopist must attend to, — namely, the correct focus, the j)roper light, and the preparation of the object. Of these the focus is of course the most important, and can be best obtained as follows : — Lay the object on the stage of the microscope, so as to get its centre exactly under the centre of the object-glass, and illuminate it as you best can. Put on the lowest power, and, without looking through the tube, lower the object-glass until it nearly touches the object. Now look through the tube, and raise the object-glass gradually from the object, until the right focus is obtained. The reason for taking these precautions is, that if you look through the tube and lower it upon the object, you will in all probability push the glass against the object, and damage either the one or the other. When you have thus learned the focus of the lowest power, add another, and repeat the process ; and so on until you have made out the focus F F 2 436 EVERY BOYS BOOK. of each object-glass. If you have more t'han one eye-piece, try them both with each object-glass. The proper light is our next point, and upon it rests the chief beauty of the effect. The Hght which will suit one object will not suit another, and even the same object should be examined under every variety of Hght. Some objects are best shown when the Ught is thrown wpon them from above, and others when it is thrown through them from below. Again, the direction of the light is of vast importance ; for it will easily be seen that an obhque light will exhibit minute projections by throwing a shadow on one side and brilliancy on the other, while a vertical illumination would fail to show them. On the same principle, one object will be shown better with the Ught in front, and another when it is on one side. One of the most effective means of attaining this object is by using the " bull's-eye condenser," which is sometimes fixed to the stage, but is usually detached, as repre- sented in the illustration. As the upright stem is telescopic, the glass can DC raised to a considerable height, while the joint and slidi^- rod permit the lens to be apphed at any angle which promises the most DriUiant light. As for the kind of li^ht that is employed, there is nothing which equals that of a white cloud ; but as such clouds are rare, and are at the best extremely transient, and can only be seen by day, various artificial methods of illu- mination have been invented. Novices generally think that when the sky is bright and blue they will be very successful in their iUumiLation, and feel griev- ously disappointed at finding that they obtained much more hght ^om the clouds, whose disappear- ance they had anxiously been watching. Finding that the blue sky gives scarcely any light at all, they rush to the other extreme, turn the mirror towards the sun, and pour such a blaze of Hght upon the object, that the eye is blinded by the scintillating reful- gence, and the object is often injured, because the mirror is capable of reflecting heat as well as Hght. THE MICROSCOPE. 437 In the daytime there is nothing better than the " white-cloud illu- minator," which is made easily enough by means of plaster of Paris. A sheet of thin white paper fastened against a window-pane is also useful ; and the simple plan of dabbing the glass with putty will have a beneficial effect in softening the light, when the window has a southern aspect. In default of these conveniences, it will be often suificient to fix a piece of white letter-paper over the mirror, or even to dull its surface with wax. At all events, he who aspires to be a true microscopist muso be ready with expedients, and if he finds himself in a difficulty, he must summarily invent a method of obviatmg it. At night a lamp is necessary ; candles are useless, because they have two faults — they flicker, and they become lower as they bum. The latter defect can be cured by using a candle-lamp, but no arrangement will cure the flame of flickering ; it is pecuHarly trying to the eyes, and destructive of accurate aefinition. An ordinary moderator lamp answers pretty well, and a small one is even better for the microscopist than one of large dimensions. The chief draw- back to the moderator lamp is, that the flame cannot be elevated or lowered, so that the only way to procure a light at a higher elevation, is t€ stand the lamp on a block of wood or a book. Small lamps are, however, made expressly for the microscope, and, if possible, should be procured, and used for no other purpose, and intrusted to no other hands. If you want a really brilliant, clear, white light, you must trim the kmp yourself. A small piece of pale blue or neutral- tmt glass, inter- posed between the lamp and tne microscope, has a wonderful effect in diminisliing the yellow hue which belongs more or less to all arti- ficial lights which are produced by the combustion of oil or fat. We have no doubt but that in a few years we shall be rid of the clumsy and dirty machines that we call lamps, and have substituted for them the pure brilliancy of the electric light. Whatever lamp you use, a shade is absolutely necessary, in order to defend the eyes. IJet me here warn my young readers, that they cannot be too careful of their eyes. In the exuberance of youthful strength and health we are too apt to treat our eyes as uncere- moniously as our digestion, and in later years we awake to unavailing repentance. Many shades can be purchased ; but it is far better to make your own after the shape here exhibited. They are not pretty to look 438 EVERY boy's book. at, but they save the eyes better than any other form, and whether for reading, writing, or microscopic work, you should use no other. The peculiar merit of them consists in the fact that the light is thrown on the spot where it is wanted, and is cut off from everything except that spot. Another point which calls for extreme attention is the perfect cleanliness of the glasses. It is astonishing how a tiny dust-mote, or the least condensation of damp, will diminish the powers of the microscope, and how often the instrument is blamed for indistinctness, when the real fault lies in the carelessness of the operator. Even when the greatest care is taken, dust is sure to settle on the glasses, especially on the eye-piece, and before using the microscope the glasses ought to be carefully examined. Never wipe them with an ordinary handkerchief, but get a piece of new wash-leather ; beat it well until no dust issues from it, and then put it into a box, with a tightly-fitting cover. Use this, and notliing else, for cleaning the glasses, and you will avoid those horrid scratches with which the eye-glass and object-glass of careless operators are always disfigured. Moisture is very apt to condense on the glasses and to ruin their clearness. If the microscope be brought from a cold into a warm room, the glasses will be instantly covered with moisture, just aatthe outside of a tumbler of cold water is always covered with fine dew when brought into a warm room. The microscope should therefore be kept at least an hour in the room wherein it is to be used, so that the instrument and the atmosphere may be of the same temperature. You should make the microscope a trifle warmer than the surround- ing atmosphere, and so avoid all danger of condensation. When changing tlie object-glass or eye-piece, always keep the hand as far awa^y from the glass as possible, and manipulate with the tip of the forefinger and thumb. The human skin always gives out so much exhalation, that even when the hand is cold the glasses will be dimmed ; and it is a peculiarity of such moisture, that it adheres to the glasses with great pertinacity, and does not evaporate like the dew which is condensed from the atmosphere. In order to insure perfect success m this important particular, the young microscopist will do well to get the optician from whom he purchased his instrument to explaiu ^ts construction, and to give him a lesson or two in the art of taking it to pieces and putting it toge- ther again; for unless each glass can be separately cleaned, no one can be quite sure that the instrument will perform as it ought to do. The best method of ascertaining whether it is quite clean is to throw the light upwards by means of the mirror, and then to turn the eye- piece slowly round. If any dust or moisture has collected either upon the eye-glass or the " field-^lass," which forms the second lens ot the eye-piece, it will be immediately detected. Turning the object- glass will in a similar manner detect impurities upon its surface. We will now proceed to the manner in which objects are examined. I THE MICROSCOPE. 439 Suppose, for example, that we take a buttercup-leaf, because it can be found at almost any time of the year. Place a piece of glass on the stage, lay the leaf on it, put on the lowest power, set the focus, and then look at the leaf. You will probably be disappointed, and see nothing but a confused mass of undulating dark green, like a green carpet thrown carelessly on the ground, and seen in the dim twilight. Two points are now needed ; the first being to get the leaf flat, so as to avoid the undulation, and the second being to throw a proper light upon it. Take out the leaf, and, instead of laying it entire under the micro- scope, select the flattest part, and cut it out with scissors. A piece the size of a silver penny will be amply large enough. Lay this piece on the glass, get the focus afresh, and then look through the microscope. The leaf will now appear much more regular, and will be seen as a rough surface, mottled with white and traversed by pink and green ridges, which are the large and small nervures. By means of a mirror or the condenser throw a brighter light upon it, and it will be seen to be covered with a slight roughness, the nature of which cannot be clearly ascertained; then add the next highest power, and try if the structure of that roughness can be made out. Curiously enough, although the magnifying power has been more than doubled, the roughness has much the same appearance as before ; so that we must try another plan, and look at the leaf edgeways. Take the piece of leaf in the stage-forceps, but do not touch it with your hand; fix the forceps on the stage and turn the leaf so that it -^ — 'W^ — ^ presents its edge to the object glass. Get your focus, and you will now see the cut edge of the leaf, and will at once distinguish its structure. On either side may be seen the upper and lower cuticle,- and in the centre the soft green substance, or " parenchyma," as it is called. Erom the cuticle project a number of short hairs, and when the focus is accurately obtained, the cause of the roughness will be seen in a vast number of minute projections, which are, in fact, identical in structure with the hairs, though not so well developed. The under-cuticle of the leaf is much more interesting than the upper. Now change the illumination, and, instead of throwing the light upon the object from above, turn the mirror so as to direct it through the object from below. No apparent result will follow, because the leaf is so thick and opaque that the light cannot pass through it. 440 EVERY BOYS BOOK. Hold the leaf horizontally, and, by means of the stage-forceps, rip it smartly across, and if you do this rightly, you will find that the two cuticles are partly separated, so as to allow either to be examined separately. At first the leaf will most probably be torn along one of the large nervures, so that the cuticles are not perfectly separated. Never mind failure, but try again; and you are sure, after a few efforts, to hit upon the right method of tearing the leaf. One of the most useful capabilities of the "live-box" is now shown. As may be seen by the figure and section, it consists of aa inner tube with a thick glass, ana an outer tube with a thin ^lass. The outer tube can be taken off, water or any other substance laid on the thick glass, and then the outer tube or cover is slid down upon it until the object is pressed flatly between the two glasses. When you have succeeded iu getting a convenient slip of the leaf, lay it on the thick glass of the inner tube, and put a drop of water on it. Put on the cover, and push it down until the piece of leaf is pressed flat, without being squeezed. Now look through the microscope, and you will see a beautiful sight, showing how much there is in a despised leaf, which we daily tread under foot. The cells of which the cuticle is chiefly composed are seen in many a waving out- line, while at their points of junction are placed the remarkable contrivances called " stomata," or mouths, which are the apertures through which the atmosphere is enabled to penetrate into the interior of the leaf. The two semilunar cells at the sides of the opening may be considered as lips, which open and close according as the plant needs the air or not. The numerous dots which are seen upon the leaf are of a vivid green colour, and it is to their presence that the leaf owes its hue. We have given these details because they are applicable to the THE MICROSCOPE. 441 examiuation of all leaves and petals, and show the young observer the method which is to be adopted when looking for the first time at a strange object. If the microscopist should follow up his work properly, and make sketches of every object which he places under the microscope, he cannot do better than use the camera-lucida, a neat little instrument, which is fitted into the eye-piece of the microscope. Dr. Beale's neutral glass is as efficacious in careful hands, and only costs a fourth of the sum. This instrument cannot be apphed to the ten and twenty shilhng micro- scopes, as it requires that the tube should be per- fectly horizontal. The method of using it is snnple enough. After fixing the object and getting the right focus, set the instrument hori- zontally, and arrange the Hght so that the object is well illummated, and its lines Quite clear and well defined. Now remove the cap of the eye-piece, and fix the camera-lucida in its stead. Lay a drawing- pad on the table under the camera-lucida, look through the square opening (or, if you use Mr. Beale's glass, look through the neutral glass), and you will sec the object apparently projected on the paper. We say apparently, because in reality the image is not thrown on the paper at all, but on the camera, and the eye refers it to the paper, as being the neai3st object. In fact, the principle on which tliis camera-lucida is arranged is exactly that of the Polytechnic ghost, which appears to be in one, place, whereas it is in another. Now take a pencil, cut it to a very fine point, and trace the out- line of the objecfr'on the paper. At first you will think this to be an impracticable task, for the point of the pencil will totally vanish. Soon, however, the eye will so adjust itself as to see the pencil and I 442 the object perfectly well, and by a little practice tbe observer will be able to sketcb every object as rapidly and firmly as if he were copying a drawing, by means of tracing-paper. The neutral glass is perhaps to be preferred to the camera-lucida, as it is learned more easily, and gives less trouble than that iastrument. Its cost is five shillings. After you have practised yourself well in the handling of the microscope, your ambition will take another step, and lead you to the preparation of permanent objects. In order to set yourself up with the needful apparatus, you will have to disburse about five shillings. A small spirit-lamp will cost eighteenpence, and a small bottle of Canada balsam, another of asphalte varnish, and another of Dean's gelatine, wiU make about eighteenpence or two shillings more. A few pence will purchase a sheet or two of ornamental paper, and a few more a flat plate of brass or copper, about five mches by three. The rest of the five shillings may be expended in "slides and thin glass, cut square. Slides are merely slips of glass, three inches in length by one in width, and the tbin dass is used for laying upon the objects and defending them from dust. We advise the square glass, because it scarcely costs one quarter as much as the round glass, and is equally effective when properly managed. There are several methods of "putting up" preparations — namely, dry, in Canada balsam, in gelatine, ana in cells. We will take them in their order. The simplest plan is, of course, the 'dry" mode. Suppose that you want to preserve a tiny piece of down, or the scales from a butterfly's wing. First wash all tne slides and glasses well, by dipping them into a strong solution of soda, and then into hot water, in order to fet rid rid of grease, taking care never to touch them with the hand, ut to take them out of the water with the forceps. This can be done at any time, and the glasses carefully wrapped up and placed in a box ready for use. You now select one of the slides, and lay the object exactly in its centre. If very minute objects are used, they must be examined in order to see whether they are properly disposed. The next Erocess is, to take one of the thin glasses with the microscope, and ly it very carefully over the object. Then cut a piece of ornamental paper, about two inches long and seven-eighths oi an inch in width ; cut or punch a circular piece out of its centre, damp it well, and cover the wrong side sHghtly, but completely, with paste. Lay it on the slide, so that the centre of the hole shall coincide with that of the object, work it down neatly with the fingers, and it will hold the square piece of thin glass, which is technically called the " cover," in its place. Watch it occasionally as it dries, and43e ready to press down any part of the paper that may start up. Write, with ink, the name of the object on the end of the slide. When you have made a dozen or two of these preparations, it will THE MICROSCOPE. 443 be time to letter and index them. On each slide paste a slip of white paper, and on the paper wiite a brief notice of the object, thus — I D. HEAD MOTH. hen scratch with a bit of flint, or with a writing-diamond, if you have one, a number on the end of the slide, and have a note-book with a corresponding number opposite to which you enter the descrip- tion at a fuller length, thus : — 18— Scales of Death's Head Moth (AcTierontia Atropos), from centre of under-surface of right fore wing. Dry. June 4, 1864. -h The cross signifies that you prepared the object yourself, and the reason for adding the date is, that in after years you will have a valuable guide as to the durability of your preparations. If the specimen has been purchased or presented, always add the name of the seller or donor, as well as the date. These precautions may seem to be needlessly minute, but we have so often seen whole sets of valuable preparations rendered useless for want of ticketing, that we cannot too strongly impress on our readers the necessity for the note- book as well as the label, the one acting as a check upon the other. AVhen the label has been affixed, and the details transferred to the note-book, tlie ink may be washed off the end of the slide. There is another convenient method of putting up the elytra of beetles, parts of various insects, mosses, minute shells, and similar objects. Tale a common pill-box of the smallest size, and cut a little cylinder of cork, that will nearly, but not quite, equal the height of the box, and fasten one end to the bottom of the box with glue. Now blacken the interior of the box and the cork cylinder. Put a little drop of Canada balsam, Arabian cement, or gum Arabic on the top of the cylinder ; put the object on it, press it into its place, and, when the cement is hard, the preparation is complete. The cover of the box serves to keep the object from dust. Now we come to the Canada balsam, a substance which pro- duces beautiful effects when rightly handled, but is most aggravating to the learner, causing alternate irascibility and depression of spirits. Many objects, such as the antennae and feet of insects, will not show their fuU beauty unless they are mounted in Canada balsam. The method of doing so is as follows : — A week or two beforehand put the objects into ether or spirits of turpentine, and allow them to remain there until wanted. Pile up some old books, or take a couple of convenient wooden blocks; lay your brass plate upon them ; light the spirit-lamp, and put it under the plate so as to heat it. Lay two or three slides on the plate, and all then can be heated at the same time. 444 EVERY boy's book. Warm the bottle of Canada balsam, and with a glass rod take out a very little drop, and put it exactly in the middle of the sHde. In order to insure this point, I always put a dot of ink on the wron» side of the slide. Stir it about with one of the needles mentioned on page 428, and if any bubbles rise, break them. When the balsam is quite soft and liquid, take one of the objects out of the bottle and put it into the balsam, exactly over the black dot. Now add a little more balsam, so as to cover it, and let it lie for a few moments. Take one of the glass covers, put a very little balsam on its centre, and lay it neatly over the object, pressing it down gradually and equally. Unless this be done, the object will not remain in the centre, but wiU shoot out on one side, and the whole operation must be begun de novo. Remove it from the hot plate and lay it on a cool surface, still continuing the pressure until the balsam has begun to harden. Lay a Httle leaden weight — a pistol-bullet partly flattened is excellent for the purpose — and on the cover write the name of the object, as already mentioned, and then proceed to prepare another slide. Iweuty such slides may be prepared in the course of a morning, and when they are finished they should be laid carefully in a cold place, where they will be free from dust. In a week or so the Dalsam will be quite hard, and then the slide may be completed. Take an old knife, which should be kept for this special purpose ; heat the blade in the spirit-lamp, and then run it along the edges of the sHde, so as to take off the superfluous balsam which has escaped from beneath the cover. This must be done very qui'^kly, or the balsam inside the cover will be heated by the knife, and che prepara- tion spoiled. When this is done, cut the ornamental paper, as already descrioed, number and label the slide, wash off the ink, and then the preparation is complete. Some objects are very troublesome to pre- pare, and require to be soaked in turpentine and boiled repeatedly in the balsam before they are completely penetrated with it. Objects which are put up in Deane's gelatine are managed after a similar fashion, save tnat the ffelatine is to be heated by placing the bottle in hot water, and that the turpentine is not needed. Vegetable structures show beautifully when thus prepared. To remove the superfluous gelatine use a wet and not a hot knife. Cells are very difficult to manage, and the novice had better not attempt to make them, but is hereby advised to purchase them ready made. Suppose that the young microscopist has dissected the diges- tive organs of a bee, and wishes to preserve it in spirit ; his best plan will be to use a cell for the purpose. Let him buy a cell of sufficient depth, float the preparation into it, fill it up with spirit, put the cover loosely on, and leave it for a week, occasionally raising the cover and stirring the preparation with a needle, in order to get rid of any air-bubbles that may have been entangled in the tissues. THE MICROSCOPE. 445 Then let liim wipe tlie edges of the cell very di-y, put on a slight layer of gold-size or asphalte vaniish — ^the former is preferable— fill up the cell a "bumper," and lay the cover very gently upon it, beginning at one end and gently lowering it. With blotting-paper the Hquid that escapes must be removed, the edges dried afresh, a flattened bullet placed on the cover, and with a very small camel's- hair brush the slightest possible coating of size painted round the edge of the cell. When it has hardened another may be given, and so on, until a thick hard wall of size has been built up round the edges and made the cover completely air-tight. We presume that the reader does not intend to use his microscope merely as a toy, but that he desires to gain some insight into the works of Nature, and is therefore wimng to set to work in a systematic manner- It is now known that both animal and vegetable structures are built up by means of certain minute particles, technically called cells, and that in every part of a plant or of an animal can be recognised the constituents of which it is formed. We will, therefore, begin with the vegetables. Some of the lowest plants, such as the minute algae that inhabit the water, afford excellent examples of the simple vegetable cell ; but as these plants are not readily procured by a beginner, we wiU select some familiar object wherein the cells may be found. If any soft and pulpy fruit be taken when it is quite ripe, and submitted to the microscope, the vegetable cell wiU be seen ia a tolerably perfect form. The three rounded objects shown in the accompany- ing illustration are cells from the strawberry, speci- mens of which can easUy be seen, if a very thin slice be cut with a razor or lancet, the latter being the preferable instrument. Be careful to dip the blade m water before cutting the fruit, and to float the slice from the blade to the glass slide by placing them both under water. Unless this precaution be taken, the section will not be flat, but will be ^^^^> strawberry. crumpled up, and the cells will not be properly seen. Within each of these cells may be seen a small rounded object, which is technically called the " nucleus ; " and in some cases a smaller nucleus, called the "nucleolus," may be observed within the nucleus itself. The increase of cells mostly takes place by a pro- cess of division. A line passes across the nucleus, which presently separates into two distinct parts, each of which recedes from the other, causing the cell to enlarge and alter its shape. Presently a line is seen across the cell itself, and in due time the cell is also divided into two parts, each having its own nucleus. In the present instance the cell is totally spherical, because the fn;it from which it was taken was soft, and allowed the constituent cells to expand. When, however, the vegetable substance becomes haid. 446 EVERY BOY S BOOK. CELL, POTATO. the cells are pressed closely together, and their shapes are very much altered. Sometimes, when the cells are of nearly the same size, and the pressure is equal on every side, the cells form regular twelve-sided figures, called " dodecahedra," which, when that occurs, show a six- sided outline. A voy thin shce of raw potato will show the twelve-sided cells beautifully, and has the further advantage of exhibiting the starch globules with which the cells are filled. Here is a figure of a potato cell, which presents a six-sided outline, just hke that of a bee's waxen dweUing, and which is crowded with the beautiful globules of starch. If the reader likes to make a few dozen balls of clay, and to squeeze them together in a mass, he Tv'ill find that the central balls will have lost their globular shape, and assumed a more or less regular twelve-sided form, very much like that of the potato cells. Sometimes the cells run out longitudinally into cylinders, and attain the really enonnous length of three inches ; sometimes they become flattenea, as the skin or epidermis of many plants ; and often- times they push out their sides into arms or rays, like stars, and form the tissue which is technically called "stellate." Here is a specimen of stellate tissue taken from the pith of the common rush, wherein the rays are seen to be very regular: generally, however, the rays are extremely irregular, and require some Httle practice to detect them. Stellate tissue may be seen in the white portion of orange-peel, in the thick fleshy substance of many aquatic plants, in certain leaf-stalks, and in many similar objects. We will now see how the soft cells which form the pulpy fruit of the strawberry can be changed into the hard timber of the oak or iron- wood tree. Wherever a cell is destined to form part of a per- manent tissue, it is strengthened by receiving certain additions to its walls. These additions are technically known as "secondary deposit," and are made in various ways. Sometimes they extend in a thin layer over the whole cell-wall, leaving a number of Httle holes, which are called " pits," and earning the name of " pitted structures." Very frequently the secondary deposit is arranged in a series of rin^s, an example of which is given in the accompanying illustration. This object is taken from the mistletoe. Good examples of the ringed structures may STELLATE TISSUE. THE MICROSCOPE. 447 be seen in the anthers of many plants, and in the leaf-stem of the common rhubarb, an example of which is shown in the next illustra- tion. Another very common form of secondary deposit is the spiral, which is generally used where strength and elasticity are united. Two examples of the spiral form are given in the illustration ; the first taken from the lily, and the second from the "rhizome," or subterranean stem of the water-lily. Another beautiful form of secondary deposit is seen in the fern root. If the root be cut longitudinally, and the dark hard fibre dissolved carefully out with nitric acid, the deposit will seem to have assumed the shape of a winding staircase, and is then called " scalariform,'* or ladder-shaped. Similar structures may be found in asparagus. mmmmmwMMmmmmi RINGED AND SPIRAL STRUCTURES. The reader wiU see that the hardness of the structure depends entirely on the amount of secondary deposit, and we accordingly find that when the wood is hard and fit to be worked with tools the ceUs are almost wholly filled with the secondary deposit. In this state they are called " wood-cells." Examples of these cells may be seen in. the accompanying illustration. In the first example, which is WOOD-CfcLLS. taken from the elder-tree, four cells are shown in order to display the manner in which their pointed ends are arranged. (The reader must remember that in all wood-cells the ends are pointed.) In the next example, which is taken from the chrysanthemum, the pitted structure is still retained; but in the last figure, which is drawn 448 EVERY boy's book. from the lime-tree, tlie entire cell is filled with secondary structure. The reader must understand that we can only give the veriest outline of the subject, and profess to do nothing more than indicate the method of observation, leaving the pupil to work out the details by himself. Another curious development of the plant-ceUs is the formation of HAIRS. These objects alone afford an inexhaustible field for the niicroscopist, and any one who chooses to work out the subject will find himself repaid if he makes a good series of preparations. In their primary forms the hairs are seen merely as little projections on the epidermis, whether of the stem, leaf, or petal, and by degrees assume their varied and beautiful forms, in order to show tlie singular forms wliich hairs sometimes assume, an illustration is here HAIR OF IJIVENDER. given of the hairs of the lavender leaf. This is one of the hairs that give the leaf its silvery gloss. It consists of an upright stem, from the top of which a number of forked branches shoot out horizontally, much like a open umbrella held upright. The object of this remark- able form is, that the delicate vessels in which the perfume is held should escape injury. If the reader will refer to the second figure, which represents a much magnified view of the edge of the leaf, he will see the globular perfume-gland standing under the shelter of the branching hairs. The following plants afford valuable examples of hair: — Arabis, marvel of Peru, sowthistle, tobacco, southernwood, hollyhock, snap- dragon, pansy (in throat of flower), deutzia (under-side of leal), verbena, alyssum, tradescantia, borage, cowhage, and many others. The beautiful effect produced by the petals of flowers is caused by the imperfect hairs with which their surfaces are studded. The POLLEN of plants is always worth observing, and some speci- mens are of remarkably beautiful shapes. Take that of althaea, crocus, cactus, heath, violet, daisy, lily, snowdrop, wallflower, willow- herb (a very beautiful form), hollyhock, periwinkle, primrose, &c. Put some up in Deane's gelatine, and dry some, besides examining them all when fresh. The microscopist ought to examine the structures of "wood by making sections in the directions transverse and longitudiual. A razor will answer very well for the purpose, and the wood should THE MICROSCOPE. 449 Iways be soaked inside, and the razor wetted before tlie section is made. It is often useful to make diagonal sections of several woods, especially those of the pine and juniper. All the forest trees should be examined, and their roots and bark should not be omitted. Cut sections of coconut-shell, vegetable ivory, sugar-cane (a most beau- tiful object when mounted opaque), bamboo, butcher's broom, &c.^ Mosses are beautiful objects, and can always be found. Examine particularly the fruit or seed-vessel, and note the structure of its different parts. Put these on a slide, and breathe on them, noting •t the same time any change which may take place. The SPORE CASES of ferns are extremely beautiful, and should be carefully examined. The little brown dots or streaks that are seen on the under surface of the fronds are called " sori," and contain a luge but variable number of the spcranges. These consist of stalked ics or cases, and differ much in shape, according to the species of icrn. If the fern be fresh from which the sorus is taken, the sporanges may be seen writhing and twisting like so many serpents, and sometimes it happens that one of the sporanges bursts, and suddenly covers the field of the microscope with minute black dots. These dots are the spores or seeds of the fern, and when magnified with a very high power, they are seen to be variously shaped. One of the most remarkable spores is that of the equisetum, or mare's tail of the water. This spore looks like a ball with something coiled round it. As soon as the spore is discharged from its case, four threads are seen to uncoil themselves from around it, and by their elasticity to cause the spore to jump about as if alive. These fibres are technically named elasters, and are prolongations of the outer coat of the spore. Fungi of all kinds should be examined. There is never any diffi- culty in finding fungi, though the autumn is the best time of year for this purpose. " Mould," as it is popularly called, is a form assumed by many species of fungus, which, though objectionable to the careful liousewife, are full of interest to the microscopist. The well-known mushroom and toadstools are the highest of the fungi. The black spots on leaves are fungi, mostly belonging to the genus puccinia, and the best specimens are generally found on the wild rose or bramble. The black " smut " of wheat is another fungus, very pretty under the microscope, but very obnoxious to the farmer ; and the " bunt '* also belongs to the same vast tribe of plants, four thousand species of which are now known to exist. The young observer should also look for the beautiful crystals which exist in many vegetable cells. The raphides, as these crystals are called, are of various forms, mostly shaped like curved needles, but often assuming very pretty and regular outlines. Raphides are plentifully found in the bulb of the onion, in the rhubarb, the lily, the iris, &c. They are best mounted as opaque objects and, if the reader can procure a binocular microscope, he OG 450 EVERY BOY S BOOK. will see the form of the raphides better than with the single-tube instrument. Seeds of different plants should be carefully examined, especially those of small dimensions, which often exhibit some wonderful beauties of structure. The winged seed of various plants, such as the thistle, the dandelion, the valerian, and the willow-herb, are extremely interesting objects ; while those of the yellow snapdragon, the mullein, the Kobin Hood, and the bur-seed, are remarkably beautiful in form, though they have no parachute, as the feathery appendage is called. Leaving dry land, we will devote a short time to the water. Let the reader take with him the simple collecting apparatus mentioned on page 430, and secure specimens of the water from different T30nas, ditches, and streams. 'For collecting the larger objects a little net, which can be purchased cheap, is of very great use. It is easily made by any tinman, and if the young microscopist knows tiie use of solder, as all experimental philosophers ought to do, he can put it together in a few minutes. It is formed of a strip of zinc bent into the requisite form, and with a socket, to which a handle can be attached. A piece of coarse muslin, or, rather, fine "net," is then stretched over the bottom, and the apparatus is complete. In the water is sure to be found one of the lowest forms of vege- table life — namely, the " confervoid algse." Look for these in bright, clear pools, placing the collecting bottle near any greenish film collected around the stems of plants, or 'spread over the stones on the bed of the pool. K this film oe very carefully taken up, it will pro- duce many interesting forms of vegetable life. One of the most remarkable of these vegetables is that which is called "volvox globator," a ■ figure of which is here given. This wonderful object is about as large as the head of a ver;^ small pin, so that it is visible to the naked eye, and looks like a tiny globule passing through the water. When it is placed under a lens of moderate power, say of an inch focus, it exhibits some very strange peculiarities. It continually ••evolves, and by its revolution is able to enjoy a moderate degree of locomotion, though without any apparent object. Small dark spots are also seen upon it. THE MICROSCOPE. 451 If a half-incli lens be now used, the structure of the volvox begins to be exhibited. The whole surface is covered with a network of very fine fibres, having a spot at the intersection of each mesh. On applying a still higher power, say the four-tenths of an inch, the structure is further elucidated, and the dots on the surface are seen to consist of greenish bodies, each furnished with a pair of delicate fibres, technically named cilia, which are constantly vibrating, and cause the revolution of the general mass. The dark spots are now seen to be the young plants in different stages of progress. Erom six to ten of these are inclosed within the parent, and when the latter has reached its full age, the membrane bursts asunder, and the little rolvoces are liberated. Another interesting form is the closterium, a genus which is sure to produce several good examples. We may mention that the ponds in Blackheath are very rich in these curious vegetables, and a very considerable series of confervoids may be obtained from them. The closteria are easily recognised by their resemblance to the Austra- lian " boomerang." As our space is rapidly waning, we must leave the vegetable, and proceed to the animal kingdom. As is the case with vegetables, the animal structure ^^°^'^^^^^*'- is composed of cells, though they cannot be so easily traced as in the examples which we have already noticed. The young observer may readily perceive the animal cell, in its largest and simplest form, by placing a little of the yolk of egg under the microscope. Cartilage, or gristle, is easily seen to be composed of cells. The nails of the fingers afford good objects for the microscopist in search of animal cells. If a thin section be placed under the microscope, none but an experienced observer wiU be able to make out the presence of cells at aU; but if the section be soaked in "liquor potassse," the cells imnjediately swell up, and their shape is at once made plain. Take the bone of a young chicken or rabbit, and make a thin section that embraces both the bone and cartilage, and there will then be a beautiful object for the microscopist, showing how the cartilage is changed by degrees into bone. Sections of bone should also be made, both trans- verse and longitudinal. _ bone, tbansvrbse. The BLOOD is another object which must be care- fully examined. The " corpuscles " which give the colouring matter to the blood are cells of different size, according to the creature from which they are taken. The dimensions of the animal exercise no apparent influence on the corpuscles, for those of " proteus anguinus," a little creature not larger than a lamprey, are many times larger than those of the ox. In the accompanymg illustration is shown a series gg2 452 EVERY BOY S BOOK. BLOOD 00KPUSCLE3. of specimens, in order to show the great difference in their shape and size, all being drawn to scale and magnified by the same lens. The circular corpuscles in the left- hand upper corner are those of man; immediately below is a single corpuscle from the pigeon. The great central corpuscle is taken from the proteus ; the two in the lower right-hand corner are from the frog, one of these being viewed edgeways; and of the remaining two, that on the left hand belongs to the tortoise, and that on the right to a fish. The insect tribes are an inexhaustible source of objects for the microscopist, who may find that even a single fly will give him employment for many months. The scales from the butterfly's wing, the wonderful compound eyes with which insects are gifted, the structure of their ieet, and their entire anatomy, are always at the service of any microscopist who really cares for his work, it would, of course, be impossible to give even a list of the interesting portions of the different insects; so one or two examples must AJSTKNTI^ OF FLY. Take the antenna of the insect tribes, and see how beautifully they are formed, how graceful is the shape, and how elaborate the structure. A low power wiU be useful for exhibiting their general shape and outline, but it is not until we know how to use the higher powers that the real beauty of these curious organs is seen. In the accompanying illustration is given part of an antenna of the common blue-bottle fly, in order to show the remarkable cavities which exist within the antennae, and which are thought by some anatomists to be organs of hearing, and by others to be organs of smell. The WINGS of insects are also most remarkable, and possess many pecu- liarities of structure which cannot be detected with- out the aid of a micro- scope. Take, for example, WINGS OF BEE. thc wings of any hyme- THE MICROSCOPE. 453 nopterous insect, say those of a humble-bee, and see how beautiful is the structure which causes the four wings to be united into two when the insect is about to fly. In the illustration may be seen a pair of these wings, together with the row of hooks which bind them together. A still more magnified representatation of the hooks is placed near the wings. It is now ascertained that the wings of insects are connected with the breathing apparatus, and that the respiration of the insect extends even to the very tips of these singular organs, which are not modifications of existing limbs, as in the birds, but additional structures. The circulation of insects may often be seen by placing a portion of a transparent wing under a moderately high power. We have often seen it in the wing of the great water-beetle. A series of very beautiful preparations may be made in order to show the dis- tinction between the wings of different insects ; and as the orders of insects are founded upon their wings, there ought to be at least one example of each order. The proboscis of insects is always worthy of careful exami- nation. As to the breathing apparatus itself, the best mode of examining it is to open a cater- pillar, remove a part of the large breathing tube which runs along each side, and place it under the microscope. It should always be taken so as to include one of the spiracles, or breathing-holes. An example of a breath- ing-tube, taken from a silk-worm, is given in the illustration. '^'sTlkworm "''' Hairs of animals are very curious and interesting objects. They should be mounted in three modes — namely, dry transparent, dry opaque, and in Canada balsam, trans- parent. Be sure to procure some hair of the bat, the sheep, the mouse, the deer, the mole, and any of the weasel tribe. Many insects have very beautiful hair, but the most lovely hair in the animal kingdom is that which is obtained from the sea-mouse. Pish scales should also be procured, and specimens should be taken from the lateral line. Molluscs of all kinds afford many beautiful objects, and the observer should be very careful to examine the wonderful tongue- ribbon of the snail, the slug, the periwinkle, the whelk, and other similar moUuscs. If meant to be examined by polarized hght, the tongue-ribbon should be mounted in Canada balsam. Crystals should always form part of a collection. Take those of common salt, nitre, sugar, chlorate of potash, salicine, &c. ; indeed, anything that will crystallize should be prepared and mounted, as such objects will often be most useful when examining :mknowu substances. 454 EVERT BOY S BOOK. Zoophytes must of course find a place in the cabinet, and the young microscopist ought to put up a few specimens of the " bird's- head " processes wjjich are found in the bugularia and other inhabi- tants of the sea. The pretty noctiluca, to which is mostly owing the bird's-head process. NOCTILUCA. PEDICILLAKl.t. phosphorescence of the sea, should be preserved, and the extraor- dinary appendages to the skin of certaiQ star-fish and sea urchins should be examined. These are called pedicillarise, and a sketch of them is given in the illustration. OPTICS AND OPTICAL AMUSEMENTS. " ' Seeing is believing,' so the sages say, To prove this false, hear me, my friends, I pray, And very soon you all will be agreeing, That nought is so deceptive as our seeing."— MkKTiv. Optics is the science of li^ht and vision. Concerning the nature of light, two theories are at present very ably maintained by their respective advocates. One is termed the Newtonian theory, and the other the Huygenean. The Newtonian theory considers light to con- sist of inconceivably small bodies emanating from the sun, or any other luminous bodv. The Huygenean conceives it to consist in the undulations of a highly elastic and subtle fluid, propagated round luminous centres in spnerical waves, like those arising in a placid lake when a stone is dropped into the water. LIGHT AS AN EFFECT. Light follows the same laws as gravity, and its intensity or degree decreases as the square of the oistance from the lummous body increases. Thus, at the distance of two yards from a candle we shall 456 EVERY BOY S BOOK. have four times less light than we should have, were it only one yard from it, and so on in tne same proportion. REFRACTION. Bodies which suffer the rays of light to pass through them, such a& air, water, or glass, are called refracting media. When rays of light enter these, they do not proceed in F straight lines, but are said to be refracted, or bent out of their course, as seen in the drawing. The ray of light proceeding from B through the glass l g is bent from the point c, instead of passing in the direction of the dotted line. But if the ray F c falls perpendicularly on the glass, there is no refraction, and it proceeds in a direct line to k ; hence refraction only takes place when rays fall obliquely or aslant on the media. THE nnnsiBLB coin made visible. If a coin be placed in a basin, so that on standing at a certain dis- tance it be just hid from the eye of an observer by the rim or edge of the basin, and then water be poured in by a second person, the ^st keeping his position ; as the water rises the coin will become Tisible, and will appear to have moved from the side to the middle of the basin. OPTICS AND OPTICAL AMUSEMENTS. 461 P J I^ 3 4 THE MULTIPLYING GLASS. The multiplying glass is a semicircular piece of glass cut into facets or distinct surfaces; and in looking through it we have an illu- stration of the laws of refraction, for if a small object, such as a fly, be placed at d, an eye at e will see as many flies as there are surfaces or facets on the glass. TEANSPARENT BODIES. Transparent bodies, such as glass, may be made of such form as to cause all the lays which pass through them from any given point to meet in any other given point beyond them, or which will disperse them from the given point. These are called lenses, and have different names according to their form. 1. Is called the plano- convex lens. 2. Plano-concave. 3. Double convex. 4. Double concave. 5. A meniscus, so called from its resembling the crescent moon. xHE PRISM. The prism is a triangular solid of glass, and by it the youn^ optician may decompose a ray of light into its primitive and supplementary colours, for a ray of light is of a com- pound natnre. By the prism the ray A is divided into its three primitive colours, blue, red, and yellow; and their four supplementary ones, violet, indigo, green, and orange. The best way to perform this experiment is to cut a small slit in a wmdow-shutter, on which the sun siiines at some period of the day, and dii-ectly opposite the hole place a prism p; a beam of light m passing through it will then be decomposed, and if let fall upon a sheet of white paper, or against a white wall, the seven colours of the rainbow will be observed. COMPOSITION OF LIGHT. The beam of light passing through the prism is decomposed, and the spaces occupied by the colours are in the following propoi-tions : — red, 6 ; orange, 4 ; yellow, 7 ; green, 8 ; blue, 8 ; indigo, 6 ; violet, 11. New, it you paste a sheet of white paper on a circidar piece ol \ 8 R A /Ty* OF THE UMfVC-Do 458 EVERY BOY'S BOOK. board about six inches in diameter, and divide it with a pencil into fifty parts, and paint colours in t^em in the propor- tions given above, painting them aark in the centre parts, and gradually fainter at the edges, tiQ they blend with the one adjoining. If the board be then fixed to an axle, and made to revolve quickly, the colours will no longer appear sepa- rate and distinct, but becoming gradu- ally less visible they wiU ultimately appear white, giving this appearance to the whole surface of the paper. A NATURAL CAMERA OBSCURA. The numan eye is a camera obscura, for on the back of it on the retina every object in a landscape is beautifully depicted in miniature. This may be proved by the bullock's eye experiment. Procure a fresh bullock's eye from the butcher, and carefully thin the outer coat of it behmd: take care not to cut it, for if this should be done the vitreous humour will escape, and the ex- periment cannot be performed. Having so prepared the eve, if the pupil of it be directed to any bright objects, thej will appear distinctly delineated on the back part precisely as objects appear in the instrument we are about to describe. The effect will be heightened if the eye is viewed in a dark room with a small hole in the shutter, but in every case the appearance will be very striking. THE camera obscura. This is a very pleasing and instructive optical apparatus, and may be purchased for four or five shillings. But it may be easily made by the young optician. Procure an ob- long box, about two feet long, twelve inches wide, and eight high. In one end of this a tube must be fitted con- taining a lens, and be made to slide backwards and forwards so as to suit the focus. Within the box should be a plain mirror reclining backwards from the tube at an angle of forty-five degrees. At the top of the box is a square of unpolished glass, upon which from beneath the picture will be thrown, and may be seen by raising the lid a. To use the camera place the tube with the lens on it opposite to the object, and having adjusted the focus, the image OPTICS AND OPTICAL AMUSEMENTS. 459 will be thrown upon the ground-glass as above stated, where it may be easily copied by a pencil or in colours. The form of a camera obscura used in a public exhibition is as fol- lows : — ^D D is a large wooden box stained black in the inside, and capable of containing from one to eight persons, a b is a sliding piece, having a sloping mirror c, and a double convex lens f, which may with the mirror c be slid up or down so as to accommodate tiie lens to near and distant objects. When the rays proceeding from an object with- out fall upon the miiTor, they are re- flected upon the lens r, and brought to fall on the bottom of the box, or upon a table placed horizontally to receive them, which may be seen by the spectator whose eye is at e. THE CAMERA LUCIDA. This instrument consists of a glass prism, c, D, D, E, having four sides covered. The sides c, D, being exposed to the object to be delineated, rays j^ass through the glass and fall on the sloping side D, e ; from this they are reflected to the top, and finally pass out of the prism to the eye;^ now from the direction at which the rajs enter the eye, it receives them as if commg from an image at A, B, and if a sheet of paper be placed below the instrument, a perfect delineation of the object may be traced with a pencil. This is a very useful instrument to young draughtsmen. (1) The eye is to be applied to the little circular hole iezn on the upper surface 460 EVERT BOY S BOOK. THE MAGIC LANTERN. This is one of the most pleasing of all optical instruments, and it is used to produce enlarged pictures of objects, which being painted on a glass in various colours are thrown upon a screen or white sheet placed against the waJl of a large room. It consists of a sort of tin-box, within which is a lamp, the light of which (strongly reflected by the reflector t,) passes through a great plano-convex lens e fixed in the front. This strongly illuminates the objects which are painted on the shdes or sUps of glass, and placed before the lens in an inverted position, and the rays passing through them and the lens f, fall on a sheet, or other white surface, placed to receive the image. The glasses on which the figures are drawn are inverted, in order that the images of them may be erect. PAINTING THE SLIDES. The slides containing the objects usually snown in a magic lantern, are to be bought at onticians with toe lantern, and can be procured cneaper and better in this way than by any attempt at manufacturing them. Should, however, the young optician wish to make a few sudes of objects of particular interest to himself, he may proceed as follows : — Draw first on paper the figures you wish to paint, lay it on the table, and cover it over with a piece of glass of the above shape ; now draw the outlines with a fine camel's hair pencil in black paint mixed with varnish, and when this is dry, fill up the other parts with the proper colours, shading with bistre also mixed with varnish. The transparent colours are alone to be used in this kind of painting. OPTICS AND OPTICAL AMUSEMENTS. 461 TO EXHIBIT THE MAGIC LANTERN. The room for the exhibition ought to be large, and of an oblon"- shape. At one end of it suspend a large sheet so as to cover the whole of ^ the wall. The company being all seated, darken the room, and placing the lantern with its tube in the direction of the sheet, introduce one of the slides into the slit, taking care to invert the figures ; then adjust the focus of the glasses in the tube by drawing it in or out as required, and a perfect representation of the object will appear. EFFECTS OF THE MAGIC LANTERN. Most extraordinary effects may be produced by means of the magic lantern ; one of the most effective of which is a TEMPEST AT SEA. This is effected by having two slides painted, one with the tempest as approaching on one side, and continuing in intensity till it reaches the other. Another sHde has ships painted on it, and while the lantern is in use, that containing the ships is dexterously drawn before the other, and represents ships in the storm. The effects of suniise, moonlight, starlight, &c., may be imitated, also by means of double slides, and figures may be introduced sometimes of fearful pro- portions. Heads may be made to nod, faces to laugh ; eyes may be made to roll, teeth to gnash; crocodiles may be made to swallow tigers ; combats may be represented ; but one of the most instructive uses of the slides is to make them illustrative of astronomy, and to show the rotation of the seasons, the cause of eclipses, the mountains in the moon, spots on the sun, and the various motions of the planetary bodies, and their satellites. 462 EVERY eoy's book. THE PHANTA.SMAGORIA, Between the phantasmagoria and the magic lantern there is this difference; in common magic lanterns the figures are painted on transparent glass, consequently the image on the screen is a circle of light liaving figures upon it ; but in the phantasmagoria all the glass is made opaque, -except the figures, which, being painted in trans- parent colours, the light shines through them, and no light can come upon the screen except that which passes through the figure, as is here represented. There is no sheet to receive the picture, but the representation is thrown on a thin screen of silk or muslin placed between the spec- tutors and the lantern. The images are made to appear approaching and receding by removing it furtner from the screen, or bringing it nearer to it. This is a great advantage over the ordinary arrange- ments of the magic lantern, and by it the most astonishing effects are often produced. DISSOLVING VIJBWS. The dissolving views, by which one landscape or scene appears to pass into the other while the scene is changing, are produced by using two magic lanterns placed side by side, and that can be a little inclined towards each other when necessary, so as to mix together the rays of light proceeding from the lenses of each, which produces that confusion of images, in which one view melts as it were into the other, which gradualljr becomes clear and distinct ; the jjrinci^le being the gradual extinction of one picture, and the production oi another HOW TO RAISE A GHOST. The magic lantern, or phantasmagoria, may be used in a number of marvellous ways, but m none more striking than in raising an apparent spectre. Let an open box, a b, about three feet lon^, a foot and a half broad, and two feet high, be prepared. At one end of this place a small swing dressing-glass, and at the other let a magic lantern be fixed with its lenses in a direction towards the glass. A glass should now be made to slide up and down in the groove c d, to which a cord and pulley should be attached, the end of the cord coming to the part of the box marked a. On this glass the most OPTICS AND OPTICAL AMUSEMENTS. 463 hideous spectre that can be imagined may be painted, but iii a squat or contracted position, and when all is done, the lid of the box must be prepared by raising a kind of gable at the end of the box b, and in its lower part at e an oval hole should be cut sufficiently large to sillier the rays of light reflected from the glass to pass through them. On the top of the box at f place a chafing-dish, upon which put some burning charcoal. Now light the lamp g in the lantern, sprinkle some powdered camphor or white incense on the charcoal, adjust the slide on which the spectre is painted, and the image will be thrown upon the smoke. In performing this feat the room must be darkened, and the box should be placed on a high table, that the hole through which the light comes may not be noticed. THE THAUMATROPE. This word is derived from two Greek words, one of which signifies wo)idery and the other to turn. It is a very pretty philosophical toy, and is founded upon the principle in optics, that an impression made upon the retina of the eye lasts for a short interval after the object which produced it has been withdi-awn. The impression which the mind receives lasts for about the eighth part of a second, as may be easily shown by whirling round a lighted stick, which if made to com- plete the circle within that period, wdll exhibit not a fiery point, but a fiery circle in the air. THE BIRD IN THE CAGE. Cut a piece of cardboard of the size of a penny piece, and paint on one side a bird, and on the other a cage ; fasten two pieces of thread one on each side at opposite points of the card, so that the card can be made to revolve by twirling the threads with the finger and thumb: while the toy is in its revolution, the bird will be seen within the cage. A bat may in the same manner be painted on one side of the 464 3VERY boy's book. card, and a cricketer upon the other, which will exhibit the same phenomenon, arising from the same principle. CONSTRUCTION OP THE PHANTASMASCOPE. The above-named figure is a Thaumatrope, as much as the one we are about to describe, although the term Phantasmascope is generally applied to the latter instrument; which consists of a disc of darkened tm-plate, with a slit or narrow opening in it, about two inches in length. It is fixed upon a stand, and the slit placed upwards, so that it may easily be looked through. Another disc of pasteboard, about a foot in diameter, is now prepared and fixed on a similar stand, but with this difference, that it is made to revolve round an axis in the centre. On this pasteboard disc, paint in colours a num- ber of frogs in relative and progressive positions of leaping ; make between each figure a slit of about a quarter of an inch deep : and when tliis second disc is made to revolve at a foot distance oehind the first, and the eye is placed near the slit, the whole of the fi^es, instead of appearing to revolve with the disc, will all appear m the attitudes of leaping up and down, increasing in agility as the velocity of the motion is increased. It is necessary, when trying the effect of this instrument, to stand before a looking-glass, and to present the painted face of the machine towards the glass. A very great number of figures may be prepared to produce similar effects — horses with riders in various attitudes of leaping, toads crawling, snakes twisting and writhing, faces laughing and crying, men dancing, jugglers throwing up balls, &c.; all of which, by the peculiar arrangement above detailed, will seem to be in motion. A little ingenuity displayed in the construction and painting of the figures upon the pasteboard disc will afford a great fund of amuse- ment. CURIOUS OPTICAL ILLUSIONS. One of the most curious facts relating to the science of vision is the absolute insensibility of a certain portion of the retina to the impression of li^ht, so that the image of any object falling on that pomt would be invisible. When we look with the right eye, this point wiU be about fifteen degrees to the right of the object observed, or to the right of the axis of the eye, or the point of most distinct vision. When looking with the left eye, the point will be as far to OPTICS, AND OPTICAL AMUSEMENTS. 465 the left. The point in question is the basis of the optic nerve, and its insensibility to light was first observed by the French philosopher. Mariotte. This remarkable phenomenon may be experimentally proved in the following maimer : — Place on a sheet of writing-paper, at the distance of about three inches apart, two coloured wafers ; then, on looking at the left-hand wafer with the right eye, at the distance of about a foot, keeping the eye straight above the wafer, and both eyes parallel with the line which forms the wafers, the left eye being closed, the right-hand wafer will become invisible ; and a similar effect will take place if we close the right eye, and look with the left. ANOTHER. Cut a circular piece of white paper, about two inclies in diameter, and affix it to a dark wall. At the distance of two feet on each side, but a little lower, make two marks; then place yourself directly opposite the paper, and hold the end of your finger before your face, so that when the right eye is open it shall conceal the mark on your left, and when the left eye is open the mark on your right. If you then look vidth both eyes at the end of your fiii^er, the paper disc will be invisible. ANOTHER. Fix a similar disc of paper, two inches in diameter, at the height of your eye on a dark wall ; a little lower than this, at the distance of two feet on the right hand, fix another of about three inches in diameter ; now place yourself opposite the first sheet of paper, and, shutting the left eye, keep the nght eye still fixed on the first object, and when at the distance of about ten feet, the second piece of paper mil be invisible. THE PICTURE IN THE AIB. One of the numerous optical illusions which have from time to time been evolved by scientific minds, is that of making an image or picture appear in the air. This is produced by means of a mirror, and an oDject in relief, upon which a strong light is thrown, — the mirror being set at such an angle as to throw up the reflection of the image to a certain point in the view of the spectator. This illusion is produced as follows : Let a screen be constructed in which is an arched aperture, the centre of which may be five feet from the floor : behind the screen is placed a large mirror of an elliptical form. An object is now jplaced behind the screen, upon which the light of a strong lamp is thrown from a point above the mirror, and is received by the mirror and reflected to the centre of the arched cavity in the screen, where it will appear to the spectator. Care should be taken to place tne image m an inverted position, and the light, whicli must be very powerful, should be so placed that none of it may reach the opening. H n 466 EVERY BOY'S BOOK. BREATHING LIGHT AND DARKNESS. The following experiment, if performed with care, is exceedingly striking. Let & oe a candle, whose light falls at an angle of 56^ 45' upon two plate glasses, a b, placed close to each other ; and let the reflected rays, a c, b d, fall at the same angle upon two similar plates, c D, but so placed that the plane of reflection from the latter is at right angles to the plane of reflec- tion from the former. An eye placed at E, and looking at the same time on the two plates, c and d, will see very faint images of the candle, 8 ; whicn by a slight adjustment of the plates, may be made to disappear almost wholly, aUowmg the plate c to remain wnere it is. Change the position of D, till its inclination to the ray, b d, is diminished about 3^, or made nearly 53° 11'. The distance may be easily found by a little practice. When this is done, the image that had disappeared on looking into d wiU be restored, so that the spectator at e, upon looking into the two mirrors, c d, will see no light in c, because, the candle has nearly dis- appeared, while the candle is distinctly seen in d. If, while, the spectator is looking into these two mirrors, either he or another person breathes uj)on them gently and quickly, the breath will revive the extinguished image in c, and will extinguish the visible image in D.^ TO SHOW THAT RAYS OF LIGHT DO NOT OBSTRUCT EACH OTHER. Make a small hole in a sheet of pasteboard, a, and placing it upright before three candles, b, placed closely together, it will be found that the images of all the candle flames will be formed sepa- rately on a piece of paper, c, laid on the table to receive them. This proves that the rays of light do not obstruct each other in their progress, although aU cross in passing through ihe hole. (1) Explanation.— The light a, c, b, d is polarized by reflection from the plates A B, because it is incident at the polarizing angle 56" 45' for glass. When we breathe upon the plates c d, we form upon their surface a thin film of water, whose polarizing angle is 53" 11', so that if the polarized rays A, c, b, d fall upon the plates c, D, at an angle of 53" 11', the candle from which they proceeded would not be visible, or they would not suffer reflection from the plates c d. At all the* other angles the light would be reflected, and the candle visible. Now the plate d is placed at an angle of 53" 11', and c at an angle of 56" 45', so that when a film of water is breathed upon them, the light will be reflected from the lattei, and none from the former ; that is, the act of breathing upon the glass plates will restore the iBTisible, and extinguish the visible image. OPTICS AND OPTICAL AMUSEMENTS. 467 OPTICS OF A SOAP-BUBBLE. If a soap-bubble be blown up, and set under a glass, so that the motion of air may not affect it, as the water glides down the sides and the top grows thinner, several colours will successively appear at the top, and spread themselves from thence dowrf the sides of the bubble, till they vanish in the same order in which they appeared. At length, a black spot appears at the top, and spread till the bubble bursts. ^ THE KALEIDOSCOPE. If any object be placed between two plane mirrors, inclined towards each other at an an^le of thirty degrees, three several images will be perceived in the circumference of a circle. On this principle is formed the kaleidoscope, invented by Sir David Brewster, and by means of which the reflected images viewed from a particiilar point exhibit symmetrical figures, under an infinite arrangement of beau- tiful forms and colours. The kaleido- scope may be bought at any toy-shop, but it is requisite that every young person should be able to construct one for him- self. He must, therefore, procure a tube of tin or paper, of about ten inches in length, and two and a half or three inches in. diameter. One end of this should be stopped up with tin or paper, securely fastened, in which is to be made a hole, about the size of a small pea, for the eye to look through. Two pieces of well-silvered looking-glass, b b, are now to be procured ; they must be not quite so long as the tube, and they should be placed in it lengthways, at an angle of 60 degrees, meeting toge- ther in a point at a, and separating to the points c c, the polished surfaces looking inwards. A cir- cular piece of the glass is now to be laid on the top of the edges of the reflectors, b b ; which, by their not being (juite so lon^ as the tube, will allow room for its faUmg in, and it will be supported by the edges of the tube, which may be slightly bent over, to prevent the glass from falling out. This having been done, now (1) The thinnest substance ever observed is the aqueous film of the soap bubble previous to burstiog; yet it is capable of reflecting a faint image of a candle, or the sun. Hence its thickness must correspond with what Sir Isaac Newton calls the be- ginnmg of black, which appears in water at the thickness of the geven hundred and fifty thousandth part of an inch. n H 2 468 EVERT boy's book. proceed to make tlie " cap" of the instrument. A rim of tin or paste- board must be cut, so as to fit over the glass end of the tube ; and in this, on the outer side, a piece of around glass must be fastened, so that the whole may fit on the tube like the lid of a pill-box. Then, before putting it on, obtain some small pieces of broken glass of farious colours, beads, little strips of wire, or anj other object, and place them in the cap ; and hj passing it over the end, so that the broken glass, &c. has free motion, the instrument is complete. To use it, apply the eve to the small hole, and, on turning^ it, the most beautrful forms will appear, in the most wonderful combinations. The following curious calculation has been made of the number of changes this instrument wiU admit of. Supposing it to contain 20 small pieces of glass, and that you make IQ changes in a minute, it will take an inconceivable space of time, i.e. 462,880,899,576 years, and 360 days, to go through the immense number of changes of which it is capable. SIMPLE SOLAK MICKOSCOPE. Having made a circular hole in a window-shutter, abaut three inches in diameter, place in it a glass lens of about twelve inches focal distance. To the inside of the hole adapt a tube, having at a small distance from the lens a slit, capable of receiving one or two very thin plates of glass, to which the object to be viewed must be aifixed by means of a little gum-water exceedingly transparent. Into this tube fit another, furnished at its extremity with a lens half-an- inch focal distance. Place a mirror before the hole of the window- shutter on the outside, in such a maimer as to throw the light of the sun into the tube, and you will have a solar magic lanthom. The method of employing this arrangement of lenses for micro- scopic purposes is as follows : — Having darkened the room, and by means of the mirror reflected the sun's rays on the elasses in a direc- tion parallel to the axis, place some small object oetween the two moveable plates of glass, or affix it to one of them with very transpa- rent gum- water, and bring it exactly into the axis of the tube ; if the moveable tube be then pushed out or drawn in, till the obiect be a little beyond the focus, it will be seen painted very distinctly on a card, or piece of white paper, held at a proper distance, and wiU appear to be greatly magnified. A small insect will appear as a large animal, a hair as big as a walking-stick, and the almost invisible eels in paste or vinegar as large as common eels. AlfAMORPHOSES. This is a very curious optical effect, producing a distorted and grotesque figure from a regular one. The term is derived from two Greek words, signifying a distortion of fi^e, and by its means many optical puzzles may be produced geometrically. Take any subject, such as the portrait of a head; divide it ver OPTICS, AND OPTICAL AMUSEMENTS. 469 tically and horizontallv with parallel lines, of which the outer sides shall form the bounclary, a, b, c, d, and the whole shall be equi- distant. Then, on a separate piece of paper, or cardboard, prepare a drawing similar to Fie. 2 by the following means :— _ 1. Draw a horizont^ line, a b, equal to a b, and divide it into as many equal parts as the latter is divided. 2. Let fall a perpendicular line, e «?, from the middle of a b, and then draw s v parallel to a b. 3. Both e V and s v may be any length at pleasure, but the longer the first is, and the shorter the other, so will the anamorphoses be more and more deformed. The proportions in our figures are suffi- ciently different. 4. After having drawn from the point v right lines, ?? 1, c 2, o 3, V 4, to the divisions of a b, draw the line s b, and through each point where .? b intersects the divergent lines draw other horizontal lines paraDel to a b. We now have a trapezium^ abed divided into as many cells as the square in Fig. 1. cil 2 e 3 4^ n^,2. The next step is to fill up all the cells of Fig. 2 with portions of the device, proportionate to their position in Fig. 1. For instance, in Fig. 1 the nose is in the second vertical division from the left, and in the third and fourth horizontal divisions from the top, and that portion of the face must accordingly be placed in a corresponding part of Fig. 2. By these means we procure the anamorphosis seen in Fig. 2, which when viewed from a particular position, will lose all its distortion, and assume an appearance resembling that in Fig. 1. This position lies immediately over the point r, and at a height above it equal to the length of the line sv; and the means of determining it are as follows. 470 EVERY boy's book. Place the drawing horizontally before a window ; take a slip of card, and rest its lower edge on the line s v, the card being accurately vertical ; pierce a small hole in the card vertically over the point o, and at a height from it equal to the length of the line s v, then with the eye placed immediately behind the card, look through the orifice at the anamorphosis, and it will be found that as soon as it has become accustomed to the novelty of the experiment, the anamor- phosis wiu lose its (Cstortion, and appear almost exactly like the symmetrical figure. It would be very difficult, and would require geometrical reasoning of a lengthened kind, to show why this particular form of construc- tion should lead to such results. THE COSMORAMA. The principle upon which the cosmorama is formed is so simple, that any person may easily fit up one in a small summer house, &c. Nothing more is necessary than to fix in a hole a double convex lens of about three feet focus, a, and at rather less than this distance a picture, B, is to be hung. To absorb all the rays of light but those neccssaiy lor seeing the picture, a squared frame of wood blackened on the inside is placed between the lens and the picture. The picture may be hung in a large box having a li^ht coming in upon it from above, or in a small closet illuminated m the same manner. Should it be wisned to snow it by candie-light, a lamp, c, may be placed on the the top of the wooden frame, and if the light of this be converged by a lens to a moderate radius, it will be more effective. DISTORTED LANDSCAPES. Landscapes or other matters may be drawn so as to produce curious optical illusions by the following method. Take a piece of smooth wliite pasteboard and sketch the design upon it. Prick the outlines in every part with a fine pin or needle, then place the pricked OPTICS AND OPTICAL AMUSEMENTS. 471 di'avdng in a perpendicular position, and put a lighted candle behind it. Place before it another piece of pasteboard, and follow with a pencil the lines given by the light, and you have produced a dis- torted landscape. Now take away the candle and the pricked drawing, and place your eye where the light was, and the (fcawing will assume the regular form. To get your eye in the proper position, it will be advisable to cut out a piece of card according to the ac- companying pattern, and raising it on its base, b, look through the hole at A, when the object will appear in its proper proportions. l; . _ ^m-- « mm 11 ■55., ,-v' ■ JMil •m m^M -^ Ijmt.' wt '^?^s»y^ f^-^ ^.m^.^ PHOTOGRAPHY. " Come like shadows, but not so depart." — Shakspeabe. Associated with the use of iodine and bromine is an art which every intelli|:ent boy may practise, if he will attend to the following precise details kindly famished by Mr. Richard Thomas, of 10, Pall Mall, who has devoted many years to the careful study of all the processes connected with it, and from whom all the best apparatus and purest chemicals required may be obtained. HOW TO MAKE THE NEGATIVE ON GLASS, USING COLLODION BROMO- lODIZED FOR IRON DEVELOPMENT. 1. The edges of the glass should be ground all round, also slightly on the surface of the edges. This prevents contraction of the film, enabling it to resist the action of a heavy stream of water. Mark one side in the comer with a diamond, and upon tliis side bestow the greatest care. 2. To clean the glass, if new. — Make a mixture of spirits of wine and solution of ammonia, equal parts ; render it as thick as cream with tripoli ; with a piece of cotton-wool kept for this purpose mb a small quantity over that side marked as described, wash well under a tap of water, and wipe dry with a piece of old linen, washed without soap, and kept scrupulously clean for this purpose. Plates should not, however, be cleaned in the operating room with the above PHOTOGRAPHY. 473 mixture; the vapour of ammonia might prove injui-ious to the chemicals. 3. Now polish mth an old white silk handkerchief. If this latter precaution be not taken, small particles of linen will be left upon the plate : these are perhaps only seen when draining off the collodion ; they form nuclei and eddies, checking the collodion in its course. Some of these minute fibres are washed off, and contaminate the next picture. To all lovers of clean pictures our advice therefore is, having well dried the plate with old Hnen, lay it, clean side upwards, upon a few sheets of common glazed demy paper (not blotting), and rub it hard with the silk untU sensibly warm : this has the double advantage of dispersing fibres and moisture, for aU glass plates are sHghtly in a hygrometric condition. Double the silk rubber up to form a pad, and with this the glass must be firmly dusted down just before poui'ing on the collodion, which will then run most evenly : if the coated plate is now viewed by transmitted light, not a speck or blemish will be seen upon it. When a plate cleaned as alDove described is breathed upon, the moisture does not evaporate slowly, but flies off. Do not be afraid of putting the glass into an electrical condition with the silk rubber : on this account objections have been raised to the use of silk : practically, however, I find it a most valuable auxihary in this starting-point of the process, the perfect manipulation of which makes an important difference in the value of the finished picture. What can be more inartistic and annoying to an educated eye than spots, patches, stars, and sky rockets, the forms and shapes of which rival, in numberless variety, a display of fireworks ? Let us not, therefore, be contented with pictures, however good in other respects, presenting these deformities — so many blots on the photographic escutcheon. To clean a glass after having used it, when not varnished. — Wash off the collodion film with water, then clean the marked side with plain tripoK and water, and dry as above. To coat the plate. — First remove all the particles of dried collodion from the mouth of the bottle. Now pour upon the centre of the cleaned glass as much collodion as it will hold. Do not perform this operation hurriedly, take time, and systematically incline the plate in such a manner that the collodion may run into each comer in suc- cession ; when perfectly covered, pour off gently the excess into the bottle at one of the comers nearest to you : with observation and practice dexterity is easily acquired. There are many ways of coat- ing the plate ; each person will adopt that which practice teaches him is best. The pneumatic plate-holder is a convenient httle instra- ment to use for holding the plate whilst pouring on the collodion : it may be used for both small and large plates. Keep the corner of the glass plate in contact with the neck of the bottle whilst pouring off the collodion; otherwise the film wiU be wavy in places. 474 EVERY boy's book. 4. As soon as the collodion ceases to run, plunge the prepared glass gently, without stopping, into the nitrate of silver bath, which is prepared as foUows. Into a 20-oz. stoppered bottle put nitrate of silver, 1-| ozs. ; distilled water, 4 ozs. : dissolve. To this solution add iodide of potassium, 4 grs., dissolved in 1 drachm of distilled water. Mix these two solutions : the precipitate (iodide of silver) thus formed is by shaking entirely dissolved. Add 16 ozs. of dis- tilled water, when the excess of iodide of silver is again thrown down, but in such a finelj^ divided state as to render the saturation of the bath with iodide of silver perfect. Now drop in sufficient of the oxide of silver to turn the turbid yellow solution a dirty brown colour ; so long as this effect is produced"i;he quantity of oxide of silver, how- ever much in excess, is of no consequence ; shake the bottle well for ten minutes or so at intervals ; then add alcohol, 30 minims, and filter ; to the filtered solution add dilute nitric acid of the strength stated, 5 minims. The bath is now ready for use, and should be quite neutral. 5. Allow the prepared glass to remain in this bath from five to ten minutes, accordmg to the temperature. Move it up and down three or four times whilst in the bath, in order to get rid of the greasy appearance on the surface : drain it, but not too closely. When in the frame, place upon the back a piece of common blotting-paper, to absorb moisture, and the two lower silver wires should also be covered with slips of blotting-paper ; after which the sooner it is placed in the camera the better. 6. The time of exposure can only be ascertained by practice — ^no rules can be laid down ; and I am unacquainted with any royal road, but that of experience, leading to constant success in this most important point. 7. The plate having been taken from the camera, and placed upon a levelled stand, or held in the hand, develop immediately the latent image with the following solution : — Iron developing solution. — Protosulphate of iron, ^ oz. ; glacial acetic acid, \ oz. ; spirits of wine, 4 oz. ; distilled water, 8 ozs. : mix. Pour on of this solution only enough to cover the plate easily, com- mencing at that edge of the negative which stood uppermost in the camera ; move the solution to and fro until it has become inti- mately mixed with the silver on the plate ; then pour off into the developing ^lass, and at once return it on to the plate. When as much mtensity has been obtained as possible with the iron developer, it should be thoroughly removed by washing with water. Any intensity may be obtained afterwards by using either of the following solutions : — 8. Intensifi/ing solution. — Pyrogallic acid, 6.grs. ; glacial acetic acid, \ oz. ; distilled water, 6 ozs. : mix. A few drops of a 30-gr. solution of nitrate of silver, the quantity to be regulated according to the intensity required, to be added, at the moment of using, to as much of the pyrogaUic solution as may be necessary. PHOTOGRAPHY 475 Intensifying solution (anotlier form). — 1. Pyrogallic acid, 8 grs. ; citric acid, 20 grs. ; distilled water, 2 ozs. 2. Nitrate of silver, 8 grs. ; distilled water, 2 ozs. Mix small quantities of the solutions 1 and 2, in equal portions, the moment before using. The pyrogalUc solution, made with good acetic acid, may be kept for a month or more in a cool place. Nevertheless, if the conditions of light and situation are unfavourable, I should prefer this solution just made. The iron solutions act best when freshly prepared. It is supposed by some that a prolonged action of the iron developer produces fogginess. This may be the case when impure or improperly prepared collodion is used, but certainly not when the preparation is pure and of the proper quality. When the image is sufficiently intense, wash freely with common filtered water ; then pour on a saturated solution of hyposulphate of soda, which should immediately remove the iodide oi silver : wash again well with water ; allow as much as the plate will hold to soak in for at least a quarter of an hour, changing the water occasionally, to remove all traces of hyposulphate ; lastly, wash the plate with a little distilled water, stand up to dry, and, if required, varnish either with spirit or amber varnish. The following solution is also very commonly used for fixing the negative : — Cyanide of potassium, \ oz. ; water, 12 ozs. Attention to the following rules and cautions will assist the operator in the production of perfect pictures : — 1. Do not disturb the deposit which will occasionally be found at the bottom of the bottle containing the collodion. 2. Remove all particles of dried film from the neck of the bottle before pouring the collodion on the plate. 3. Never use damp cloths, leathers, or buffs, for giving the final polish to the plate. Negatives with an indistinct and muddy surface are frequently produced from this cause. 4. Let the film set properly before immersion in the nitrate of silver bath : its condition can be ascertained by gently touching the lower part of the coated plate with the end of the finger. 6. Never omit to pass a broad camel-hair brush over the plate just before pouring on the collodion. 6. Bear in mmd that, as fight is the producing agent, so will it prove a destructive one : not less than four folds of yellow calico should be used to obstruct white light ; and in that case the aperture covered should be no larger than is necessary to admit sufBcient fight for working by. Examine occasionally the yellow calico : when this material is used to exclude white light, it becomes bleached by con- stant exposure. Do not trust alone to any coloured glass ; no glass yet made is anti-actinic under all aspects of fight and conditions of exposure. 7. When the negative requires intensifying, carefuUy wash off all traces of the fipst developing solution before proceeding to intensify. 476 EVERT boy's book. This operation may be performed either before or after the iodide is removed by fixing. •• 8. Glass baths are preferable to porcelain, ebonite, or gutta-percha baths for solution of nitrate of silver. 9. In using either spirit or amber varnish, before pouring it off, keep the plate horizontal a few seconds. This gives time for soaking in, and prevents the formation of a dull surface arising from too thin a coating. 10. Rub the lenses occasionally with a soft and clean wash-leather . the rapidity of action is much influenced by the brightness of the lenses : their surfaces are constantly affected by moisture in the atmosphere, which condensing, destroys the brilliancy of the image. 11. The white blotting-paper used for some photographic purposes is not suitable for filtering solutions ; that only should be employed which is made for this purpose, and is sold under the name of filtering-paper. 12. HyposulpJuile of soda. — ^A great deal of rubbish is sold under the name of this salt. As a test of its quality, 1-^ drachms should entirely dissolve in 1 drachm of water, and this solution should dissolve rather more than 4^ grains of iodide of silver. 13. Chemicals. — The purity of photographic chemicals cannot be too strongly urged ; the cheapest are not always the most econo- mical. The commercial preparations are generally not to be depended upon, as these, though perhaps unadulterated, are, strictly speaking, not chemically pure. It is oest to procure them from well-known chemists, who understand the purpose for which they are intended, and make the preparation of these substances pecuHarly a branch of their business. 14. Never leave chemical solutions exposed in dishes : when done with, pour them back into glass-stoppered bottles, and decant for use from any deposit, or filter if necessary. 15. In all photographic processes it is absolutely necessary to be chemically clean ; and this sometimes is not easy. As a rule, never be satisfied with cleanly appearances only, but take such measures as shall insure the absence of all extraneous matter in preparing the solutions, cleaning the glasses, dishes, &c, 16. All stains on the hands, linen, &c. may be removed by means of cyanogen soap or cyanide of potassium, which should be apphed without water at first, then thoroughly washed off. To assist the operation, the hands may be now gently rubbed with -a fine piece of pumice-stone, when the stains quickly disappear. Por more perfect and complete directions the reader is referred to a most excellent work, " The Modern Practice of Photography," by R. W. Thomas, P.C.S. PNEUMATICS. " There is a tricksy spirit in the air That plays sad gambols."— Ben Jokson. The branch of the physical sciences which relates to the air and its various phenomena is called Pneumatics. By it we learn many curious particulars. By it we find that the air has weight and pressure, colour, density, elasticity, compressibility, and some other properties with which we shall endeavour to make the young reader acquainted by many pleasing experiments, earnestly impressing upon him to lose no opportunity of making physical science his study. The common leather sucker by which boys raise stones will show the pressure of the atmosphere. It consists of a piece of soft but firm leather, having a piece of string drawn through its centre. The leather is made quite wet and pliable, and then its under part is placed on the stone and stamped down by the foot. This pressing excludes the air from between the leather and the stone, and by pulling the string a vacuum is left underneath its centre ; conse- quently the leather is firmly attached to the stone, which enables you to lift it. WEIGHT OF THE AIR PROVED BY A PAIR OP BELLOWS. Shut the nozzle and valve-hole of a pair of bellows, and after having squeezed the air out of them, if they are perfectly air-tight, we shall find that a very great force, even some hundreds of pounds, is necessary for separating the boards. They are kept together by 478 EVERY BOY' 8 BOOK. tke weight of the air which surrounds them in the same manner as if they were surrounded bj water. THE PRESSTJKE OF THE AIH SHOWN BY A WINE-GLASS. Place a card on a wine-glass filled with water, then invert thfe glass : the water will not escape, the pressure of the atmosphere on the outside of the card being sufficient to support the water. ANOTHEK. Invert a tall glass jar in a dish of water, and place a lighted taper under it; as the taper consumes the air in the jar, the water, from the pressure without, rises up to supply the place of the oxygen removed by the combustion. In the opera- tion of cupping the operator holds the flame of a lamp under a bell-shaped glass. The air within tliis being rarefied and expanded, a considerable portion is given off. In this state the glass is placed upon the flesh, and as the air within it cools it contracts, and the glass adheres to the flesh by the difference of the pressure of the internal and external air. ELASTICITY OP THE AIR. This can be shown by a beautiful pliilosophical toy, which may easily be constructed. Procure a glass jar such as is here repre- sented, and put water into it. Then mould three or four Httle fisiures in wax, and make them hollow within, and kaving each a minute PNEUMATICS. 479 opening at the heel, by which water may pass in and out. Place them in the jar, as seen in the figure, and adjust them by the quantity of water admitted to them, so that in specific gravity they differ a little from each other. The mouth of the jar should now be covered with a piece of skin or india- rubber, and then, if the hand be pressed upon the top or mouth of the jar, the figures will be seen to rise or descend as the pressure is gentle or heavy ; rising and falling, or standing still, according to the pressure made. REASON FOR THIS. I^L The reason of this is, that the pressure on the top of the jar condenses the air between the cover and the water surface ; this. conden- sation then presses on the water below, and influences it through its whole extent, com- pressing also the air in the figures, forcing as much more water into them as to render them heavier than water, and therefore heavy enough to sink. THE AIR-PUMP. The time was, and that not very long ago, when the air-pump was only obtainable by the philosophical professor or by persons of enlarged means. But now, owing to our " cheap way of doing things," a small air- pump may be obtained for about a guinea, and we would strongly advise our young friends to procure one, as it wiU be a source of endless amusement to them ; and, sup- posing that they take our advice, we sug- gest the following experiments. The air-pump consists of a bell glass, called the receiver, a, and a stand, upon which is a perforated plate, b. The hole in this plate is connected with two pistons, the rods of which are moved by a wheel handle backwards and forwards, and thus pump the air out of the receiver. When the air is thus taken out, a stop-cock is turned, and then the experiments may be performed. Under the receiver of an air-pump, when the air has been thoroughly exhausted, light and heavy bodies fall with the same swiftness. Ani- mals quickly die for want of air, combustion ceases, a bell sounds faint, and water and other fluids change to vapour. TO PROVE THAT AIR HAS WEIGHT. Take a florence flask, fitted up with a screw and fine oiled silk f alve. Screw the flask on the plate of the air-pump, exhaust the air, 480 EVERY boy's book. take it off the plate, and weigh it. Then let in'the air, and again weigh the whole, and it will be found to have increased by several grains. TO PEOVE AIR ELASTIC. Place a bladder out of which all the air has apparently been squeezed under the receiver, upon it lay a weight, exhaust the air, and it will "^e seen that the small quantity of air left within the bladder will so expand itself as to lift the weiglit. Put a corked bottle into the receiver, exhaust the air, and the cork will fly out. SOVEREIGN AND FEATHER. Place a nicely-adjusted pair of forceps at the top of the receiver, communicating with the top of the outside through a hole, so that they may be opened by the fingers. Then place on each of the little plates a soverei^najid 2k feather. Exhaust the air from the receiver; and having done so, detach the objects, so that they may fall. In the open air the sovereign will fall long before the feather, but in vacuo, as in the receiver now exhausted of its air, they will fall both together, and reach the bottom of the glass at the same instant. AIR IN THE EGG. Take a fresh t%%, and cut off a little of the shell and film from its smaller end ; then put the t%% under a receiver, and pump out the air ; upon which all the contents of the egg will be forced out by the expansion of the small bubble of air contained in the great end between the shell and the film. THE DESCENDING SMOKE. ' Set a lighted candle on the plate, and cover it with a tall receiver. The candle will continue to bum while the air remains, but when PNEUMATICS.' 481 exhausted will go out, and the smoke from the wick, instead of rising, will descend in dense clouds towards the bottom of the glass, because the air which would have supported it has been withdrawn. AIR IN THE EGO. DESCENDING SMOKE. THE SOUNDLESS BELL. Set a bell on the pump-plate, having a contrivance so as t-o ring it at pleasure, and ©over it with a receiver ; then make the clapper sound against the bell, and it will be heard to sound very well ; now exhaust the receiver of air, and then when the clapper strikes against the sides cf the bell the sound can be scarcely heard. SOUNDLESS BELL. rLOATINO FISH. THE FLOATING FISH. If a glass vessel containing water, in which a couple of fish are pat, be placed under the receiver, upon exhausting tne air the fish will be unable to keep at the bottom of the glass, owing to the 1 1 482 EVERY BOY S BOOK. .expansion of the air within their bodies, contained in the air bladder. They will consequently rise and float, belly upwards, upon the surface of the water. THE DIVING BELL. The diving bell is a pneumatic engine, by means of which persons can descend to great depths in the sea, and recover from it valuable portions of wrecks and other things. Its principle may be well illustrated by the following experiment. Take a glass tumbler, and plunge it into the water with the mouth down- wards, and it will be found that the water will not rise much more than half way in the tumbler. Thib may be made very evident if a piece of cork be suffered to float inside the of the water. The air within the tumbler does not entirely exclude the water, because air is elastic, and conse- quently compressible, and hence the air in the tumbler is what is called condensed. The diving bell is formed upon the above principle; but in- stead of being of glass, it is a wooden or metal vessel, of very large dimen- sions, so as to hold three or four persons, who are supplied with air from above by means of powerful pumps, whilst the excess of air escapes at the bottom of the bell, as may be seen any day at the Royal Polytechnic Institution. gass EXPERIMENTS. 1. Place a cylinder of strong glass, open at both ends, on the plate of the air-pump, and put your hand on the other end, and you will of course oe able to remove it at pleasure. Now exhaust the air from the interior of the cylinder, and at each stroke of the pump you will feel your hand pressed tighter and tighter on the cylinder, until you will not be able to remove it : as soon as the air is again admitted to the interior of the cylinder, the pressure within will be restored, and the hand again be at liberty. 2. Tie a piece of moistened bladder very firmly over one end of a similar glass cylinder, and place the open end on the plate of the pump. As soon as you be^in to exhaust the air from the interior, the bladder, which was previously quite horizontal, will begin to bulge I PNEUMATICS. 483 inwaras, the concavity increasing as the exhaustion proceeds, until the bladder, no longer able to bear the weight of the superincumbent air, breaks with a loud report. 3. The elasticity of air, or indeed of any gaseous body, may be shown by introducing under the air-pump receiver a bladder contain- ing a very small quantity of air, its mouth being closelj^ tied. As you exhaust the air from the receiver, that portion contained in the bladder being no longer pressed upon by the atmosphere, will gradually expand, distending the bladder until it appears nearly full : on readmittmg the air into the receiver, the bladder will at once shrink to its former dimensions. A shrivelled apple placed under the same conditions will appear plump when the air is removed from the receiver, and resume its lormer appearance on the readmission of the air. 4. There is a very pretty apparatus made for the purpose of show- ing the pressure of the atmosphere, consisting of a hollow globe of brass, about three inches in diameter, divided into two equal parts, which fit very accurately together. It is furnished with two handles ; one of them screwed into a hollow stem, communicating with the interior of the globe, and fitting on to the air-pump : the other is attached to a short stem on the opposite side of the globe. In the natural state the globe may easily be separated into its two hemi- spheres by one person pulling the handles, but after the air has been exhausted from the interior it requires two very strong men to sepa- rate the parts, and they will often fail to do so. By turning the stop- cock, and readmitting the air into the interior of the globe, it will come asunder as easily as at first. We are indebted to the weight of the atmosphere for the power we possess of raising water by the common pump ; for the piston of the pump withdraw- ing the air from the interior of the pipe, which terminates in -v^ter, the pressure of the atmosphere forces the water up the pipe to supply the place of the air withdrawn. It was soon found, however, that when the column of water in the pipe was more than thirty feet high, the pump became useless, for the water refused to rise higher. Why ? It was found that a column of water about thirty feet high exerted a pressure equal to the weight of the atmosphere, thus estabhsh- ing an equihbrium between the water in the pipe and the atmospheric pressure. This is the principle on which the baro- meter, or measurer of weighty as its name imports, is constructed. The metal Mercury is about thirteen and a half times heavier than water ; consequently, if a column of water IT 2 SO.incks. 484 EVERY boy's book. ihirij feet high balances tlicf pressure of the atmosphere, a column of mercury thirty inc/ies high ou^ht to do so also — and this is in fact the case. If you take a glass tube nearly three feet long, and closed at one end, and fill it with mercury ; then, placing your finger on the open end, invert the tube into a basin or saucer containing some of the same metal; upon removing your finger (which must be done carefully, while the mouth of the tube is completely covered by the mercury,) it will be seen that the fluid will fall a few inches, leaving the upper part of the tube empty. Such a tube with a gradud^ted scale attached is in truth a barometer, and as the weight of the atmosphere increases or decreases, so the mercury rises or falls in the tube. This instrument is of the greatest value to the seaman, for a sudden fall of the barometer will often give notice of an impending storm when all is fine and calm, and thus enable the mariner to make the preparations necessary to meet the danger. It was discovered bv an Italian philosopher named TorriceUi, and from him the vacuum formed in the upper end of the tube above the surface of the mercury has been called the Torricelhan vacuum. It is by far the most perfect vacuum that can be obtained, containing neces- sarily nothing but a minute quantity of the vapour of mercury. EXPERIMENT. Pass a little ether through the mercury in the tube, and as soon as it reaches the empty space it will boil violently, depressing the mer- cury, until the pressure of its own vapour is suflBcient to prevent its ebullition. U you now cool the upper part of the tube, so as to con- dense the vapour, the pressure being thus removed, the ether will again begin to boil, and so alternately, as often as you please, tn order to show this fact with effect, the bor% of the tube should noi be less than half an inch in diameter. EXPERIMENT. To show that the heat abstracted by the boiling of one liquid will freeze another, fill a tall narrow glass about half full of cold water (the colder the bet- ter), and place in it a thin glass tube containing some ether. Put them under the receiver of an air-pump. As you exhaust the air, the ether will begin to boil, until at length, by continuing the exhaustion, the PNEUMATICS. 485 water immediately surrounding the tube of ether will freeze, and a tolerably large piece of ice may thus be obtained. Ether evaporates so rapidly even under the pressure of the atmo- sphere, that a small animal, such as a mouse, may be actually frozen to death by constantly dropping ether upon it. If poured on the hand, it produces a degree of cold that soon becomes, to say the least, unpleasant, EXPERIMENT. Place a flat saucer containing about a pound of oil of vitriol under the receiver of the air-pump, and set in it a watch glass containing a little water, supported on a stand with glass legs. Exhaust the receiver, when the water will evaporate, but without boiling ; and the vapour being absorbed as it forms by the oil of vitriol, the vacuum is preserved, and the evaporation continues, until the vapour has abstracted so much caloric from the remainder of the water that it is all at once converted into ice. In most elementary works on chemistry may be found a long table of freezing mixtures, as they are called, some with and others without ice or snow. We have selected a few from each division. ' WITH ICE OR SNOW. \ Snow or powdered ice 2 parts. ( Powdered common salt 1 » rSnow 5 „ \ Powdered common salt 2 „ (.Powdered sal ammoniac 1 » ( Snow 3 „ ( Dilute sulphuric acid 2 „ (Snow 2 „ ( Crystallized muriate of lime .... 3 „ WITHOUT SNOW OR ICE. Sulphate of soda 3 parts. Dilute nitric acid 2 „ Nitrate of ammonia 1 „ Water 1 „ Phosphate of soda 2 „ Dilute nitric acid 1 „ Sulphate of soda 2 „ Muriatic acid 1 „ The effects of most of these mixtures may be considerably increased by previously cooling the ingredients separately in other freezing mixtures. In connexion with this branch of science, and especially with che mistry, the youthful philosopher should practise the art of decanting 486 EVERT BOY S BOOK. air from one jar to another standing over vater, beginning by passing it from a small to a larger jar, then "with two of equal size ; and when he can accomplish the transfer without permitting even one bubble to escape, he may essay the much more difficult task of trans- ferring the air from a large to a smaller jar. He should also practise using the blowpipe until he can keep up a steady and uninterrupted flame for tea minutes or a quarter of an hour, without stopping for breath. It is quite oossible to replenish wind in the mouth, which alone ought to be usecl, without interrupt- ing the breathing for an instant, but it requires some practice. (1) Box blowpipe, a, the stem ; b, the mouthpiece ; c, the box, in which is placed a piece of sponge to absorb the moisture of the breath ; d, the extremity (this is moveable, and each blowpipe has several, with different apertures) ; e, the hollow pivot, in which the extremity and its arm turn. The box is opened by the milled ring seen at the bottom. SPECTKUM ANALYSIS. ir the youthful student wishes to occupy his leisure in a most amusing and instructive manner, and at the same time to acquire a ready method of testing for the presence of the various metals, he cannot do better than purchase from Mr. John Browning, of 111, Minories, the Amateur's Spectroscope, price two guineas; or, if sufficiently ingenious, a prism and lenses may be purchased for six- teen shillings, and fitted up in paper tubes. Indeed, it is always better to buy some complete set or portion of a set of apparatus, instead of the trashy so-called "Boys' Cabinets," which contain very much that is useless and very little for instructive experiments. Copied from the Original Drawings of G. Kirch iiofp and E. liUNSEN. CBuA 1 1 s 1 1 « y\ ^^VB /3 a mam A^ i'Sr e d/S n o^m' SPECTRUM ANALYSIS. 48( The instrument enables the observer to examine the properties of metallic salts when in the state of a glomng or incandescent gas. Common light affords a continuous spectrum or band of colours, red at one end and violet at the other, the intermediate colours being orange, yellow, green, blue, and indigo. The spectra of the metals in the state of luminous vapour are not continuous, but are repre- sented by distinct bands or lines of light. Every element, metalhc or otherwise, when converted into a luminous gas, produces lines which are always found in the same part of the spectrum, and are therefore unalterable in position. The mslrument (Fig. 1) is called the Spectroscope. Fig. 1. — THE amateur's spectroscope. A, Tube with knife edges ; b, the prism ; c, the telescope ; d, the lamp, supplied with gas by pipe e ; f, stand carrying the platinum wire. The wire may be held in the hand, but is more convenient when attached to a stand- The instrument (Pig. 2) will exhibit the dark fixed lines in the solar spectrum, and also the bright lines in the spectra of incan- descent metals. rig. 2.— THE HERSCHEL-BilOWNING DIRECT VISION 8PBCTBOS0OPJS. 483 EVERY boy's book. A, another fbrm of gas lamp ; platinum wire and the lamp. Fig.S. B, 'the 2flame o, adjusting stand to carry the HOW TO USE THE SPECTROSCOPE. Screw the tube carrying tlie knife edges at the small end into the prism bore, and the telescope into its proper ring. Now place any common bright Ught exactly in front of the knife edges, and while looking through the telescope arrange the knife edges until a bright and continuous spectrum is visible. TO OBTAIN THE BRIGHT LINES IN THE SPECTRUM GIVEN BY ANY SUBSTANCE. Remove the bright flame from the front of the knife edges, and substitute in its place the flame of a common spirit lamp or, still better, a gas-jet known as a Bunsen's Burner. Take a piece of platinum wire about the substance of a fine sewing needle ; bend the end into a small loop about the eighth of an inch in diameter ; fuse a small bead of the substance, or salt, to be experimented on into the loop of the platinum wire, and attaching it to any sort of hght stand or support, bring the bead into the front edge of the flame, a Uttle below the level of the knife edges. If the flame be opposite the knife edges, on looking through the eye-piece of the telescope the fixed lines due to the substance will be plainly visible. When minute quantities have to be examined, the substance should be dissolved, and a drop of the solution, instead of a soHd bead, be used on the platinum wire. The delicacy of this method of analysis is veir great. Swan found, in 1857 (Ed. Phil. Trans., vol. xxi. p. 411), that the lines of SPECTRUM ANALYST a. 489 )dmTn are visible when a quantity of solution is employed which does not contain more than ^,yoTy,xjxm ^^ ^ grain of sodium. To view Fraunhofer's lines on the ^ar spectrum it is only neces- sary to turn the knife edges towards a white cloud, and make the slit formed by the knife edges very narrow by turning the screw at the side of them. In every instance the focus of the telescope must be adjusted in the ordinary way, by sHding the draw tube until it suits the observer's sight, and distinct vision is obtained. It should be noted that lines at various parts of the spectrum require a different adjustment in focussing the telescope. The small prism turning on a joint in front of the knife edges is for the purpose of showing two spectra in the field of view at the same time. To do this it must be brought close to the front of the knife edges. Then one flame must be placed in the position in which the flame of the candle is shown in the small figure, and the other directly in front of the slit. On looking through the telescope, as before described, the spectra due to the two substances will be seen one above the other. When the slit is turned towards a bright cloud, and a light is used in the position of the candle flame, the spectrum of any substance may be seen compared with the solar spectrum. In this manner Kirchoff determined in the solar spectrum the presence of the lines of the greater number of the elements which ai-e believed to exist in the sun. PROFESSOR STOKES* ABSORPTION BANDS. This instrument is expressly adapted to the prismatic analysis of organic bodies, according to the method recommended by Professor Stokes in his lecture at the Chemical Society, printed in the Chemical News. To observe these bands it is only necessary to place a very dilute solution of the substance in a test-tube, then fix the test-tube in the small clip attached to a ring which slips on in front of the knife edges. Upon bringing any bright light in front of the tube, on looking through the telescope, if the instrument has been properly adjusted, a bright spectrum will be seen, interrupted by the dark bands due to the substance in solution. One of the simplest and most interesting experiments of this kind can be made by preparing dilute solutions of madder, port wine, and blood. In these very dilute solutions no difference can be detected by the unassisted eye, but on submitting them in the manner already described to the test of spectrum analysis, very different appearances will be presented. The absorption bands mav, however, be most conveniently examined and accurately investigated by means of Sorby and Browning's new Micro-Spectroscope. ^90 EVERY boy's book. TO MAP OUT ANY SPECTRUM. Place the eye-piece with cross wires in the telescope, with the cross in the shape of an X- Then move the telescope so that the point where the wires cross comes successively in contact with the various luies, noting the readings of the nonius on the arc. Prom these readings, by the help of any mechanical scale of equal parts, a map may be easily constructed. By the assistance of spectrum analysis four new metals have been discovered, viz. Caesium, Kubidium, Thallium, Norium. It is often a cause of grumbling with young beginners in chemistry that there is so much washing of glasses and slopping required to obtain proper results from tests ; but here is a most renned mode of testing, which may be carried on in the drawing-room, and so delicate that a portion of sodium salt even less than rffff,u^,{nnj*^ P^ of a grain can be easily detected. Formerly the metal Lithium was considered to be a very rare one, but since the use of the spectroscope, quantities less than the y,7j-gj,^y^th of a grain have been detected; it now appears that lithium is a very common metal, and exists in the human body, the sea, and may be obtamed from many other common sources. Lithium has been found in the ashes of marine plants, the ashes of tobacco — in milk, coffee, tea, human blood, and in muscular tissue ; it has also been found in meteoric stones. The coloured plate is a faithful copy of Kirchoff's Diagram, and shows the solar spectrum, also the spectra of potassium, sodium, lithium, strontium, calcium, barium, ruoidium. PART IV. gffinestu lets. CANARIES. DOGS. GOLD FISH. GUINEA PIGS. HEDGEHOGS. JACKDAWS. JAYS. MAGPIES. OWLS. PARROTS. PI6E0N8. POULTRY. RABBITS. RAVENS. SILKWORMS. SQUIRRELS. WHITE MICE K^S}H OUR DOMBSriC PETS. I BEES AND BEE-KEEPING. Tn treating of that useful insect the honey-bee, we will first explain briefly the domestic economy of the hive, and the dis- tinction between the different individuals composing the entire colony, and then pass on to the more practical details of bee- keeping. , A beehive contains three kinds of individuals — a queen, drones, and workers. The queen is a female, and is the mother of the community. The drones are males, and the working bees neuters, being neither males nor females. During the warmer part of the year the queen seems to be incessantly employed in laying eggs. She is slow and majestic in her motions, and differs from the workers in having a larger and longer body, shorter wings, and a curved sting. The drones are males ; though much more bulky, they are not so long as the queen, but much larger than the working bees. They live on honey, but bring none home. When the season for swarm- ing has passed, the workers expel them from the hive, and none make their appearance till the following spring. The working bees r.re the smallest in the hive and by far the most numerous ; and they do the entire work of the com- munity — they build the cells, guard the hive and the queen, collect 494 EVERT boy's book. and store the honey, elaborate the wax, feed the young, and expel the drones. The average number of these three kinds of bees in a hive is one queen, two thousand drones, and ten to twenty thousand workers, the numbers varying with the strength of the hive and the season. For the greater part of the year the queen lays only workers' eggs ; but during the spring she also lays those which produce drones. As soon as this takes place, the workers begin to construct Toyal cells, in which, without discontinuing to lay the drone eggs, 'he queen deposits eggs which are destined to produce queens. QUEEN BEE. THS DROHK. WORKING BEE. The workers' eggs hatch in a few days, and produce little white maggots, which immediately open their mouths to be fed ; these the workers attend to with the greatest care. In six days each maggot fills up its cell ; it is then roofed in by the workers, spins a silken cocoon and becomes a chrysalis, and on the twenty-first day it comes forth a perfect bee. The drones emerge on the twenty-fifth day, and the queens on the sixteenth. The combs of a beehive comprise a number of hexagonal cells, built by the bees as receptacles for honey and for the nurseries of their young. Each comb in a hive is composed of two ranges of, cells, backed against each other. There is a continued series of these double cells in every well-filled hive, the spaces between them being just sufficient to allow two bees, one on the surface of each comb, to pass without touching. Each cell is six-sided, the six sides being perfectly equal. This is one of the geometrical figures that ensures the greatest economy of material and the largest space. The construction of several combs is usually going on at the same time, untU the hive is filled. The ceUs of the drones are larger than those designed for the workers ; and those designed for the hatching of the young queens pear-shaped, with the small end downwards. The fmest honey is stored in new cells constructed for the purpose of receiving it. The usual modes of establishing an apiary are, either by the pur- chase of stock or of swarms. When intending to purchase a stock, do not buy upon recommendation, but learn to judge for yourself. BEES AND BEE-KEEPINO. 495 If you observe the bees crowding in and out of the hive during the middle of the day, a considerable number of them having little yellow pellets or balls on their hinder legs, a very favourable opinion may be formed of the health and condition of the interior, and especially of the prolific state of the queen. If the bees appear savage, and bold in their attacks, it is a good sign. In the purchase of swarms the young bee-keeper must beware of imposition ; for it very often happens that, instead of having the first swarm, he is cheated by having a second thrust upon him. This is seldom so large ; but it has the advantage of a young queen, as the old queen always goes off with the first swarm. A good swarm generally numbers about twenty thousand bees, and may in country places be obtained for from half-a-guinea to a guinea. There are several distinct systems of bee-keeping, each of which requires a short notice. First, the old-fashioned plan of keeping the bees in a common bell-shaped straw hive, or skep. When this method is followed, the hives are usually allowed to stand for two summers ; at the end of the second season the bees are destroyed by the fumes of burning sulphur, and the honey taken. The plan is a very bad one, as the honey obtained is mixed with bee bread, is rank in flavour, and dark in colour, and is never worth more than about sixpence per pound. A great improvement is to have the hives made with flat tops, like the straw hive shown at the right hand of the engraving. When the bees are first hived, this is closed by a straw mat. In the spring of next year, when the bees become numerous and cluster round the entrance, this mat is removed, and a small hive, termed a " super," or a box or glass, neatly furnished with a piece or two of clear empty comb, is put over ; the bees ascend into this, build combe, which they store with pure virgin honey, without brood or bee bread ; and this, when fuU, is removed, leaving the stock below undisturbed for the next season. In our engraving the artist has drawn this hive too small ; it should have been as large aa the common skeps which are shown on the left-hand side. 496 EVERY boy's book. Flat-topped hives, that are able to be supered, may be made of wood, like a common box. One of these is shown on the ground, and two, placed one over the other, are shown behind the flat-topped straw hive. In Ayrshire, where they are very skilled in bee- management, they use eight-sided boxes, with narrow slides to close the openings in the top. These boxes are placed one over the other, and large tops of pure virgin honey, twenty to thirty pounds in weight, are not unfrequently taken off. The back hive in our group is one with side boxes, or, as it is sometimes called, a col- lateral hive. These are the most expensive in first cost, and the least productive of all the varieties. The cottage hives, with three little glasses, instead of one large one, are only playthings, and not at all productive. Frame hives, in which each comb is placed in a separate frame, so that it can be taken out and examined, are very useful for making observations on the natural history of the bees, but are not BO well suited for profitable purposes as the hives that we have described that are arranged in storey or with large supers. In removing a super of honey, it should be first loosened from the hive by drawing a thin string between the two ; and then, when the bees have become quiet, taken quietly away, and covered over, until those remaining in it have discovered that they are away from the queen, when they will rapidly fly back to the hive, on being uncovered. But the honey must not be left exposed, or it would attract all the bees in the neighbourhood, and would rapidly be stored up in the hives. In taking off the supers, it is best to be protected from the stings of the bees. This is readily done by making a bag of leno, open at top and bottom ; in use, the top is tied round the hat, the bag encircles the head and face, and the bottom is tucked under the collar of the coat, which is buttoned closely round the neck. In this manner the face is perfectly protected from stings ; but with the knowledge, quietness, and confidence acquired by practice, almost anything can be done to bees by a skilled bee-master, even without a veil. ^iy^Rsny or ^SiUFOiiHSh, THE CANARY. The canary is a justly ftivoured pet among boys, for it is a hardy bird that requires a very small amount of trouble. It is a pleasant, fascinating little being, full of quaint ways and sprightly attitudes, and, better than all, the cage is its native element. Though an ardent admirer of all birds, and indeed of everything which draws the breath of life, we can never pass the cage wherein is confined a lark, a nightingale, a bullfinch, or any other of our indigenous birds, without a feeling of sadness and regret. They are not cage birds, and never ought to be confined within the narrow limits of wood and wire. Their attitudes show their uneasiness. The mellow, exultant tone of the skylark sounds as joyously when the bird is imprisoned within a cage as when it soars high in air, its wings quivering in the breeze, its frame rejoicing in the glory of the sunbeams, and its ken surveying the wide panorama which lies spread beneath its gaze. But the gestures of the bird are full of eloquent misery, and speak volumes to him who will stop and look with his eyes as well as listen with his ears. See how the bird flings itself upwards from the little patch of turf, which is but a shallow mockery of the green sward to which the skylark is accustomed — how it dashes itself against the roof of green baize, which represents so feebly the expanse of azure sky — and how it learns at last the lessons of experience, and stands helplessly in the bay window of the cage, its wings shivering rest- lessly, and its feet trampling impatiently, in lieu of the ^ upward leap and soaring flight which it longs to undertake, but which it will never more be permitted to experience. No more will it roam through the wide expanse of air, no more will it seek for its mate, and know all the joys of nest and children. Henceforth it is but a prisoner in solitary confinement, without hope of escape, and its very individuality destroyed by surrounding circumstances. So with the generality of our cage birds. The man who would imprison the nightingale, who would limit to one spot the bird that loves to wander, and who would condemn to solitary con- finement the creature which is peculiarly destined for conjugal affection, which finds expression in liquid melody, ought to be imprisoned for a month or two, just to see how he likes it. " I can't get out," is the lament uttered in silent gesture by all birda E K 498 EVERY boy's book. that ought to roam in wild xieedom, and have been imprisoned in a cage. We always wish to open the cage door, and set free the prisoner ; at aU events, to remove it to some spot where it might be liberated without danger to itself. But with the canary the case is different. The pretty little bird never has known wider freedom than that of the cage,' and a humane bird-keeper wiU endow it with increased freedom by enlarging the size of its dwelling. The free use of wings has never been known to the bird, nor even to its parents ; and the perch is to the canary more familiar than the bough. Release an imprisoned lark, and after the first few moments of surprise it will speed away exulting in its freedom. Release a nightingale or a thrush, and it will dart swiftly to the well-known shelter of the woods. But release a canary, and you have committed an act of positive cruelty. The poor bird knows not where to go or how to procure its food. Throughout all its little life it has been accustomed to reside within the narrow limits of its cage, and to find its food and water prepared without any expenditure of labour. Consequently, it has no idea of searching for food, but sits bewildered on a branch of some tree, and would perish with hunger simply because it does not know how to procure food. Ignorance is ever the parent of fear, and a canary-bird has been known to perish of hunger when removed to a large from a small cage, simply because it dared not fly down from the comparatively lofty perch on which it had settled when first introduced, and to which it clung with the tenacity of fear. Even the genuine British soldier can hardly be more helpless when deprived of ordinary military routine than is a canary-bird when set free and forced to fly alone into the world. The very colour of the bird prevents it from obtaining food like others of the same tribe. All the small birds are absurdly jealous of novelty, and will mob and worry any feathered being to which they are not accustomed. You may assemble a crowd of them at any time by fixing a comb of scarlet cloth on the head of a sparrow, and glueing a few scarlet hackles into its tail. The little birds will always gather round an owl that has made its appearance in the daytime, and wiU scold the intruder until one would think that their throats would be hoarse. Their anger towards the owl is, however, mitigated by a wholesome dread of its beak and talons, and it may therefore be imagined that when they find a little yellow bird sitting all alone on a branch, and looking bewildered at the position in which it finds itself, they are not very likely to lose so excellent an opportunity of bullying a foreigner without danger to themselves. Successive generations of captivity have rendered the canary unfit for freedom, and therefore the young naturalist need not think himself cruel because he keeps the bird in a cage. THE CANARY. 499 As to cages, the simple form which has already been described iu vol. i. p. 21 of " Every Boy's Magazine " will be found amply sufficient for all purposes. The wires, however, should be closer together than is required for squirrels, so that the cat may not be able to dart her lithe paw between them and hook out the inmates. The size of the cage is of little consequence, except that you can never make it too large. If a whole room can be given up to the birds, the better they will be pleased and the brighter they wUl look ; and, if possible, it should be lighted from above. Wherever the birds may be placed, ventilation is of the greatest consequence. We remember being once summoned to give our opinion upon the continued illness of some canaries of which every care was taken. They had fresh water daily, were plentifully supplied with sand, and were fed with the proper seeds, and cresses, groundsel, and other green meat, and yet they drooped and moped, and never seemed well. No fault could be found with the arrangements, and therefore we looked for the cause of illness in another direction. The air of the room seemed very close when I entered it, and on examination we found that there was no outlet whatever, the chimney having been blocked up and the windows carefully shut, in order to prevent the birds from escaping. We at once recoromended that a pane of glass should be removed at the top of the window, and a piece of perforated zinc inserted instead ; and when this was done the birds recovered themselves, and resumed their normal aspect. The two secrets — if secrets they can be called — ^in bird-keeping are a good supply of fresh food and water and perfect cleanliness. The former necessaries can be easily insured in a very simple manner, and should be made after the pattern of the accompanying figures. Both are founded on the same principle — namely, that of self-feeding from a reservoir. The seed-box is thus constructed. Get an old cigar-box, from which the aroma of tobacco has been removed by long airing, and take off the lid and the whole of one side ; cut off two-thirds of the lid-piece, bore three holes in it, and fix it where the lid was, as at a; cut the rest of the lid in two, and fix the pieces in the box, so as to separate it into three compartments, fixing them with glue and a few very tiny brads. You should use pieces of slender brass wire for the purpose. If you left the box in this condition all the seed would run out at the round holes, and you must therefore correct that error. How this is done will be seen in fig. 2, which gives a section of the seed-box. Cut a squared piece of wood, which will just slide into the par- tition, so as to make a flat flooring to it. But, instead of laying it flat, place it in a sloping direction, as seen at d, so that a small space is left between the end of tb« floor and the back of the box. 600 EVERT boy's book. The reader will see that when the seed is poured into the partition it will drop through the open space at the back, and fall into the bottom of the box. The birds put their heads through the holes to eat the seeds, and as fast as they peck them away below, more fall from above and supply the deficiency. In the front, and above the holes, fix a piece of glass, which is represented by h in fig. 2, and which is seen in its place in fig. 1. Fio. 1. Fig. 2. The object of the glass is to permit the bird-keeper to see when there is a sufficiency of seed. The sloping top is also of glass, which is fixed by a strip of American leather, acting as a hinge. It is made of glass, and set at a sharp angle, in order to prevent the birds from perching on it, which they are certain to do if they can find the least foothold. It will be found that the best cement where- with to fix the glass is gold-size, and that a coat or two of blac> sealing-wax varnish makes a nice finish to the job. The holes through which the birds feed should not be much larger than the size of their heads. The reason of this arrangement is that the canaries are apt to shell the seeds while their heads are over the vessel in which the food is contained, so that the husks fall among the seed, and it is not easy to discover when the supply is exhausted. But no diurnal bird will feed in the dark, and as the canary efiectually darkens each hole by introducing its head, it will not crack and eat the seed until it has withdrawn its head and restored itself to light. The object of the partitions is that the birds can be supplied with difi'erent kinds of seed, each of which can be restricted to its own division. The receptacles should be of difi'erent sizes — the largest for canary-seed, the next in size for rape, and the least for millet, among which a little hemp may be shaken. In front of the I THE CANARY, 501 holes, and about three-quarters of an inch from them, should he fixed a perch, upon which the birds can sit while they feed. At the back of the seed-box are fastened a couple of stout hooks — those which milliners call "stay-hooks" answer admirably — so that the box may be hung on the wires at any convenient height. it should not be placed on the ground, because in that case the canaries will stuff all the refuse stems of the green-meat into the feeding-holes, and will probably mix sand and husks with the seeds. They are as mischievous as monkeys, and quite as ready at discovering and taking advantage of the slightest opportunities of doing something which they know is forbidden. The "fountain" from which they drink is made on a similar principle. Fountains can be purchased at any bird-dealer's ; but as it is preferable that boys should use their hands rather than drain their pockets, we offer simple directions for making a fountain as efficacious, though not quite so elegant, as those which are purchased in the shops. The materials required for the purpose are very simple, and con- sist of some wire, both stout and fine, of an empty Florence-oil flask, a saucer, and some wood. The mode of employing them is jshown by the illustration (fig. 3). Fig. S 'Make three rings of stout wire, each diminishing in diameter, and arrange them as seen at h, the smallest being uppermost. Four pieces of stout wire are then firmly attached, so as to make a kind of conical stand. Were not the birds so mischievous, this would be sufficient for all purposes ; but as they are sure to go and bathe in the water, they must be kept out by intermediate wires, so as to make a kind of cage, through which the birds can put their heads, but which will not permit the passage of their bodies. Then take your oil-flask, strip off all the rushen covering, and 502 EVERY boy's book. wash the interior with strong soda until every trace of the oil is removed. Place it in the wire frame, as shown at c, and try whether it^etands upright. If the wire ring should be too large, and allow of its slipping through too far, cut a round hole of the proper size in a piece of pasteboard or very thin wood, lay it on the ring, and then introduce the flask. Make a round stool or table, such as is seen in the illustration, and fix the turned-up ends of the wires to it with small staples. If the fountain were on the ground, the birds would fill the saucer with sand and husks ; and if it were not firmly fastened, it would be knocked over by the fluttering wings of a passing bird. The stool must be wide and strong, or the whole afi'air will be upset. The mode of preparing the fountain is very simple. Fill the flask with water, and stop up the mouth with a shallow cork. Place a saucer (like a) under the wire frame, insert the flask, hold its mouth in the saucer with one hand, and remove the cork with the other. The water will immediately rush into the saucer, and will half fill it, but owing to the pressure of the atmosphere no more water will descend. When, however, the birds have drunk enough to bring the level of the water below the mouth of the flask, air immediately rushes up in great bubbles, down comes a correspond- ing amount of water, and a fresh supply is thus afibrded. In canary-keeping much depends upon the kind of bird. We pre- sume that a good singer wiU be required, as well as a strong and healthy bird. If you are not learned in canary lore, try to induce an experienced friend to choose a bird for you ; but if you are not fortunate enough to possess such assistance, the following concise directions may aid you. Look at the birds for sale, and note those that stand straightest on their perches, and that hop quickly and smartly about the little apologies for cages in which they are mostly confined. Next hear them sing before deciding on your purchase, and select the one that possesses the sweetest and fullest tone. The dealer can always make the bird sing when he likes, and if any bird refuses to sing, do not buy it, however handsome it may look. If possible, procure one that possesses the nightiugale's song ; you will have to pay rather heavily for it, but any one who can afford such a bird will be amply repaid by the very great superiority of the song, which is divested of that ear-piercing shrillness so unpleasant in mosfc canaries. When you are satisfied with the song, look the bird well over to see that it has no defects ; and if you prefer the variegated breed, take care of three principal points — ^namely, the top of the head, technically called the "cap ;" the markings on the back, called " spangles ;" and the number of quill feathers in the wings and tail. The cap must be uniform and rich in colour, the spangles bold and well defined, and the quill feathers not less than eighteen in each wing and twelve in the taU. Imperfect or damaged feathers can THE CANARY. 503 easily be replaced by pulling them out, for their places will soon be filled ^'hh. new ana perfect feathers. Some persons prefer the yellow varieties, and many are fond of the crested canaries. We intentionally omit all mention of "fancy" canaries, for the fashion changes with them as fast as it does with tulips or dress. The fashion in canaries seldom outlives a year, and the prize bird of one year will possibly be despised in the next season. Do not, therefore, be persuaded to attempt the purchase of costly fancy canaries. They may certainly be of great value when you happen buy them, but in a few years no one will think anything of them. Choose strong, sweet- voiced, and healthy birds, with colours that please your eye, and leave the fancy canaries to professional breeders. As to the general management of the canary, it may be summed up by saying that it chiefly consists in judiciously letting alone. Don't meddle with the birds more than is absolutely needed, and do not worry them with medicines whenever they seem to be unwell. As, however, all canaries are liable to certain ailments, in which a knowledge of the proper treatment is highly useful, we will just give a few plain directions. One pest is vigorous throughout the year, and always ready to seize on the birds, and that is the " red-mite," a parasite known to all bird-keepers. If you find your birds restless, especially at night, and see them continually pecking among the roots of the feathers, and especially if they lose appetite, and become fretful and ill-tempered to their companions, look out for the red-mite. You can always detect the tiny but formidable foe by placing the bird in a dark room, and, after a few hours, holding a bright lamp close by the cage. If there are any mites about, you will soon see them crawling upon the perches, the wires, and even showing themselves among the feathers. They are not larger than the dot over the letter i, but their numbers are often very considerable, and the injury they inflict is great. Let not one escape, for it may be the parent of hundreds more. When the red-mites have once obtained possession of a cage, their extirpation is a task of very great difficulty to those who do not understand the constitution of the creatures. So difficult, indeed, is the business, that many fanciers will not even attempt it, but bum the cage and buy another. The metal cages, which are now so common, are preferable to those made of wood and wire, inas- much as they present very few spots wherein the red-mite can find a hiding-place, and for that reason metal is to be preferred to wood. Even if they have gained admission to an ordinary cage, they can be extirpated without very much trouble. We have succeeded in doing so in several instances, and think that in a fortnight any cage can be freed of its troublesome parasites. 504 EVERY boy's book. First place the cage in the sun for a short time, so as to induce the light-hating mites to leave the bird and hide themselves in the crevices of the cage. Remove the bird, and transfer it to another cage, or even a box, and let it wait. Take the cage and examine it well, introducing a heated needle or thin blade of iron into every crevice. Next take some insect-destroying powder, force it into a hollow paper cylinder, light the paper, put it into the cage, and envelop the whole in a newspaper. Leave it there for an hour, and when you remove it you will see dozens of the red-mites, of *all sizes, lying dead on the floor, or cling- ing half-stupefied by the fumes of the powder. Scrape them all into boiling water, and dust the whole of the cage with the powder. By this time every mite will be dead ; but there is a goodly store of eggs which will be hatched in due time, and infest the cage anew. These are destroyed by means of oil. Take a camel's hair brush and some salad-oil, and with the brush apply the oil to every crevice. If there should be the tiniest scratch on the wood, touch it with the oil. Let oil be applied to every spot where the wires enter the wood, where they cross each other, and where the hinges of the door are fixed. Every egg will thus be destroyed, and the cage freed. »• About half an hour before you restore the bird to the cage hold it in the left hand, and dust it well with the powder, blowing up the feathers, bo as to get it well to the roots. Scatter some of the gowder upon a piece of soft rag, and roll the bird in it, carefully inding down its legs and wings, under each of which a pinch of powder must be sprinkled. You can now attend to the head, which requires rather neat handling, as the powder is very apt to settle upon the eyes and to worry the bird. Let your feathered pet lie for half an hour in this beneficial bondage, and then replace it in the cage, scattering some powder upon the floor. The bird will shake its plumage sharply, and send a cloud of dust flying, and in a minute or two will begin to peck among the feathers and settle the plumage. The different aspect of the bird is then quite remarkable, for it exchanges the fussy, anxious, fretful moments for quiet ease, and even when it does peck among the feathers, it does so gently and deliberately, and seems quite another bird. ISIoulting is a disorder to which the canary is annually subject, and which requires some little attention. Some time in the autumn all the canaries exchange the feathers which have endured the wear and tear of a twelvemonth for a completely new suit. Feathers are subject to damage in many ways, and just before the moult takes place the bird is quite ragged and disreputable in dress. Meanwhile the germs of new feathers have been growing in the sockets which held the old suit, and in the course of a few weeks all the feathers are shed and replaced by others. It may easily be THE Canary. 505 imagined that such an operation is not achieved without much physical disturbance, and it is accordingly found that all bii-ds are more or less indisposed during the time of the moult. Scarcely any two birds are affected in precisely the same manner, and the "moulting sickness" tells with especial severity upon the young. Quiet and nourishing food are the best remedies for the curious mixture of languor and fever which is always visible among the birds ; and the most accomplished canary-breeders are in the habit of giving the yolk of hard-boiled eggs, and even a little raw meat, scraped and cut very fine. Sometimes, in their desire for animal food, the birds pluck the newly-formed feathers from the bodies of their companions, and nibble the still vascular and bleeding ends. Wine is recommended by some fonciers, but we cannot agree with them. The moult is a natural ailment, and the remedies which are best calculated to modify its effects upon the health are those to which the natural instincts of the birds would lead them. Frequently the claws and bill of the canary become overgrown, and produce very unpleasant results ; the former causing much difficulty in taking food, and the latter entangling the foot in the wires of the cage. The remedy in either case is the same. Take the bird in the left hand, and hold it against the light ; the over- grown portions of the claws will then be easily distinguished, inas- much as a delicate scarlet line runs along the centre of each claw and nearly reaches its extremity. Taking this line as your guide, you carefully cut ofi* the overgrown parts with a sharp pair of scissors, and cause thereby immediate relief to your feathered patient. The bill must be cut in the same way, but requires a little more care and some neatness in trimming. No pain is given to the bird when the operation is rightly conducted, for neither bill nor claw possesses sensation. Dysentery and diarrhoea are very common among cage birds, and should be treated, the former with a drop or two of castor-oil, and the latter with a lump of chalk to peck at, and a rusty nail in the water. Sometimes the bird loses the feathers of the head and neck, and presents a most ungainly appearance. In such cases rub the head with almond-oil, and feed the bird for a few days on a mixture of lettuce, scalded bread, olive-oil, and a sprinkling of maw seed. Health will soon return, and at the next moult the bird will recover its lost plumage. Broken legs are of frequent occurrence, and mostly happen by the bird entangling itself in the wires and then struggling to free itself. Overgrown claws are a fertile cause of this misfortune. Do not try to bandage or in any way to meddle with the leg ; but put the bird in a separate cage, take away the perches, place the food and water within reach, so that the patient may partake of 506 EVERT boy's book. them without needing to stand, and wait until the limb is healed. The bones unite very rapidly, and in a week or ten days the limb will be nearly as strong as before the accident, and will betray no sign of the recent misfortune. DOGS. It is to be supposed that each reader of these pages is either the possessor of a dog, or desires to obtain that privilege, and that he will wish to learn in a few lines the best way of managing and training his favourite. There are many works which treat of the Dog ; but all those which are trustworthy are of very large dimensions, necessarily costly, and contain a vast amount of information which is very valuable to the owner of hounds, to the sportsman, or to the game- keeper, but is not required by the generality of those to whom these words are addressed. We have, therefore, endeavoured to con- dense into the few pages which can be allotted to a single subject all the information which is absolutely needed by those who keep dogs merely for amusement and the love of their society. Firstly, we may answer here a question that is often asked — namely, which is the best breed of dogs for ordinary purposes ? We of course exclude all the strictly sporting dogs, such as the fox- hound and harrier, the greyhound, and perhaps the bull-dog, though there is something to be said in favour of the last-mentioned, and somewhat maligned, animal. The tasks that we wish to impose on the dog are light and simple. We want him to be watchful at night, to alarm the house at the sound of a strange step on the premises ; if possible, we want him to be courageous enough to attack an intruder. We want him to be a pleasant companion in our daily walks, to hunt after anything at which we may set him, to swim after any object that we may point out, and to retrieve anything for which we may send him. At the same time, we want him to be completely under command, and to be obedient at the least word or sign. Lastly, we want him to be cleanly and comfortable in the house, to know how to keep out of the way when he is not wanted, and to be sufficiently clever to learn all kinds of amusing performances. Where, then, shall we find an animal that is capable of fulfilling all these conditions ? There are several varieties of dogs which are well suited for general purposes. There is the spaniel for example, faithful, affectionate, clever, and docile. There is the poodle, perhaps the DOGS. ^07 best " trick " dog in the world, with his funny curly coat and his soft brown eye, full of intelligence almost human. There is tlje Newfoundland dog, who is perhaps almost too big to be a dweller within the house. There is the terrier, an amusing, bright-eyed, THE SPANIEL. agile-limbed, fussy animal. There is the Italian greyhound, one of the most beautiful animals in the world, but too delicate to please the taste of a boy. There is the Scotch terrier, that odd, THE TERRIER. Wiry-haired, clever creature, which has so often been immortalised by affectionate owners. 508 EVERY boy's book. All these varieties are delightful animals, and we like them all. But had we the choice of a dog, we should ta.ke neither of them, preferring a mixture between the terrier and the bull-dog, provided, of course, that each were of good breed. Many people fancy that a bull-terrier is a dangerous dog to have about the house, and imagine that it is given to biting without due cause, and is too savage to be turned into a pet. But much of this misapprehension may be traced to the long- established and popular error regarding the bull-dog. It is seldom that a favourable account of this animal is given, and it is thought to be brutal, stupid, vindictive, and irreclaimably ferocious. It is impossible to deny that too many bull-dogs agree with this de- scription ; but it is equally impossible to deny that whenever they possess such bad characters the fault lies almost entirely with their master. " Like master, like dog," is an old and true saying, which has been based on the experience of many years. If the bull-dog is properly treated, if the owner makes the animal his companion, and if he carefully studies its character, as every pet owner ought to do, encouraging the good qualities, and gently reproving the bad, it will be as gentle and much more quiet than a King Charles or a toy terrier. Looks are certainly against the animal. There is, perhaps, no creature with a more fell aspect than a thorough-bred bull-dog. Its underhung jaw, its glittering teeth, its sunken eyes, its tremendous chest, and lowering counte- nance are calculated to inspire terror rather than interest. Yet, when a bull-dog is managed with a due appreciation of canine nature, its aspect thoroughly belies its true nature. We know a thorough-bred bull-dog belonging to a friend, one of the fiercest and most sullen-looking beasts imaginable. Every one gives the animal a very wide berth ; and we confess that when we first saw it we thought that its owner was not acting very wisely in permitting it to walk about unmuzzled. Yet this creature is playful and harmless as a kitten. Its great jaws look positively awful as it opens its mouth, and until its real qualities are known, it requires some little presence of mind to withstand its playful rush. For a pet, however, the bull-dog is scarcely suited, not being Bufl&ciently active or lively. The purely-bred English terrier, on the other hand, is as mercurial a beast as one can wish to see ; but it has little steadiness of purpose, is apt to run riot, and is a rank coward, not daring to face a rat, and having serious doubts before it can make up its mind to attack a mouse ; therefore the skilful dog-fancier contrives a judicious mixture of the two breeds, and engrafts the tenacity, endurance, and dauntless courage of the bull-dog upon the more agile and frivolous terrier. Thus he obtains a dog that can do almost anything, and though perhaps it ^iiay not surpass, it certainly rivals, almost every other variety of the canine species in its accomplishments. In the capacity for I DOGS. 509 learning tricks it scarcely yields, if it does yield at all. to the poodle. It can retrieve as well as the dog which is especially bred for that purpose. It can hunt the fox with the regular hounds. It can swim and dive as well as the Newfoundland dog. In the house it is one of the wariest and most intelligent of dogs, per- mitting no unaccustomed footstep to enter the domain without giving warning. It will chase rabbits, weasels, rats, or, indeed, any game, with unextinguishable ardour, and will fight any foe at which its master may set it. THE BULL DOO. One fault indeed it has. It is just a trifle too quarrelsome with other dogs, and when it meets a strange individual of its own species, and has gone through all the preliminaries of back-arching, bristle-setting, sotto voce growling, and the various perfonnances with which two strange dogs greet each other, it is a little too apt to cut matters short by challenging the other to instant combat. Even this fault, however, is easily overcome by a kind but firm master, who can impress upon his pupil that it is not to fight anything at which he has not set it. 510 EVERT BOr's BOOK. And here let lis make a few remarks upon the management of dogs. Severity is not at all needed, but firmness of purpose is indis- pensable. Patience and good temper are also two requisites, without which no one should attempt to manage a dog. The animal must be made to feel that when an order is given it has to obey at once, and not even the very slightest act of disobedience should be passed unnoticed. He will soon learn that lesson, and the rest is easy. If you can procure a dog in his early puppyhood, it is certamly the very best method, and you will not require a whip ; but should the animal have attained maturity, you may employ this instrument, but must use it with the greatest discretion. If the dog is worthy of the name, you can punish him in a far more effectual way by appealing to his sense of shame than by flogging him ; but if you once lose your temper, and begin to inflict a beating on the animal, half your influence will vanish. If the dog wilfully disobeys you, as will often be the case when he is full-grown and is trying your mettle, take him by the neck, tell him how wicked he has been, and give him one very sharp blow ; not more than one, — because if you do so he gets so frightened that he forgets all about the scolding. Then let him have another chance, repeat the order, and if he disobeys again, inflict another stroke. He is not likely to offend a third time ; and when he obeys the order, speak kindly to him, praise him, and make much of him, — for you can do more with a dog by praise than by rating. With a dog which you have possessed from puppyhood there is seldom the least necessity for severity. The creature is sc accustomed to do what his master desires, that he hardly conceives the possibility of disobedience. Gentle firmness is all that is necessary in such a case ; indeed, we are always opposed to the infliction of pain, except in rare instances, where it is the only means by which the animal can be taught the necessity for obedience. We cannot bear to see a dog look up to its master with the half-frightened, half-shrinking expression which is observable in one that has been accustomed to the whip. The animal ought to consider its master as its best friend, and to run to him when it is in distress, rather than to fear his presence and tremble at his voice. The Rev. J. G. Wood, writing on this subject, says : — " My dear old Rory used to be most abjectly miserable when he had offended me. His frisky tail and pretentious ears would droop on such occasions, his easy assured carriage would sink into a list- less, spiritless gait, he would hide his head like a naughty child, he would not leave or enter the room openly, but would make the transit of the apartment by slinking under the chairs and tables, so DOGS. 511 as to keep himself out of sight as much as possible. He would crawl under my chair, and after waiting some time in hopes that I should notice him, would just push his nose against my heel, and then retreat again to his hiding-place. He would not eat, nor drink, nor sleep, nor be comforted by any one until I had spoken the desired words of forgiveness. " And then, when the first words of reconciliation were spoken, how he would advance with hope beaming in his countenance, still mixed with diffidence, lest he should have mistaken the tone of voice. And when he was quite certain that he was pardoned, when he felt my hand upon his head, how wild he was with delight ! How he would jump about, and run from one person to another on his hind legs, and roU over on his back, and pretend to bite every one in turn, and knock the cat over, and bark until he had to be tiu-ned out of the room for the sake of preserving the drums of our ears. " Then how he would get out of the house, dash down the street at full speed, come pelting back again, jump on the window sill, bang with his tail for admission, and then walk quite soberly to his usual place, and lie on the hearthrug just as if nothing had happened. "There certainly are dogs whose feelings are quite beyond the reach of human sympathies ; but it is more than probable that their callousness is attributable to the bad treatment of their owner, and not to any inherent defect in the animal's nature. In my little book, ' Glimpses into Petland,' the reader may see an account of a ridiculous dog who fairly got the better of me by simple vacuity and selfishness. I never saw such a dog in my life, and I really do not want to see such another. " Nothing could be made of him. He did not care for kindness ; he could not be influenced by the whip ; he never thought of obey- ing orders ; he got into every scrape in which a dog could by any possibility fall ; and was altogether a hopeless subject. Had I been a novice in the management of animals, I should have thought myself in fault ; but being tolerably experienced in such matters, I was at no loss to set the failure down to its right source. " Just before commencing this account, I received a letter from a correspondent who had read the account of ' Roughie,' and wrote a vindication of the Skye terrier, to which variety the dog belonged. My correspondent stated that if the Skye terrier were obtained when young, and well treated, it was one of the most affectionate and faithful animals that could be found ; but that if it were bandied about from one master to another, it lost all its loving qualities, and became a reckless, selfish beast. Such had evidently been the case with 'Roughie,' and thus his peculiar disposition was accounted for." 512 EVERT boy's book We will now just run through the list of the dogs which are best suited for pets. Of the bull-dog we have already spoken, as also of the terrier, which, as we have said, should be, if possible, a mixture of the two varieties. If you can secure a good healthy puppy from weU-bred parents, think yourself fortunate, and make much of the dog. Do not crop his ears. If you have any sporting friends, they will advise you to do so, tell you that it spoils the dog, and give you all kinds of advice about it. Now, in the first place, it is reasonable to think that the dog's Maker knows best the kind of ear that is most suitable for the dog, and frames it accordingly. If the short, cropped form had really been the best, it would have been made after that pattern, and not left to the scissors of the dog-doctor to complete the work. So we say to our readers, defy the ridiculous prevailing fashion, and oppose common sense to it. In a few more years this cropping process will be pronounced obsolete and unnatural ; so be amongst those who lead opinion, and save your dogs the pain of that cruel and unnecessary process. Not long ago worming was all the fashion. No dog was considered safe unless it had been wormed ; that is, unless the under side of the tongue had been cut open, and the central tendon pulled out. Of course, when a tendon is drawn from the living body and laid in the cold air, it contracts and twists about. Therefore it was held to be a worm, and every- where believed to be the cause of hydrophobia. Horses, again, were cropped in a most atrocious manner. Their ears were clipped close to their head, and their tails were cut quite short, leaving only a few inches of hair on the stump ; so that the French satirist was quite justified in his sneer against the English as a people, who, he said, cut off the tails of their horses and the heads of their kings. The French did both afterwards, with the addition of a queen and a few princes. Nor was this all. The under side of the tail was cut across in several places — nicking, the operation was called — and then the tail was forcibly bent upwards, and tied in that position until the wounds healed, and the member left immovable. Fancy the torture the poor animals must have undergone, the fresh wounds being torn open and exposed to the air ! Mr. Waterton, the venerable naturalist, remarks that in former days he tried to aid the cause of humanity by his example, and rode a horse with a proper allowance of tail and with uncropped ears. The experiment failed. The " arhitrium popularis aurcB " was pleased to declare itself against ears and tails. There was such a commotion whenever the humane rider ventured to show himself abroad on a horse which possessed the abominations of ears. and a tail — he was so mobbed, and his horse was so reft of his tail by the urchins who wanted fishing-lines — that, for the sake of the beast DOGS. 513 as well as himself, Mr. Waterton was obliged to conform to the popular verdict, and dock the tail of his horse as a compromise for his ears. Now, however, the verdict of popular opinion has undergone a change, and horses are permitted to wear their ears and tails ; and the time will come before very long when a dog will be thought as much disfigured by having cropped ears as he is now thought to be when he is allowed to wear those members in their natural proportions. The only rational excuse that can be put forward for adopting such a practice is that which is employed by the owners of game- cocks, when they clip the combs of their feathered proUgSs. It is, that the length of the ear affords a hold for an antagonist. But as it is not to be supposed that any of my readers are likely to belong to that brutal class of human beings who keep dogs for the purpose of making them fight each other, we may pronounce that not one single valid reason can be urged for depriving a dog of his ears. There is the poodle, a delightful dog for a pet. They are docile in no ordinary degree, and can learn all kinds of tricks without seeming to take much trouble. Performing dogs mostly belong to this variety, and very amusing are the tricks which they will learn. They will dance a polka with easy skill. They wiU imi- tate a ball-room company with such ludicrous burlesque that no one can resist the temptation of laughing. They will walk about on their hind legs, on their fore legs, and have even been seen to walk with the two legs of one side, the other legs being held up in the air. It was difficult to imagine how they could have been taught such a feat ; but it had been done by setting a board on edge, hitching the two legs of the left side over the board, and making the dog walk along in this attitude. After passing along the board three or four times, the dogs found that they could lighten the labour by holding their upper legs clear of the board, and so they soon learned to dispense with its presence. If you do have a poodle, you must wash him often and carefuUy, because these long, curly-headed dogs are apt to give out a dis- agreeable odour unless they are kept very clean. But do not on any account clip his hair in the stupid and ugly fashion that is so often adopted, and which was first imported from France. In that country they shave all kinds of dogs in the same manner, leaving only a ruflf round the neck, a tuft on each leg, and a tuft on the end of the tail. There are men and women who make the clipping of dogs a profession. They have carts with pictures of dogs imdergoing the process, and they perambulate the streets in search of patients, just as knife-grinders do in search of work. L L 514 EVERT boy's book. When they have collected a goodly assemblage of dogs, they set off to the river side, and take up their station under one of the bridges. The poor dogs, which have been trailing behind the cart at the end of cords, are now bound and muzzled, and miserable objects they look as they lie on their sides awaiting the shears of .^i^pyuc^^^^m THE POODLK. the operator. The hair that is removed is put into sacks, and sold, it is said, for manure ; and the dogs are returned to their owners, metamorphosed out of all knowledge, and shivering at the slightest breeze. If your dog should be ever troubled with ticks and fleas, you may free him from his foes in ten minutes. First tie up his mouth with a piece of broad tape, to prevent him from licking off the substance which is to be applied ; and if he is not very well under command, tie his legs also. Then lay him on a cloth, sprinkle him over with the insect-powder, which may be procured in small quantities at No. 33, Newgate Street, and rub the powder well into his fur from his nose to the tip of his tail. When you have done this, roll the cloth round him, and pin it well together, so as to envelop him entirely in its folds. DOGS. 515 You may let him lie as long as you like, but ten minutes will mostly be sufficient ; then with a hard brush go all over him, and brush out all the powder into the cloth. You will be sur- prised at the multitude of parasites which will be lying dead and dying in the cloth. The powder, insects, and all should be care- fully shot into the fire, and your doggie will be grateful to you for the relief which you have afforded him. Perhaps next to the bull-terrier ought to come the Scotch terrier, a dog that will hunt anything, and is always a quaint, independent beast, with something of the lawless Highlander about him, but a capital companion for any one who values dogs and knows how to treat them. Spaniels are all beautiful creatures, very affectionate, and often very clever ; but their long, silky hair gets sadly bedabbled with mud and wet, and they cannot be admitted into the house until they have undergone a careful purification. Whatever dog you may have, do not tie him up in a kennel, or, at all events, allow the animal to enjoy human society for some hours daily. Dogs are made savage by this too frequent procedure, especially those whose blood is purest and whose spirits are highest. A dog that is chained to one spot is sure to be irritable and cap- tious, just as would be the case with a man who is tied to one spot. Even the kingly spirit of Napoleon lost its grandeur and became peevish and fretful when that restless and ambitious nature was confined within the narrow limits of a rocky island ; and we cannot expect that the mind of a dog should be superior to that of an autocrat. As to the food of the dog, there is one simple rule, — do not over- feed him ; and, above all, never let him have scraps at meal times. It is a very tempting practice, for the dog is so insinuating in the manner of his request, and his thanks are expressed so warmly, that some little strength of mind is required to refuse his demands. Still it is one of the occasions on which the dog's owner must show his firmness, for there are few more miserable beings than a fat, over-fed dog. His life is a positive burden to him, and the only remedy is to starve him down to his proper dimensions. Give the animal but little meat and plenty of biscuit, feed it once only per diem, and you will be repaid by the healthy and active condition of your pet. Lastly, as it is likely that the dog may fall into one of those canine ailments which are to dogs what measles and chicken-pox and whooping-cough are to children, we will just give a brief piece of advice. Distemper is the most common and most annoying of those ail- ments ; and if the services of a professional dog-doctor can be had, let the animal be placed under his care. If no such assistance can be obtained, the best plan is to give the dog no solid food, but to administer gruel or weak broth, to prohibit every hind of exercin^ LL 2 5H EVERY BOY'S BOOK. and see that the ventilation and cleanliiiess of his house are as per- fect as possible. Leave the rest to nature ; and when the patient is recovering, let it be led about to exercise, so as to avoid over-fatigue, which would, as a matter of course, throw him back again. GOLD AND SILVER FISH. These are of the carp family, and have been known in this country from the year 1691. They abound in the fresh-water ponds, lakes, and rivers of China ; nor are they, indeed, at the present time quite uncommon in our own climate, being now naturalised in ponds, and breeding freely in pure waters. At Hampton Court are to be seen some of the finest specimens of the family, originally placed there by Mr. Jesse, to whom the frequenters of that place of public resort are so much indebted. They have increased to several hundreds, and many of them are of prodigious size and very fat, being to fish what royal porters are to men. The colours of gold-fish are liable to the greatest variation : some are nearly all gold, mingled with red ; some are marked with a fine blue, brown, or bright silver hue; but the usually predominant colour is that of a brilliant gold. As an article of food, they are not used ; and are only valued for their beauty and gentleness. It 18 a curious fact in the history of the gold-fish, that it wiU bear without injury the extremes of heat and cold ; as it will live equally well in a tank, in a glass vase, and in a pond in the open air. I GOLD AND SILVER PISH. 617 Instances have been known of gold-fish having been frozen hard and stiff in the water, but yet, upon being gradually thawed, becoming perfectly healthy and well. Although many preserves of gold and silver fish exist in this country, the supply was principally from Portugal, where they abound. They are brought over in large numbers about spring time ; and then numerous perambulatory gentlemen, having pur- chased a few small glasses of the most inferior description, and fish at twopence each, very moderately ask, and often receive, for a couple of fish, glass, and water the sum of five shillings ; but our young friends must beware of such persons, for the fish they sell usually die in a few days or weeks. The silver-fish differs from the gold-fish only in colour, which is similar to silver tissue : it generally has scarlet fins, and is curiously marked in different parts of the body. Both varieties are also subject to variations in the fins, which are occasionally double; and specimens have been seen wi^ triple tails. GLASSES. The glasses, or globes, should be moderately large, with wide mouths, and three-fourths filled with water. For two fish the globe should be at least a foot in diameter ; and for three or four fish, sixteen inches. They should be kept in a cool place — never exposed to a burning sun, or the heat of a fire. Too many should never be crowded into one glass. A few branches of box should be kept in the globe, for them to rub against, which should be changed once a week. FEEDING. Some persons fancy that gold and silver fish need no food. It is true that they will subsist for a long time with nothing but water, when it is pure and frequently changed. They are best pleased with such jejune diet as bread or biscuit ; but these should be given sparingly, lest, turning sour, they corrupt the water. They will also feed on the aquatic plant called lemna, or duck's- weed, and also on small fry. Hawkins, the editor of Walton, says that fine gravel should be strewed at the bottom of the vessel that contains the fish ; and he directs them to be fed on bread and gentles, and to have their water frequently changed. DISEASES. You can easily tell when a fish is falling off in his health by observing him frequently coming up to the surface of the water for air. This shows he has not sufficient power in his gills to extract the air from the water. He also looks dull, and his motions are languid ; a hazy or cobwebby appearance likewise seems to envelop 518 EVERY BOY S BOOK. liis body, and perhaps some of the scales will drop oflP. When a fish gets into this unhealthy state, he should be immediately removed from the others, who should have fresh water given them several days in succession. The best remedy for diseased fish is to put them into a pond for a few weeks ; and it is especially necessary for female fish, which, if not so treated, frequently die for want of spawning. A fish is sometimes saved by being placed in a little artificial dam, made from some running stream in a garden, for two or three days ; but their diseases are at all times very difficult to remedy. The best way is to prevent them by the precautionary measures — plenty of room and pure water THE GUINEA-PIG. TnR guinea-pig, or restless cavy, is a prettily-marked, stupid, little animal, which came originally from South America, and has long been a favourite with most little boys, for when a boy becomes a youth he aspires to keeping something more interesting than these senseless little squeakers. Still it is a pretty sight to see the old ones followed by two or three litters, and to watch their antics when pleased, which consLst of a squeak and a peculiar sharp turn, THE GUINEA PIG. 519 as if they tried to jump out of their skins, but could not, for they are fitted in too tightly for that. As for the use they are, why, they eat and sleep — " Just do nothing all the day. And soundly sleep the night away." It is, however, a pretty, harmless, little animal ; but as a pet is far inferior to others that are more commonly kept. Though gentle and inoffensive in its manners, it seems incapable of feeling the slightest attachment for those who feed and caress it — even for its own offspring it evinces little or no affection : it will not only suffer them to be destroyed before its face, without making the smallest efforts to defend them, but will even at times devour them itself. For all useful purposes guinea-pigs are utterly valueless, though their flesh is used as an article of food in their native country ; and their skins, notwithstanding the beautiful sleekness of their appear- ance, have as yet been turned to no account by the furrier. Their only recommendations, therefore, are the gentleness of their dis- position, the cleanliness of their habits, and the beautiful colouring of their coats. In this latter respect they are very varied ; black, white, bright reddish brown, and a mixture of the three, called tortoiseshell, being the principal varieties. The latter are the most prized, particularly where the dark colours predominate. In their native country they are generally of a pure white, with pink eyes, and it is nothing unusual to have one out of a litter white with pink eyes in this country. Rats are supposed by many people to have a great antipathy to guinea-pigs, carefully avoiding the place where they are confined. Under this impression — ^which, however, is an erroneous one — they are frequently kept by fanciers in their rabbit-houses and pigeon- lofts, as a means of protecting their stock against the depredations of those rapacious vermin. They are allowed to run almost any- where, and to shift for themselves : no attention whatever need be paid to the feeding of them, the mere refiise scattered about the floor being suflficient for their subsistence. When, however, they are kept for amusement, their cages are generally made precisely similar to the rabbit's hutch, only of rather smaller dimensions : their treatment, too, in most respects, is much the same as that pursued with regard to that animal. Their ordinary food should be oats given twice a day, and not too many at a time. They are also very fond of bran, which is a cheap diet ; and they will fatten upon it, and keep healtny, if allowed plenty of exercise. Green meat should also form a portion of their usual diet, particularly the wild sorts, such as dandelions, sow- thistle, plantain, &c. ; tea-leaves they are remarkably fond of, but these should only be given them now and then by way of a treat ; bread, also, they are very partial to, dipped in milk or water. 520 EVERY boy's book. They are sold by all bird-fanciers ; the prices varying from six- pence to half-a-crown, according to their age, colour, &c. : as before remarked, the dark rich-coloured tortoiseshell ones are considered the most valuable. THE HEDGEHOG. This, though a rough and prickly customer to handle, is a clean little animal, and a great pet with country boys. If you have ever seen one — and they are commonly sold at the shops kept by men who call themselves bird-fanciers, or even hawked about the streets of London by countrymen — if you have seen one. you are aware that, saving the belly, they are covered with sharp spikes, and that when alarmed, or whenever they please, they have the power of rolling themselves up into a tight round ball, which shows nothing but spikes, and may be rolled along, like a cricket-ball, without causing the little animal to uncoil itself, while every spike is firm and erect as a needle, and almost as sharp. While in this shape very few dogs can worry the hedgehog ; and as for the fox, who is rather partial to him, true to his wily nature, he rolls the poor hedgehog along with his paws until he comes to a pool of water, when the hedgehog unrolls himself, exclaiming, no doubt, " Hey ! why, what's this ? I can't breathe ! " and trying to peep about and see what's the matter, the fox, on the look-out, seizes him by the belly, and eats him all up, saving the spines. Were you to thrust a dozen pins with large heads through a piece of parchment, you would have an exact representation of the spinas of the hedge- hog, every one of which is retained inside the skin by the large pin -like head. Some say that it sucks the cows, and draws off their milk ; but this is absurd, as its mouth is not adapted for sucking. Its favourite food are insects and snails : it also feeds on frogs and mice, and will even kill a snake, and eat it all up, beginning at the tail. The way it kills a snake is very curious. It gives the snake a bite on the THE JACKDAW. 521 back, then rolls itself up like a ball, remaining still as a stone for some time, while the snake lashes and writhes about in agony ; as soon as the snake is a little quiet the hedgehog gives him another sharp bite on the spine, and so continues until the snake is killed ; then he begins at the tail, as the Ecv. J. G. Wood tells us in his " Illustrated Natural History," and eats him up " as one would a radish." In a natural state it sleeps all the winter, rolled up in a hole which it has filled with grass, moss, or leaves ; and when domesticated, it will hide itself in some dark corner for weeks, and never once make its appearance, unless it chances to awake and feel hungry ; then some day you will see it come creeping towards the fire, and be very glad to see it too. Hedgehogs are great destroyers of beetles, eating them up as quickly as you would a handful of raisins, and seeming fond of them. They need no looking after at all, but will take care of themselves, though it is as well to have a little hutch to put them into now and then. Their feeding-time is in the night ; and if there are black-beetles in the kitchen, the best plan is to leave the hedgehog there, and let him devour all he can catch. They have four or five young ones at a litter, which are bom blind. It is no uncommon sight to see a countryman with both old and young ones to sell. You can buy a young hedgehog for sixpence, and an old one for a shilling, or less than that even. We know of no animal that is less trouble to keep, and in time it becomes so tame as to come out of its hiding-place when called. THE JACKDAW. To procure a raven, an order to a dealer is almost necessary ; but every boy should be ashamed if he cannot catch a young jackdaw for himself. These quaint birds make their nests in all kinds of places, especially aflFecting old buildings, such as church towers, ruins, or colleges. There is hardly an ancient church throughout the kingdom where a basketful of young jackdaws could not be obtained within half an hour, and old ruins positively swarm with them. It is curious to see how birds of such different habits as jackdaws, owls, pigeons, and starlings will roost amicably in the same locality, not appearing to have the least distrust of each other, or making half the fuss about their dwelling-places that is created nightly by the sparrows when settling to rest. Failing ruins and towers, he will take possession of deserted rook-nests ; and in cases of great distress, when the country is wide, where men will not build towers, where rooks and crows will not build nests, he is forced to fly for succour to the sea-shore and the warren, and make his home with the gannets and the rabbits. 522 EVERY BOY S BOOK. Many a person has been surprised, on looking into a deserted rabbit burrow, to find it choked up with a strange mass of sticks and twigs, and still more surprised when he has brought to view a couple of jackdaw's eggs, or hears the hungry cries of the young birds. This seeming alliance of the rabbit and the jackdaw is not unique, for it is observed in the Coquimbo owl, or burrowing owl, as it is sometimes called, and the prairie dog of North America, both of which reside within the same warren, and seem perfectly satisfied with each other's company. The sea-birds, too, receive the jackdaw into alliance, and whole colonies of these grey-hooded birds may be seen hovering about the lofty clifis that bound our coasts, crying " Jack ! Jack ! " in inharmonious chorus with the sea-birds' wail. Sometimes a young and too artless bird leaves its nest before it is rightly able to use its wings, and is unable to ascend to the summit of the clifis, flapping idly about the shore, driven nearer and nearer to the rocks by the advancing tide. The whole colony is roused by the misfortune. They wheel about in the air over the unfortunate bird with cries of distress ; they do their best to encourage it to ascend ; but their endeavours are all in vain. Time after time it aims at gaining the summit of the cliff", bt' "Strikes against the rock, and falls again to the sands. In some spots it contrives to gain an elevated perch, and then waits the ebb of the tide ; but in those places where the rocks afford no resting-place within a moderate distance of the water's cage the fate of the poor bird is sealed. Jackdaws are very easily tamed, and become very talkative, after their fashion. Their vocabulary is, however, limited, and is ^Bostly restrici THE JAY. 523 stly restricted to the word " Jack," which is uttered on every imaginable occasion. If the bird sees its master coming, it calls " Jack ! " in order to express its joy ; if it does not see him, it calls " Jack ! " in order to induce him to come. If it hears a strange noise, it uses the same remark by way of giving notice ; and if it hears its own name, it thinks itself bound to repeat the word as a polite recognition. It is a very vigilant bird, and is quite as useful as a watch-dog to those who wish to gain early intelligence of strange visitors. It is not nearly so mischievous as many of its compeers, but sits for the greater part of the day on some chosen perch, and thence sur\''eys the objects around. A passing bee or beetle, however, immediately arouses its energies : it pounces on them with unfailing certainty, batters them to a shapeless pulp against a stone, and swallows them leisurely. It will also catch mice, kill them by severe blows of the beak upon the head, pull them to pieces, and eat them systematically, rejecting the skin as indigestible and unsavoury. As a general rule, it should be left out of the way of water ; for it is a positive slave to the bath, and would bathe so frequently that it would not even give itself time to become dry. It may be fed on bread and milk, oats, mice, small birds, insects, meat, or, indeed, upon almost anything that can be eaten by the rapacious or frugivorous birds. It is of an afiFectionate nature, and will attach itself firmly to those who extend their sympathy towards it. THE JAY. The jay is a truly handsome bird, and will bear comparison with any of the exotic species of the same genus. Although it does not possess the exuberance of plumage nor the vivid brilliancy of colour that distinguish many of the jays which inhabit the hotter parts of the world, there is great beauty in the softly-toned hues of the general plumage and the boldly-contrasted bars of azure and black upon the wings. The moveable crest upon the head imparts a wonderful intelligence to the expression, and when the bird ruflBes up and displays these ornamental plumes, a fresh charm is added to its appearance. The jay is not nearly so common a pet as the magpie or jackdaw, probably because it is a rare bird, and seems yearly to be diminish- ing in numbers. It is not so impatient of captivity as the magpie, and will bear confinement in a large cage with tolerable hardiness. In its native state the jay seems to be rather more of a vegetarian than the previously mentioned examples of the corvine birds. Still it will eat meat, small birds, mice, insects, worms, &c., and has 524 EVERY BOY S BOOK. been known to attack and devastate the nests of the thrush and other birds, and devour the half-fledged young. But if any pro- prietor of a jay is desirous of giving his pet an especial treat, he should supply him with a fresh egg. Any egg will answer the purpose, but if the jay seems to have a preference, the gaily- coloured egg of the thrush, perhaps, is most attractive. Like the magpie, he will soon learn to talk, and displays powers of imitation scarcely, if at all, inferior to those enjoyed by that lively bii-d. Even such sounds as the lowing of cattle, the grunting of pigs, the bleating of sheep, or the neighing of horses, are repro- duced with marvellous fidelity by the jay, although its ordinary note is a soft and rather pleasing cry. THE MAGPIE. But what are we to say of the magpie, the very Mercury of the feathered tribes, — ^light, active, eloquent, and the most accomplished thief in the world ? He wears all his bad qualities in the face, is not the least of a hypocrite, and carries off his delinquencies with so impudent an air that no one can help admiring him, however they may object to his principles. Not being so plentiful in England as the jackdaw, and buUding his nest on the summits of lofty trees, he is not so readily procured as that bird. He is, however, so extremely amusing in his manners, that most persons would rather expend a little more money in pro- curing a healthy magpie than give a much less sum for the more THE MAGPIE. 625 phlegmatic jackdaw. His mischievous propensities are proverbial, and anybody who keeps one of these birds must be prepared for the commission of every imaginable delinquency. Nor must he blame the bird if it should happen to steal his watch-chain, peck a hole through his best boots, fill his bed with sticks and pebbles, upset his ink-bottle, tear his papers, put his kid gloves into the dirtiest procurable puddle, or play practical jokes of a similar kind ; he has only himself to thank for his carelessness in allowing it access to his domains. But if he makes up his mind that under such provoking circum- stances the blame rests with himself, and that he will not be angry with the bird for following the dictates of its instinct, he will find his magpie a most entertaining companion, as fuU of odd tricks as a monkey, and as playful as a kitten. It requires very little attention, and provided that he be regularly fed, and furnished with a shelter in case of inclement weather, he will live to a venerable old age. The fertility of invention that characterises a magpie's mind is perfectly astonishing, and the anecdotes that are related by every one who has watched his habits are as varied as they are wonderful. There is an amount of seK-reUance in the creature which betrays itself in every gesture, as well as in the knowing twist of the head ; and the triumphant " carrack" that accompanies a successful piece of mischief and the impudent flirt of the tail aflford unmistakeable evidence of the bird's true character. None of the corvine birds should be kept in cages. The jackdaw perhaps sufiers least from such captivity, and the magpie perhaps the most. It has such a restless nature, that it is ever on the move, and if confined in a cage, may be seen hopping from perch to floor, and from floor to perch, in miserable monotony of movement. Moreover, his beautiful tail always suffers severely from contact with the bars of the cage ; and even if it is not rubbed down to a mere stump, as is frequently the case, it is always rendered ragged and disreputable at the tip. As a general fact, the ordinary wicker cages are of small use. A lively, active magpie, with all its senses developed, will make little of such a cage. Sometimes he will direct his attention to the door, and never rest until he has pulled it off the hinges. Sometimes he will set deliberately to work, and peck so fiercely and continuously at the bars, that he will break them away in splinters, and make his way out. However, the best plan is to avoid cages ; or if the bird really must be placed in confinement, let the cage be roomy, and made of wire. Perhaps the chief charm of the magpie is his great capability for learning to talk, and his exceeding readiness to display that accomplishment. Some individuals are more eloquent than others, have a clearer articulation and a better memory, — just as is the case among human beings. But though aU magpies may not be 526 EVERY BOYS BOOK. peculiarly excellent in their powers of conversation, they can all be taught to talk after a fashion, and are seldom chary of exhibiting their powers. A magpie has been known to imitate the human voice so perfectly that he has induced his dupe to answer his queries, believing them to have been made by the lad whose peculiar voice was so well simulated. Very little trouble is needful to teach a magpie to talk, for his imitative instincts are very largely developed, and he is sure to reproduce with marvellous fidelity the various sounds which he may hear. He can bark like a dog, mew like a cat, cry like a child, scream like a costermonger, and occasionally swear like a trooper. But he means no harm, and may be pardoned for the unrefined language he is sometimes in the habit of using. Magpies require plenty of water — not so much for drinking, although they are always thirsty birds, but for washing. They are extremely fond of bathing, and a plentiful supply of water is needful to keep their beautiful plumage in proper condition. The food of the magpie is the same as that of the jackdaw. OWLS. There are worse pets to be found than owls. They are not so immediately engaging as many creatures that have already been mentioned, but by proper management they can be made into very companionable birds, quaint, grotesque, and affectionate withal. The chief drawback to the owl as a pet is its nocturnal habits, which cause the bird to sleep during the day and to be awake during the night. To a certain degree this custom may be corrected. The chief reason why the owl wakes at night is, that it preys upon mice and other nocturnal creatures, whether mammals or insects, and must in consequence be able to pounce upon them as they rove abroad. Now, although at first to wake the owl will be found rather a tedious business, and to keep it awake still more difficult, a present of a mouse, or a small bird, or a large beetle, will generally rouse it, and cause it to remain awake for some little time. To change the creature into a wholly diurnal bird is impossible, inasmuch as the entire bodily structure, as well as the temperament, is that of a nocturnal being. The eyes, for example, are formed for vision in a very dim light, being of very great size, and with pupils so large that the ordinary light of day is painful to the bird, and dazzles it so much that it cannot see sufficiently to direct its flight. Exceptional cases have occurred, in which owls have been seen abroad in the daytime, and been observed in the act of catch- ing mice at mid-day ; but such an event occurs very seldom. OWLS. 527 Even when the bird is placed in a comparatively dark room, where the rays of the sun cannot beat upon it, the eyes are con- tinually blinking as long as they are open, and the large nictitating membrane is ever and anon drawn over them. It may here be men- tioned that the nictitating membrane is a kind of inner eyelid, made of very elastic membrane, which is gathered up in one corner of the socket, can be drawn over the eye by means of special muscles, and returns by its own elasticity when the tension is removed. It is peculiarly strong in birds of prey, and the best examples of this curious structure are to be found in the owls. WHITE, OR BAKN, OWL In general, the owl sits, or rather stands, during the daytime, fast asleep, having a very quaint aspect, the eyes being reduced to a mere pair of lines, sloping towards the bill, and surrounded by the round discs of stiff feathers which form a "splayed" window in the dense plumage, and allow the bird a wider scope of vision than it would enjoy if the aperture in the feathers were no larger than the eye itself. Altogether the bird looks wonderfully like a Chinese mandarin of very high rank, and consequently of great obesity ; the sloping linear eyelids being just as oblique as those of the Chinamen, and the two feather discs representing the huge round spectacles with which the Chinese are accustomed to aid their vision. The position of the owl when at rest is rather curious. Instead of sitting with its head reposing on the shoulder, its legs bent, and 528 EVERY boy's book. its claws firmly grasping the perch, the bird stands stiffly upright, 'with its legs perfectly straight^ and its head upright. Here we ought to mention the popular error that birds sleep with their heads under their wings. Not only is this mistake impressed upon the young, and fostered by such familiar nursery-rhymes as that of "The north wind doth blow," but it is in force even among educated persons, who have learned to observe as well as to think. In a recent controversy about fresh air and human lungs some of the advocates for stuffiness and closed windows employed as an argu- ment the imagined fact that, when birds go to sleep, they exclude fresh air by tucking their heads under their wings. The force of their arguments and the accuracy of their facts were about on a par. Many birds compose themselves to sleep, but no one ever yet saw a bird put its head under its wing when going to roost. The real process is simple enough, as any one can prove who will take the trouble to watch a parrot or canary. The bird first settles itself in a comfortable attitude, which varies according to the species, and then turns its head round, and puts its beak among the loose feathers of the shoulder, the wings being kept closed and held firmly against the body. Owls may be procured in various methods. If the reader should happen to possess proper premises, he will find that to attract owls will be as easy as to buy them, and wUl give him better opportuni- ties of studying their habits. All that is required is the command of a retired spot, where the birds will not be annoyed. A little ingenuity and the expenditure of a few shillings will do the rest. It is impossible to have a better or more complete plan of attract- ing the owls thiin that which is employed by Mr. Waterton at Walton Hall. He can, and does, attract all kinds of birds to his domain by the simple plan of affording them a secure shelter and the prospect of food. In the case of the owls the first precaution is the only one that is needful, the birds being perfectly capable of finding food for themselves. Possibly a few mice thrown on the ground might assist in attracting the birds ; but as they will come when no such precaution is taken, such bait may be omitted. There is a popular idea that neither the lion, the eagle, or the owl will eat game which they have not killed. Nothing can be more opposed to fact than such a notion : for the lion is generally killed by laying in his haunts a dead animal, which he is sure to eat ; the eagle is only too glad to pick up a dead lamb ; and the owl will carry off almost any number of dead mice that are placed in its way. If the reader wishes to attract owls to his premises, he must prepare habitations for tJiem. Knowing that the common bam owl, or white owl, as it is sometimes called, is fond of resting in buildings, Mr. Waterton has taken great pains to erect certain domiciles of which the owls are likely to approve. A large hole I OWLS. 529 made in an old ruin is sure to attract the barn owl, especially if it be well sheltered with ivy, and a stout perch across the cavity may be useful. There are owl-houses in different parts of the domain, all tenanted by some bird, and most of them by the inhabitant for whose use they were made. The jackdaw is the most pertinacious usurper that can be ima- gined. Any house that will suit an owl will suit a jackdaw, and the daw is so keen at discovery and so quick at utilizing his facul- ties, that he takes possession, and fills the hole with sticks, before the owls have a chance of securing their home. If the brown owl is wanted, there are few places like a hollow tree, an article which can often be purchased very cheaply, set up in the grounds, and its interior arranged for the reception of the birds. A writer in the Field newspaper has mentioned that he has been very successful in attracting the brown owl by means of an empty eighteen-gallon cask, made very clean, and fastened in a tree. A perch was placed inside, a convenient entrance-hole cut, and a quantity of very dry touchwood placed within. On this touch- wood much of the success seemed to depend, for wherever it was omitted the owls declined to take possession of the cask. In order to fit it for its purpose, it was carefully dried in an oven. The exterior of the cask was painted so as to harmonize with the colours of the tree. Should the reader be unable to fit up such a residence, he may always purchase young owls at a cheap rat«, and can train them after his own fashion. In order to show how much amusement may be given by so despised a bird as the owl, the following extract from a private letter is interesting : — "I saw a curious sight yesterday, which I think quite worth communicating to you. Some folks about us have got a young owl just fledged, and one of the boys had given him for his supper a dead swift, rather high and gamey. While he was enjoying this dainty, a young tabby kitten, aet. about eight weeks, came on the scene, and walking up to the owl, deliberately invited herself to a share in the repast. Mr. Owl did not express any objection, save by expanding his wings over his food, more suo, whereupon pussy crept under the outstretched wing, and went in for her share. It was droll enough to see the two going halves, especially as every now and then the owl got pussy's ear by mistake, and she in like manner began gnawing at his claw. " But the scene reached its climax by the appearance of five young ducklings hatched on Thursday last" (the date of the letter shows that it was written on Friday, and consequently that the ducklings in question were just eight days old), " who surrounded the group, and did what they could to help. The smell of the dead bird attracted, as I suppose, many small flies, which hovered about and 530 EVERY BOY S BOOK. settled, now on the owl, now on the cat, and now on the unfortunate swift. They had better have stayed away, however, for the duck- lings snapped them up as fast as they alighted, while both the owl and the cat seemed quite to disregard the pokes and pecks which their bodies received from the sturdy bills of the ducklmgs." If the reader should keep owls in coniinement, where they cannot procure food for themselves, he must remember that they are hungry BROWN OWU beings, and give them plenty of food. They will eat almost any kind of meat, but are very fond of mice and small birds, the latter of which they will mostly contrive to swallow entire. There is no doubt that all the British owls feed upon small birds when they can procure them. They have been observed in the act of robbing the nests, in spite of the screams and attacks of the angry parents, and the skulls, feathers, and bones of the murdered birds have been seen in the pellets which all owls disgorge. In common with most raptorial birds, the owls disgorge the indi- gestible parts of their food, such as the bones, the feathers, and the skin ; and as the owl eats its prey entire, the amount of such OWLS. 531 substances is remarkable. They are formed into egg-shaped masses, and may be found in plenty in the nest or on the ground near the nest. In some parts of the country these castings are called "quids." When they are first ejected, they are wet and rather tenacious ; but they rapidly become dry, and can then be crumbled down into a soft flock-like substance, which forms the bed on which the eggs repose. These eggs can easily be recognised by their peculiar shape and texture. In form they are very globular, their shells are very thin, and the surface is rough and chalk-like, as if some one had ground a piece of chalk into coarse powder, mixed it with gum, and painted the egg with the mixture. Any one who is experienced in such matters knows an owl's egg as soon as he handles it, even though he cannot see the object which he touches. Their method of eating mice is very curious, and that the owl should derive any gratification from the process seems to be rather remarkable. The owl catches the mouse with its foot — a member that is wonderfully fitted for the purpose — and then shifts the mouse to its beak ; in this respect difi"ering from the hawks, which hold the prey with the foot, and only use the beak for the purpose of tearing it to pieces. At the Zoological Gardens the falcons may be seen at feeding-time with the meat in their claws, never taking it in the beak when they move, but hobbling about with a lump of raw meat hanging to one foot, and presenting a very absurd spectacle. When the owl has settled itself into a comfortable position, it gives a kind of snap and a gulp, and in a moment the head of the mouse is in its throat. Another gulp and a shake of the head, and the mouse has disappeared, with the exception of the tail, which hangs on one side of the beak. This part of the process seems to afibrd the owl the greatest satisfaction, for the bird remains for some time in this attitude, standing perfectly still, but giving the tail an occasional roll in the beak. Suddenly the head goes back with a jerk, the eyes close, there is a mighty gulp, and the tail has followed the mouse into the bird's stomach. The whole process of swallowing the prey is very much like that which may be observed in the toad, the gulping effort to swallow appearing to be equally great in either case. All owls can be treated in a similar manner, so that there is no need of mentioning them individually. If, however, either of the eared owls can be obtained, the young naturalist should not fail to do so. Owls kept in captivity should not be placed in cages, provided that other accommodation can be furnished, but should have a dark recess in which they can sit during the day, and where they can always be found. They are not easily seen by inexpe- rienced eyes, as they have a habit of choosing perches in spots where their colour harmonizes with that of the locality, mm2 532 EVERY boy's book. "t» When properly treated, the owl can be made quite tame ; but unless it be taken when young, it is rather uncertain in temper, biting very sharply. If any one approaches the owl, and hears a quick, snapping sound, as if an elastic piece of wood were " flicked " against a table, he may take it as a warning that the bird does not approve of him, and that he had better not trast his hands too near the owl. Any one can see how cat-like are the owls in their general physi- ognomy, as well as in their nocturnal and mouse-loving habits ; and they even carry their feline propensities into peculiarities of diet. No animals are less aquatic than the cat, and yet none are more fond of fish. Even the best bred and most carefully-trained cat finds a difficulty in resisting her appetite when she sees fish on the table, and she can hardly have a greater treat than an occasional sprat, herring, or plaice. Angler-cats are not uncommon : several that were accustomed to haunt the water side have been known to catch the fish in shallow water, and would even plunge into deep water for their prey. In like manner the owl is a great fish-lover, and has been seen in the act of dropping into the water, and rising again in the air with a fish in its claws. Now it is an invariable rule with animals of all kinds, that these little aberrations, if we may so term them, are conducive to health : a very familiar instance is the occasional grass-eating propensities of the dog and cat. The young naturalist will therefore consult the health of his owl pets by giving them a fish now and then, as well as a few large insects, in Ewidition to their ordinary diet. THE PARROT. Among the vast multitude of birds which inhabit all parts of the earth, or even among the many species which are found in our own country, it is no easy matter to make a first choice. We will, however, commence with the parrot ; and before proceeding to describe the several species which are generally in vogue among English fanciers, we may remark that the parrots, paroquets, macaws, and cockatoos are found in almost every warm portion of the globe. ' Many of the largest and most magnificent species inhabit South America, while Australia is remarkable for possessing several examples of this beautiful group of bird that are most inte- resting to the young naturalist on account of their form, colour, and habits. One species, the Long-billed Parrot, or Nestor, scientifically called Nestor productusj is now, as is feared, totally extinct, the last THE PARROT. 533 known specimen having been shot some years ago. This curious bird was notable for a wonderfully long upper mandible, very like a pickaxe in shape, and employed in much the same service, being used for digging out of the ground the roots and other vegetable substances on which the bird was accustomed to feed. It is rather remarkable that, although this strange land is very rich in the parrot tribe, none of them except the cockatoo can be taught to speak, being apparently incapable of any imitation of the human voice, and rarely uttering any sound except a scream or a chuckle. Asia also possesses some very elegant species. All the birds belonging to this tribe are furnished with rather big heads, very large and curved beaks, with the upper mandible hooked weU over the lower, which is short and stout ; and their toes are so formed that they are divided into two opposable sets, so as to permit the bird to grasp an object in its claws almost as if they were hands. In climbing, an exercise of which the parrots are very fond, the young naturalist will probably observe that the bird makes nearly as much use of its beak as of its feet ; and even when tame and accustomed to perch on the hand of its owner, it aids itself in its movements by taking hold of the fingers with its beak, although too gently to cause any injury. The species which is most celebrated for talking is the Grey Parrot, a well-known bird, living, when wild, in Western Africa, and being at once identified by its grey plumage and short red tail. There are several modes of obtaining this bird, such as requesting a naval friend to bring one home on his return, or going and fetching one for yourself. But as there are few who are so happy as to have an accommodating nautical friend or relative, and still fewer who are able to imdergo the perils and hardships of a sea voyage, the best way is to go to a respectable dealer, and give him an order for a young healthy bird. We say a young bird, because the purchaser will then be able to teach it every word that it speaks, and will find his feathered pet become far more familiar than if it entered his possession when aged and with fixed habits. Moreover, an older bird is very apt to pick up all kinds of phrases employed by the sailors on board the ship in which it made its voyage ; and although such a vocabulary excites no particular surprise at sea, it is rather too forcible and idiomatic for society. The worst of the matter is, that the parrot is possessed of an iron memory, and never seems to forget anything it has once learned, however its acquirements may have been overlaid with fresh teachings. It has often happened that a parrot which has behaved for a long time in the most exemplary manner, and employed none but the most refined language, has suddenly met with a sound which recalled all its old associations, and induced the bird to pour forth a copious volley of language too loud to be disregarded, and too plain to be misunderstood. 534 EVERTf boy's book. THE QRET PARROT. And parrots are just like children in their propensities for saying the most dreadful things exactly at the most inconvenient IK THE PARROT. 535 times and to tlie most fastidious persons, always choosing a dead .silence for making some deeply reprehensible remark, and inva- riably addressing their observations to some lady or some staid ecclesiastical dignitary. Parrots are marvellously nervous birds, and while young will often throw themselves into such paroxysms of fear at the mere .sight of a stranger, that they will even endanger their lives. They have an odd and unpleasant habit of scolding on such occasions, uttering loud, rough, grating cries, as piercing to the ear as the sound of a file or a saw, and stretching out their necks with ruflfled feathers and agitated gestures. Some birds retain this extreme timidity for a very long time, in spite of all attempts to conciliate them. As the management of the different species is nearly, if not quite, identical, it is unnecessary to trouble the reader with a detailed description of each kind of parrot and the mode of treating it ; it will be sufficient to tell him how to manage these birds generally, and give a brief account of the country, form, and colour of those species which are most commonly brought to this country. There are, indeed, so many, that it is impossible to mention more than five or six sorts ; but if the reader desires to learn more about the parrot tribe, let him refer to the Kev. J. G. Wood's " Illustrated Natural History," vol. ii.,' where he will find the subject treated at length, and with large figures of all the most remarkable species. The Amazon, or Green Parrot, ia so called from its colour, which is mostly bright green, with some yellow and purple tints here and there. This species is brought to England imder the title of the Green Parrot, the second species being more properly called the Festive Parrot. It is much larger than the common species, being about fifteen or sixteen inches in length, and having the feathers of the lower part of the back of a deep vermilion. Teaching this bird to talk is by no means a difficult task, — not nearly so difficult, indeed, as hindering it from learning accom- plishments which it is not desired to possess, or inducing it to refrain from producing objectionable sounds, whether articulate or otherwise. In order to teach the parrot to imitate sounds, the best and simplest mode is to take the bird into a perfectly quiet room, where it can hear and see no one but the instructor, and will not have its attention distracted by surrounding objects. Then, after taking every care to render the feathered pet familiar, speak the words, or produce the sounds, which the bird is required to imitate, and be careful to avoid varying them even by the frac- tion of a tone. You will soon see the pupil taking notice of the oft-repeated sound, and it will presently hold its head aside, as if to catch the tones more clearly. After a while it will try to 636 EVERT boy's book. THE GREEN PARROT. imitate them, and as soon as it makes an attempt, howerer imper- fect, make much of the bird, and give it a smaU morsel of some special dainty. THE PARROT. 537 Parrots are largely gifted with the faculty called by phreno- logists "love of praise," and are in no sliglit deorree incited by self-esfeem; so that it is possible to induce the bird to perform the oddest feats by carefu'ly working on these two propensities. They have an almost morbid love ol being n^iieeH, anl crave for words of praise with as mnch appreciation as if they could under- stand their import. You can throw one parrot into a very passion of jealousy by pretending not to hear it, anl talking to another bird. One difficulty in the management of these birds is, that when you have taught them to exercise their powers of imitation, they are apt to pick up a kind qf chance-medley of every sound they hear, instead of adhering to one lesson and learning it thoroughly before they begin another. Breaking them of the habit is a diffi- cult task, but can be achieved with ordinary care. The simplest plan is to pounce at once on the obnoxious sound, and, by never letting it pass unnoticed, give Polly an idea that it is not to be uttered. If she persist in her delinquency, the best way is to scold her, and put her at once into a dark closet, or throw a thick shawl over the cage, so as to exclude the light. Parrots detest being left in the dark, and it is surprising how soon the bird finds that her utterance of the forbidden sound is sure to be followed by condign punishment, and therefore ceases to be guilty of the offence. Wherein shall our parrot live ? This is a natural and a needful question, and requires a few lines in reply. Assuming that, in any case, the bird is to have plenty of room, as is needful for a creature so restless and active, a cage is to be recommended, unless the parrot is very tame, and there is no fear of strange cats ; we say strange cats, because Polly will generally contract an alliance with the cat and dog of the household, and be on the most friendly terms with them. A good form of cage is here given. As the reader will observe, it is much wider across the top than is usually the case. This is to give the bird room to traverse the cage, or luxuriate in its swing, without the danger of rubbing its taU into a shabby and ragged con- dition. There is a metal hoop suspended by a chain, and it is found that parrots are very fond of getting into this hoop, and swinging about. The cage should be made of galvanized iron wire, very strong, and at least five feet high. We desire to dissuade our readers, in the strongest terms, from purchasing cages made of brass wire for their parrot, or indeed for any other bird, Brdss is terribly apt to 538 EVERY BOY S BOOK. produce verdigris, especially in London or in any other large town, and where gas is much used ; and as birds, and parrots especially, are fond of nibbling the wires, they maybe poisoned, and die a painful death. Should, however, the bird be trustworthy, we would recommend one of the com- mon crutch perches, to which the bird is secured by a chain, having one end fas- tened to a ring on its foot, and the other end affixed to the crutch. If the room in which the bird is kept will permit the arrangement, by far the best plan is to add a strong twisted wire to the crutch, and carry it to the ceiling, as is done ia the Crystal Palace. The chain, instead of being fastened to the crutch, terminates in a ring, which slides upon the upright wire, and per- mits the bird to mount or descend at will. Polly will be charmed with this addition to her range of locomotion, and the sight of his pet bird enjoying herself cannot fail to repay the owner for the slight extra trouble he has taken. Parrots are very fond of exercising their strong beaks, and are apt to gnaw their perches so in- cessantly, that they cut them in two, despite the hardness of the material. Prevention, they say, is better than cure ; and if the young parrot-owner will take care to give his bird now and then a stout piece of elm wood, with the bark not removed, he will find that Polly wiU prefer to tear and rasp away at the elm "T^n^b-: PARROTS. 53a THE COCKATOO. board to biting her hard perch, where there is no bark to be stripped off. 540 EVERT boy's book. The pretty Cockatoos are always great favourites, their form being very elegant, their colour delicate, and their talkative powers very great. These birds are natives of Australia and the Indian Islands, and derive their name from the peculiar cry of some members of their kind, which exactly resembles the word cockatoo. The two species generally found in captivity are the great Wide- crested Cockatoo, Imown by the crest of broad and slightly-hollowed feathers which decorate the head, and which can be raised and even thrown forward when the bird is excited with pleasure or anger. The colour of this bird is white, and the under surface of the crest is tinged with red. It comes from the Moluccas, and is deservedly in favour as a pet, being docile, aflfectionate, and very quaint in its habits. The other species is the Lesser, or Sulphur-crested, Cockatoo, also from the Moluccas and Indian Islands. It is easily known by the pointed sulphur-yellow crest, which is contiaually being raised and thrown forward. Both kinds can learn to talk to some extent, though they are not such admirable linguists as their kinsmen the parrots. The pretty King Paroquet is a native of the East Indies, and is a very familiar inhabitant of our aviaries and cages. It is a gentle creature, and most affectionate to a kind owner. It is niightily fond of walnuts, and the bird can be kept in a state of grea good- humour for an hour or more by giving it half a one, and telling it to pick out the contents with its hooked bill. The bird seems per- fectly happy, holding the nut in one claw, shifting it with great dexterity, so as to gt^t it into the best position for extracting the kernel, and uttering the while a little, low chuckle of gratification. The colloquial powers of this bird are moderate; but it does not learn so reudily, nor repeat so accurately, as the grey or green parrot. The Macaws are notable for their very long tails, very big beaks, and very brilliant colouring. The two species usually seen in Eng- land are the Scarlet and the Blue-and-YeUow Macaw. They come from Southern America, and have a most magnificent appearance whi'e flying from tn-e to tree, with the sunbeams flashing from their gorg ous plumage. As a prt, rhe niac^w is rather too noisy, and has a horribly loud and dissonnnt ytU by way of a cry. It is, however, a magnificent bir.<, often measuring more than a yard in leugh. The colour of the plumage is almost entirely of a rich glowing scarlet, relieved here and there by a little blue, yellow, and green. The Biue-and-Yr^Uow Macaw is another native of tropical Ame- rica, and though not so gorgeously resplendent a bird as its scarlet relation, is yet a remarkably handsome creature. As may be sur- mised from its popular appellation, the colour is chiefly of the two tints blue and yellow, mixing occasionally so as to produce green. PIGE0X8, 641 Without going too deeply into minute details, it will suffice to say that the upper part of the back, the wings, and the tail are azure blue, and the under part king's yellow. On the forehead is a patch of green, the chin is black, and the cheeks are white and naked, with the exception of three narrow bands of very tiny feathers drawn successively beneath the eyes. ^ The parrot tribe may be fed upon various vegetable substances, such as grain of different kinds, seeds, nuts, Indian com, and biscuits. The stones of peaches are great favourites with these birds, who derive much amusement from picking with their scoop-like tongues the soft fruit from the interstices of the rough stone. They ought not to have any kind of animal food, not even milk, which is frequently recommended for their use, as their systems are apt to become heated, and then they pull away their feathers in their attempts to alleviate the irritation. Sometimes a parrot will pluck itself bare in every part where its bill can reach, and so injure itself materially. A capsicum pod now and then is, however, a treat, and may be given sparingly. Be careful to use glass or earthenware pans for their food, and see every morning that the cage and pans are quite clean and bright. PIGEOJsrS. Tpte practice of rearing pigeons for fancy or amusement has been for a long time prevalent in England. In ancient times the " dove- cote" was a general appendix to the family hall or farmer's home- stead ; and at the present time it may still occasionally be observed peering above the trees in country districts ; while in London the pigeon-loft, with its " dormers," " area/' " traps," and other appli- ances, may be frequently seen on the house-tops, more especially in the districts inhabited by the working classes. Pigeons live together in pairs ; and when a cock and hen once form an attachment, the union generally lasts during their lives. The pigeon in a wild state breeds only twice or thrice in the season, but the domestic birds will breed every six weeks, or during the greater part of the year. Whatever number of broods a pair of pigeons may bring up in a year, the hen never lays but two eggs before she sits. She incu- bates for eighteen days after the laying of the second egg. Both the cock and hen assist in the hatching : the hen usually sits from the afternoon till about eleven o'clock on the following morning ; the cock then takes her place, and sits while she goes out to feed 542 EVERY boy's book. and exercise herself, and generally keeps on the nest until two or three o'clock in the afternoon. When first hatched, the young are fed for about eight days with a milky secretion prepared in the crop of the parents, and regurgi- tated into the mouth of the young, and afterwards with grain and ^^ _ seeds the old ones have picked up ^ ">^ -^ in the fields and treasured in their crops. In this mode of supply- ing the young with food from the crop birds of the pigeon kind diflfer from those of any other family. Formerly it was common to erect buildings as dove-cotes in the neighbourhood of great country mansions : many of these were of considerable size and ele- vation, as shown in the engraving. The custom, however, has fallen into disuse, and pigeon-houses of more moderate sizes are now gene- rally employed. A small one is very often formed from a wine-cask, which has holes cut in its sides, and a small platform made before each, to form a resting-place in front for the birds to alight upon. The interior is divided into chambers by the car- penter, or any boy of common carpentering inge- nuity may readily do it himself. The cask is then elevated on a stout thick scaffolding pole or the trunk of a straight tree, and made perfectly secure. In arranging the internal chambers for the birds care should be taken that they are large enough for them to turn round in with ease. The cote should be fixed in a warmish spot, and not ex- posed to cold easterly and northerly winds. The top of the cask should be thatched or boarded, and this protection should come well over the holes and sides of the cote, so as to protect it from the heat of the sun in summer and the drifting of the rain in unseasonable weather. The young fancier may employ one after the fashion shown on the following page : this, with its compartments, may be fixed up against the south or south-west side of a stable, bam, or out-house. The outside should be well painted, and the alighting places slightly slanted, so that the water or rain may not lodge on them, but run off to the ground outside. The whole sbould be so placed that it can be approached by a ladder, which ought not to be permanently attached PIGEONS. 543 The boxes for the nests to the cote, or it may be a means for the intmsion of cats and vermin. It sometimes happens that a spare loft or room presents itself to the young pigeon-fancier, which may be made use of for a pigeon-house. When this is the case, it can easily be filled up with pigeon-boxes, which may be arranged round the sides, while holes are made on the outside of the building for the pigeons to fly in and out at. Broad flat perches may also be placed across the room, upon which the birds may rest. should be at least a foot square. It is far more advantageous and profitable to keep pigeons in a spare room than to employ the dove-cotes on a pole, or those fixed against the side of a house, as double the number of young birds may be reared, the nests being sheltered from the Inclemency of the weather. As to the compartments, or nests, every one should be furnished with an earthenware nest-pan, of a size adapted to the pigeons for which they are intended. Sand or gravel should be sprinkled over the shelves and on the floor, as the small stones with which it abounds are useful to the birds in helping them to digest their food, and a " ' little old mortar-rubbish or pounded burnt oyster-shells should be given, to supply the lime necessary for the shells of the eggs. Everything about them should be kept very clean, and the whole apparatus, of whatever kind it may be, should undergo a frequent and thorough purification, while the nest- pans or boxes should be weU cleaned after every hatching. There is a contrivance of great use which is employed for letting into the loft those birds who may not happen to come home before the areas are closed for the night. The object of this door, which is called the "bolting wire," is to let the birds in without letting those in the loft pass out. It is made by placing before a square aperture cut in the pigeon-house a couple of wires about three inches apart from each other (as seen in the 644 EVERT boy's book. drawing) : these swing loosely upon a piece of wood, which turns on a wire, and their lower ends come over the lower ledge on the inside. By this arrangement, when a bird outside presses against the bars and tries to get in, the whole opens inwards, and he easUy enters ; but if one from within tries to get out, the wires press against the ledge at the bottom, and effectually prevent his egress. Within the pigeon-house should be placed boxes for the grain, pulse, and beans that the birds feed upon. Pigeons are great devourers of food, and will eat any kind of grain, such as wheat, barley, oats, peas, beans, vetches, Indian corn, tares, &c. Small beans, called pigeon's beans, are the best general food for all pigeons. If possible, the peas, beans, or tares given to the birds should be old, as new pulse is apt to disagree, and purge them. Hempseed is very stimulating, and although pigeons are very fond of it, it should be sparingly given. Pigeons are very fond of lime and salt, and to supply themselves peck out the mortar from between the tiles. To prevent this, it is best to make them what is called a " cat," which will be exceed- ingly grateful to them, as it will tend to keep them in good health. This is done in the following manner : — Mix some sifted gravel or earth with old mortar-rubbish, or pounded burnt shells, if this cannot be obtained ; add a few handfuls of salt ; and make the whole into a mass with water. Portions of this may be put into flower-pots, and placed in situations where the birds can get at them easily. MATINO CAGE, Pigeons are often sadly annoyed by vermin. To prevent the increase of these intruders, the most scrupulous attention should be paid to cleanliness in every part of the houses, nests, and places of resort, and the birds should be provided with shallow pans of woter to wash in. PIGEONS. 545 Sometimes there is a little trouble attending the mating of pigeons, and it is of great importance that they should be pro- perly matched, or the young will not be purely bred. The mating coops should have a thin lattice-work partition between them, so that the birds may make acquaintance with each other, and match together, when they may be placed in one pen. When they are properly mated, they may be left at liberty to arrange and build their nests, which they will do very readily. The illustration on the preceding page shows the construction of the mating cage. VARIETIES OF PIGEONS. The Columbidse, or family of pigeons, are one of the most nume- rous and most widely distributed families of birds. They are all vegetable feeders ; and many congregate in flocks. But notwith- standing their numbers, general distribution, and beauty, only two, out of a great number of species, have been brought into subjec- tion by man : these are the common pigeon, or house pigeon, known as the Rock pigeon when in the wUd state, and abundant in several parts of the cliSy and cavemed shores of the British Islands, and the Collared, or Cream-coloured dove, with a narrow black collar round the neck. This latter is frequently kept in confinement : it breeds freely if in very large cages, and it may be reared in the open air in this country if protected during severe winters. BLUE ROCK DOVE. The Blue Rock dove is the undoubted origin of all the diflferent varieties of domestic pigeons. It is a most beautiful bird ; its general colour is blue, with two black bars across the wings. In some few of the large dove-cotes blue rocks still exist ; but the N N 543 EVERr boy's book. pure race, uncontaminated by intermixture with any of the nume- rous varieties of domestic pigeons, is scarcely to be obtained except in the distant islands of the Hebrides, or in remote districts unfre- quented by man. It is a swift flyer, a good forager, and a prolific bird ; but its comparative wildness renders it ill adapted for a domestic pet. THE ANTWERP, OR SMERLE. Smerles are the Flying Pigeons of Belgium. These extraordinary birds, that perform races of 500 miles, returning home to Brussels and the adjacent towns from the south of France, and even from Spain, closely resemble the blue rock in general form ; but, as shown in the engraving, the feathers of the wings are rather broader, and the head and beak thicker and shorter. They are of various colours, as blue, checquered, red, mealy, &c. Their desire to return home is so great that it is useless to attempt to establish a stud of them, by liberating old birds, however long they may be shut up ; the only plan is to rear young from them whilst confined in a room or loft, or to obtain young birds that have never flown at fehe place of their birth. These, from the peculiar noise they make, are termed " squeakers." We do not know any more delightful fancy for boys than Ant- werps, as they are strong, hardy, fertile, and require no special trouble ; good water and a little care in cleaning is all they ask ; and they reward their owners by being always ready to convey to their home messages from any distance which they may have been trained to fly. The training is thus accomplished : the young birds, when they can fly round with the others, and dash about in the air in that vigorous style that characterises the breed, are taken a short distance from home and set free. They rise, and circling round and round, descry their home, and make straight for it. PIGEONS. 547 Their next journey is longer, and so on; the distances are gradually increased, uncil the birds wQl return even for severtil hundred miles. When these birds are used to convey messages, the paper must be so attached as not to impede their flight. The proper mode of doing this is to write upon a strip of thin soft paper, about half an inch broad by three or four inches long : this is rolled round the leg, and secured by a thread. An ordinary letter, tied to the bird in the manner that is often represented in engravings, would entirely prevent its flight. fS'i ,;i'' THE POUTER. The breeds of pigeons that are most valued by fanciers are those that difi'er in the greatest degree from the blue rock doves and the common mongrel dove-house pigeons. Of these the Pouters, Car- riers, and Tumblers are the most esteemed. The pouter is a remark- able bird, distinguished by the extraordinary power it possesses of inflating or blowing out the neck : it is also characterised by the extreme length of its legs, which should be feathered to the toes, and the length of the feathers of the wings and tail. Pouters are of various colours : some are purely white, but in general they are blue, or black, marked or pied with white upon the crop, and with white flight feathers in the wings ; there are also red and yellow pied birds. The properties for which a pouter is valued are usually stated as being five in number ; viz. length of leg, length of feathers, slender- ness of body, size of crop, and colour. Pouters possessing all these properties of the breed in a very perfect degree are rare, and conse- quently very valuable. Ten, or even twenty, pounds is no uncommon price for a pair of birds sufiiciently good to win prizes in the N N 2 648 EVERT BOYS BOOK. competitions at the exhibitions of poultry and pigeons ; out very fair specimens may be bought at the dealer's for a few shillings per pair. Pouters are not such good nurses as many other pigeons, often neglecting their young before they can feed themselves, when they die, unless fed by being crammed with beans at least owice a day. For this reason we would not recommend the young fancier to begin with this breed. THE CARRIER. The Carrier of the present day is not, as its name might seem to imply, ever used to carry messages, but is a high-class fancy variety, valued in proportion to the perfection of its properties. In a good carrier the beak is long, thick, and straight ; the beak- wattle, or membrane at its base, well developed, and standing well up from the head. The eye- wattle, or membrane round the eye, should be large, fiat, and circular ; the skull narrow and long ; the neck very slender and long ; the plumage firm and glossy, the tail and fiight feathers being long. The colour most valued in carriers is a brilliant jet black : many first-rate birds are what are called duns, a variety of brown. There are also white and blue carriers, and occasionally pied birds are seen. The blacks and duns are, how- ever, the most perfect in properties ; and they may be mated together without risk, as they will always produce either black or dun young birds, and not, as might be expected, a mixture of these colours, or a bird intermediate in colour between the two. Carriers are very fair sitters and nurses, but they are subject to diseiises of the eyes, and are not as well suited to young fanciers as some of the other breeds. 549 THE DRAGON. For grace, style, and beauty there are no pigeons superior to Dragons. They are almost everything a young fancier could desire — good homing birds, able to do 50 or 100 miles with ease ; active on the wing, close sitters, good nurses, fertile breeders, requiring no special care ; full- sized birds, good in a pie, and not expensive in first cost. Their general form is somewhat like that of the carrier, but they are much more active, and far quicker in flight. Some of the best dragons are blue ; others are white, red, yellow, and black. They dijBFer from the carrier in the size of the eye and beak wattle, and in the beak. THE TUMBLER. The Tumblers are the very opposite of the breeds last described. Small birds, with rounded heads, short beaks, and pretty little red prancing feet, they are the very pets of the pigeon fancy. In colour the tumblers vary very much. There are blues, blacks, and other self colours ; then some have white heads — these are termed bald heads ; others have a white mark below the under bill — so they are termed beards ; but the variety most valued is that termed the almond tumbler. In this breed every feather of the plumage is variegated with black, yellow, and white, the yeUow forming the ground colour. These almond birds are reared by experienced fanciers with beaks so short that they are hardly able to bring up their own young, and others have to b^ employed for the purpose. Birds of this extreme character are not suited to young fanciers ; but the ordinary flying tumblers, which can be bought at any dealer's for a few shillings per pair, are most pleasant pets — ^good [)50 EVERY boy's book. THE TUMBLER, breeders, active and joyous on the wing, constantly turning somer- saults in the air, good in a pie, and able to fly home, if trained, some thirty or forty miles with ease. THE BARB, The Barb, or, as it used formerly to be called, the Barbary pigeon, from the country from where it was originally obtained, is regarded with great esteem by fanciers, and very good specimens cannot be obtained except at high prices. In size the barb is rather a small bird. The colours are usually black, dun, red, yellow, or white ; blue barbs, strange to say, are not known. The eye of the barb is surrounded by a naked skin or wattle of a red colour ; this should PIGEONS. 551 be circular in form, and the larger it is the more the bird is valued : the skull should be broad, and the beak short and stout. Barbs are good sitters, and bring up their young ones very well. They are also striking in appearance, the red eye-wattle contrasting well with the colours of the plumage. THE OWL. Like the banbs, the best Owl pigeons also come from the north of Africa. Formerly there was very common in this country an elegant, short-beaked bird of a beautiful blue or silvery colour, known as the owl : this was of medium size, and possessed rapid powers of flight. Beautiful as the breed was, it has almost entirely been superseded at the pigeon shows by a very petite, delicate, white breed, the first specimens of which were brought to this country from Tunis about a dozen years since. A very good specimen of this charming little variety is represented in our engraving. Since that true blue and black owls of the small size have also been introduced. The great drawback to this fairy-like little breed is its delicacy. The young fancier would do well to choose for his first favourites a hardier variety. THE TURBIT. The Turbit is a pigeon somewhat resembling the owl, but its head is flatter, and it has a turned crown of feathers at the back of the neck. In colour it is peculiar. The wings, with the exception of the larger flight-feathers, are coloured, and the remainder of the body should be white. There are turbits of all varieties of colour, or, as they are termed, blue, black, red, yellow, and silver turbitfi. THE FANTAIL. There are a number of pigeons which are strikingly distinguished by remarkable peculiarities in the form of the plumage ; such are 552 EVERY BOY S BOOK. the Fantail, the Trumpeter, and the Jacobin. The fantail is perhaps the best known of these. The number of feathers in the tail of an ordinary pigeon is fourteen, but in this breed it is greatly increased ; in some specimens even to three times that number, and thirty feathers are not uncommon in good birds. The carriage of the tail is also greatly changed ; instead of being borne behind, like that of an ordinary pigeon, it is held aloft, like the ex- panded tail of a peacock. The engraving represents one of the best white fantails, the tail full, carried well over the back, and the long swan-like neck thrown back so as to touch the tail. Fantails are good hardy birds, and as they can be bought at all prices, very well suit the young fancier. Moreover, they soon become very tame, and may be reared almost everywhere. THE FANTAIL. THE TRUMPETER. The Trumpeter is not as common a variety as the fan-tail, but is fully as remarkable. It derives its name from its peculiar voice, which is quite unlike the ordinary coo, coo, of a common pigeon ; and it is also distinguished by the singular arrangement of the feathers on its head and feet : the latter are feathered to so great an extent that the bird appears to have four wings. Many of the PIGEONS. 553 larger quills on the feet of a good trumpeter will exceed four inches in length if unbroken. Trumpeters have a tuft over the beak and a turn of feathers at the back of the head. They require to be kept most scrupulously clean; otherwise the elegant appendages on the feet become clogged with dirt, and the birds lose all their attractiveness and beauty. THE JACOBIN. No variety of pigeon excels the little Jacobin in its quaint prettiness. The tiny little head is half concealed in a recurved cowl of feathers which runs down at the sides of the neck, and nearly meets in front. The head, the flight feathers of the jacobin, and those of the tail, should be purely white, those of the rest of the plumage coloured. The most common colours are red or yellow ; but there are also black jacks, as they are sometimes called for shortness, and also blues, and some that are entirely white. Jacks breed very freely, and we cannot recommend a prettier pigeon, or one better adapted to the juvenile fancier. The foregoing breeds include all the best known varieties. It is true there are many others described in the works on pigeons, but none better fitted for the young and inexperienced fancier. The breed known as Eunts are characterised by their enormous size, sometimes weighing even as much as four pounds or even four and a half pounds a pair. But they do not fly well, and are more suited for pigeon pies than for a fancier's loft. There are also the breeds known as Nuns, Spots, and Helmets, which are white with more or less colour on the head, &c. ; but for beauty of marking none surpass those blue breeds that possess the arrangement of colours in the plumage that characterises the original wild rock dove. ¥ P U L T K Y. FOWLS. There are few occupations more attractive than the care and charge of domestic poultry. It is most interesting to behold a hen with her family, and to mark her care and tenderness for them ; while to see the little chicks themselves, picking and scratching about, basking in the sun, or running hither and hither after the hen, or nestling under her wings, is a very pleasant sight. Like the pigeons, fowls are all descended from a single species of wild bird, the common wild jungle fowl of India. This has been domesticated from a very early period, and carried to all habitable parts of the globe. A large number of different varieties exist in a domestic state, none of which are known in the wild condition. The chief breeds known in England at the present time are the Dorkings, Game, Spanish, Hamburghs, Polish, Cochins, Brahmas, Malays, Bantams, Silky fowls, and the common barn-door fowl, which is a very mongrel breed. The best known French varieties are very valuable for economical purposes : they are Houdans, Cr^ve Coeurs, and the La Fl^che breeds. Fowls require both animal and vegetable food. When allowed to range at large their great search is for worms and insects, which "they obtain for themselves. They must be supplied with grain, such as barley, oats, tail wheat, &c. ; and they should also be well furnished with raw vegetables, grass, cabbage or lettuce leaves, unless they have a free range over the fields. Boiled potatoes- and other vegetables are also very serviceable to them. The staple food should, however, be grain, and this may be mixed with boiled potatoes. The quantity of barley for each fowl is about a quart a week, if they are entirely fed by hand ; but in barn or stable yards they require much less. They should also always have a plentiftd supply of pure and clean water. All fowls dependent upon man for food should be fed regularly twice or thrice a day in the same place. The food should be given to them at nearly the same hour — eight o'clock in the morning and four in the afternoon, as in the spring and autumn birds retire early to roost, and it is very bad management to call them from their perches for feeding. Young chickens should be fed much more frequently if it is wished that they should grow into fine, handsome birds. POULTRY. 555 FATTENING. When fowls are to be fattened for the table, they must be fed oftener, and with different descriptions of food, than when they are simply kept for rearing stock or laying eggs. They then require ground barley or oatmeal, which fattens them much quicker if mixed with milk. Indian corn is also a capital fattener, and, as it is now cheap, may be used. Gross food, made up of impure fat, grease, and flesh-food is very bad for fowls.. When fattening for the table, they should have their food three times a day, at morning, noon, and evening ; and they should be kept warm and comfortable during the night. Fowl houses should be warm and dry, and have compact earthen floors, well raised, and littered down with gravel, from which the large stones have been taken and the small ones left. LAYING. Nests (baskets or boxes) must be made for the hen, in which a chalk egg or two should be put. The nests may be made of short straw. Some hens will lay one egg every day, and others one every other day. The eggs ought to be taken from the nest every afternoon, when no more may be expected to be laid ; for if left in the nest the heat of the hens, when laying the next day, will render them less fit for domestic use. HATCHING. When the hen has laid her number of eggs, nature has provided for their being hatched by giving the bird an instinct to sit or incubate. This instinct is made known by a particular sort of cluck, and by the hen sitting steadily on the nest in which she has been in the habit of laying. In selecting the eggs to be sat upon by the hen, choose such as have been recently laid, and not those of angular shape or extra size : the latter are often double yolked, and rarely produce chickens. The number of eggs to be hatched by the hen must in some degree depend upon her size. A moderate-sized hen will very nicely cover eight or nine eggs in the cold spring months, and twelve or thirteen in April or May. An odd number is often chosen ; but there is no advantage in so doing. The hen having received her eggs may be then left to herseK ; she should have water placed at a convenient distance, and her food may be given to her near the place of sitting. The hen sits on her eggs twenty-one days, during which period she seems in a dozy state, and seems to require but little food or exercise. Some hens will feed every day ; but others will go for several days without leaving the nest, or taking nourishment : these should be lifted off the nest, and fed daily. 556 EVERY BOY'S BOOK. When chickens are hatching, which usually takes place twenty- one days after the eggs are placed under the hen, it is best to leave them entirely to themselves. As soon as the hen becomes a mother, a great change is seen in her character — all her former habits give way to maternal solicitude. A good hen attends to her brood with the most persevering fond- ness ; she will attack the fiercest animal who dares to molest her progeny. REARING OF CHICKENS. AVhen the chickens are hatched, they require no food till the following day, when they may be fed with crumbs of bread slightly moistened with milk, and egg beaten up with an equal quantity of milk, and then heated so as to form a soft custard : this is the best food that can be given them. They should also have a few grits, and after a few days some small wheat. If the weather is dry and warm, it is best not to coop the hens, as by scratching they obtain a supply of insect food and worms for the chicks, which is better than anything else that can be given them ; but they should not be let out in damp weather in long grass iDcfore the dew has dried up. If cooped, the coop and hen should be placed in some nice dry and sunny spot in the lawn or garden, within sight of the dwelling-house, and where no cats are likely to prowl about. There should be a little pan of water set within reach of the hen, near the bars of the coop, and stones should be placed in it to prevent the young brood from drowning themselves, and this water should be frequently changed. The changes of weather should be watched, and when it sets in wet or cold the young brood should be carefully protected by the removal of the coop into some warm sheltered place, such as a stable, coach-house, or outhouse ; and so with care continue to be nursed, guarded, watched, and attended to, till they are about seven weeks old, when they will of themselves separate from their parent hen, take to the roost, and act independently. There is a great choice of breeds in the ditierent varieties, and we will state the advantages of each. Dorkings are large heavy fowls, first-rate for the table, good sitters and mothers : but rather delicate, requu'e a good grass range, and do not di well on damp soils. POULTRY. OOi Spanish are handsome fowls, lav numerous large eggs, do not sit ; are not so good for the table as the Dorkings, being longer in the limbs, and not so fleshy. Cochins and Brahraas are large domesticated fowls, very hardy ; can be kept in by a low fence ; they are good layers, good sitters, good mothers, and useful family fowls on the table. Hamburghs are pretty, light, active, roaming fowls ; they are called everlasting layers, as they never wish to sit, but lay on incessantly, except at moulting-time. They do not bear close con- finement well, and aro difficult to keep in enclosed places, as they fly like pheasants, and know not bounds. The crested Polish, black, white, and spangled, are also non- sitters and good layers ; but they are not so hardy as the spangled Hamburghs. Game are hardy, very fair layers, good sitters, the best of mothers ; plump on the table, though not very large ; well able to take care both of themselves and their chickens. Bantams are pretty little pets, that may be suffered to roam about a garden without doing any injury. The French breeds — Houdans, Creve Coeurs, and La Fl^che — are remarkable for their good qualities as table fowls. The White Silky fowls are a very singular breed, with divided feathers, like wool or silk, black skins, and black bones. They have their good points, however : they are admirable sitters and nurses, and bring up young partridges and pheasants better than any other fowls. They are also very good to eat, though their black skin renders them rather unsightly on the table. These varieties offer sufficient choice even to the most particular amateur, who should make his selection ia accordance with his wants and his locality — according as he requires egg-producers or chickens for the table, and whether he can afford his fowls the advantages of a free range over green fields, or has to keep them in a confined space, near a suburban residence. THE PINTADO, OK GUINEA FOWL. Guinea fowls associate readily with the common fowls in a pDultry-yard ; but they have this peculiarity, that the cocks and hens are so nearly alike that it is difficult to distinguish them, except by the voice, the hens only uttering the constantly-reiterated cry of " Go back ! Go back ! " The head is covered with a kind of casque, with wattles under the bill, and the whole plumage is either black or dark grey sprinkled with regular and uniform white spots. The pintado is a native of Africa. These birds lay plenty of eggs, rather smaller than those of the common hen, and speckled. They may be reared by placing the eggs under a hen ; but the chicks are extremely tender, and 558 EVERY BOY S BOOK. very often a sudden change of the wind in March will sweep oflf i a whole brood in a few hours. The young should be fed with custard, &c., as ordered for fowls. j DUCKS. The common wild duck, or mallard, is the original stock of the domesticated duck, and appears to have been reclaimed at a very early period. The mallards come from the north of Europe, at the end of autumn, and, migrating southward, arrive at the beginning POULTRY. 559 of winter, in large flocks, and spread themselves over all the loughs and marshy waters in the British Isles. The tame duck is a larger bird, and varies greatly in colour. Tame ducks are easily reared : the best way to get them is to place duck's eggs under a hen, for the tame duck is often a careless :.^^^->=^- mother ; the hen, on the contrary, generally hatches a duckling from every egg with which she is entrusted. She does not conduct her young to the water, and generally exhibits much anxiety when the young brood take to it ; but she watches over them, and is ever ready to defend them from danger. " The village schoolboy," as old Bewick says, " witnesses with delight the antic movements of the little brood under the charge of a foster-mother, who with anxious fears paddles upon the brink and utters her unavailing cries or calls, while the ducklings, regardless of her warnings, and rejoicing in the element so well adapted to their nature, are splash- ing over each other beneath the pendant foliage, and diving their heads beneath the water." There are many varieties of the tame duck. One of those most in request is the dark- coloured Rouen, which is very prolific in eggs. The Aylesbury, or white variety, is large and profitable. The Muscovy duck is a distinct species, and not a mere variety, much larger than the common duck, and distinguished by a membrane of a red colour, covering the cheeks and extending behind the eyes. There are also several other foreign species, as the Mandarin and Carolina ducks, which are kept rather for ornament than use. Ducks sit for thirty days. They begin to lay in February, and when not watched will lay abroad and conceal their eggs. They generally lay at night, or very early in the morning. While sitting, the duck requires a secluded and soft place. On hatching, she should be taken, with her brood, and put under a coop ; a shallow pan of water should be placed near her for her drink and for that of the young ones, but it should be very shallow. In a few days she 560 EVERT BOY'S BOOK. may be let loose, when, with her brood, she will immediately take to the water. Young ducks should be fed upon oatmeal or barleymeal, and kept in a warm place at night time, and not let out early in the morning. They should at first be kept from water to swim in, as it always does them harm. When the ducks grow large, they may be fed upon oats thrown into a pan of water. Mt'SCOVT DRAKE. THE RABBIT. Of all domesticated animals dear to the British schoolboy's heart the rabbit is, perhaps, the most general favourite. Eabbits may be kept simply as pets or curiosities, or as a com- mercial speculation, and in either or all of these conditions they are sure to answer the expectations of the owner, provided only that ordinary pains be taken with them. As pets, they can be made tame, aftectionate, and playful ; as curiosities, they can be modified, by careful breeding, into the oddest shapes and most eccentric colouring ; while, as a commercial speculation, they can, with proper care and forethought, be rendered extremely profitable, and will pay a heavy percentage on the original outlay. As an example of this fact we may mention the case of a young carpenter, one of those steady, hardworking, intelligent RABBITS. 561 len who are sure to get on in the world, simply because they keep their eyes open to all that passes, always watch for oppor- tunities, and always seize them when found. This man used to make a considerable addition to his income by his rabbits, fattening and selling a large number annually, besides steadily increasing his stock. He was ever watchful on their account, and never went to a house where he was employed in his trade without asking for the waste potatoes, crusts of bread, and similar substances, which he used to take home and convert, by judicious mixture, into nutritivrf diet for the rabbits. As, however, there are but few boys who keep rabbits for the •purpose of making money by them, we will treat at greater length on their general management than on the method of feeding them at the least cost and selling them at the highest price. Before rabbit-keeping is attempted it is necessary to prepare, very carefully, a habitation for the future pet, and in the following pages will be found full instructions for that task. It is hardly possible to take too nmch trouble about the rabbit-house, and any abatement in this respect is sure to prove the truth of the old proverb, that penny wisdom is pound foolishness. Two objects are to be considered in this matter ; the first and most important being the comfort and happiness of the creature who is intended to live in the house, and the second the waste of time, money, and patience, which the constant sickness and ultimate death of the rabbit is sure to inflict upon a neglectful owner. So we advise the intending rabbit-keeper to expend plenty of trouble upon his house or hutch, and assure him that the healthy and thriving condition of his pets will more than repay the trouble, and their rapidly-increasing numbers more than defray the expenses originally incurred. Should a single rabbit be at first kept — a good method, by the way, of experimenting before undertaking the more arduous and responsible task of set- ting up a regular estab- lishment — a house or hutch like that which is represented in the accompanying illustra- tion will be all that is needed. Such a one as this may be easily made by any boy of ordinary ingenuity, as no great neatness in joints is needed, and the only requisites are strength 562 EVERY boy's book. and compactness. Should not the young carpenter possess the wood and tools needed for the entire construction of the hutch, his best plan will be to purchase an old tea-chest or egg-box from the grocer's, and modify it into the necessary form. The box wiU cost about four- pence, or sixpence at the most ; the wire will cost a penny, and the nails another penny. If no tools can be borrowed, a boy can set himself up for ordinary work at a very cheap rate, the following being all that is really needed : — Saw, one shilling ; hammer, eightpence ; half-inch chisel, with handle, sixpence; small three-cornered file, twopence; two brad- awls, one large, and the other rather small, twopence, — these will be without handles, and the best way is to drive the " tang " of the bradawl into the end of a stick of firewood, then cut the stick into a handle, shape it with a knife, and bind the end with string or wire to prevent it from splitting. These handles are just as useful as those which are purchased, and have the advantage of costing nothing but a few minutes' labour. The whole set of tools need not cost more than half-a-crown or, at the most, three shillings. As will be seen from the illustration, the hutch is divided into two portions, that on the left hand being much the larger, and employed by the rabbit as a day-room. That on the right is small, and is used as a sleeping apartment. These two chambers are sepa- rated by a partition of board, in which is cut a hole, through which the inmate Ciin pass backwards and forwards. As it is often necessary to confine the rabbit in either compart- ment while the other is being cleansed, the aperture must be closed by means of a sliding door drawn up and down through the roof, as seen at A. We have found by experience that the purpose was fully answered by substituting a strong iron wire for the wooden handle, and letting it pass through the hole bored in the roof. We mention this, because it is always best to know the simplest and easiest plan of proceeding. The wire is firmly secured, as seen in the engraving. After cutting the sliding door to the proper shape, bore a hole at a with the little brad- awl. Sharpen one end of an iron wire (the same as that of which the open front is made) and push it firmly into the hole. Now bend the wire upwards,' until it lies flat upon the wood, and then bend it over the edge, as seen at h. Cut off an inch of wire, sharpen both ends, bend them so as to form a staple, and drive the staple over the wire at 6, so as to hold it firmly in its place. Two small holes should be made with the little bradawl in the proper direc- tion, and the hammer must do the rest. Bend up the wire again, cut it off to the proper length, and all is ready for fixing, which is done as follows : — RABBITS. 563 Take the board which is to form the partition, and which is easiest made from the lid of the box, and cut out a round, arched, or square hole near the bottom, the hole being about an inch narrower every- way than the sliding door. Lay the door over the hole, and place on each side of it a strip of wood a trifle thicker than the door. These slips are technically called guides, because they guide the door in the right direction : try whether the door will slide easily up and down them> and, if so, nail them firmly in their places. Then get a second pair of wooden slips, not so thick, but about half an inch wider than the first pair ; lay them on the guides so that they overlap the door, and then nail them down. The door will then slide up and down when pulled or pushed by the wire. To make this part of the proceedings quite clear a section of the door and slide is given below : g represents the guides ; / the board and their slips which over- lap- the door ; and the door itself is shown by the dotted lines 6*. When fitted to- gether the partition-board, with its door and slides, is shown in the engraving. a, a, a represents the board itself ; b is the sliding door, and c the wire by which it is worked; d is the hole of communication, which is opened or closed as the door is moved up or down ; which is here shown as half closed. The dividing-board being thus completed, mark the place where the wire c is to come through the roof, and bore a hole about half as large again as the wire, so as to allow it to play freely. By the simple plan of making a large nail or waste bit of wire red hot, and charring this hole, the swelling by damp and consequent sticking of the wire will be prevented. All being ready, slip the dividing-board into the box, taking care to insinuate the wire into its proper place, get it quite upright and square, make sure that the sliding door plays without hitching, and then nail it all tight. Bend the top of the wire into a loop, and the most troublesome part of the business is over. The young carpenter must remember that the dividing-board, with its sliding door, must be made and fixed before anything else is done, as it not only strengthens the box and keeps it it in shape, but would demand twice as much trouble after the door and front have been made. 00 2 564 "We now come to an easier and more ornamental part of the work. In the engraving both doors open from the front, the one being wired and the other plain wood ; but it is best to have the larger door open from behind, as the wire-work is then twice as strong, and all the trouble of making a hinged frame is dispensed with. Put the box on the ground, and draw a line from one end to the other, just half an inch from the edge. Mark the line off in half- inches, and bore holes quite through the wood, one hole coming at every half-inch. Eepeat the same process immediately below, but be careful only to bore the holes half through the wood, or the wire will of course fall through. Then cut your wire into lengths, measuring them by the depth of the box, and cutting them about one-third of an inch shorter than the total depth. Laying them against the end is a simple method of getting the precise length. Sharpen one end of each piece of wire, push the sharpened end through the hole at the top, draw the wire down, insinuate the point into the hole below, and then, hold- ing the middle of the wire with the fingers of the left hand, in order to keep it from bending, drive it down with the hammer until quite level with the top of the box. When all the wires are thus driven home, naU a strip of wood over them at the top, and they can never come out again. It wiU be better to strengthen it further by passing a similar wire horizontally across the others, driving each end into the wood, and binding all together with fine wire. This will be a protection through which not even a rat could crawl, and which no cat could tear away with her hooked claws. The door of the sleeping apartment is easily made of a single piece of board, cut to the requisite shape, affixed by leathern or metal hinges, and fastened by a simple hasp. The door of the day- room is made in a similar manner, but opens from behind. A row of deep notches should be cut at the bottom of this door, and cor- responding holes bored through the back of the sleeping-room floor, in order to let all the wet drain away and keep the rabbit dry. The hutch should be made to slant a little backwards so as to aid in the drainage. Slate floors have been suggested, in order to prevent the iL- drained moisture from soaking into the substance — a result whicL is sure to take place, sooner or later, with a wooden floor. Slate, however, is rather expensive, but it is easily cleaned, and can be thoroughly washed ; so that the suggestion is worthy of notice. Having completed the hutch, we must next see about a feeding- trough. The ordinary troughs are nothing more than long wooden boxes ; those who use them generally find that the food is much wasted by being scraped out with the fore feet, and that the RABBITS. 565 rabbit contracts a habit of sitting in the trough, which, in course of time, renders it very oflfensive, and makes the food unwholesome. But by a little exercise of ingenuity both these annoyances can be prevented. To check the scratching out of the food, run a strong wire from one end of the trough to the other, about half an inch below the edge, and one inch from the side. When the rabbit begins to scratch, the paws come against the wire, and get so jarred that the creature soon relinquishes the bad habit. The habit of squatting in the trough is easily prevented by a very simple plan. A strong wire, about three or four inches lonu', according to the depth of the trough, is set upright in the centre. Another wire is arranged as seen in the illustration, the ends being driven firmly into the wood of the trough, and the middle passing through a loop at the end of the central wire. In the engraving, a represents the wire which prevents the animal from scratching, and h that which keeps it from getting into the trough. The edges, whether of the trough, the sliding door, or the guides, must be either bound with tin or edged with zinc wire, the latter being rather preferable. The reader will observe that in the engraving of the hutch it is shown standing on a table, the top of which projects far beyond the legs. The object of this precaution is to keep off rats, which are the bane of all rabbit-owners, and can climb up almost anything. They, cannot, however, walk like a fly, in a reversed position, on a flat surface, and in consequence, a projecting board of five or six inches in width is an effectual protection against these pests. The hutch is easily kept clean by attending to each apartment separately. First close the sliding door, so as to confine the rabbit in the apartment in which it happens to be, and with a hoe^ or similar implement scrape the floor quite clean, afterwards rubbing it with a wisp of straw. Take care that every scrap of refuse food has been removed. Then close the outer door, open the slide, drive the rabbit into the clean apartment, close the slide, and scrape and rub the second chamber. The trough should be removed when the day-room is cleaned, 566 EVERY boy's book. and carefully examined before it is replaced. The hutch being clean, the slide may be opened, and the animal allowed to run about. The hutch should be cleansed at least every day, and if a second cleaning be added it will not come amiss. This continual cleaning will involve some trouble ; but no one ought to keep a rabbit who neglects this essential duty, or to undertake the charge of an animal unless he intends to make it as happy as it can be in a state of imprisonment. A supply of straw should be placed in the sleeping- room for a bed, and should be changed daily. If possible, the rabbit should be allowed to take a half-hour's run every day ; but precautions must be taken against its burrowing habits and the chance of finding and eating something poisonous. In the wild state, a rabbit never eats anything that is injurious, but when domesticated many of its instincts are in abeyance, and it will eat many substances which it would reject when wild. The best defence against burrowing is to have a brick floor for the animal to run about on. There is also a substance called, I believe, Parker's cement, which, when laid down, becomes rapidly dry, and is so hard that not even the teeth of a rat, much less the claws of a rabbit, can work their way through it. This cement is mixed with water and sand to the consistency of thick cream, and while settling is "flatted" with boards, and makes an admirable level flooring, easily washed and as hard as stone. On this sub- stance the rabbit can be allowed to amuse itself without danger, and when its time of recreation has expired it should be caught and replaced in its hutch. We may here mention that the proper method of taking up a rabbit is to hold it by the ears with the right hand, and to support the body by placing the left hand under it. Should a number of rabbits be kept, it is as weU to aUow each fiimily to have a run in succession. It is very pretty to see the playful antics of the young rabbits, the races they run with each other, the scufflings they have in the comers, and the staid manner in which the mother sits and looks on, and when they become too noisy silences them by a stamp of her foot. This gesture is used either as a signal of alarm or defiance, and the force of the rabbit's hind foot is reaUy astonishing. We have known a buck rabbit vanquish a large cat in a fair fight simply by jumping over her back and kicking fiercely as he passed. He struck out whole bunches of pussy's fur, and the cat, unaccustomed to such treatment, ran away and left her antagonist victorious and triumphant. It is necessary to separate the rabbits in their exercise, and not to permit two families to occupy the same ground at the same time, as they are very quarrelsome animals, and will fight despe- rately among themselves. In any case the buck ribbits should not be allowed to mix with the others, for they are terrible bullies, RABBITS. 567 and will assault and kill even their own children, without the least remorse. When properly tended, the rabbit becomes quite tame and familiar, and will come to its owner at the sound of its name. The food of rabbits Ls easily obtained, and consists of bran, pol- lard, grain, and various vegetables. Parsley is an especial favourite, but cabbage leaves should be avoided as far as possible, as they are apt to have a bloating and puffy effect, and are often injurious, especially to young rabbits, giving them the disorder that is well known under the expressive term of "potbelly." The following is a list of vegetables which rabbits can always eat in safety : — Grasses of the finer sorts — the coarse, large-bladed grasses are not to a rabbit's taste — lettuce, parsley, carrots and their green tops, turnip-tops, green ears of com, sow or milk thistles, clover, tares, vetches, beet-root and leaves, vine leaves occasionally, green furze tops, potatoes, and Jerusalem artichokes. Cow-parsley, as it is popularly called {Myrrhis temulenta), is a very favourite vege- table with the rabbit : but unless the gatherer is perfectly acquainted with its form and leafage, he will be wise to leave it standing ; for it marvellously resembles the common hemlock {Conium macu- latMin), which is extremely poisonous ; and unless the two plants be thoroughly known, the rabbit may be poisoned through the mistaken kindness of the owner. As this plant is a really valuable one, we will give a few simple and plain directions for distinguishing it from hemlock. Cow-parsley is about three feet in height, the leaves are greatly branched, and the stem is ribbed, spotted with purple, and covered with numerous short hairs slightly bent downwards. The hemlock in general shape resembles the cow-parsley, but it may be known by the smooth reddish purple spots and its unpleasant smell when the leaves are grasped in the hand. Various dry grains, such as barley, oats, and Indian com, are useful to the rabbit ; and dry peas are also beneficial if sparingly given when the creature has been partaking largely of green food. Very little water is needed ; but it is better to put into the hutch a small pan with a few spoonfuls of water in it. A very little oil- cake is useful in the winter. At first the rabbits do not like it, but they soon become accustomed to its taste, and are then very fond of it. Before proceeding to the mode of breeding rabbits, we wiU glance at the varieties into which these creatures are modified by careful management. The tliree chief points in a " fancy" rabbit are the ears, the dewlap, and the curve of the back. The ears nmst iu every case be exceedingly long, and must never stand upright, as in the common rabbit of the warren. The most perfect and valuable form is the Full, Flat, or Perfect Lop. In 568 EYERY BOY S BOOK. this variety the ears lie as if hinged to the head at their bases, and bent downward, so that when the animal is reposing the tips should quite or nearly touch the ground. The convex part of the ear must be upwards, or the value of the creature is deteriorated. The next valuable variety is termed the Oar-Lop, because the ears spread horizontally from the head, like the oars of a water- man's boat. A really good Oar-Lop rabbit is seldom seen, and when found is thought by some to be equal to the Perfect Lop, of which, indeed, it seems to be the preliminary stage. In all cases the measurement across the ears from tip to tip ought never to be less than sixteen inches ; the more they exceed that measurement, the more valuable is the an^'mal. PERFECT-LOP RABBIT. OAR-LOP RABBIT. HORN RABBI r. The Hom-Lop is another very curious variety, deriving its name from the position of the ears, which fall completely over the face, with their points directed to the front. In some specimens they fall so completely over the face that the edges pass over the eyes, and must act as a partial barrier to perfect sight, like the leather blinkers that are so absurdly attached to draught horses. The lopped ears do not show themselves when the rabbit is young, and for the first month or two it is not easy to decide whether the little creatures belong to the straight or the lop-eared variety. Moreover, it often happens that one or two of each family retain the upright ears throughout their whole existence ; and it is of not unfrequent occurrence that the " lop " is delayed for a very long time, and then suddenly makes its appearance. Some- times one ear will exhibit the lop most perfectly, while the other remains upright or very slightly bent. Some fanciers attach a piece of lead to the recusant ear in order to make it coincide with the other, but we do not agree w^ith the practice. The ear never looks quite natural, and as the rabbit will have or, as the phrase is, throw young ones with perfect lops, it may be kept for breeding if a doe ; if a buck, it can be fattened for the table. RABBITS. 569 The second point of interest is the dewlap, the large double pouch which is seen under the chin and throat, and which is peculiar to the fency rabbit. If the dewlap be not large and full, with its two lobes well developed, and sufficiently firm to form a cushion for the hea«i while the animal reclines, the rabbit will be thought worthless by fanciers. The shape of the fency rabbit is very difi'erent from that of the common variety. It is altogether on a larger scale, and the back rises so much, that its summit ought to be two inches higher than the top of the head. The colour, again, is very important. It may be white, black, mottled, tortoiseshell, blue, and in foct any colour except the plain grey. Whatever it be, it must be arranged after a special position. On each side of the nose must be a patch of the darker colour of the body, forming what is called the " butterfly smut." A large patch on the back is called the " saddle," and a row of spots termed the " chain " is drawn in front of the body and seems to hang over the shoulder. The legs must be white, and the tail and snout of the same colour. Very few rabbits possess all these qualities ; but even the com- bined excellences of smut, chain, and saddle will fail to gain a high rank for any rabbit which does not possess a good " carriage." i. e. whose back is not at least two inches above its head, and whose nose and ear-tips do not nearly touch the ground. Some writers say that the fancy rabbits are more delicate of health and less easy to rear than the common variety ; but we have bred many families of them, and never found any difficulty in rearing them. Their superior size renders them valuable for culinary purposes, and, as out of every family the greater number are deficient in the requisite marks of a fancy rabbit, the table can be well supplied with these fat and well-flavoured creatures. The last variety we shall mention is the beautiful Angola rabbit, remarkable for its long silken hair, a speaking likeness of which may be seen in Landseer's wonderful picture of Titania. We will now devote a few words to the breeding of rabbits. The rabbit will breed at a very early age, i. e. from eight months upwards ; but those who want healthy young ought not to allow the rabbits to breed before they are one year old, or after they have completed their fourth year. The buck and doe should be always kept in difi'erent hutches, out of each other's sight, and only allowed to remain together for a very short time. The rabbit usually breeds four times in the year, or even oftener ; but as a general rule it is not advisable to allow more than three breeds in the year. When the doe rabbit feels the time approaching for her young to be born, she begins to bite in little pieces the hay of her bed, and when she does so a supply of very fine soft hay should 570 EVERY BOY*S BOOK. be placed within her reach. She then pulls this^ together in her sleeping-chamber, and mixes it with downy fur plucked from her own body, ready for the reception of the expected family. It is as well to put a pan of water within reach, as the animal generally thirsts after the young are born, and imless she can get at water, is apt to eat the young merely on account of the moisture. One of my own rabbits acted in a very odd manner. She called to one of her family, telling it to come to her. The disobedient child refused, and the mother accordingly seized it by one ear and dragged it along. Unfortunately, she pulled so hard in one direc- tion, and the young one pidled so hard in the other, that the ear was fairly dragged from the head. The mother treated the matter very easily, ate the severed ear, caught hold of the other, and succeeded in reducing her offspring to obedience. While engaged in maturing her young, the mother requires a very ample supply of food, eating nearly twice as much as at other times. She must have plenty of green food, and a mash of barley meal and milk will be found beneficial. For the first week or ten days the door of the sleeping-room should riot be opened, as the mother-rabbit is very jealous of her young, and if they are handled, or even looked at, will sometimes eat them. This is a terrible habit, and if a rabbit once act in that manner, provided that she is well supplied with food and drink, the best pl^ is to fatten her for the table. The young are suckled for about five weeks, when the mother weans them, and they learn to eat tender grass-blades, and other green food. If the family be very large, there is sure to be at least one small and weakly among the number. This should be removed and destroyed, so as to ensure that only the strong and healthy are reared. There are several diseases to which domestic rabbits are liable, but these ailments are nearly all caused through negligence ; and in a really well-appointed and carefully- tended rabbitry a sickly animal is hardly ever seen. Except in the case of valuable fancy animals, the trouble and expense of attempting the cure of a diseased rabbit are so great, that few will find themselves repaid, even by the recovery of the invalid. Recovery, however, is so very dubious, that in almost every case it is cheaper and more humane to kill the animal at once, which is performed instantaneously and painlessly by hold- ing the creature up by the hind legs, and with the edge of the right hand striking it a sharp blow behind the ears. Let the young rabbit-keeper rest assured, that if one of his pets should fall ill, the sickness will in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred be charge- able to some negligence of his own. THE RAVEN. All the members of the Crow tribe have a decided family like- ness ; and, as a genei-al fact, the relationship can be recognised as long as they belong to the British species. But as there are several foreign birds which bear a decided resemblance to this tribe, though really belonging to other families, it is needful to give a few hints as to the method by which these may be distinguished. The young observer must look first at the beak, then at the wings, and lastly at the legs. In all these birds the beak is strong and conical, arched on the keel, i. e. the ridge along the upper surface, with the sides rather flattened as far as the tip. The nostrils are set at the base of the beak, and hidden by plumes. The wings are never very large, and mostly pointed. The tarsi, i. e. the long, straight leg-bones, are of moderate length, and covered with strong, shield-like scales. The British representatives of this large family are the carrion crow, the rook, the Koyston or hooded or grey crow, the chough, the raven, the jackdaw, the jay, and the magpie. The Raven, once so plentiful over England, is now nearly extinct, except in some of the wild uncultivated districts, where it still lingers, uttering its hoarse, loud cry, flapping its broad wings, and committing no small havoc among the young or leeble animals that have the misfortune to dwell in its neighbourhood. To procure a raven is now a difficult task, and can seldom be accomplished except by giving an order to the regular dealers. We do not advise any of our young readers to possess themselves of a raven unless they have ample space for the bird, and are quite certain that it cannot get into any mischief. Either a magpie, a jay, or a jackdaw, seems to be possessed with an incessant spirit of mischief, but the raven seems to have enough for the three, and as it possesses enormous muscular power and irrepressible audacity, it is a peculiarly unsafe inmate of a house or garden. For our own part, we have been for some months undecided whether we shall have a raven or not. We should greatly like to possess one of these birds, but then we know that he would pull up all our newly-sown seeds, bully our cat, peck the servants' heels, get into the milk-pail, tear our papers to pieces, and, in short, spoil everything within his reach. We could, of course, chain him up, and clip his wings, or put him into a metal cage, but we think all such 572 EVERY boy's book. proceedings to be needlessly cruel, especially in the case of a bird like the raven, whose instinct teaches it to roam far and wide, and whose opportunities of exercise ought never to be confined to the limited space comprehended by a chain or a cage. When treated properly, the raven possesses a very mine of amusing and companionable qualities, at all events to those who treat it kindly, and whom it does not suspect of any intention to injure. It is a capital talker, equalling the parrot in that respect, except that the voice is very gruff and low, as if spoken from under a feather bed. The raven is not long in taking the measure of its companions, and has a supreme contempt for those who display weakness of mind or resources. Nothing seems to make a raven so happy as frightening somebody. He likes to come quietly behind a nervous person, deliver a heavy dab at the ankle with his iron bill, and then walk away as if he knew nothing about the assault. He wiU frighten dogs half out of their senses, chase the cats, drive the fowls about, and as to the horses, he mostly takes a fancy to them, sitting on their backs, or walking calmly and deliberately among their legs. Indeed the raven always has a great affection for stable life. He likes to saunter in and out of the stalls, to flap his way from one horse to another, to peck at strangers, to patronise the helpers, to be on speaking terms with the grooms, and, we regret to say, has a strange talent for picking up all the evil language which is too often foimd in and about the stable-yard. He encourages the presence of dogs and cats, because he always steals their dinners ; and if he can &id an opportunity of making a sly raid upon the luncheon of a groom, he is sure to seize it. He becomes the patriarch of the yard, and stands by his dignity as such. He wonH die, but lives on, year after year ; sees successive genera- tions of horses, grooms, and proprietors pass away, and seems to despise them for not living as long as himself. Time seems to have little power with him. His feathers take a greyer hue when he is a century or two old, but in disposition he remains ever young, malicious, crafty, active, quaint, and voracious. He wiU eat anything, and can be taught to devour the most remarkable substances, provided that he thinks them very valuable, and not intended for food. Raw meat is perhaps his favourite diet, and he is greatly pleased with rats, mice, small birds, fat beetles, big grubs or worms, and similar delicacies. But he will eat bread when he cannot get meat ; and if he can only be got to believe that the article is extremely valuable, he wiU make a breakfast on a newspaper or a shirt-collar. He can be easily induced to swallow even a black-lead pencil or a pocket-handkerchief, by a very simple process. Drop the article as if accidentally, search for it anxiously, go away without seeming to see it, and hardly will your back be turned when the raven THE RAVEN. 573 will have snatched up the missing article and conveyed it to his storehouse. If watched from a spot where the observer cannot be seen, he will be noticed to proceed in a very methodical manner. He will lirst pick up his prize, and walk about solemnly with it in his beak, as if displaying a captured trophy of war. He will then put his foot on it, seize one corner of the paper or handkerchief in his beak, and deliberately tear it into strips, which he will probably swallow. As to the pencil, he pegs at it with the point of his beak at a wonderful pace, making the splinters fly in all directions, and eve and anon looking round, to see that no one is watching him. Clever as is the raven, and intelligent beyond the wont of birds, his very superiority in this respect often has the eflect of rendering him a victim to superior powers. There is scarcely any bird that can be hoaxed more readily than a raven, or that can be " drawn out" with greater ease. Those who humour his ways can make a perfect puppet of him, and induce him to play most undignified antics, without giving him the least idea how thoroughly he is being imposed upon. Our last advice is that, unless the reader can aJfford plentiful space for his bird, and assure it a kind treatment, he will act wisely not to attempt to procure a raven. Should, however, he be able to afford it these necessaries of existence, by all means let him procure one of these most amusing birds. Ravens require scarcely any trouble, and when they have fairly established themselves, will not desert their homes under any cir- cumstances. They ought to be fed once, and once only, per dierriy for they will find plenty of insects, worms, and other little deli- cacies, without giving any trouble. They should always be fur- nished with a place of retreat into which they can retire whenever they feel tired of the world, and they like the hermitage to be deep, dark, and warm, sheltered from wind and rain, and out of the way of inquisitive eyes. Finally, a raven is an excellent judge of character, and if he is really appreciated, he will become a firm and faithful friend. SILKWOEMS. "The proudest king May thank the silkworm for his robe of state." — Akenside. The rearing and management of silkworms is an innocent and agreeable pastime both to boys and girls, and it is very interesting in many points of view. One fact is, that while the caterpillars of all the other tribes of moths and butterflies, when they have arrived at a certain state of maturity, show a restless disposition, and wander about and hide themselves in a variety of places in order to spin their cocoons, the silkworm, on the contrary, is content to remain stationary in the open tray or box in which it may be placed. After consuming its immediate supply of mulberry leaves, it waits for a further quantity, and when the period arrives for spinning its cocoon, instead of showing any migratory disposition, it seems to place itself with confidence under the care of man to provide it with a suitable place for its convenience and protection. The silkworm is systematically known under the name of the BoTtibyx Mori of Linnaeus, or the Mulberry-tree Moth, which in the winged state is of a cream colour, with several transparent bands of a darker colour across the anterior wings and a crescent-shaped central mark. The caterpillar when full grown is nearly three inches in length, and is too well known to our young friends to need any particular description. The eggs when good are of a pale slate or d;irk lilac colour; they may be purchased in Covent Garden SILKWORMS. 575 market for about ten shillings per ounce ; and care should be taken to obtain them of a proper colour, because those that are of a pale yellow are imperfect. The silkworm when first hatched is black, and does not exceed in length one-fourth of an inch. The desire for food is the first symptom it exliibits of life, and at this period it is more active than at any other. When about eight days have elapsed after its hatching, its head becomes considerably enlarged, and it turns sick, refuses food, and remains in a state of lethargy for about three days. This sickness would appear to arise from the pressure of the animal's skin, which has b^ecome too tight for the increased bulk of its body. Indeed, the very great difference in the size of the worm from the beginning to the end of the caterpillar state is' so great, that Nature has furnished it with several skius, each of which it casts in succession. The body of the caterpillar is begirt by twelve rings, which approach to or recede from each other according to its motion ; there are nine breathing- holes on each side of the body, seven eyes on each side of the head, and two small orifices below the jaws, through which the worm ejects its silken filament. The art of using this filamentous substance seems to have origi- nated with the Chinese, and to have been discovered at a very early period, and the raw material was purchased by the Persians, Tyrians, and Indians for a long time before it was introduced into Europe. For many ages silk bore an enormous price at Kome, but 576 EVERY BOYS BOOK. about the middle of the sixth century two monks arrived at Con- stantinople from India, bringing with them the white mulberry and the eggs of the silkworm, which have since been reared in Italy, Spain, France, and other parts of Europe. FOOD OP THE SILKWORM. The silkworm feeds, as every one knows, on the leaves of the white mulberry ; or, when these cannot be obtained, upon those of the black mulberry ; or, in lieu of these, upon the leaves of the common garden lettuce. The white mulberry is especially culti- vated for the value of its leaves, its fruit being insipid and very inferior to that of the common species, the leaves of which are equally good in this country for the food of the silkworm. • There has been a variety lately introduced from the Philippine Isles {Morus multicaulis), which has larger leaves, and which is easily propagated by cuttings put into a cucumber frame in October, and transplanted in the following May ; yet, still, to ensure success in the rearing of silkworms the young naturalist should stick to the old black mulberry, as such trees are to be found in various vicinities. To propagate this, a branch from another tree may be set in the earth, which will frequently grow. The amiable Sir John Philipport of Hammersmith, so celebrated for his " Elysian groves and fountains fair," and for his sterling English qualities, has in his grounds a fine mulberry-tree, which he reared by placing a very loose branch in the ground in the autumn of 1850, which threw out roots, and started at once into a tree. The story of a gate-post made of a mulberry trunk becoming, and now remaining, a fruitful tree, is well authenticated. The leaves to be used should be those of a large and well-grown, prolific tree, and they should be gathered with care, so that the young buds of future leaves should in no way be injured ; moreover, a tree should never be stripped twice in a year. HATCHING, FEEDING, AND TEMPERATURE. Having procured the eggs, which should be obtained about the latter end of April — they are generally bought on slips of paper just as they were laid by the moth — they should be placed in trays made of stout cartridge or thin pasteboard of the foiTn seen in the cut, and there should be provided to go over the case some thin gauze. The trays may be placed in a win- dow facing the south, where they are fully SILKWORMS. 577 exposed to the rays of the sun; there they should remain undis- turbed till they begin to hatch ; and as the young worms appear they should be removed into other trays, and fed with the mulberry leaves. The temperature should be regulated from sixty-six to seventy degrees, and the room ventilated, and preserved equally free from damp or too much dryness. They should be kept par- ticularly clean, dead leaves and dung cleared carefully away, and in lifting them from one tray to another they should not be touched by the fingers, but removed by threads of cotton passed under their bodies, or with a camel's-hair pencil. MOULTINQS. The caterpillar has four moultings, which may be all accom- plished in the period of four days each, if the heat of the room be increased to from ninety-five to one hundred degrees of Fahrenheit. When the heat is regulated to a lower standard, the first moulting takes place on the fourth or fifth day after hatching, the second in four days more, the third in five or six days more, and the last in about eight days. Ten days more are required after this moulting, so that in about thirty-two days after hatching the caterpillar has attained its full size. During all these changes of the worm it requires the nicest attention. THE COCOON. At the end of the time mentioned above the worms change to a clear pink or flesh colour, and look semi-transparent ; they refuse their food, become restless, and prepare to spin or form their cocoon. At this time care should be taken to raise the walls of their tray habita- tion, or they will climb over them and be lost. What is called the cocoon nest should now be prepared by twisting the comers of a piece of writing-paper, and raising its edges into the form of the lower shell of an oyster. A number of these should be prepared and afl&xed to a piece of tape, with their pointed ends down- wards ; and iuto each one a single worm should be placed when it quits its food, and seems ready to spin : it will then dispose its web in such a manner as to leave a cavity within. The cocoon consists of three distinct layers of silk : the first is loose and flossy, and is unserviceable for the silk manufacture ; the second is closer, the silk crossing from side to side; and the third is still fmer, and is glued strongly together, so as to form a compact inner coating. PP 678 EVERY BOYS BOOK. THE AURELIA. When the cocoon is completed, the enclosed caterpillar again casts its skin, with the head and jaws attached to it, when it appears under the form of a conical chi^salis of the ordinary shape. At first the chrysalis, when opened, exhibits only a yellowish fluid, but by degrees the various parts of the future moth appear, and in about a fortnight or three weeks a slight swelling of the chrysalis indicates the approach of an- other change ; a rupture down its back succeeds, and by degrees the moth bursts through its homy coating into the hollow chamber of tiie cocoon, and if left to itself would soon eat its way out. WINDING THE SILK. The chrysalis, however, must be prevented from eating through the cocoon ; and previous to the egress of the moth from its aurelian state, the silk must be wound off. When, by taking up the cocoon, it is found that the caterpillar has passed into the aurelian state — which may easily be known by shaking it, as then the aurelia, from its harder texture and shrunken size, will be heard to rattle — then it is time to wind off the silk. The cocoon is placed in a cup of warm water, after the loose outward silk has been removed, and then, an end being taken, the whole continuous filament may be wound off on a piece of card. The length of the thread of a cocoon varies from 600 to 1,000 feet ; yet the whole does not weigh more than tliree grains and a half. An ounce of eggs will produce about 40,000 caterpillars, which will consume 1,073 lbs. of leaves, and produce from 80 lbs. to 100 lbs. of cocoon, or about eight pounds of raw silk. THE MOTH. When the silk is wound off the aurelia presents itself, and being put in a separate case, it remains motionless for about twenty days, when suddenly it appears as a pale yellow moth, with wings which seem scarcely adapted for flight. It crawls heavily about the place where it has been hatched, having a slight tremor in its wings. SILKWORMS. 579 and eats nothing : the male speedily dies ; the females hover about a while without flying, and lay their eggs on the slips of paper presented to them for that purpose. They then soon perish. The female moth generally produces about 300 or 400 eggs. THE MOTH. GENERAL REMARiIS. The place where silkworms are bred, should persons wish to pursue their rearing upon a larger scale, must be free from noisome smells, cattle, and all noises. Persons attending them must be scrupulously clean in their persons, and wash themselves after every meal. Great attention must also be paid to the temperature of the apartment in which they are kept, which must also be free from all dust or smoke ; and the most thoughtful and tender care is requisite in everything connected with their treatment and manage- ment. ^\ i R A Of THE VNIYER8(TY i pp2 THE SQUIEKEL. The pretty little squirrel has long held a high place in the affec- tions of pet-lovers, and there are few who have not admired the brisk lively movements, the full intelligent eye, and the soft bushy tail of this creature. To possess a tame squirrel is often a legiti- mate object of boy ambition, not unfrequently shared by their elders. In order to give our readers a few hints as to the pro- curing, management, and taming of this pretty playmate, we offer the following suggestions. The first care of every intending possessor of a squirrel should be to prepare a comfortable home for the expected guest, so that the little creature may find its first association with captive life as agreeable as it can be made. In point of fact, the young naturalist should try to give to the squirrel's future home the greatest possible resemblance to the native domicile. The very best house for a squirrel is an unused room, fitted up with strong tree-branches, and furnished with a cosy little box, filled with hay and dry mosses, by way of a bedchamber. As, however, such accommodation is not readily found, we will just describe the mode of making a very strong, sightly, and cleanly cage, at a comparatively small expense, and possessing the advantage THE SQUIRREL. 581 of coming to pieces when needed, and being packed flat like a port- folio for removal. It will be much cheaper than a purchased cage, quite as handsome, and more easily cleansed. Make, or, if you are not a good workman, get a carpenter to make, a shallow wooden tray about two inches deep, lined with tin, which should be turned fairly over the edges, or sundry diffi- culties will appear in course of time. (See fig. 1.) Then go to a wire-worker's, and order him to make two frames of galvanized iron wire, like fig. 2, and two more like fig. 3, each being about half an inch shorter than the interior length and width of the tray, into which they are intended to fit easily. Also have another piece of similar wire made large enough to bend over the arched tops of the end-pieces, so as to make a roof like the transepts of the Crystal Palace. The edges of the side and end-pieces should be very stout, but those of the roof only mode- rately strong, or it will not bend easily. It will be better to have a square opening at each end, which should be closed by a door of similar materials. As this wire work will be of coarse manufacture, and have tolerably wide intervals, the cost will be very moderate. After these frames have been procured, fit them together, and fasten them by twisting bits of wire round the edges at intervals of three inches or so. Put this frame into the tray, and the cage is complete. The staples at the ends are useful for receiving the hooked end of a slight iron rod, looped at the other end to the edging-wire, as seen in fig. 4. These rods act as braces to keep the whole structure firm, and also hold it down to the tray. Some suitable sticks or branches should be fastened to the wires, as the squirrel is fond of playing about on them. This is the day-room of the squirrel, and its bedroom is merely a proper-sized box, with wire-work substituted for the wooden Pio. 2. 582 EVERY boy's book. bottom, a hinged lid, and a hole cut in one end. This should be supported on four legs ; a nail at each comer (not a brass-headed nail) wUl answer the purpose perfectly well. This box is simply placed in the tray at the back of the cage. If it can be managed, a duplicate tray will be exceedingly convenient, as the cage needs the extremest cleanliness, and can be simply purified by changing the tray every morning, washing very carefully the one just removed, and leaving it in the air till the next day. A duplicate sleeping-box will be equally serviceable. The box should be furnished with perfectly clean hay, mosses, lichens, &c. FiO. 3. Flo. 4. The cage should never be less than two feet long, two high, and one foot wide. All should be thus particular about the size of the cage, because we hold it to be a cruel deed to take an active little creature like the squirrel from its fields and wide woods, where it can sport at will over unlimited space, and coop it up in a close, evil-smelling, little cage, where its only exer- cise can be obtained by driving a wheel round, and its wonderful faculty of leaping wholly checked. How much wheel-work would the squirrel do if it had the choice of a tree or a wheel for its exercise ? Even in a cage, provided it be of a proper size, the little creature would not trouble itself to get into a wheel, but prefer clambering about the wires, and jumping from one side to another, in the exuberance of its activity. Many persons assert that the squirrel is quite fond of the wheel, and delights in driving it ; but they forget that the poor little creature is driven to that as its last resource for needful exercise ; and it no more delights in pulling a wire wheel than the caged lion and tiger delight in their restless pacing of their dens. THE SQUIRREL. 583 The exercise of the powers with which it is so liberally gifted is essential to the health of the squirrel, and its health must suffer if it be not permitted to leap. Look at it in a tree, and just see what astonishing jumps the pretty creature takes ; how it wiU spring fairly from the ground to the trunk of a tree, making a jump of some six or seven feet in length and four in height ; how it gallops up the perpendicular stem, with its taU laid behind it, like a fox's brush ; how it scuttles up the branches, always con- triving to keep the bough between itself and the spectator ; and then how, when it has arrived at the topmost branch, and considers itself safe, it sits up in its own charmingly impertinent position, spreads its tail over its head, and looks down with a calmly super- cilious contempt on the clumsy two-legged animal below, who cannot run up a tree, and has no bushy tail for a parasol. No one who has once witnessed this sight could ever be guilty of such a cruel act as penning up a squirrel in a small cage, where it has no room to perform its pretty tricks ; and if the reader cannot furnish his pet with a proper house, we earnestly dissuade him from keeping a squirrel at all. Having prepared the house, the next business is to procure the inhabitant. Be ever wary of those wandering dealers who carry a squirrel about for sale in their arms, stroke its head, and put their fingers to its mouth to show its tameness. In almost every case the man is a cheat, and in many instances a cruel one. The apparent tameness of some of these little creatures is caused by a small dose of strychnine, which renders the animal duU and spiritless, and is generally fatal in the course of a day or two ; so that the disappointed purchaser finds his pet dead and stiff at the bottom of its cage before he has possessed it for many hours. Some of these men are said to employ a preparation of opium for the same purpose. In cases where these impostors wish to sell an old and cross- grained squirrel as a gentle, young one, they pull out its front teeth, so that the poor creature not only cannot bite, but feels such pain in its jaws that it recoils whenever the cruel owner puts his finger to its mouth as a proof of its good education and gentle disposition. As all rodent animals depend solely on their beauti- fully-formed and chisel-shaped fore teeth for their subsistence, the unfortunate squirrel is unable to eat, and dies miserably of hunger. Taking warning, therefore, of these hints, let every intending purchaser of a squirrel be very wary respecting the seller, and examine the squirrel's eye, to see if it be bright and lively, and its mouth, to see if the teeth be perfect. The age of the squirrel may also be known by its teeth : if young, they are nearly white ; if old, of a deep yellow. Squirrels when taken after they have reached their full age are nearly always vicious and ill-temDered. 584 EVERT BOr*S BOOK. The best way, therefore, to obtain a good squirrel is either to order it from a respectable dealer, who will be sure to supply a young and healthy animal, or to be independent of dealers, and take the creature out of the nest. For this purpose the young naturalist should go into the woods about the middle of summer, and look carefully among the branches for the home of the squirrel, called either a " cage " or a " drey," according to the locality. The nest is made on the exterior of leaves and fine twigs, and lined with moss, lichens, and similar soft sub- stances. There are two kinds of nests, one used in summer and the other in winter. The winter nest is very carefully concealed, being placed at the junction of several large branches with the trunk, so as to shield it from prying eyes below, the blasts of the keen winter wind, and to support its large dimensions. The summer cage, on the contrary, is not so carefully concealed, but is placed upon a considerable elevation, and often upon boughs so slender that they bend in a most alarming manner beneath the weight. Still, it often happens that a nest can be reached without danger, in which may be found one or two young squirrels of just the proper age. When captured at an early age, the squirrel often becomes ex- tremely tame and confiding, and wiU play with its owner as if they had both lived in the same nest. It is a pretty sight to witness the gambols of a squirrel with its human playfellow, to see the active little animal jump on the shoulders, run all over the body, perch on the head, poke its wise little head into a pocket, and then with a quick dive of the ready paw bring out a nut, which it straightway cracks and eats as merrily as if in its native woods. Such a sight is pleasant for many reasons ; not the least being that it proves the kindly disposition of the boy with whom a squirrel, though naturally timid, wiQ thus fearlessly play, and it gives promise of more ex- tended sympathies when he attains to riper years and more matured faculties. The squirrel when in confinement is best fed on the substances which it eats while in the wild state, such as nuts, acorns, com, and similar substances. It will also eat bread-and-milk, and likes to nibble a biscuit by way of a treat. As the squirrel is known to be carniverous to a certain degree, it may be useful to give it occa- sionally a young bird, or a few eggs of the thrush, sparrow, or any other common bird. We cannot, however, give personal testimony to the good effect of this diet. Hard shell-fruits, such as nuts, acorns, «&;c., are absolutely necessary to this animal, as the structure of the teeth compels it to be continually nibbling. In all the rodent animals the front teeth are four in number, flat, slightly curved, and edged like a chiseL They play against each other in such a manner that they mutually keep each other sharp ; and in order to supply the constant wearing away to which they are subject, they THE SQUIRREIi. 586 "gr^ throughout the whole lifetime of the animal, being pushed forward by fresh growth at the base. It sometimes happens that a rodent animal, such as a rat or a rabbit, loses one of its teeth, and the consequence is that the cor- responding tooth in the jaw, finding nothing to check it, grows so long that it has been known to reach even the forehead, to form a complete ring, and sometimes to penetrate the other jaw. In all these cases the poor creature was miserably thin, and would probably have died from gradual starvation at no distant period. The last-mentioned point in squirrel-keeping, though of course the most important, is the absolute necessity for the most scrupulous cleanliness. In their native state, all animals are clean to a degree that might shame many a human being, and their instinctive sani- tary customs are most praiseworthy. Even the pig, for instance, so often cited as an example of filthy habits, is when wild a model of cleanliness, and when domesticated absolutely revels in a thorough scrubbing with soap and hot water. The squirrel, in like manner, though perfectly sweet and clean in a wild state, is sure to be most ofiensive in captivity, unless the cage be carefudly purified daily. It is for this reason that we are so particular in recommending galvanized iron for the materials of the cage, avoiding wood alto- gether, as an evil odour readily penetrates wood, and can never be totally expelled. The duplicate tray and sleeping-box will prove to be of the greatest service in keeping the cage clean, and will save much trouble to the proprietor and annoyance to the inhabitant. Should the squirrel-rearer prefer to employ wood in any part of the cage, he must be sure to bind with sheet-tin every edge and angle of the woodwork, as the little creature will nibble at the exposed edges so continually with its chisels of teeth, that it will speedily render the article useless. Before closing these remarks, let us enjoin on every intending rearer of a pet to consider well before he undertakes the sole guardianship of any creature, and to assure himself that he will perform with punctuality and completeness the many little offices required by animals when taken from their natural state of exist- ence, debarred from the exercise of their ordinary capacities, and rendered incapable of procuring food or keeping themselves in that state of cleanliness which is the ordinary condition of creatures in a state of nature. He must make up his mind that the task willhe somewhat trouble- some, and will now and then interfere with contemplated projects ; but at the same time he must rigidly determine that nothing shall cause him to forget, or induce him to omit, one single, duty towards the little creature under his care. It is dumb, and has no language to declare its wants or proclaim its injuries ; and this very dumb- ness ought to incite in every right-feeling heart a strong compassion L 586 EVERY boy's book. for the helpless state in which the creature is placed, an unshakeable resolution to make it as happy as it can be under the circumstances. It is possible to elevate the character of a kindly-treated pet to such a degree, that it will voluntarily forsake the society of its own kind for that of man, and even if granted its liberty, will refuse to avail' itself of the gift, and return to the protection of the sheltering hand. By humane and sympathetic treatment a pet may be made happier than in its native state, and be saved many pangs of suffering by a kindly owner. All animals when wild have to pass through a sort of schooling, and get sadly knocked about and bullied by their elders before they attain maturity and strength to become bullies in their turn ; but if reared in gracious captivity, they will escape the ordeal through which they must have passed. Lastly, let the owner remember that his little favourite is wholly dependent on him for every necessary and comfort of life, and that it will be a piece of arrant cruelty — or, at all events, of inexcusable thoughtlessness — to permit the captive to feel the pangs of hunger or thirst, or to suffer the discomfort of an unclean home. WHITE MICE. The mouse is a lively little animal, and one of the most timid, although he eats in the trap as soon as he is caught. The brown mouse can very rarely be tamed ; but white mice are bred and brought up in a state of domestication, and the young fancier can obtain a pair for a shilling at any of the fanciers. The female has frequently six or eight broods in a year, but at these times she must be separated from the buck, who very frequently destroys the young ones. Cages for white mice may be easily purchased by those who have the money— maxk that — and you may indulge yourselves, my young Mends, to any tune, from the sweet jingle of sixpence to the respectable clink of a golden sovereign. The best kmd of cage is that like a squirrel's, but on a small scale. Some boys who have ingenuity wiU construct pretty little houses for their white mice. We remember seeing one on which there was a mill, by which the white mice, very much like millers in their looks, ground their own com by means of a turnabout fixed on a post of the dormitory, and it was very amusing to see the little creatures come out of the chimney and look about as unlike chimney-sweeps as white is to black. The principal food for white mice is bread-and-milk, oatmeal grits, and any other common food, except cheese, which is bad for them. They should be kept particularly clean, and their cages 588 EVERY boy's book. ought to be arranged, and beds made up every day, or they will give out a most disagreea,ble smell. Piebald mice are sometimes produced by a union of the common field-mouse with a white mouse : there are also some expensive varieties, such as the black mouse, and the black and white mouse, which the young gentlemen who have more money than wit may purchase for a few shillings each ; but we say sixpence : sixpence apiece is enough for any pets of this kind. PART V. istdlantffMs : INCLUDINO BAGATELLE. BILLIARDS. BOAT-BUILDING. CARrENTERING. CHESS. CONJURING. ORYPTOGRAPHT. DEAF AND DUMB ALPHABET. DOMINOES. DRAUGHTS. FIREWORKS GARDENING. MIMICRY AND VENTRI- LOQUISM. PUZZLES. SHOWS. STAMP-COLLECTING. TINSELLING. BAGATELLR Whatever diversity of opinion there may be with respect to the skill required to excel at bagatelle, there can be none with regard to its popularity. The famiHar long green table, with its round end and nine numbered cups let in level with the cloth, is found nearly everywhere. The games played on a bagatelle board are various, the principal of which are, Enghsh bagatelle (which is the ordinary game), Erench bagatelle. Sans Egal, Mississippi, Tron Madame, the Cannon game or Sagatelle versus BOKards. Many of the strokes at bnUards will be found useful at bagatelle, but much less strength will be required. ENGLISH BAGATELLE May be played by any number of persons. The order of precedence is settled by each person striking a ball up the board, and whoever gets the highest number takes the lead and possession of the whole nine balls. He places his ball on the white spot nearest the striking point, and the black ball (which counts double) on the spot nearest the holes. The black baU must be struck at the commencement of every round, but afterwards the player can either play for the holes direct or by striking the other balls. The mace or cue mav be used, as agreed upon. Any number of rounds may be played, and the score is counted from the marked holes into whicn the baUs are driven. The sides of the table are filled with holes and pegs to mark the progress of the game. THE TRENCH GAME Differs from the English in two or three essential particulars. It is generally played by two or four persons, who, instead of playing with the whole nine baUs, take it iu turn to strike, and score ail they make until a hole is missed. The player forfeits one point if he misses the black ball, which counts double, as in the English game. A hundred up is the usual score, and occasionally different values are given to coloured balls, so that a black counts double, a red the same, or adds two to the score otherwise made. SANS EGAL Is a favourite game for two persons. The lead is decided as in the English game, and each player has four balls of different colours. 592 EVERT boy's book. The black ball is placed as in the English game, and the players take alternate strokes. The one that holes the black ball counts it towards his game, as well as all he may hole of his own ; but should he hole any of his adversary's, the number is scored to the owner of them. The game is played 21 or 31 up, and the winner of one round takes the lead in the next. THE CAUNON GAME. This is also called " Billiards v. Bagatelle," and is played by two persons, — 101 up. Three baUs of different colours are used — black, red, and white : the choice of the two last, and the lead, is deter- mined as in the English game. The game is commenced hj placing the black ball on the spot ; but should the player miss it, his oppo- nent scores five ; and if the ball is holed at the same time, the number of the cup is also counted to his opponent, who then takes the turn. The black ball invariably counts double, and is taken out of the cup every time it is holed and placed on " the spot," as at the commencement. If the player's ball is holed after contact with the black ball, or after having made a cannon, it counts the number of the cup, and is returned to him, when he continues to play until he misses. A cannon scores two to the game, but the black ball must be struck first, or else five is added to the adversary's score. There are a few other points to be observed. 'Kie player continues playing after making a cannon, or after holing his own or adversary's ball, if he has struck the black ball first. Snould any ball rebound beyond the centre of the table or be forced off the boara, it must not be played that round, unless it is the black ball, which must be placed on " the spot,'* as at the commencement of the game. MISSISSIPPI. This is a variation of the game by means of a wooden perforated bridge, each arch of m hich bears a particular number. The bridge is placed close up to the circle, and each player strikes up one ball ; he who gets the highest number takes the lead, and plays the nine balls successively. The balls must strike one of the cushions previous to entering the bridge, otherwise the number will be scored to the adversary. The game may be played 30, 60, or 100 up, as may be agreed on. BILLIARDS. Of all indoor games, billiards ranks highest. It is without doubt the king, and reigns triumphant over chess, backgammon, parlour croquet ; and since those delightful miniature billiard tables have been introduced, it is rapidly superseding bagatelle as a parlour game. These miniature tables possess all the advantages of the larger and more aristocratic tables. The same principles operate, the practice is similar, and the laws which govern the play are alike ; need it be a matter of wonder that billiards is fast becoming as popular and universal as it is excellent ? When a boy first tries his hand at billiards, he is generally con- founded by the apparently erratic conduct of the balls. They are apt to diverge into the strangest places, and somehow manage to remain precisely in those spots where a practised player can make a good break from them. This arises first from the want of a knowledge of the laws which regulate moving bodies, the general principles of billiards, and an acquaintance witYi the various " strokes," and the effects they produce. Thus to become a good billiard-player requires a nicety of touch, a good eye, and sound judgment. These are to be acquired if the player attends to the following principles and points of the game. Most boys are aware that billiards is played on an oblong table twelve feet long by six feet wide, inside the cushions : the smaller tables preserve these general proportions. In France, for instance, the table is some four feet by eight feet, and without pockets, it being used solely for the cannon game ; but English tables have invariably six pockets, one at each corner and two at the sides. No good table is now made without a slate bed, perfectly level, and covered with fine green cloth. The old list cushions are now superseded by those made of vulcanized indiarubber, which not only resists the deteriorat- ing influence of the weather, but increases the " speed" of the table. The surface of the cloth is marked with three " spots." The first " spot " is placed about twelve inches from the upper end or top of the table, and is known as " the spot." The second is placed two feet six inches from the top, and the third is in the centre of the table. Two feet six inches from the bottom of the table is the " baulk line," on which is inscribed a semicircle, called the " striking point," shown on figs. 4 to 7. The position of the semicircle is also marked by three spots, one at each end and one at the centre. 594 EVERY boy's book. The moveable adjuncts to the table are cues, balls, butt, and a rest or jigger. With respect to these one or two words of advice. See that your cue is well balanced ; beware of fancy cue ; slet the leathered tip be moderately broad, and keep it always well chalked. The balls are perfect spheres turned out of the centre of the tusk. It may be mentioned that the ordinary length of a cue is four feet nine inches, and the diameter of "match balls" is two inches and a sixteenth. The " butt " is a stiff, thick cue, well leathered at the butt end, and is used occasionally for pushing the ball when it is necessary to come off a cushion at an exact angle. The uses of the " rest " and long cues are obvious. Ere touching on the game itself, there are a few essential points which claim the attention of a young player. The^ are these : 1. The attainment of a good position, 2. The mabng of a firm •' bridge." 3. The acquirement of a good, easy, but firm, stroke. The last two essentials depend in a great measure on the first. It is obvious that the billiard player requires an easy play for his right arm, and firmness in his left to give solidity to the "bridge." To Fia. 1.— The Bridge. ensure this he must stand firmly on his right leg, so that it supports ■ the weight of his body. The left leg should be placed slightly in \ advance, and pressed gently to balance the body only. This will j throw additional weight on the left arm, which rests on the table, ; and leave the right arm free. If the position is a good one, the left ] leg may be lifted from the floor without disturbing the body. To | form the " bridge," the left hand must be first extended on the table, | and the fingers drawn up straight towards the wrist, so as to elevate [ the knuckles. If well done, the tips of the fingers, the wrist, and ! ball of the thumb will touch the table. The point of the thumb ■ must be then kept slightly apart from the fingers to form a groove, \ in which the cue can rest, as shown in fi^. 1. | The bridge should be formed almost six inches from the ball. To j strike well, surely, and firmly, the cue must be held in the grasp of j the right hand. This is essential, for unless the cue is so held it will | be impossible to make a good, and therefore a sure, stroke. All , fancy modes of holding the cue by the tips of the fingers should be avoided. The cue may be laid on the groove of the bridge, and j drawn back, and then firmly and steadily send it forward in a straight ; BILLIARDS. 595 line, keeping the right hand well down behind you, so that the force of the blow comes from the shoulder, not the elbow. The eye must be educated to guide the hand, and, hit or miss, the stroke should be given at once. There should be no hesitation, no see-sawing of the cue to and fro, and no violent motions whatever. The body should be so placed as to give firmness to the bridge, ease to the right arm — which should be kept straight, with the point of the cue slightly above the surface of the cloth — and a general freedom from constraint, which is highly essential to success. The best metliod of practice for a young beginner is to place a ball before his cue and strike it firmly and gently into different pockets, or at different marked points of the cushion, until he can pocket the ball and hit a given point with freedom and precision. Tne ball must be fairly struck with the tip of the cue, not pushed or jerked forward ; and hence it will be necessary to draw back the point of the cue five or six inches ere striking the baD. The stroke, though firm, must not be violent, lest the natural angles of the table should be destroyed. If the ball is watched carefully after it has struck the cushion, it will be found to return at an exactly equal angle to the one at which it was struck. In other words, "the angle of reflexion is equal to the angle of incidence." This is the first and most important rule of billiards, and one that should never be for- gotten. The variation of the strength and direction of the stroke will be found to materially affect this law, and enables the skilled player to make those formidable and seemingly impossible strokes which secure him his victory. This peculiarity of the angles is best illustrated, and the practice of the student advanced, oy jilacing another ball at a little distance before the player, which we vvill call the object ball. If we place them in a line with one of the marked places on the cushion, and strike the first ball fair in the centre, and cause it to strike the object ball fuE, — if this is done, it will strike the marked spot, and come off at the same angle as your first ball would have done. For the purposes of play the object ball is divided thus : — 4. Quarter Ball. 5. Eighth Ball. 6. Very fine Ball. Fia 2.— DiviDJNO THE Object Ball. QQ2 596 EVERY boy's book. Fig. 2, No 1, shows the object ball struck full, fig. 2, No. 2, the three-quarter ball, and so on. The half ball is the most important in practice, as by it the natural angle is made, an angle that is of the greatest importance at billiards, though each have their particular uses, which the young player should endeavour to understand. He will find that the balls diverge at different angles, more or less acute, according as the object ball is struck " full " or " fine ; " the fine ball being precisely the reverse of the three-quarter ball.^ There are many ordinary hazards and cannons which can be made by simply dividing the object ball, but the motion which the striking ball obtams after contact with the object ball will be modified by the position of the cue and the manner in which it is struck. First let us take the position of the cue. For the full centre stroke or straight hazard the ball must be struck well in the centre, and produce what is termed the retard^ or stop ball, if the object ball is struck full Fio. 3.— The Player's Ball divided koe the Sidk-Stkokb. likewise. If the striker's ball is struck considerably above its centre, it produces i\iQ following stroke. To make the hdXl jump, it must be struck sharply on the top with a " downward, forward motion," and this, if carefully done, will cause the ball to jump over a neighbour- ing and intervening ball. When the ball is struck low, it produces tke recoil, and the striker's ball will return from the object ball to BILLIARDS. 597 the player. This leads the beginner to the greatest of all modern improvements in the game, the side-stroke. It is found that it is much easier to divide the striker's ball with accuracy than the object ball, but when both balls are divided with judgment the highest scientific play is obtained. The application of side and twist to the striker's ball is often misapplied by beginners, and is frequently the cause of mischievous results ; for all students should remember that " the harder you strike the balls the more rapidly they fly apart;'* and frequently a modification of the strength of the stroke will achieve the desired result better than the application of "side," which may fail. It should always be remembered that the ball must be struck on the side on which it is intended to go after contact • with the object ball, and that the effect is not produced until after it has come in contact with another ball or the cushion. It is used for the same purpose as the division of the object ball, and accom- plishes the same object. In order that it may be properly understood we give in fig. 3 the player's ball divided for the side-stroke. The student can only acquire a knowledge of the efiect of the strokes given at these varied points by practice, or from the instruc- tion of an expert teacher ; all that a writer can do is to lay dovni well- defined and easily-understood axioms, rules, and cautions. Thus, if the ball is struck at c c, at the top, it becomes the following ball ; at the bottom ning hazards. It re- quires a nearly full ball of moderate strength, and to repeat it from one side to the other you should slightly divide your own bail bj putting on a httle side (see D *G is more useful to a youth than to be able to do aL'Ifle carpeniermg. To be handy with a cliisel and saw, a na^ and a hammer, saves many a pound in the course of the year. If yon call in a carpenter for a little work he is sure to spin out a "regular job." I remember once buying some oak saplings, which cost me eightpence a stick ; and wanting to build a summer-house, I required eight of them to be sawn through, so I applied to a carpenter, and the sticks were cut, but to my astonishment, sixteen shillings was charged for this little " job," although the wood cost me only five shillings and fourpence. I found out afterwards that the proper price for sawing would have amounted to about four shillings, so that twelve shillings profit was clapped on for the benefit of my experience. I just mention this to show my young friends, that if they wish to make summer-houses for their gardens, cages for their birds, fowl-houses, rabbit-hutches, or boxes for their books, they must learn to make them for themselves. I shall therefore offer them a little advice upon " carpentering." THE SHOP AND BENCH. Endeavour to procure some small outhouse, m which you may erect what is called a carpenter's or joiner's bench. These may y&^ R R 610 EVERY BOYS BOOK. often be bouglit second-liand, or if not, can easily be procured at a reasonable rate. I am very particular in recommending a bench, as without it you will find many obstacles to your work. You must also provide yourself with a set of tools, — gimlets, hammers, planes, saws, gouges, files, nails, screws, and such articles of use. The bench is composed of a platform or top, supported by four stout legs; A is what is called the bench hook ; this ougnt to be fitted in tight, so as to move up and down with a hammer only. The use of it is to keep any wood steady you may have to plane : b is the bench screw, used for keeping any wood firm and steady you may have to saw, which is to be put in the grip and screwed tight. Sometimes the edges of wood requii-e to be nlaned, and then the wood is put in the grip or cheeks of the bencn aud held tight while you plane it. The noles in the side of the bench, c c, are for the insertion of a movable pin to support the end of the board you have to plane or saw, which is not in the screw. The height of your bench should be about 2 feet 8 inches. The common length is from 10 to 12 feet, and the breadth about 3 feet 6 inches. OF PLANES. c is what is called the jack plane, which is the first to be used. It is about 17 inches in length, and is used to take the rouffh parts from a piece of wood. It should be held steadily by fixing tne right hand at the handle (/4), and the left over the top and side at (s), and pushed forward on the wood, when the knife (k) will take off a shaving which runs through the hole (o), and falls on the side. Ib using tke plane the endeavoui' should be to take off a clean shaving, CAKPENTERING. 611 which is done by using the instrument uniformly and steadily ovear ever^ surface to be plaiied. D is another kind of plane, called the trying plane, having a double top or handle. It is used to regulate and smooth, to a higher degree, the surface of the wood that had previously been smoothed from the rough by the jack plane. Its length is about 22 inches, and it is broader than the jack plane. There is another plane called the lotto plane, which is used for facing a piece of stuff, which it does witn the greatest exactness ; its length is about 2 feet 4 inches. There is also the joiner's plane, which is the longest of all the planes, being 30 inches long. But the most handy oi the planes to the boy car- penter is the smoothing plane, e. It is the last plane used in joming, and gives the utmost degree of smoothness to tne surface of a piece of finished work ; it is about 7 inches in length, the sides of the stock are curved, and resemble in figure a coffin; it is used in a similar way to the other. SAWS. There are many kinds of saws, but the most useful one is what is called the "hand saw." It has a blade or plate about 28 inches long; the teeth of which are so formed as to allow you to cut the wood irossways as well as lengthways. The handle of the saw is made so rb2 612 EVERY BOY S BOOK. as to allow a full yet free grasp of the hand, either for a puli or a thrust. The panel sato. This saw has a plate nearly of the same size as a hand saw, and is used for cutting very thin boards, which the rough teeth of the hand saw would not cut through without breaking them. The tenon saw is of a different shape to the others, and is made to cut across the grain of the wood so as to leave the ends nicely even. that it may fit to the piece it is joined to, which is called a shoulder, being that part whicli comes in contact with the fibre of the wood thus : jjH To do this it requires that the teeth should be much smaller, and they are therefore placed so close as eight or ten to the inch, according to the length of the blade. The dovetail saw. There is another most useful saw it would be of advantage for the young carpenter to have, namely, the dovetail saw. It is about 9 inches long, and contains at least fifteen teeth in the inch. It is used for cutting the dovetails of boxes. Its plate is very thin, and it requires some care in using. It has a back for the purpose of strength, formed of a thin piece of brass or iron, let in so as to give the blade the requisite fii-mnuss necessary in usmg it. J- The compass saw. Tlie plate of this kjnd of saw is very narrow, and not more than one inch wide »\, the broadest part, gradually I CARPENTERING. 6 1 .3 diminishing to about a quarter of an inch at the lower end. It is about 15 inches in length, and is used for cutting a piece of wood into a cii'cular form, and the plate being narrow allows it to foUow the foot of the compass to a very small diameter. \ Tlie keyhole saw. The keyhole saw is much smaller than the above. \ It is used for cutting short curves, small holes, &c., such as a keyhole. j The handle is the same form as that of the chisel, a small slit being cut through from end to end. It has a screw on one side, in order that the blade may be set to any length, according to the circum- ference of the hole to be cut. THE SPOKE SHAVE. This is a Very useful took It is employed for smoothing the edges of round pieces, or other ends requirmg to be shaved dowR It is a naiTOw plane made of boxwood, and has generally a steel blade let into it to cut ; it is used by taking hold of each end with a hand, and moving it to and fro over the wood to be shaved down. STOCK AND BITS. There are about thirty-six bits to a set, all of dif- ferent shapes and sizes ; but our young friends need not get quite so many: if thev provide themselves with a couple of a medium size, this will be sufficient, such as the centre bit and the auger bit. The centre bit wiU cut holes varying from a quarter of an inch to three quarters of an mch in diameter, and is used by ff i pressing the knob end against the chest, and twirling the centre part round with the hand. It cuts a hole very clean, leaving it quite smooth inside. The auger bit is for the same purpose, and is used in the same manner. Another bit, caUed the taper sliell bit, is used for making holes wider, and is a very useful implement. now TO MAKE A WHEELBARKOW. One of the handiest things in a garden is a wheelbarrow, and one of the prettiest for the young carpenter to exercise liis ingenuity upon. To make one, take a wide plank or board about an inch and 6U EVERY BOY S BOOK. a quarter thick. Proceed to your bencli, and having fitted it to its proper position, take your jack plane and plane off the rough, next use your smoothing plane to make it smooth. Then take your pencil and draw upon its side the following figure, a. Then take youi compass saw and cut round the marks you have made : to do this you will have to fix your board in the screw of your bench. When this is done take your spoke shave, and shave] the edges all round till they are very smooth and even, and you have one side of your barrow. Lay this on another piece of board, and Omark the shape of it with your pencil; cut and shave it exactly as you did the first side, so that when finished the two will exactly correspond; then cut a piece off another board for the back and front of the barrow, of the subiomed shape, by_ the same method you cut the sides, and plane ana finis h them up in a similar way. Cut some tenons at the end of each exactly to correspond with the mortices shown on the sides, d d ; let them be a trifle larger -than the mortices, so that they will drive in ti^ht. Then cut the bottom out neatly, and nail it to the sides. Havmg proceeded thus far, cut out the legs of your barrow, b, and nail one on each side as shown in the figure. Give each leg a shoulder for the sides to rest upon. To make the wheel. Take a piece of board, a, and strike a circle upon it the size you wish your wheel to be of, b, and with the compass saw cut close round to the stroke ; cut out a square hole, c, in the centre for the nave to join. Then get the bhicksmith to put an u-on rim round the wheel to keep it from splitting, and a round pin in each side of the nave, and put a staple in each side of the barrow to ieep the wheel in its place. Paint the whole of any colour you choose, and you will have punch's coach. CARPENTERING. 6 1 1 THE WAT TO MAKE A BOX. I ■■r Fii'st ascertain the size you wish your box to be of. Then cut off ' voiir stuif, but take care to cut it a quarter of an inch longer than the size of your box from outside to outside. Should you want it deeper or broader than the length of a deal, the widest of which is generally oiil;y eleven inches ; s appose, for instance, you wish your box to be 18 inches deep, and you have only 9-inch deal to make it with, you will of course have to join two together, or make what is called in carpentering a (/Ine joint. Eirst, then, after you have cut off your stun, take your jack plane and "scuffle the rough ofP;" then put your board edgeways into the bench-screw, and take your trying plane or long plane to get the edge of the deals that are to be glued together perfectly straight and even; and lastly, use the joiner plane, wmch will take off a nice uniform shaving of the whole length of the board. Proceed exactly in the same manner with the other board to be joined to the fii'st. Then, after having made each thoroughly smooth, clap the two together and see if they will lie close in every part, if not, you must plane them till they do, taking care to plane the edges perfectly square, or at right angles to the surface of the board, for if you are not carefid in this particular, when your boards are glued together they will be of this formu ^gegmrngmmm When you have joined them properly for glueing, ^s*""***^ let your glue be nicely hot and not too thick, and hold both edges of tne boards together so that you can with a brush put the glue on both at one time, put the two together veiy quickly, let one of them be in the bench-screw, and while there rub the otlier backwards and forwards till the glue sets, which it will soon do if well joined. Let the whole dry, and then the glued part wiU be as strong as any other part of the board. After your sides, ends, bottom, and top are thus prepared, you must then plane them up nicely, so that they are penectly smooth and straight. Use first tne jack plane, then the trying plane. When this is done you have to proceed to a nice little job, namely, to dove- tail the comers together, so as to form your box. In this process much depends upon the planing and squaring of the stuff, for if you have not done this nicely the dovetailing wiU be very imperfectly performed. Assuming that everything has been well done, then take the two ends of the box, and see that each is perfectly square and true to the other. Then allow one-eighth of an inch more than the thickness of your sides, and set out the ends, squaring it over on both sides, which when the dovetails are cut out will form the inside of the box. TO CUT THE DOVETAILS. Take one "end-piece" of the box and place it endways into the bench-screw, and mark out the dovetails on the edge of the board inside, thus : 616 EVERY BOrS BOOK. then with your dovetail saw cut in into the mai'ks down to the linea squared over on the flat side like this — Then with a chisel cut out that part of the wood that is crossed, and leave the other part, this being tlie part which wiU form the pins or tails. Then take one side of your box and lay it flat on the bench, the inside uppermost ; then place the end you have cut on it, keeping the edges flush, and maik round the shape of the pins, which wiU Ifeave them after this form — the black places beiug the mortices which are to be cut out. In cutting out these you must be careful to cut within side of the stroke, so that the mortices will be a little smaller than the pins, which wiU admit of then: being driven in quite tight, and will allow the glue to adliere to them (for you have to glue these when you fix them). When you have thus put the ends and sides together let them stand tiU the glue gets arj, then take your planes and plane the quarter of an inch off the pins which you allowed to oe a little longer than the length of the box, and you have then made the body of your box. THE BOTTOM OP THE BOX. Cut your bottom the exact size of the box, nail the bottom on, and " get out " a piece of wood (by cutting and planing in the usual manner) to nau round so as to form a skirting to it, and at the same time hide the joints of the bottom; "get out" a similar piece of wood to nail round the top which will form the lid. Then get a pair of box joints and a lock, aud having put them on by a stroke of your own ingenuity you will have a "box." THE GAME OE CHESS. It is the principal aim of tliis little treatise to assist the young player in his examination of the theory of the openings in the game of chess — a branch of study that to the beginner generally appears to be of a most dull and uninviting character, but which, nevertheless, is of the highest importance to all those who are ambitious of attain- ing to any degree of proficiency in the game. Before proceeding further, we would presume that the young player possesses at least an elementary knowledge of the game, such as the moves and value of the various pieces, the laws of checking, &c. Should he not be thus fortunate, we would strongly advise him to have recourse to the assistance of some chess-friend for an explana- tion of the elementary principles; for, thanks to the almost daily increasing knowledge of the game, there are few localities so remote that cannot produce a brother of the free-masonrv of chess. Though, in compliance with the time-honoured custom of aU writers on chess, we 618 subjoin a brief description of the various pieces and tlieir moves, yet it is our firm conviction that no beginner has ever succeeded in mas- tering by the assistance of " the books " alone, the mere elementary principles of the game. In the following pages we have endeavoured to give a brief synopsis of the most important of the openings, collected from the most approved authonties, and at the same time to present to the tyro as it were a passing glimpse of the chief modern discoveries. If we have occasionally strayed from the beaten path, or insensiblv diverged into any of the as yet unexplored regions of chess, we wouli fain crave the reader's kind indulgence for any of those errors which almost invariably find their way into variations that have not under- gone the " limae labor," or the test of actual play. Finally, should we have had the good fortune by the foUowmg pages to assist a single beginner in mastering any of the elementary difficulties which beset the rough road that only leads to proficiency in chess — should the^-e, through our means, have been added but a single recruit to the ranks of Caissa, well will our labour have been repaid ! THE LAWS OP THE GAME. I. — ^The chess-board must be so placed that each player has a white comer square nearest his right-hand. If the board have been im- properly placed, it must be adjusted, provided four moves on each side have not been played, but not afterwards. II. — ^If a Piece or Pawn be misplaced at the beginning of the game, either player may insist upon the mistake being rectified, if he dis- cover it before playing his fourth move, but not afterwards. III. — Shoula a player, at the commencement of the game, omit to place all his men on the board, he may correct the omission before playing his fourth move, but not afterwards. IV. — ^If a player, undertaking to give the odds of a Piece or Pawn, neglect to remove it from the board, his adversary, after fonr moves have been played on each side, has the choice of proceeding with or recommencmg the game. V. — When no odds are given, the players must take the first move of each game alternately, mrawing lots to determine who shall begin the first game. If a game be drawn, the player who began it has the first move of the following one. VI. — Tlie player who gives the odds has the right of moving first in each game, unless otherwise agreed. Whenever a Pawn is given, it is understood to be always the King's Bishop's Pawn. VII. — ^A Piece or Pawn touched must be played, unless at the moment of touching it the player say " J'adoube'* or words to that effect ; bui if a Piece or Pawn be displaced or overturned by accident^ it rnay be restored to its place. VILL. — ^While a player holds the Piece or Pawn he has touched, he CHESS. 619 may play it to any other than the square he took it from ; but, having quitted it, he cannot recall the move. IX. — Should a player take one of his adversary's Pieces or Pawns, without saying " J adoube" or words to that effect, his adversary may compel him to take it ; but if it cannot be legally taken, he may oblige him to move the King ; should his King, however, be so posted that he cannot be legally moved, no penalty can be inflicted. X. — Should a player move one of his adversary's men, his anta- gonist has the option of compelling him — 1st, to replace the Piece or Pawn and move his King ; 2d, to replace the Piece or Pawn and take it ; 3d, to let the Piece or Pawn .remain on the square to wliich it had been played, as if the move were correct. XI. — ^If a player take one of his adversary's men with one of his own that cannot take it without making a false move, his antagonist has the option of compelling him to take it with a Piece or Pawn that can legally take it, or to move his own Piece or Pawn which he touched. XII, — Should a player take one of his own men with another, his adversary has the option of obliging him to move either. XIII. — If a player make a false move, i. e. play a Piece or Pawn to any square to wnich it cannot legally be moved, his adversary has the choice of three penalties ; viz., 1st, of compelling him to let the Piece or Pawn remain on the square to which he piayed it ; 2d, to move correctly to another square ; 3d, to replace the Piece or Pawn and move his King. XIV. — Should a player move out of his turn, his adversary may choose whether both moves shall remain, or the second be retracted. XV. — When a Pawn is first moved in a game, it may be played one or two squares ; but in the latter case the opponent has the privi- lege of taking it en passant with any Pawii which could have taken it had it been played one square only. A Pawn cannot be taken en passatit by a Piece. XVI. — ^A player cannot castle in the following cases : — 1. If the King or Rook have been moved. 2. If the King be in check. 3. If there be any Piece between the King and Rook. 4. If the King pass over any square attacked by one of the adver- sary's Pieces or Pawns. Should a player castle in any of the above cases, his adversary has the choice of three penalties ; viz., 1st, of insisting that the move remain ; 2d, of compelling him to move the King ; 3d, of compelling him to move the Rook. XVII. — ^If a player touch a Piece or Pawn that cannot be moved without leaving the King in check, he must replace the Piece or Pawn and move his King; but if the King cannot be moved, no penalty can be inflicted. XVIII. — ^If a player attack the adverse King without saying G20 EVERY BOYS BOOK. " Check," his adversary is not obliged to attend to it ; but if the former, in playing his next move, were to say " Check," each player must retract his last move, and he that is under check must obviate it. XIX. — If the King has been ia check for several moves, and it cannot be ascertained how it occurred, the playei whose King is in check must retract his last move and free his King from the check ; but if the moves made subsequent to the check be known, they must be retracted. XX. — Should a player say "Check," without giving it, and his adversary, in consequence, move his King, or touch a Piece or Pawn to interpose, he may retract such move, provided his adversary have not completed his last move. XXI. — ^Every Pawn which has reached the eighth or last square of the chess-board, must be immediately exchanged for a Queen or any other Piece the player may think fit, even though all the Pieces remain on the board. It foUows, therefore, that he may have two or more Queens, three or more Kooks, Bishops, or Knights. XXII. — ^If a play remain, at the end of the game, with a Rook and Bishop against a Rook ; ^vith both Bishops only ; with Knight and Bishop only, &c., he must checkmate his adversary in fifty moves on each side at most, or the game will be considered as drawn ; the fifty moves commence from the time the adversary gives notice that he wiU count them. The law holds good for all other checkmates of Pieces only, such as Queen, or Rook only. Queen against a Rook, &c. &c. XXIII. — If a player agree to checkmate with a particular Piece or Pawn, or on a particular square, or engage to force his adversary to stalemate or cnecbuate him, he is not restricted to any number of moves. XXIV. — A stalemate is a drawn game. XXY. — If a player make a false move, castle improperlv, &c. &c., the adversary must take notice of such irregularity oeforc he touches a Piece or Pawn, or he wiU not be allowed to inflict any penalty. XXYI. — Should any question arise, respecting which there is no law, or in case of a dispute respecting any law, the players must refer the point to the most skUful disinterested bystanders, and their decision must be considered as conclusive. THE KING'S KNIGHT'S OPENIFG. WHITE. BLACK. 1. P. toK's4th. 1. P.toK's4th. 2. K's Kt. to B's 3d. Black has now only three satisfactory methods of defence; viz., 9. P. to Q's 3d; 2. K's Kt. to B's 3d; 2. Q's Kt. to B's 3d. He may, however, adopt five other modes of play; viz., P. to K. B's 3d ; CHESS. 621 Q. to K. B's 3d; B. to Q's 3d; P. to Q's 4th; and P. to K. B's 4tli. Of these the first three are utterly untenable, and the last two are highly dangerous. Should he play 2. P. to K. B's 3d, you reply with 3. Kt. takes K's P., checking with Q. at K. R's 5th, if the Kt. be taken. Should he play 2. Q. to K. B's 3d, or B. to Q's 3d, you eaually reply with B. to Q. B's 4th, with the advantage. If he adopt 2. P. to Q's 4th, you play 3. P. takes P., following it up with Q's Kt. to B's 3d, if he retake with Queen. If he play 2. P. to K. B's 4th, you reply 3. Kt. takes K's P., or B. to Q. B's 4th, and obtain the better game shortly. Having disposed of these unsafe defences, we will now return to the examination of the three satisfactory replies : — P. to Q's 3d; K's Kt. to B's 3d; Q's Kt. to B's 3d. Por the last two, see Games 11. and III. Gaue I. — ^Philidoe's Defence. ■WHITE. BLACK. 1. P. to K's 4th. 1. p. to K's 4th. 2. K's Kt. to B's 3d. 2. P. to Q's 3d. 3. P. to Q's 4th. This is your best reply ; if instead you play, — 3. B. to Q's B's 4th, he plays— 3. B. to K's 2d. (best.) 3. P. takes P. (best.) 4. Q. takes P. 4. Q's Kt. to B's 3d. If you play 4. Kt. takes P., probably his best reply is P. to Q's 4tL 5. B. to Q Kt.'s 5th. 5. B. to Q's 2d. 6. Q. to Q's sq. 6. B. to K's 2d, or K's Kt. to 7. Q's Kt. to B's 3d, with the better position. [K's 2d. You may also, instead of 4. Q,. takes P., try K's B. to Q. B's 4th. Black's best reply seems to be Q's Kt. to B's 3d Game II. — Petrop/s Defence. WHITE. BLACK. 1. P. to K's 4th. I. p. to K's 4th. 2. K's Kt. to B's 3d. . 2. K's Kt. to B's 3d. This defence was brought into notice by Pctioff some years ago, and has been approved ol by many of the leading players. It is an excellent defence when receiving the odds of a piece. 3. Kt. takes K's P. 3. P. to Q's lid. 4. Kt. to K. B's 3d. 4. Kt. vAv,>> K's P. 6. P. to Q's 4th, (or Var. A.) 5. P. to Q's 4th. 6. B. to Q's 3d. 6. B. to K's 2d, (not to (J's 3d.) 7. Castles. 7. Q's Kt. to B's :id. 8. P. to Q. B's 4th. 8. Q's B to K's 3d. 9. P. to Q \V^ 3d 9. Castles. 10. Q. to Q. B's 2d, with a slightly better game. 622 EVERY boy's book. Variation A. on Whitens 5th Move. White has another move at this point, which seems at least as good as 5. P. to Q's 4th; viz., Q's Kt. to B's 3d. "WHITE. BLACK. 5. Q's Kt. to B's 3d. 5. Kt. takes Kt. 6. Q's P. takes Kt. 6. B. to K's 2d. 7. B. to Q's 3d. White has the better opened game. Game III. — ^The Giuoco Piano. ■WHITE. BLACK. 1. p. to K's 4th. 1. P. to K's 4th. 2. K's Kt. to B's 3d. 2. Q's Kt. to B's 3d. This is recommended by nearly all authors, as Black's best reply. Of late, however, there has been an opinion prevalent among many of OUT best players, that it is inferior to K's Kt. to B's 3d, or even P. to Q's 3d. For our own part, we incline to the old move of Q's Kt. to B's 3d, but doubt whether there is any defence by which Black can acquire a perfectly even game. 3. B. to Q. B's 4th. 3. B. to Q. B's 4th. (best.) 4. P. to Q. B's 3d. 4. K's Kt. to B's 3d. (best.) 5. P. to Q's 4th. 5. P. takes P. 6. P. to K's 5th, (or Var. A.) 6. P. to Q's 4th. (best.) 7. K's B. to Q. Kt.'s 5th. 7- K's Kt to K's 5th. 8. P. takes P. 8. B. to Q. Kt.'s 3d. (best.) 9. Castles. 9. Q's B. to K. Kt.'s 5th. 10. B. takes Kt. (ch.) 10. P. takes B. 11. Q's B. to K's 3d, or Q's Kt. 11. Castles. to B's 3d. These are the moves given in the Handbook, and the game is dismissed as equal. In actual play, however, we should take Black's game for choice. Variation A. on Whites 6//* Move. WHITE. ' BLACK. 6. p. takes P. 6. B. to Q. Kt.'s 5th (ch.) White's 6th move is recommended by the German masters, and in our opinion is preferable to P. to K's 5 th; Black's best reply is to check, — 7. B. to Q's 2d. 7. B. takes B. (ch.) 8. Q's Kt. takes B. 8. P. to Q's 4th. 9. P. takes P. 9. Kt. takes P. 10. Q. to Q. Ki's 3d. 10. Q's Kt. to K's 2d. 11. K's R. to K's sq. We much prefer White's game. CHESS. 623 Game IV. — ^The Evans' Gambit. It would be impossible, in tbe narrow limits assigned to our treatise, to enter into the merits of tbis o])ening; we shall there- fore give one or two of the leading variations, and refer learners, who may be desirous of a more comprehensive analysis, to Mr. Walker's excellent articles on this popular opening, in Vol. ix. of the " Chess Player's Chronicle," the "Handbook," and Mr.Boden's useful little work, entitled " A Popular Introduction to Chess," WHITE. BLACK. 1. P. to K's 4th. 1. P. to K's 4th. 2. K's Kt. to B's 3d. 2. Q's Kt. to B's 3d. 3. B. to Q. B's 4th. 3. B to Q. B's 4th. 4. P. to Q. Kt.'s 4th. 4. B. takes Q. Kt.'s P. 5. P. to Q. B's 3d. 5. B. to Q. B's 4th. 6. Castles. 6. P. to Q's 3d. (best.) 7. P. to Q's 4th. 7. P. takes P. 8. P. takes P. 8. B. to Q. Kt.'s 3d. 9. B. to Q. Kt.'s 2d. 9. K's Kt. to B's 3d. Instead of 9. B. to Q. Kt.'s 2d, you may adopt several other modes of play; viz., 9. B.to a E's 3d; 9. U. to K's sq.; 9. P. to K. R's 3d; 9. Q's Kt. to B's 3d. To the two first of these, Black equally repKes with Q's B. to K. Kt.'s 5th, with the better game. (Por 9. P. to K. R's 3d, and 9. Q's Kt. to B's 3d, see Variations A. and B.) 10. P. to Q's 5th. " 10. Q's Kt. to K's 2d. (best.) 11. B. takes K's Kt. 11. P. takes B. 12. K's Kt. to Q's 4th. Wliite has ratlier the better game. Variation A. on White's ^th Move. WHITE. BLACK. 9. P. to K. R's 3d. 9. Kt. to Q. B's 4th. This is the move usually recommended for the defence. Black may however adopt, 9. P. to K. R's 3d, apparently with lilllr disad- \rantage. 10. B. to Q's 3d. 10. K's Kt. to K's 2d 11. P. to Q. R's 4th. 11. Castles. 12. R. to Q. R's 2d. 12. K. to R's sq, 13. R. to K's 2d. 13 P to K. B's 4ih. The game is about equal. 624 EVERT boy's book. Variation B. on Whites 9th Move. WHITE. BLACK. 9. Q's Kt. to B's 8d. We have long suspected that the force of this form of the attack has been vastlv underrated. The following variations are taken from an able analysis by Mr. G. B. Eraser, oi Dundee, who has kindly presented the result of his labours in the investigation of tlii* attack at our disposal: — 9. B. to K. Kt.*s 5th. This move is considered by all the modern \yTiters on Chess to be Black's best reply. 10. Q. to Q. H's 4th. 10. B. takes Kt. In reply to White's last move, Black may play either 10. Q. to Q's 2d, or 10. B. to Q's 2d, instead of the move m the text. If he adopt 10. Q. to Q's 2d, White replies with B. to Q. Kt's 5th, apparently winning a piece. It has been suggested to us that per- haps Black's best move is 10. K. to B's sq., to which White might reply with K. Kt. to his 5th ; and on Black's moving K. Kt. to R's 3(J advance the P. to Q's 5th. (For B. to Q's 2d, see Variation A.) 11. P. to Q's 5th. H. B. to K. Kt.'s 5th. (best.) 12. P. takes Q's Kt. 12. P. takes P. Black might play also Q's U. to Q. Kt.'s sq , whereupon follpws,— 13. P. takes P. (dis. ch.) 13. B. to Q's 2d. 14. Q. to Q. Kt.'s 3d, and wins. 13. p. to K's 5tli. White might al§o with advantage take the Q. B's P. checking although the move in the text seems stronger. 13. B. to K's 3d. If he play, — 13. Q. to Q's 2d. 14. p. takes P. li- P- takes P. 15. Kt. ') Q's 5th, and wins. 14. B. takes B. 14. P. takes B. 15. Q. takes P. (ch.) ^ 15. K. to B's sq. 1^. B. to Q. B's 3d, with a winning game. Variation A. on Black'' s lOM Move. WHITE. BLACK. 10. B. to Q's 2d. 11. Q. to Q. Kt.'s 3d. 11. Kt. to Q. R's 4th. (best-) 12. B. takes K. B's P. 12. K. to B's sq. 13. Q. to Q's 5th. 13. Kt. to K. B's 3d. 14. Q. to K. Kt.'s 5tL 14. K. takes B. 15. P. to K's 5th. ' 15. P. to K. R's 3d. CHESS. 625 This is Black's best reply. If he retire the Kt. to his square, or to K's square, or K. Kt.'s 5th, "White will obtain a winning game, by 16. Q. to K. B's 4th. (ch.) 16. Q. to K. B's 4tL 16. P. to K. Kt.'s 4th. (best.) 17. Q. to Q's 2d. This seems White's most promising move. He may also plsgr 17. Q. takes Kt., upon which Black exchanges Queens with the better game. 17. Kt. to K. R's 2d. 18. P. to Q's 5th. 18. B. to K. B's 4th. Black might also take Pawn with Pawn, and the game would pr6- bablv be continued thus : — 18. P. takes P. 19. Kt. takes P. (ch.) 19. K. to Kt.'s 2d. 20. B. to Q. Kt.'s 2d. 20. Kt. to K. B's 3d. 21. K. to R's sq. 21. R. to K's sq. 22. P. to K. B's 4th, and will win. 19. P. to K's 6th. (ch.) 19. K. to K's 2d. 20. Kt. to Q's 4th. 20. B. to K. Kt.'s 3d. 21. P. to K. B's 4th, with a fine attack. Instead of -etiring his Bishop to Q. B's 4th, as in Game IV. Black may, though apparently less advantageously, play him to Q,. R's 4th. WHITE. BLACK. 1. p. to K's 4th. 1. P. to K's 4th. 2. K's Kt. to B's 3d. 2. Q's Kt. to B's 3d. 3. B. to Q. B's 4th. 3. B. to Q. B's 4th. 4. P. to Q. Ki's 4th. 4. B. takes P. 5. P. to a B's 3d. 5. B. to Q. R's 4th. 6. P. to Q's 4th. (best.) 6. P. takes P, . 7. Castles. 7. P. to Q's. 3d. 8. Q. to Q. Kt.'s 3d. 8. Q. to K. B's 3d. (best.) 8. P. takes P., with a very fine game. K.B. — Should Black at his 7th move, instead of 7- P. to Q's 3ii, play P. to Q. B's P., or K's Kt. to B's 3d, you, in reply, advanct P. "to K's 5th, with a powerful attack. The Gambit Declined. We now come to consider the consequences of Black's not accepting the gambit pawn at move 4. WHITE. BLACK. 1. p. to K's 4th. 1. P. to K's 4th. 2. K's Kt. to B's 3d. 2. Q's Kt. to B's 3d. 3. B. to Q. B's 4th. 3. B. to Q. B's 4th. 4. P. to a Kt.'s 4tL 4. B. to Q. Kt.'s 3d 6. B. to Q. Kt.'s 2d. 5. P. to Q's 3d. 6. P. to Q's 4th. We prefer White's game. B S 626 EVERT boy's book. There is also another method of declining the Gambit, which, although hitherto unanalysed, seems to present some interesting features. "WHITE. BLACK. 1. p. to K's 4th. 1. P. to K's 4th. 2. K's Kt. to B's ad. 2. Q's Kt. to B's 3d. 3. B. to Q. B's 4th. 3. B. to Q. B's 4th. 4. P. to Q. Kt.'s 4th. 4. P. to Q's 4th. 5. P. takes Q's P. 5. Kt. takes Q. Kt.'s P. 6. P. to Q. B's 3d. 6. Kt. takes Q's P. 7. Q. to Q. Kt.'s 3d. 7. P. to Q. B's 3d. 8. B. takes Kt. 8. Q. takes B. (best.) 9. Q. takes Q. 9. Q. takes Q. 10. Kt. takes K's P. Even Game. It is very possible some of White's moves may be improved upon , but the foregoing variation seems satisfactorily to demonstrate that Black can gain no advantage. Before taking our leave of this beautiful opening, we would again remind the young player, that it is perfectly immaterial, whether Black at move 5 captures the gambit pawn with B. or Kt., if with the latter White equally replies with P. to Q. B's 3d; and on Black's retiiing the Kt. to Q. B's 3d (best), the position becomes the same as given in a previous variation. Game V. — ^Rtjt Lopez Knight's Game. We will now proceed to examine this, perhaps, the strongest and most embarrassing attack the board affords. It is through fear of this variation, that many of our best players have abandonea the usual defence of 2. Q's Kt. to B's 3d, ana turned to the King's Knight's defence, or the old move of P. to Q,'s 3d. WHITE. BLACK. 1. p. to K's 4th. 1. P. to K's 4th. 2. K's Kt. to B's 3d. 2. Q's Kt. to B's 3d. 3. B. to a Kt.'s 5th. 3. K's Kt. to B's 3d. By playing your Bishop thus, you again threaten to win his K's P. The move in the text, commonly known as the Berlin defence, is perhaps as good a reply as the position admits. He has, however, three other plausible moves; viz., B. to Q. B's 4th; B- to K's 2d; P. to Q's 3d, which vsdll be touched upon hereafter. 4. P. to Q's 4th. 4. P. takes P. This move (or perhaps still better, 4. Castles) appears to yield a far stronger attack than the old move of Q. K's 2d. Black, instead of P. takes P., might either reply with 4. K's Kt. takes K's P., or 4. Q's Kt. takes Q's P. If the former, perhaps castling at once is your CHESSv 627 best reply ; if the latter, you take Kt. with K's Kt., and then play P. to K's 5th, as in the present variation. 5. P. to K's 5th. 5. Kt. to K's 5th. 6. Castles. 6. B. to K's 2d. (best.) 7. Kt. takes P. 7- Kt. takes Kt. (or Var. A.) 8. Q. takes Kt. 8. P. to K. B's 4th. 9. P. takes P. en passant. 9. Kt. takes P. 10. Q's Kt. to B's 3d. White has a very fine game. We will now turn our attention to the other modes of play Black may adopt at his 3d move, instead of K's Kt. to B's 3d; viz., B. to Q. B's 4th; P. to Q's 3d; B. to K's 2d. (see Variations B. C.) Variation B. on BlacK's 3c? Move. WHITE. BLACK. 1. P. to. K's 4th. 1. p. to K's 4th. 2. K's Kt. to B's 3d. 2. Q's Kt. to B's 3d. 3. B. to Q. Kt.'s 5th. 3. B. to Q. B's 4th. 4. P. to Q. B's 3d. 4. K's Kt. to K's 2d. (best.) 5. Castles. 5. Castles, 6. P. to Q's 4th. 6. P. takes P. 7. P.. takes P. 7. B. to Q. Kt.'s 3d. 8. P. to Q's 5th. 8. Q's Kt. to his sq. White may also play 8. Q's Kt. to B's 3d with advantage. 9. P. to Q's 6th. " 9. P. takes P. 10. Q. takes P. 10. B. to Q. B's 2d. 11. Q. to Q. R's 3d. 11. P. to Q's 4th. 12. K's B. to Q's sq. 12. B. to Q's 3d. The move 12. K. B. to Q's sq. is recommended in the Handbook as giving Wliite an advantage of position. The reply, however, in the text, which occurred to the writer in actual play, seems calculated to free Black from his embarrassment. Variation C. on Black'' s Zd Move. WKITE. BLACK. 3. P. to Q's 3d. 4. P. to Q's 4th. . 4. B. to Q's 2d. 5. Castles. Black has a tolerably safe though constrained position. N.B. — ^For 3. B. to K's 2d, see the games illustrative of this opening. Game VI. — ^The Scotch Gambit. This opening derives its name from having been adopted in the OTeat match by correspondence between the London and Edinburgh C/hess Clubs. The attack consequent on this opening at one time SS 2 628 EVERY BOY*S BOOK, considerably embarrassed Mr. Cochrane, wbo considered there vcas no satisfactorjr defence to it. Major Jaenisch, however, with chai'ac- teristic patience and analysis, has proved the contrary. WHITE. BLACK. 1. p. to K's 4th. 1. p. to K's 4th. 2. K's Kt. to B's 3d. 2. Q's Kt. to B's 3d. 3. P. to Q's 4th. 3. P. takes P. If he play 4. Kt. takes P., you reply with either Kt. takes Kt., oi Kt. takes K's P., and obtain the better position. 4. B. to Q. B's 4th. 4. B. to Q. B's 4th. This is now acknowledged to be Black's best move j for 4. B. to Q Kt.'s 5th. (ch.) see Variation A. 6. P. to Q. B's 3d. 5. K's Kt. to B's 3d. (best.) And the position is the same as given in the leading variation of the Giuoco Piano, see page 622. Should Black instead play : P. takes Q. B's P., you take iiis K. B's P. with your B. (ch.); and if he takes the Bishop with King, play Q. to Q's 5th (ch.), and then take his Bishop. Variation A. on Black'' s 4ith Move. WHITE. BLACK. 1. P. to IC's 4th. 1. p. to K's 4th. 2. K's Kt. to B's 3d. 2. Q's Kt. to B's 3d. 3. P. to Q's 4th. 3. P. takes P. 4. B. to Q. B's 4th. 4. B. to Q Kt.'s 5th. (ch.) 5. P. to Q. B's 3d. 6. P. takes P. 6. Castles. 6. P. to Q. B's 7th. Instead of 6. Castles, you might adopt Mr. Cochrane's method o continuing the attack, lay 6. P. takes P. NB. — It would be very bad play of Black to take the Q. Kt.'s P., instead of the move in the text. 7. Q. takes P. 7. P. to Q's 3d. 8. P. to Q. R's 4th. 8. B. to Q. R's 4th. 9. P. to Q. Kt.'s 4th. 9. B. to Kt.'s 3d. 10. Q. to Q. Kt.'s 3d, with a fine game. There is another not uninteresting methoQ of attack, which White might adopt at his fifth move, instead of 5. P. to Q. B's 3d; viz., K*8 Kt. to his 5th. 5. K's Kt. to his 5th. 5. K's Kt. to R's 3d. (best.) 6. Kt. takes K. B's P. 6. Kt. takes Kt. 7. B. takes Kt. (ch.) 7. K. takes B. 8. Q. to R's 5th. 8. P. to K. Kt.'s 3g, 9. Q. takes B. 9. P. to Q's 4tli. 629 Black's 9th move was first suggested in an able analysis on this variation by Messrs. Jacnisch and Schummoff, in the " Chess Player's Chronicle" for July, 1850. It is far superior to the old move of P. to Q,'s 3d, and without great care cm your part will give liim an irre- sistible attack. 10. Castles. 10. P. takes P. This is your strongest move, and appears to have been overlooked by the talented authors of the article in question: — 10. P. to Q. B's 3d. (best.) 10. K to K's sq. If Black play 10. P. to Q's 6th, you reply with Q. to Q. B's 4th (eh.), winning the King's Pawn. 11. B. to K. Kt.'s 5th. 11. Q. to Q's 3d. 12. Q. takes Q. 12. P. takes Q. 13. P. takes P. 13. Kt. takes P. 14. Q's Kt. to B's 3d. And Black wiU have great difficulty in avoiding the loss of a Pawn. There is another variation of this opening hitherto, we believe, imanalysed, which, although it presents many points of interest, seems Edtogether unknown to the majority of amateurs. WHITE. BLACK. 1. P. to K's 4th. 1. P. to K's 4th. 2. K's Kt. to B's 3d. 2. Q's Kt. to B's 3d. 3 P. to Q's 4th. 3. P. takes P. 4. B. to Q. B's 4th. 4. B. to Q. B's 4th. 5. Castles. 5. P. to a's 3d. 6. K's Kt. to his 5th. 6. K's Kt. to R's 3d. 7. P. to K. B's 4th. 7. P. to Q's 6th. (dis. eh.) If he play 7. B. to K. Kt.'s 5th, your best reply seems to be Q. to K's sq., although you mi^ht obtain a strong but hazardous attack by playing Q,. to her 3d, and afterwards, on his attacking her, with Q's Kt. to Q. Kt.'s 3d. S. K. to U's sq. 8. P. takes P. 9. Q. takes P. 9. Q's Kt. to Q's 5th. 10. Q, to Q. B's 3d. And although minus a Pawn, you have a fine game. If he now play P. to K. B's 3d, you reply with B. to K's 3d. 630 EVERY BOY'S BOOK. H.. THE KING'S BISHOP'S OPENING. WHITE. BLACK. 1. P. to K's 4th. 1. P. to K's 4tli. 2. K B. to Q. B's 4th. 2. K. B. to Q. B's 4th. By this move ^ou attack his weakest point, m. the K. B's P. Most of the classical writers on Chess concur in recommending the same move as Black's best reply. Major Jaenisch and the German authors unanimorasly recommend 2. K's Kt. to B's 3d in preference, the move generally adopted in actual play. (See Game III.) White has now several methods of continuing the attack. He may plav the move recommended bv Philidor, viz. P. to Q. B's 3d, to which Black may reply with either K's Kt. to B's 3d, or Q. to K. Kt.'s 4th, or P. to Q's 4th, in every, case with at least an equal game. You may also play K's Kt. to B's 3d, and upon Black's bringing out his Q's Kt., the position is resolved into the Giuoco Piano. If you play Q. to K. H's 5th, (a move frequently adopted bv young players,) Black will reply with Q. to K B's 3d, or to K's 2a, with no inferiority of position. Besides these moves you have two others at command, viz. Q. to K's 2d, and P. to Q. Kt.'s 4th, which we will proceed to examine. Game L — ^Thb Lopez Gambit. white. black. 1. P. to K's 4th. 1. P. to K's 4th. 2. K. B. to Q. B's 4th. 2. K. B to Q. B's 4th. 3. Q. to K's 2d. 3. Q's Kt. to B's 3d. By playing thus you threaten at once to take his K. B's P. (ch.), and if K. takes B , to win his Bishop in return by the check of the Q. The move in the text is Black's best reply, any other move would leave you with at least an even position. 4. P. to Q. B's 3d. 4. K's Kt. to B's 3d. Instead of P. to Q. B's 3d, you may take the adverse K. B's F (ch.) ; see Variation A. 5. P. to K. B's 4th. 5. B. takes K's Kt. 6. U. takes B. 6- Castles. 7. P. to Q's 3d. 7 P. to Q's 4th. With a superior game. 631 Variation A. on White's ^th Move. "vnirrE. black. 4. B. takes K. B's P. (ch.) 4. K. takes B. 5. Q. to Q. B's 4th. (eh.) 5. P. to Q's 4th. 6. Q. takes B. 6. P. takes K's P. 7. Q. to Q. B's 4th (ch.) 7. B. to K's 3d. 8. Q. takes P. 8. K's Kt. to B's 3d. Black has by far the better game. Game II. — The Double Gambit. WHITE. BLACK. 1. p. to K's 4th. 1. P. to K's 4th. 2. K's B. to Q. B's 4th. 2. K's B. to Q. B's 4tL 3. P. to Q. Kt.'s 4tL 3. B. takes P. 4. P. to K. B's 4th. 4. P. to Q's 4th. His best move. If, in lieu of P. to Q's 4th, he adopt P. takes K. B's P., you reply with K's Kt. to B's 3d, and obtain a fine attack 5. P. takes Q's P. 5. P. to K's 5tL If ypu play B. takes P., Black replies with P. to Q. B's 3d, with tlie better game. 6. K's Kt. to K's 2d. 6. K's Kt. to B's 3d 7. Castles. 7- Castles. 8. Q's Kt. to B's 3d. 8. P. to Q. B's 3d 9. P. takes P. 9. Q's Kt. takes P. Black has the better ^me, thereby proving that the Double GaiJibit, if correctly met, is disadvantageous to the first player. Game IIL white. black. 1. P. to K's 4th. 1. P. to K's 4th. 2. K's B. to a B's 4th. 2. K's Kt. to B's 3d. 3. K's Kt. to B's 3d. 3. Kt. takes K's P. (best.) Your third move is probably the best on the board; 3. P. to Q's 4th, and 3. P. to Q's 3d, seem much inferior, as Black imme- diately gains the attack. 4. Q's Kt. to B's 3d. 4. K's Kt. to B's 3d. Your fourth move was introduced two or three years ago, and waa first analysed by Mr. Boden, in his "Popular Introduction," where Black's reply, of 4. K's Kt. to B's 3d, is recommended as his best; we believe, however, he can at least as advantageously play 632 eveKy boy's book. 4. Kt. takes Q^s Kt., or, as has been suggested to us, 4. P. to Q*i 4tL ; see Variation A, 5. Kt. takes K's-P. 5. P. to Q's 4th. 6. B. to Q. Kt.'s 3(L 6. B. to Q's Sd Equal game. Variation A, on BlacJc^s Mh Move. WHITE. BLACK. 4. Kt. takes Q's Kt. 8. Q's P. takes Kt. 5. P. to Q. B's 3d. He may also play 5. P. to K. B's 3d, bj which he preserves his Pawn, though with a somewhat inferior position. 6. Kt. takes K's P. 6. P. to Q's 4th. 7. B. to Q's 3d. 7. B. to Q's 3d- 8. K's Kt. to B's 3d. 8. Castles. 9. Castles. Black has no inferiority of position. THE KING'S GAMBIT. Game I. This beautiful and brilliant debut, which, as Mr. Staunton observes, gives birth to the most intricate and beautiful combinations the chess-men are susceptible of, has been a universal favourite with every class of players from the earb'est stages of European Chess up to the present day. In order to facilitate the analysis of this opening, as far as our narrow limits will permit, we shall divide it mto its three principal heads; viz., The King's Knight's Gambit, The Allgaier Gambit, and the King's Bishop's Gambit, and afterwards devote a few words to the Gumbit Declined. WHITE. BLACK. 1. P. to K's 4th. 1. P. to K's 4th. 2. P. to K. B's 4th. 2. P. takes P. 3. K's Kt. to B's 3d. 3. P. to K. Kt.'s 4th. This is Black's best move, indeed the only one to retain the rmbit pawn. He, however, may obtain a nearly equal game by P to Q's 4th. If he play 3. B. to K's 2d, commonly known as the Cunningham Gambit, White replies with B. to Q. B's 4th, and on Black's checking with B. at R's 5th, plays K. to B's sq., with a much better game. 4. :^. to Q. B's 4th. 4. B. to K. Kt.'s 2d (best), or Var. A. 5. P. to Q B's 3cL ~ 5. P. to K. E's 3d. (best.) CHESS. 633 Should Black play the obvious-looking move of 4. P. to Q's 3d, White gains a striking advantage by the following mode of play: — 6. Q. to Q. Kt.'s 3d. 6. Q. to K's 2d. 7. Q. to Q. Kt.'s 5th. (ch.) 7. B. on P, interposes, 8. Q. takes K. Kt.'s P., &c. 6. P. to Q's 4th. 6. P. to Q's 3d. 7. Castles. 7. Q's Kt. to Q's 2d. This is usually considered his best move, though Q's Kt. to B's 3d, or K's Kt. to K's 2d, are perhaps equally good. S. P. to K. Kt.'s 3d. 8. P. to K. Kt.'s 5th. ' If he takes P. with P., you get a fine attack by B. takes K. B's P. (ch.) 9. Kt. to K. R's 4th, (or to K's 9. Kt. to Q. Kt.'s 3d. 10. B. to a Kt.'s 3d. [sq.) 10. P. to K. B's Gth. He has a Pawn more, and a strong position. N.B. — Instead of 5. P. to Q. B's 3d, you may also play 5. P. to K. E's 4th, with a good attack. The Salvio Gambit. Variation A. on BlacFs ^th Move, WHITE. BLACK. 1. p. to K's 4th. 1. P. to K's 4th. \ 2. P. to K. B's 4th. 2. P. takes P. 3. K's Kt. to B's 3d. 3. P. to K. Kt.'s 4th. 4. B. to Q. B's 4th. 4. P. to K. Kt.'s 5th. 5. Kt. to K's 5th. 5. Q. to K. R's 5th. (ch.) Instead of 5. Kt. to K's 5th, you may castle, for which see Game n. (The Muzio Gambit.) 6. K. to B's sq. 6. K's Kt. to U's 3d. 7. P. to Q's 4th. 7. P. to K. B's 6th. 8. P. takes P. 8. P. to Q's 3d. 9. B. takes K's Kt. 9. Q's P. takes Kt. And Black has a fine Game. You seem to have no better move than 9. B. takes K's Kt.; if you play Kt. to Q's 3d, he replies with K. Kt.'s P. takes P., and your game is gone. Game II. — The Muzio Gambit, white. black. 1. P. to K's 4th. 1. P. to K's 4th. 2. P. to B's 4th. 2. P. takes P. 3. K's Kt. to B's 3d. 3. P. to K. Kt.'s 4th. 4. B. to Q. B's 4th. 4. P. to K. Kt.'s 5th, 5. Castles. 6. P. takes Kt. f)34 EVERY boy's book. This sacrifice of the Kt., dariiig as it may appear at first sight, is, nevertheless, considered by modem analysis to oe quite sound. 6. Q. takes P. 6. Q. to K. B's 3d. (best.) 7. P. to K's 5th. 7. Q. takes K's P. Your 7th move is given by most of "the books" as the best. We lave found Q's Kt. to B's 3d at this point a strong move in actual play. 8. P. to Q's 3d. . 8. K's B. to R's 3d. 9. Q's B. to Q's 2d. 9. K's Kt. to K's 2d. 10. Q's Kt. to B's 3d. 10. P. to Q. B's 3d. Some authors recommend Q's Kt. to B's 3d as more attacking than the move in the text. It has however been proved untenable in the "Handbook" (page 281.) 11. Q's R. to K's sq. 11. Q. to Q. B's 4th. (ch.) 12. K. to E's sq. 12. P. to Q's 4th. Mr. Staunton recommends 12. R. to K. B's 2d, instead of retiring the King to R's sq. We have tried this move in actual play, follow- ing it up with Q's R. to K. B's sq., which seems to give White an ovei-whelming attack. 13. Q. to K. R's 5th. 13. Q. to Q's 3d. 14. B. takes Q. P. 14. P. takes B. 15. Kt. takes Q's P. 15. Q's Kt. to B's 3d. 16. Q's B. to his 3d. 16. Q. to K. Kt.'s 3d. 17. R. takes Kt. (ch.) 17. K. to B's sq. The moves up to this point, both for attack and defence, are given by Jaenisch and the "Handbook" as the best the board affords; with the best play, probably the game ou^ht to be drawn. We much regret that our space will not allow of a more elaborate analysis of this beautiful gambit ; we trust, however, that the above variations will show the young player the difficulty and resource of this opening. We cannot quit the subject without alluding to a defence lately introduced by Messrs. Kling and Horwitz, which consists in Black's playing Q. to K's 2d at lus 5th move, instead of taking the Kt With all deference and respect for the wonderful and almost inex- haustible power of analysis displayed by these two eminent players, we must confess that we have our doubts as to the soundness of the move in question. The young players, however, wiU find it full analysed in Kling and Horwitz's " Chess Studies," one of the mot valuable and interesting works on Chess of modem days, which needs not our recommendation to find its way to the book-shelf of every lover of Chess. CHESS. 635 Game I. — ^The Allgaieb, Gambit. This opening, the invention of which is erroneously ascribed to All- gaier, has of late years become a favourite with all classes of players , though we agree with Mr. Boden in considering that its resources have been considerably overrated, although not perhaps from the same reason as adduced in his " Popular Introduction." * WHITE. BLACK. 1. p. to K's 4th. 1. P. to K's 4th. 2. P. to K. B's 4th. 2. P. takes P. 3. K's Kt. to B's 3d. 3. P. to K. Kt.'s 4th. 4. P. to K. R's 4th. 4. P. to K. Kt.'s 5th. You may here play your Kt. to K's 5th, or to K. Kt.'s^ 5th. Modem authorities agree in recommending the former, as giving a more lasting attack. As, however, some very embarrassing positions may arise from flaying the Kt. to his 5th, we will examine the con- sequences resulting from it at present, leaving the move of 5. Kt. to K's 5th for after examination, (Game II.). 6. Kt. to Kt.'s 5th. 5. P. to K. R's 3d. (best.) 6. Kt. takes K. B's P. 6. K. takes Kt. 7. B. to Q. B's 4th. (ch.) 7. P. to Q's 4th. Your 7th move gives a far more embarrassing attack than the old lOve of Q. takes K. Kt.'s P., to which Black rephes, K's Kt. to B's 3d. with a winning position. In the present game Black's reply of P. to Q's 4th is his only move. If he retire K. to Kt.'s sq., you must gain some advantage by Q. takes K. Kt.'s P., &c. 8. B. takes P. (ch.) 8. K. to K's sq. In our opinion the move of K. to K's sq. is preferable to K. to Kt.'s 2d. At all events the defence seems much simpler, and at least us satisfactory. 9. P. to Q's 4th. 9. P. to K. B's 6th. (best.) 10. P. takes P, 10. B. to K's 2d. With a winning game. Game II. . WHITE. BLACK. 1. P. to K's 4th. I. P. to K's 4th. 2. p. to K. B's 4th. 2. P. takes P. 3. K. Kt.'s to B's 3d. 3. P. to K. Kt.'s 4th. 4. P. to K. E's 4th. 4. P. to K. Kt.'s 5th. 5. Kt. to K's 5th. 5. P. to K. R's 4th. 636 EVERT boy's book. Black's 5tli move has been recommended hy almost all the antno- rities as the correct reply; although the moves 5. P. to Q's 3d; 5. B. to K's 2d; or 5. K's Kt. to B's 3d, seem, to say the least, equally advantageous for the second player. 6. B. to Q. B's 4th. 6. Kt. to K. E's 3d. 7. P. to Q's 4th. 7. P. to K. B's 6th. 8. P. takes P. (best.) 8. P. to Q's 3d. 9. Kt. to Q's 3d. 9. B. to K's 2d. 10. B. to K's 3d. This is the move given by the " books ;'* B. to K. B's 4th, however, appears at least as good. 10. B. takes K. B's P. (ch.) 11. K. to Q's 2d. 11. P. takes P. 12. Q. takes P. 12. B. to K. Kt.'s 5th. 13. Q. to K. B's 4th. 13. Q's Kt. to B's 3d. One of the advantages of the move 10. B. to K. B's 4th, as sug- gested above, seems to be that the White Q. could not be played to K's 3d, instead of the more assailable part of K. B's 4th. 14. Q's Kt. to B's 3d. And the game, in spite of the formidable appearance of the adverse Bishops, seems in White's favour, from the disposition of his forces, so well calculated for a vigorous assault. N.B. — It would be very unadvisable for Black to reply to White's move of Kt. to Q. B's 3d. with Kt. takes Q's P. 14. Kt. takes Q's P. 15. B. takes Kt. 15. B. to K. Kt.'s 4th. 16. B. takes K's K 16. B. takes Q. (ch.) 17. Kt. takes B. And White has a more than ample equivalent for his lost Queen, and a considerable superiority of position. Game I, — The Bishop's Gambit. WHITE. BLACK. 1. P. to K's 4th. 1. P. to K's 4th. 2. P. to K. B's 4th. 2. P. takes P. 3. B. to Q. B's 4th. 3. Q. to K. B's 5th. (ch.) Black's 3d move is the one generally recommended at this point. He has, however, the option of several other moves, the most im- portant of which seems to be P. to Q's 4th. (See Game II.) 4. K. to B's sq. 4. P. to K Kt.'s 4th. (best.) If Black, instead of the move in the text, play B. to Q. B's 4th, a move frequently adopted by young players, you reply with P. to Q.'s ith, and K's Kt. to B's 3d, with a fine position. f 637 6. Q's Kt. to B's 3d. 5. B. to K. Kt.'s 2d. (best.) 6. P. to Q's 4th. 6. P. to Q's 3d. 7. K's Kt. to B's 3d. 7. Q. to K. R's 4th. 8. P. to K. R's 4th. 8. P. to K. R's 3d. 9. P. to K's 5th. 9. P. takes P. Major Jaenisch, to whom we owe ahnost all our knowledge of this fine opening, at one time we believe recommended 9. B. to K. Kt.'s 5th for Black, instead of P. takes P., but has we believe quaMed his opinion in favour of the move in the text. 10. Q's Kt. to Q's 5th. 10. K. to Q's sq. 11. P. takes P. 11. B. to Q's 2d. 12. K. to Kt.'s sq. 12. Q. to K. Kt.'s 3d. 13. P. takes P. 13. P. takes P. 14. R. takes R. 14. B. takes R. 15. K's Kt. takes P. 15. Q. takes K's Kt. This sacrifice is the invention of Petroff, the great Russian master; and without the greatest care in the defence, will give you an over- powering attack. L6. L7. [8. L9. Q's B. takes P. P. to K's 6th. Kt. takes Q. B's P. Kt. to K's 6th. (ch.) 16. Q. to K. Kt.'s 17. P. takes P. 18. P. to K's 4th. Game II. 1. 2. 3. WHITE. P. to K'S 4th. P. to K. B's 4th. B. to Q. B's 4th. BLACK. 1. P. to K's 4th. 2. P. takes P. 3. P. to Q's 4th. We would recommend this defence to the young player, (especially when receiving the odds of a piece,) as it leads at once to at least an even game, and avoids an intricate and difficult series of moves, the least error in which would be fatal. 4. B. takes P. 4. K's Kt. to B's 3d. 5. Q. to K's 2d. 5. Kt. takes B. This is probably your best move, though Kt. to Q. B's 3d, may be played witnout danger. 6. P. takes Kt. (dis. ch.) 6. B. to K's 2d. 7. Q. to K. B's 3d. (best.) 7. B. to K. R's 5th. (ch.) 8. P. to K. Kt's 3d. 8. P. takes P. 9. P. takes P. 9. B. to K. Kt.'s 4tb. 10. Q's Kt. to B's 3d. The game is about eyen. 638 EVERT boy's book. ' Instead of Black's 8\h. move of P. takes P., Mr. Staunton suggests ; the liighly ingenious move of castling; and the game would probably ; be continued thus: — j 8. Castles. ■ 9. Kt. to K's 2d. (best.) 9. K to K's sq. j This is your best reply, if you capture either B. or P. you lose in ; a fevr moves. (See the " Handbook," p. 335.) ^ 10. Q's Kt. to B's 3d. 10. B. to K. B's 3d. We do not see that Black has anything better. ] 11. Q's Kt. to K's 4th. j And White has some little advantage. It is worth while remark- ; ing, that if Black now adopt the tempting move of B. to K. Kt.'s 5th, I White wdU win at least a pawn. We leave the " modus operandi " ! for the investigation of the young pla^rer. 'j We cannot take our leave of this mexhaustible opening, without J once more recommending the amateur who is ambitious of becoming ; initiated into the mysteries of the Bishop's Gambit, to study the : admirable articles on this debut, published by Major Jaenisch, m the ; late volumes of the "Chess-Player's Chronicle,** which exliibit, perhaps, i the most patient and profound analysis the annals of Chess have ■; ever produced. j The Gambit Refused. • The refusal of the gambit, though it may be done with perfect •, safety, generally leads to a didl and uninteresting game ; we would i therefore advise the young player to accept the prollered pawn, more ; especially when receiving the odds of a piece, as he will gain more knowledge of the game by observing the maimer in which a fine i player pursues his attack, than can be obtained from all the works i that have ever been wiitten on the subject. Gamx I. j WHITE. BLACK. 1. P. to K's 4th. 1. P. to K's 4th. ; 2. P. to K. B's 4th. 2. B. to Q. B's 4th. i This has usually been received as tne best "method of declining the gambit, though a preference has sprung up lately in favour of P. to, Q's 4th (See Game 11.). Major Jaenisch recommends K's Kt. to B's 3d, to which you reply with P. takes P. ; and upon his taking K's P. with Kt., yon play K's Kt. to B's 3d. 3. K's Kt. to B's 3d. 3. P. to Q's 3d. 4. P. to Q. B's 3d. 4. B. to K. Kt.'s 5th. 5. P. to K. R's 3d. 5. B. takes Kt. We believe your 5th move is now more generally preferred to B. 639 to K*s 2d. You may also play 5. P. to Q's 4th., thougli it is some- what hazardous. 6. Q. tates B. 6. Q*s Kt. to B's 3d. 7. B. to Q. B's 4th, or Kt.'s 5th. And the game is about even. Game II. ■white. black. 1. P. to K's 4th. 1. p. to K's 4th. 2. P. to K. B's 4th 2. P. to Q's 4th. 3. P. takes Q's P. 3. P. to K's 5th. (best.) You may also play 3. K's Kt. to B's 3d., apparently without danger. 4. P. to Q's 4th. 4. Q. tales Q's P. Your 4th move seems far stronger than the usually received play of B. to Q. Kt.'s 5th. (ch.) 5. P. to Q. B's 4th. 5. Q. to Q's sq. 6. B. to Q. B's 4th. You have the better game, THE CENTBE GAMBIT. This opening, though passed over by many of the books, frequently gives birth to many beautiful and critical positions, and unless pro- perly opposed, is very embarrassing. Game I. •WTIITE. BLACK. 1. P. to K's 4th. 1. P. to K's 4th. 2. p. to Q's 4th. 2. P. takes P. 3. B. to Q. B's 4th. 3. K's Kt. to B's 3d. You may also play here P. to K. B's 4th, a move as yet, we believe, ananalys(;(l. (See Game II.) Black's reply is the correct one, whereby he reduces the game to a position similar to one in the K. Kt.'s de- fence to the King's Bishop's game. (Eor B. to Q. Kt.'s 5th. (ch.) see Variation A. 4. P. to K's 5th. 4. P. to Q's 4th. 5. B. to Q. Kt.'s 3d. 5. Kt. to K's 5th. Retiring the Bishop thus is far better than taking the Kt. with K's P. (See the Giuoco Piano for a similar position.) 6. K's Kt. to K's 2d. 6. ?. to Q. B's 4th. If you plav 6. K's Kt. to B's 3d., Black will gain some advantage by B". to Q. 'K:t.'s 5tli. (ch.) 640 EVERY boy's book. r. P. to K. B's 3d. 7. Kt. to K. Kt.'s 4th. 8. Kt. to K. B's 4th. 8. P. to Q. B's 5th. 9. B. to a. B's 4th. (ch.) 9. Kt. to Q. B's 3d. }.0. B. takes Kt. (ch.) 10. P. takes B. 11. Q. takes P. Even game. These are the moves given by Jaenisch, who seems to consider the position in Black's favour. Variation A. on Black* s 3 c? Move. BLACK. WHITE. 1. P. to K's 4th. 1. p. to K's 4th. 2. P. to Q's 4th. 2. P. takes P. 3. B. to Q. B's 4th. 3. B. to Q. Kt.'s 5th. (ch.) 4. P. to Q. B's 3d. 4. P. takes P. 5. P. takes P. 5. Q. to K. B's 3d. 6. P. takes B. 6. Q. takes Q's R. Perhaps your soundest move at this point is 6. Q. to Q. Kt.'s 3d, as recommended in the German Handbook, although, by the mode ot play in the text, you get an attack that amply coinpensates for the loss of the " exchange." 7. Q. to a Kt. s 3d. 7. Q. to K. B's 3d. 8. Q's Kt. to B's 3d. Afterwards playing Kt. to K's 2d, with a fine position. Game il. WHITE. BLACK. 1. P. to K's 4th. 1. P. to K's 4th. 2. P. to Qs 4th. 2. P. takes P. 3. P. to K. B's 4th. 3. B. to Q. B's 4tL This appears to be his best reply. 4. B. to Q. B's 4th. 4. P. to Q's 3d. By your last move you threatened to take his K. B's P. (checking) and if he took your Bishop with King, to play Q. to K. B's 5th. (ch.) &c. If Black, instead of P. to Q's 3d, play K's Kt. to B's 3d, you reply with P. to K's 5th ; and upon liis playing P. to Q's 4th, you must gain some advantage bv capturing his Kt. with K's P. — a mode of play not feasible in a similar position in the Giuoco Piano. ' ^ 5. K's Kt. to B's 3d. 5. Q's Kt. to B's 3d. If he play B. to K. Kt's 5th, you reply with P. to K's 5th, and should he take P. with P. you get a winning position by B. takes K. B's P. (ch.) 6. Castles. b. P. to Q's 6th. 7. K. io R's sq. y. P. takes P. (dis. ch.) 8. Q. takes P. 641 And though minus a pa\m, you have an ample equivalent in the attack. It IS highly probable that many moves, both of attack and defence, in this somewhat novel variation may be improved upon. 1 only regret that I am precluded, both by want of time and space, from going ftirther into the variations. THE QUEEN'S GAMBIT. Game I. WHITE. BLACK. 1. P. to Q's 4th. 1. p. to Q's 4th. 2. P. to Q. B's 4th. 2. P. takes P. It is considered more advisable to decline the gambit. (See Game II,) By taking the Pawn, Black generally subjects himself to some slight inferiority of position. 3. P. to K's 3d. 3. P. to K's 4th. Your move of P. to K's 8d, appears somewhat preferable to P. to K's 4th, as recommended by the " classical " writers on Chess, to which Black would equally reply with P. to K's 4th, with an even game. It is worth while remarking, that if he attempt to sustain the gambit pawn by P. to Q. Kt.'s 4th, you gain the advantage. (See Variation A.) 4. K's B. takes P. 4. P. takes Q's P. 5. P. takes P. 5. K's Kt. to B's 3d. 6. Q's Kt. to B's 3d. 6. B. to Q's 3d. 7. K's Kt. to B's 3d. 7. Q's Kt. to B's 3d. 8. Castles. 8. Castles. 9. P. to K. R's 3d. 9. P. to K. R's 3d. "White has perhaps a slightly better position. Variation A. on Blacks Zd Move. WHITE. BLACK. 1. p. to Q's 4th. 1. p. to Q's 4th. 2. P. to Q. B's 4th. 2. P. takes P. 3. P. to K's 3d. 3. P. to a. Kt.'s 4th. 4. P. to Q. B's 4th. 4. B. to Q's 2d. If he play P. to Q. B's 3d, you take Pawn with Pawn, and on liia retaking, wm a piece by Q. to K. B's 3d. 5. P. takes P. 5. B. takes P. 6. P. to Q. Kt.'s 3d. 6. Q. to Q's 4tL 7. P. takes P. _ 7. B. takes P. 8. Q. to Q. B's 4th. (ch.) winning a piece. These moves are from Mr. Staunton's Handbook. T T 642 EVEiiY boy's book. Game II. white. black. 1. P. to a's 4th. 1. P. to Q's 4th. 1. p. to Q. B's 4th. 2. P. to K's 3d. This is now acknowledged to be his best method of declining the gambit. 3. Q's Kt. to B's 3d. 3. K's Kt. to B's 3d. 4. P. to K's 3d. 4. P. to Q. B's 4th. Your 4th move is the one given by all "the books." In the late match between Messrs. Lowenthal and Harrwitz, the latter several times adopted the move of 4. Q's B. to K. B's 4th, at this juncture, with advantage, a sortie hitherto denounced by most of the modem writers on Chess. 5. K's Kt. to B's 3d. 5. Q's Kt. to B's 3i 6. P. to Q. U's 3d, 6. P. to Q. R's 3d. There is no advantage on either side. We will now briefly examine those other m'^thods of opening a game, which either player may adopt in lieu t '! 1. P. to K's 4t^ or LP. to a's 4th. The most important of these the second player has at his command to reply to 1. P. to K's 4th, are, 1. P. to Q. Bs 4th, and 1. P. to K's 3d. It is true tliere are other moves, such as 1. P. to Q's 4th; I. P. to K. Kt.'s 3d.; 1. P. to Q. Kt.'s 3d.; 1. P. to Q's 3d.; but thev are of so rare occurrence in actual play, we shall hardly be justified in our narrow limits for entering into an analysis of them. MlsCELI-ANEOUP.^COXJrRIW, CHESS, ETC, <^->^ g g ^ d'^ '^ ^ Of TM£ ^ JNIYCRSfTY THE YOUNG CONJUEOR i INCLUDING SLEIGHT OF HAND WITH OBJECTS OR CARDS, WITH AND WITHOUT APPARATUS. From the very early ages of the world the art of legerdemain, commonly called conjuring, has been known and practised. In. some of the old heathen ceremonies the priests mad^i use of skilful de- ceptions, in order to impose upon the people ; and in ancient Egypt, in Greece, and in Rome, the worship of the gods was frequently associated with mere tricks, which were used for the purpose of obtaining an influence by a pretence of extraordinary and super- natural powers. Among the Eastern nations juggling was a profes- sion, and to this day the jugglers of Hindustan and other Oriental nations are so skilful that they are able to deceive even the most acute observers. In our own country, after the Norman Conquest, the juggler (who was called jongleur, or joculator) was a minstrel as well as a conjurer, a reader of the stars or astrologer, and at the same time a jester, a merry-andrew, ani a teller of droll stories. These jongleurs travelled from place to place, and exhibited at fairs, T T 2 644 EVERY boy's book. feasts, and merrymakings, as well as in the houses of noblemen, where they diverted the company in the great halls. In the four- teenth century they gave more attention to tricks and feats of skill, and became known as tregetours. The performances of some of these gentry were so marvellous, that the common people believed them to be the result of witchcraft, and classed the tregetour with the warlock and the sorcerer. Chaucer, who no doubt had frequently an opportunity of seeing the tricks exhibited by the tregetours of his time, says, "There I sawe playenge jogelours^ magyciens, trage- tours, phetonysses, charmeresses, old witches, and sorceresses ; " and the old poet goes on to say of them, " Sometimes they will brin,^ on the similitude of a grim lion, or make flowers spring up as in a meadow ; sometimes they cause a vine to flourish, bearing white and red grapes, or show a castle built with stone, and when they please they cause the whole to disappear:" and in another part of his works he says : — "There saw I Coll Tregetour Upon a table of sycamour Play an uncouthe thynge to tell ; I sawe hym cary a wyndemell Under a walnot shale."— //o«se of Fame, book iii. Our learned monarch James I. was perfectly convinced that these and other inferior feats exhibited by the tregetours of his day could only be performed by diabolical agency. The profession had alreadv fallen very low, and at the close of the reign of Queen Elizabeth the performers were ranked by the moral writers of that time not only with ruffians, blasphemers, thieves, and vagabonds, but also with Jews, Turks, heretics, pagans, and sorcerers; and in more modern times, by way of derision, the juggler was called a mocus- pocus, or hokus-pokus, a term applicable to a pickpocket or a common cheat. The following pages are not intended to make the young reader either a cheat or a trickster; there is nothing perhaps so utterly contemptible in every-day life as trickery and deceit, and we would caution our young friends not to cultivate a love of deception, which is only allowable in such feats of amusement, because it is in fact not deception at all, when everybody expects to be puzzled, and is only left to find out the mystery the best way he can. With this sage advice we shall present a collection of amusing conjuring tricks, premising that a considerable number of tricks usually embodied in this division will be found in that part of our work relating to Scientific Experiments and Amusements, as they more properly belong to " Natural Magic," and are to be referred to the various operations of nature in the several departments of art, science, and philosophy. CONJURING. 645 SLEIGHT OF HAND. It is intended in the following pages to lay more stress upon those tricks which require no apparatus than upon those for which special apparatus or the assistance of a confederate is required. No one is nearly so well pleased by a trick whose essence evidently lies in the machinery, while every one feels pleasure at seeing a sleight of hand trick neatly executed. The audience often despise all the numerous boxes, bottles, variegated covers, and other gimcracks which are generallv seen on a conjuror's table ; and are seldom so pleased with any performer as with one who does not even require a table, but presses into bis service articles borrowed from his audience. The spectators should never be able to say, " Ah ! the trick lies in the box : he dares not show it to us ! '* The following tricks have almost all been successfully performed, and have caused some reputation in the magic art. Some of them are the invention of one of the most eminent " conjurors " of modern times. 1. THE PLYING SHILLING. This trick must be frequently practised before it is produced in public. Borrow two coloured silk handkerchiefs from the company, and have three shillings in your hand, but only show two^ keeping the other one firmly fixed against the first joint of the second and third fingers. You must also have a fine needle and thread stuck inside the cuff of your coat. Then take one of the handkerchiefs, and put va. both shillings, but pretend that only one is in the handkerchief; then put the handkerchief into a hat, leaving one corner hanging out. Now hold up the third shilling (which the spectators imagine is the second), and ask one of the company to lay the second hand- kerchief over it. You then ask him to hold the shilling tight between his finger and thumb, while you twist up the handkerchief. While doing so, with both hands concealed under the handkerchief, you pass a few stitches under the shilling, and replace the needle. This being done, spread one corner of the handkerchief over the hand of the person who is still holding the shilling, and, taking hold of another corner, tell him to drop the shilling when you have counted three. At the word " three " he lets go the shilling, and you whisk the handkerchief into the air, when the shilling appears to have vanished, but is really held in the handkerchief. You then tell the astonished individual to draw the other handkerchief out of the hat by the corner that is hanging out. The two shillings are heard to fall into the hat, and every one is persuaded that you have conjured one of the shillings out of the person's hand, and sent it into the hat. 6i6 EVERY boy's book. 2. AlfOTHEE, METHOD. Perhaps the spectators may ask to see it again, or demand to mark the shilling. In this case, vary it as follows. Ask some one (always choose the most incredulous of the party) to mark a shilling of lus own and give it you. Take the same handkerchief and give him the shilling to hold that is already enclosed in it, as in the last trick, dropping the marked shilling into the palm of your hand. Twist it up as before, and then leave it entirely in his hands. Direct him to pkce it on a table, and cover it with a basin or saucer. Ask him to give you a cup or tumbler, and hold it under the table, beneath the place where the saucer is. Then tell him to knock three times on the saucer, and at the third knock let the marked shilling fall into the tumbler. Hand him the tumbler, and while he is examining the shilling to see if it is the same one that he marked, take up the saucer, and shake out the handkerchief that is lying under it, as in the last trick. You must then return the handkerchief, and while vou pretend to be searching for the marks, draw out the thread that held the shilling and drop the coin into the palm of your hand, taking care to rub between your finger and thumb the spot where the threads had been, in order to eradicate the marks. This variation seldom fails to confuse the company. You must remember to keep talking the whole time, and always try to make a joke, or otherwise to distract the attention of tne audience, while you are executing the necessary changes. 3. THE BEADS AND STRINGS. Ask some lady to lend you the beads off her bracelet, or have by you five or six "beads, which you may hand round for examination. Then get some one to cut two pieces of 2 thin string of equal length, and twist __Z_____>^^:^^^v__ them about your fingers, appearing to lay - . n ,V"'W^^^^^ them side by side, but in reality placing ^ ^ ~ them as in the figure, and then, by twisting them together with apparent carelessness, the manner in which they are arranged will not be seen, particularly if you keep the point of I "unction hidden either by a finger, or by tnrowing the shade of your land upon it. When the beads are returned, thread them all, taking care to pass the centre bead over the point of juncture. You then bring the ends of the string 1 and 2 together and tie them so, doin^ the same with 3 and 4. Now give the tied ends to two persons, directing them to hold them tight. You need not fear that the beads will come off, even if they pull hard. Then grasp the beads with both hands, directing the holders to slacken the strings. You then, under cover of the left hand^ which is placed above the beads, slip the centre bead I CONJURING. 647 to one side, and draw out the two loops which have been hidden in it. The beads will then easily come on into your right hand. Tell the holders to pull hard, which they will do, and the same moment remove your hands, showing the emptv strings and all the beads in your riffht hand. Then hand rouna the beads and strings as before. Remember to rub out the marks in the strings caused by the loops before you remove your hands. 4. TO GET A RING OUT OF A HANDKEECHIEF. Bend a piece of gold wire into the form of a ring, having pre- viously sharpened both ends. You have a real ring made of the same piece of wire, and concealing the false ring in the palm of your hand, offer the real one to be inspected. When it is returned, borrow a handkerchief, and, while takiiig it from the lender, slip the real ring into your left hand, and take the false one at its point of junction. Throw the handkerchief over the ring, and give it to some one to hold between his finder and thumb. Let the handkerchief fall over it, and give a piece of string to a second spectator, directing him to tie it round the handkerchief, about two inches below the ring, so as to enclose it in a bag, and tell him to do so as tightly as he can. While he is doing this, take up your conjuring wand, a rod of some hard wood, about eighteen inches long, and when the knot is tied, step forward, passing the rod into your left hand, taking care to slip over it the real ring, wliich has lain concealed there. Slip your left hand to the centre of the rod, and \^ect each of the two persons to hold one end of it in his right hand. Then tell the one who has the ring and handkerchief, to lay them on your left hand, which you imme- diately cover with your right. Then tell them to spread another handkerchief over your hands, and to say after you any nonsense that you like to invent. While they are so doing, unbend the false ring, and draw it through the handkerchief by one of its points, carefully rubbing between the thumb and finger the place where it came through. Hang the empty handkerchief over the ring which is on the rod, and take away your hands, which you exhibit empty, as you have stuck the false ring mside your cuff. Take away the upper handkerchief, and let a third person come to examine, when he will find the riug gone out of the handkerchief, and hung upon the rod. 5. TO TIE A KNOT IN A HANDKERCHIEF WHICH CANNOT BE DRAWN TIGHT. Cast an ordinary knot on a handker- chief, and give the end out of your right hand to some spectator, and tell him to pull hard and sharp when you oount three. Just as he pulls, slip 648 EVERY boy's book. your left thumb under the handkerchief, as drawn in the cut, and it will be pulled out quite straight without any knot at all. You must let ^0 the end that han^s over the left hand, and grasp the handkerchief between the thumb and forefinger. 6. THE THE-EE CUPS. This is an admirable delusion, but requires very careful manage- ment, and should be practised repeatedly before it is exhibited pub- licly. You get three tin cups, of^ the i 2 a shape shown in the cut. They should have two or three ridges nmning round them at the mouth, in order to give a better hold. Four balls should now be made of cork, and carefully blackened. One of the balls is held concealed be- tween the roots of the third and fourth fingers, while ihe other three are handed round for examination, together with the cups. When they are returned, the young conjuror Begins by placing each ball under a cup , or, if he chooses, asks one of the spectators to do so for him. While this is being done, he slips the fourth ball to the tips of the second and third migers. He then lifts up cup No. 1, replacing it on the table a few inches from its first position, and at the same time slips the fourth ball under it. He takes up ball No. 1, and pretends to throw it away, but in reality he slips it into the place which the fourth ball had occupied. He Qoes the same with the three cups, and then commences a sham search after the lost balls, in which he acci- dentaUy (!) knocks over one of the cups, and, to his pretended astonishment, finds a ball under it. He then knocks over both the other cups, and finds in them the two missing balls. He again places the balls under the cups, taking care to slip the fourth ball under cup No. 3. He then takes up cup No. 1 and pre- tends to throw the ball into No. 3, but hides it as before. As there are abeady two balls in No. 3, the spectators imagine that he really has thrown the ball into it. He replaces cup No. 3 over both balls, and slips among them ball No. 1. He then takes up cup No. 2, and goes tm-pugh the same process, and on knocking over cup No. 3, all three balls are found together under it, and while the spectators are being astonished, ball No. 2 can be quickly ^ot rid of. A rather startling termination to this trick can be managed by taking up one of the cups with its mouth upwards, holding the finger and tnumb close to its mouth. Then by throwing another cup into it, letting go the first and catching the second, you appear to have thrown the second cup through the first. 7. TO TIE A HANDKERCHIEF BOUND TOUR LEG, AND GET IT OFF WITHOUT UNTYING THE KNOT. Hold the handkerchief by both ends, lay the centre of the hand- kerchief on your knee, and pass the two ends below, appearing to I CONJURING. 649 cross tliem, but in reality hitching them within each other, as repre- sented in the engraving, which shows the manner in which this is managed. Draw this loop tight, and bring back the ends to the same side on which they were originally, and tie them above. If the loop is properly made, it will stand a good pim. Then, after showing the spec- tators how firmly it is tied, j)ut your hand under the knot, and by giving it a shai-p pull, it will come off. The engraving represents the maimer in which the loop Ls made, but it must be made considerably smaller than it is shown, or it will be seen. In fact, it ought not to be a loop at aU, as it should be almost concealed under the fold of the handkerchief. Do not show this in public until you can tie it with rapidity and precision. 8. THE MAGIC BOND. Take a piece of string, and tie the two ends together with a weaver's knot, as that holds the best, and an-ange it over the fingers as repre- sented in the engravine^. Having done so, let the long loop hang loose, lift both loops off the thumb, draw them forwara until the string is quite tight, and then put them behind the hand, by passing them between the second and third fingers. Then pull the part of the string that is across the roots of the fingers, and the whole afTair will come off. 9. THE OLD MAN AND HIS CHAIR. Take the same piece of string as in the last trick, hold your left hand with the palm uppermost, and hang the string over the palm. Spread all the fingers, and with the right hand brin^ forward the loop that hangs behind, by passmg it over the second and thii-d fingers. Loose the loop, take hold of the part of the sti-ing that crosses the hand, and pull it for- wards. When tight, pass it to the back of the hand, the reversal of the movement that brought it forwards. Loose the loop, insert the fore-finger and Httle finger of the right hand under the string that encircles the left fore-finger and Httle- finger, and pass the two loops to the back of the hand, as shown in the cut, Fig. 1. Tuck both loops under the cross-string at the back, and your prelimi- naries are completed. Then begin your story: "There was obco G50 EVERY BOYS BOOK. upon a lime an old man, who stole a pound of candles. Here they are." Yon then hold yonr left hand as at the commencement, hook the right fore-fineer under the cross-piece at the back, and di-aw it downward until it is lon^ enough to be passed over the second and third fingers to the front. Pass it over, and draw it slowly upwards, when the similitude of a pound of candles hanging by their strmg will be seen. (See Fig. 2.) "The old man, being tired, hung up his candles," you then hang the long loop over your thumb, " and sat down in his high-backed chair, which you see here." You then hitch the right fore-finger and middle finder under the two loops that wiU he found hanging behind the left hand, bring them to the front, raise them perpendicularly, and the chair will be seen as m Fig. 3. The thumb must be raised perpendicularly, and brought as much as possible mto the centre of the hand, or the chair will be all aside. " When the old man was rested, it began to become dark, and he took a pair of scissors to cut down a candle for himself. Here are the scissors." Wliile you are saying this, you sUp the loop off the thumb, and you get Fig. 4. Move the blades and handles of the scissors, 2. Right middle-finger. ^^ ^ ^^^^j^ something with them. " Just as he had lighted it, in came a policeman, and produced his staff, with the Queen's crown at the top." Now let go the little finger of the left 1. Hight fore-finger 1. Fore-finger of left hand. 2. Little finger of left hand. Fore-finger of right hand. Middle finger of right hand. hand, and the loop will run up the string towards the nght hand, producing Fig. 5. "The old man ia vain tried to resist, for the policeman called a comrade to his assistance, and they tied a cord, round the old man's arms in a tight knot, like this,"— slip the right middle-finger out of its loop, and you will obtain Fig. 6, — " and carried him off to prison." Right middle-finger. 2. Right fore-fiuger. I. Right fore-finger. 2. Left hand. CONJURING. 651 10. TO TIE A KNOT ON THE LEFT WHIST, WITHOUT LETTING THE BIGHT HAND APPROACH IT. Take a piece of thick pliant string b^ each end, and with a quick jerk of the right hand cast a loop on it as in Fig. 1. The jerk must be given upwards and towards the left hand, and its impetus will cause the loop to run up the strin» until it falls over the left wrist, as in Fig. 2. The moment that the forward jerk is given the right hand should be drawn back, so that the loop is di-awu ti^ht directly it has settled on the wrist. Both ends should be let tall when the knot is firm. This is a very nice little sleight of hand to practice in the intervals between more showy tricks, and, although rather difficult to learn, is soon acquired. 11. THE HANDCUFFS. Let two persons, a and b, have their hands tied together with string, so that the stiings cross, as represented in the engraving. The ^.3> object is, to free themselves from each other without untying the knot. It is executed in the following manner 652 EVERT boy's book. Let B gather up the string that joins his hands, pass the loop under the string that binds either of a's wrists, slip it over a's hand, and both wiU De free. By a reversal of the same process, the string may be replaced. 12. TO PULL A STEINa THEOTJGH YOUR BUTTON-HOLE. Take a piece of string about two feet in length, and tie the ends together. Pass it through a button-hole of your coat; hitch one thumb at each end, hook the little fingers into the upper strings of the opposite hand. Then draw the hands well outward, and the string will look very complicated, as in the engraving. To get out the string, loose the hold of the right thumb and left little finger, and separate the hands smartly, when the string wiU appear to have been pulled out through the substance of your coat. It is an improvement of the trick, if, immediately on loosing the hold of the right tnuinb, you change the string from the right little finger on to the thumb. 13. THE CUT STRING RESTORED. Tie together the ends of a piece of string, pass one hand through each end, twist it once round, and put both ends into the left hand. Draw the right hand rapidly along tne double stiings until you come to the place where the strings have crossed each other, as seen in the engraving. Conceal the junction with the thumb and finger of the right hand ; hold the strings in a similar manner with the left hand, and tell some one to cut the string between them. You show that 1. The twisted string. 2. The manner of holding it. the string has been divided into two pieces, and say that you wiU join them with your teeth. Put all four ends into your mouth, and remove with your tongue the little loop that has been cut ofT. When you take the string out of your mouth, the spectators will not notice the absence of so small a portion of its length, and will fancy that you really have joined them. CONJURING. 653 14. THE GORDIAN KN'OT. Take a silk haiidkercliief, and lay it on a table. Take each of the corners, and lay them across each other in the middle of the hand- kerchief, which will then be square, as in the cut, Eig. 1. Do the same with the new corners, and go on until the handkerchief is reduced to the size of your hand. Then with your left finger and thumb take hold of the centre, taking care to grasp all the four comers that lie there, and with the right finger and thumb take hold of the outer layer of silk, and puU it towards you as far as it will come. Then turn it a little on your left hand, and repeat the operation until it is all screwed up into a tight ball, as is represented in the engraving, Fig. 2. No ends will be then perceptible, and a person who is unac- quainted with the mode will never be able to . * untie it. Of course you must prcjpare it previously. "When the person to whom you give it has failea to untie it, you take the ball in vour hand, and holding it behind your back, you reverse the method by which it was tied, and when it is loose a good shake will release it. 15. THE KNOT LOOSENED. This is a very amusing deception. You ask any one for a handker- chief, and tie the ends fii-mly together in a double knot, allowing him to feel it, or puU the ends as tight as g he pleases. You then throw the centre of the handkerchief over the knot, and ask the person to hold it tight between his finger and thumb. You ask him if the knot is still there, to which he will answer in the affirmative. You then take hold of any part of the handkerchief, and direct the holder to drop the handkerchief at the word " three." You count, " one, two, three," at which word he looses his hold of the handkerchief, and there IS no vestige left of the knot. The method of managing this trick is as follows : — Take the hand- kerchief and tie the ends in a simple knot, keeping one end tight, and the other end loose. We will call the tight end a, and the loose one B. Keep A always in the right hand, and on the stretch horizontally, and the nandkerchief wiU look as in the cut. Do this when you tie it the second time, and draw B tight, which will then form a double tie rouud a, but will not hold it firm. "When you throw the hand- kerchief over the knot, you draw out A with the finger and thumb of 654 EVERY BOYS BOOK. the left hand, a^id the knot will apparentljr remain firm, although in reality it is nothing but a double twist of silk, which of course falls loose when the handkerchief is dropped. 16. TO PUT NUTS INTO YOUR EAR. Take three nuts in the left hand, show them, and take out one of them between your right finger and thumb, and another between the first and third finger. This latter is not seen by the company. You then put one of them in your mouth and retain it there, unknown to the spectators, while you exhibit the second as the one that you put into your mouth. This second one you carry to your ear, as if you meant to insert it there, and on replacing it m your left hand, only two nuts will be left instead of tliree, the thii-d oi which appears to nave gone into your ear. 17. TO CRACK WALNUTS IN YOUR ELBOW. Conceal a very strong walnut in your right hand, and take two other walnuts out of the dish. Place one of them on the joint of your arm, and say that you are going to break it by the power of youi muscles. You will now have one walnut in your ann and two in youi right hand. Close your left arm, and strike it an apparently violent blow with the right hand, at the same time clenching the right hand violently, which will smash the second wabut in it, and the spectators hearing the crash will be sure to fancy that it is caused by the demo- lition of the walnut in your arm. Then open you arm very gently (for fear of dropping any of the fragments, you must say), and, when pre- tending to take out the wabut which you had placed there, you sub- stitute for it the broken one from your right hand. 18. TO TAKE FEATHERS OUT OF AN EMPTY HANDKERCHIEP. Procure at the military clotliier's four or five large plumes, such as are worn by officers. Take off your coat, and lay the plumes along your arms, the stem being toward your hand. Now put on your coat again, and the feathers wiU lie quite smoothly and unsuspected. Borrow a handkerchief from one of the spectators, and wave it about to show that it is empty. Throw it over your left hand, and with the right draw out one of the plumes from up the coat-sleeve, at the same time giving it a flourish in the air, which will loosen aU the fibres of the feather, and make it appean- much too large to have been con- cealed about the person. Wave the handkerchief again, and repeat the operation until all the plumes are gone. You can carry enough plumes under the sleeve to cover a table with, and if you prepare a board or an ornamental vase full of holes, you can place the plumes upright as you take them out. TRICKS REQUIRING SPECIAL APPARATUS. None of the following tricks are wholly managed by the apparatus, as s'joh perfofmances are unworthy of notice. Therefore, every trick CONJURING. 655 mentioned in the following pages must be carefully practised in private before it is produced in public. The apparatus, of course, cannot be inspected by the audience, and for that reason it is better to mix them with those tricks which have been already mentioned, in order that suspicious persons may be quieted by an occasional permission to iuspect the objects used in the performances. The young conjuror should always vary the mode of performance m the non-essentials, and should study combinations of one trick with another, by which means he will produce more astonishing result s than if he restricted himself to the methods mentioned m this work, He should also invariably make a little speech, acknowledging that he is only deceiving the eye and not the mind, and should therefore request the company not to ask any questions, or to demand inspec- tion of any of his apparatus. 19. THE DIE TRICK. Get a wooden die about two inches and a half square (1), and a hollow tin die exactljr the size of the wooden one, but without one of the sides (2). Then pamt them both exactly alike, as in the engraving. It will be better to let an accidental flaw appear on the same side of each. Then get a tin cover (4) that exactly fits the dies. Now for the trick itself. Borrow two hats, and while you turn your back upon the audience as you go to your table, sHp into one of them the false die. Place both hats on the table, and send round the real die and cover for inspection. When they are returned, say, " Now, ladies and gentlemen, it is my inten- tion to place these hats one above another, thus." You then place the two hats as iu No. 3, the hollow die being in the bottom hat. " I shall then cover the die thus," which you do, "and after I have knocked on the cover, I shall take it off, and you will find that the die is not under the cover, as it is now," taking it off, " but inside the hat, like this." You then put the real die into the hat. " You do not believe me, ladies and gentlemen, but I will soon convince you." You then take out the false die, and replacing the upper hat, put the die on the upper hat (of course, with the open side downward) and place the cover over it. Pick up your conjurmg wand, give it a few flourishes, and bring it down on the cover. Grasp the cover tightly near the bottom, when both cover and false die will come up together ; put the end of your wand into them, and give tliem^ a good rattle. Then knock off the upper hat with a blow of the wand, and push the lower one off the table, so that the die tumbles out of it. Always use plenty of gesture about your tricks. 6o6 EVERY BOY S BOOK. aU. THE PENETRATIVE PENCE. Get a brazier to cut out all the interior of five pence, only leaving the rims. He must then bore out nearly all the interior of a sixth penny, merely leaving a shell of copper at the top. A long rivet must then be let into the rim as shown in Fig. 1, No. 2, and a hole must be drilled, in each of the five rings, as in No. 3. The rivet is to be passed through the holes ia the rings, and fastened below, so that all the rin^s can play easily upon it. Eig. 1, No. 1, is a section of the entire apparatus, the dotted lines representing the rivet. They can then be placed as shown in Fig. 2, No. 1, and no one will imagine that they are only shams, as you can rattle them or move them about upon each other. A leathern cover. Fig. 2, No. 2, is then made, wiilch passes easily over the heap of pence, but being pliable, is capable of picking up the hollow pence with it, when it is held firmly. To the under surface of the table you fasten a little shelf, Fig. 2, No. 3, which moves on a liin^e, and is let fall by placing the foot on the pedal. Fig. 2, No. 4, which draws the catch. To perform the trick, place six real pence on the little shelf, and have the sham pence on the table. Take them up and rattle them, and put them down as in Fig. 2, No. 1. Keep a sixpence in the pahn of your hand, pick up the sham pence, and as you put them down, slip the sixpence under them, as you do the ball m tnck 6. Take the cover, and put it over the sham pence, make a short speech, and knock the cover with your wand, at the same time pressing the pedal with your foot, wliich will cause all the six real pence to tumble down with a great crash. Take up the cover and false pence to- gether, put the end of your wand mto them and hold them up tri- umphantly, showing the spectators that the six pence have been replaced by a silver sixpence. While you are pickmg up the pence, sbp the sham ones out of the cover into your left hand, and take some opportunity of letting the empty cover roll towards the audience, one of whom you ask to pick it up and bring it you. This manoeuvre generally oisarms all suspicion, for the picker-up is sure to examine it ve^ closely. i have only ^ven mere outlines of this really excellent trick, which may be varied m a hundred ways, and is capable of combination with other tricks to a large extent. It will add to its compHcity, if a set of six half-pence is also made like the pence. For the pedal may be substituted a lever running immediately under the surface of the table, if the performer prefers to have a short cloth on it. There CONJURING. 657 should be always two cloths on the table, — the lower one thick and soft, to prevent jinding of objects, and the upper one white, as it displays everything better than a coloured one. The ingenuity of the young conjuror will easily find methods of varying this trick. 21. THE DOLL TRICK. Get a comical looking doll, and cut off his head diagonally, takiog care to do it very neatly. Drive a peg into the neck, and bore a hole in the body, into which the peg fits, as in the cut. Paint liis body and head carefully, and if you put a gold chain or two round his neck, it will conceal the Hne of junction. Make also a coat of silk, and sew a pocket inside the edge of the skii-t. Take up the doU, and say, "Now, ladies and gentlemen, here is a veij learned man. Obsci-ve the development of his forehead, the sagacity of his nose, the eloquence of his lips, the dignity of his spectacles, and the pmlosophy of his pigtail. He is professor of astronomy at Timbuctoo, and here is his ^own of office. See how handsome he looks in it. He is going to Amsterdam to see the eclipse of the last new comet. He has the honour to wish you all farewell before starting on his journey. Now, professor, we are waiting to see you go. Oh ! you want funds, do you ? I beg your pardon ; here IS a shilling for you." So saying, you take your right hand from under the gown, taking with it the body, and put the body into your pocket, while you jingle some silver. The head is now sup- ported by you r left hand. Pretend to give him some money, and then say, "What ! you won't go unless you have more ! Get along !" Hit the head a hard rap with your right liand, which drives it into the pocket, which you hold open for it with your left thumb and little finder. " Oh dear ! the doctor is dead, and cannot be found.*' Saying this, you grasp the ^own by the place where the head is, and shake it about to show that it is empty. If you like, you can make another oration and hold a dialogue, making the doctor resuscitate himself, which is of course done by taking the head out of the pocket with the left hand, and working it about by the peg. 22. THE FLYING COINS. Take two sovereigns, or rather brass imitations, and grind them down until they are reduced to half their thickness. Do the same vtdth two shillings, and fasten them accurately together, so that you will have two coins, each havin» one silver face, and one brass face. Take one of them in each hand, showing the silver side of one and th3 brass side of another, and offer to change them without moving u u 658 EVEKY boy's book. yonr arms. Shut your hands, and the coins will turn over. Then, on opening them again, they will appear to have changed from one hand into the other. 23. THE VAJflSHED GEOAT. Put a little wax on the nail of the middle finger of the right hand, and take a fourpenny piece into the pahn of the same hand. Close the hand, pressmg the wax on the coin. Then rapidly open it, and the silver piece will adhere to the wax, and be quite concealed behind the finger when you hold your hand up. 24. THE RESTOEED DOCUMENT. Make a memorandum book, and line the cover with paper which has been previously rubbed with a mixture of lamp-black and oil. The paper must be loosely affixed, so that it can be raised up, and a leaf from the memorandum book placed under it. You must also make a flat box, having a double opening. You now take a leaf out of the memorandum book, and ask some one to write a sentence, at the same time offering him the book to write upon. The pencil with which you furnish htm is very hard, and he is forced to press upon the paper in order to mark. In so doing, the black is transferred by the pressure of the pencil from the black- ened paper to the white leaf that has been placed under it, and of course makes an exact copy of the writing. You then give the man his document, put the memorandum book m your pocket, and go out of the room to fetch your box, which you Yior^Q forgotten. Wlme you are out of the room, you take out tne leaf from under the black paper, and put it into one side of the flat box, and shut down the cover that iiides it. You bring in the box, apologising for your absence, and give the box, open at the other side, into the writer's hands. Tell him to bum his writing ia a candle, and to place the ashes in the box. He does so, and closing the box, returns it to you. You then flourish about a little with the box, wave it in the air, bring it down with a bang on the table, strike it with your wand, and then, opening it as at first, you produce the duplicate leaf, which the writer acknowledges to be his own hand-writing. If the lamp-black should have come off and smeared the paper, you can account for it by observing that it is very difficult to get rid of all traces of the burning. 25. THE MAGIC RINGS. Get _a blacksmith to make a number of rings, ubout six or seven inches in diameter, as in the cut. A is made with a spring opening on one side, b is a set of two rings forged permanently withm each other, c is a set of three rings formed in the same manner, and d d are two simple rings. The rings should be about the thickness of a rather large blacklead pencil. I CONJURING. 6)9 Lay the rings on one another, and they will all appear to be separate and distinct ; D d should be the uppermost rings, then b, then a, and then c. Hand round d for inspection, and if any more are desired, hand round the other d. When returned, _ you hang them over your left arm, or grasp ihem in your hand, and tell the company that you are going to weave all the rings together. You clash them together, and after going thi-ough some complicated move- ments, bring out b, which the spectators will think you have just fastened together. Hand them round. Wlien they are re- turned, mix them all up, and bnng out c. Then take a in your hand, and passing one of the outer i-ings of c through the opening, you have four rings togetner. Then add D and you have five. Take off d and sub- stitute B, which will give you six. So you go on, weaving them into all kinds of fantastic shapes. You must always conceal the joint in A with your thumb, and contrive as often as you can to have one at least of the rings d at liberty. This is a capital trick, and may be diversified to any extent, especially if the number of rings is in- creased. 26. THE FISH AND INK TRICK. This is really a first-rate delusion. You bring before the spectators a glass vase, full of ink. You dip a ladle into it, and pour out some of the ink upon a plate, in order to convince the audience that the substance in the vase is reailj ink. You then throw a handkerchief over the vase and instantly \vithdraw it, when the vase is found to be filled with pure water, in which a couple of gold fish are swimmia^. This apparent impossibility is performed as follows. To the interior of the vessel is fitted a black silk lining, which adheres closely to the sides when pressed bythe water, and which is withdrawn inside the hand- kerchief during the performance of the trick. The ladle has a hollow handle with an opemng into the bowl. In the handle is a spoonful or so of ink, which runs into the bowl when it is held downwards during the act of dipping it into the vase. 27. THE CANNON BALLS. The performer of this trick borrows a number of hats, and places them on the table. He then returns each person his hat, and on turning it over, a thirty-two pounder cannon tail rolls out. The method of performing this delusion is as follows. Get a turner to make a number of wooden balls, each the size of a thirty-two pounder cannon ball, and let a hole be bored in each which will admit u u 2 660 EVERY BOY S BOOK. the middle finger. The balls are arranged hole upwards on a shelf on ^our table on the side opposite to the audience, so that the balls are nearly level with the top of the table. When you take a hat off the table, you slip your fore or middle finger into the ball just as you would into a thimble, and by bending the finger, bring the ball into the hat. Any object may be brought into a hat in this manner, a great cabbage, for instance, having a hole cut in the stali. 28. THE SHILLING IN THE BALL OP COTTON. Get a tinman to make a flat tin tube, which will just allow a shilling to pass thi'ough it. Wind a quantity of worsted round it, so as to make it into a ball. These preliminaries having been accomplished, perform any trick that will get a shilling out of sight, such as No. 1 or 2. Then tell the spectators that you will bring the marked shilling into the middle of a ball of worsted. Take down the ball from the place where it is lying, drop the shilling into the tube, and withdraw the tube, leaving tne shilling in the baU. A good saueeze or two will hold it tight, and obhterate every mark of the tube. Place the ball in a tumbler, take the end of the worsted, and give it to some one to unwind. This being done, the shilling wiU be found in the very centre of the ball, with the end of the worsted wrapped tightly round it. 29. THE EGG AND BAG THICK. Get a chintz or cloth bag made double, and between the two bags make six. or seven pockets, each of which will hold an egg, and having an opening into the bag. Till the pockets with eggs, and you are ready for the performance. Hold the bag by the place where the eggs are, shake it, turn it inside out and show that there is nothing in it. Then teU the spectators that you are sure that there is a hen in the bag. Put your head near the mouth of the bag, and make a clucking like a hen. You then say, " I knew I was right, and she has laid an egg." So saying, you put your hand into the bag and take out one of the eggs, takmg care to pretend to grope in one of the corners for it. This is repeated untU aU the eggs but one are gone. You then, after taking out the last egg, say tnat some people think that the eggs are not real, but you wiU convince them by ocular inspection. Saying this, you break the egg in a saucer with your right hand, and wmle the people are occupied with it, you drop the bag behind your table, or hang it on a hook out of sight, and take up another exactly like it, into which you have put a hen. " These are real eggs," you then say, " and if any one doubts their reality, they cannot doubt that CONJURING. 661 this is a real hen." You then turn the bag upside down, and shake out the hen. If any one wishes to inspect that bag, he can do sc without being much wiser for it. 30. THE DAIfCING EGG. Send for some eggs, and take care to place among them one which has been emptied of its contents, and to which is fastened a long hair, at the other end of which is tied a crooked pin. Borrow a small stick from one of the spectators, and as you ^o behind your table contrive to hook the bent pin into your coat, passmg it over the stick. Then place the egg on an inverted hat, and ask for some music, and directly it begins to sound, a slight and imperceptible depression or elevation of the stick will cause the egg to twist and roll about upon it as if it had life. You must be careful to turn gently round now and then, so as apparently to vary the distance of the egg from the body. 31. BELL AND SHOT. Get a wooden bell made, so thick that there is a considerable space between the outer and inner surfaces, especially on the upper part of the beU. A hoUow must be cut in this, and the handle so made, that when it is at rest, it is forced upwards by a spring, and draws up the round piece of wood to which the clapper chain is attached, and closes the aperture, as shown in the en- graving. You have a cardboard measure, which is of precisely the same capacity as the cavity in the bell, and just wide enough to hold a farthing. Into this you pri- vately put a farthmg, and then fill up the measure with shot, heaping it a little, to compensate for the farthing. You make up a tale about a man going out shooting, and ringing the bell of the gunmaker's shop. (You then ring your wooden bell.) How the man bought a measure full of shot for a far- thing, (you pour the shot into the bell and back again two or three times,) but was so long haggling over three shots, that the gunmaker took away the shot, (here you again pour the shot into the bcH, and by pressing on the handle, allow them all to run into the hollow,) and kept the fartliing for his trouble. The man went out of the shop, but soon came in again, and rang furiously. (Here you again ring the bell, which is now apparently empty, and invert the measure on the table. The farthing not being held by the finger and thumb wili now fall on the tablecloth.) Then fciish the story with an account of the manner in which the man got back his farthmg. When you have finished, invert the bell over the empty measure, and on pressmg the handle, the shots 662 EVERY BOYS BOOK. vrill refill it. Do not touch it until you have done another trick oi i two, and then, when you put the beE aside, ring it a^ain, and remark j that the pui-chaser was a silly fellow after aU, for here are his shots j ill his measure. I 32. THE BURNED HANDKERCHIEE EESTOEED. \ Get a tinman to make a double canister, such as is shown in the '; cut, with an opening at each end. This must so shde withiu a thi ■ tube, that either end can be concealed within it alternately, as seen in ; the engraving, where the end a is shown, and b is I concealed. In this position it looks like an ordi- ; nary canister. The interior is divided into two | parts. Into b put a piece of cambric made to | look Hke a handkerchicL ' Borrow a cambric handkerchief, and say, " Now, i ladies and gentlemen, I shall bum this handker- '■ chief to ashes, place them in this canister" (so i saying, you put it into a), "and when I have uttered a spell, it will be restored perfectly whole. Will the owner say what mark it has ? " While ! the audience are looking towards the owner, you ' turn the canister over, and push up the canister ! until the shoulder of b is on a level with the top of the tube. When j the mark has been declared, you open b, take out the cambric, and pretend to verify the mark. You tlien put it into a candle flame, and i when it has burnt entirely to ashes, put the ashes into b, shut it up, and rapidly reverse it as you turn round to your audience, so that a is uppermost again. Then, utter any nonsense you like, open a and • take out the handkercliief uninjured. It rather adds to the trick if • you drop a little eau de cologne into a before commencing. j 33. THE FIRE-EATER. . I If the young conjuror is desirous of appearing in the character of i a fire-eater, it is very easily managed. He must prepare a piece of thick string, b;^ soaking it m a solution of nitre, and then drving it. ! He cuts off a piece about an inch in len^h, lights one end, and wraps | it up in a piece of tow which he holds in his left hand. The trifling smoke wiU be concealed by a huge bundle of loose tow also carried in the left hand. \ He takes a handful of tow in his right hand, puts it into his mouth, ; ohews it up, and appears to swallow it. He then takes another ■ handful, ana with it the piece in which is the string. As he puts this ^ into his mouth, he takes out the piece which he has already chewed. \ By taking breath thi'ough the nostrils, and breathing it out through the mouth, smoke begins to issue forth, and the whole interior of the i mouth is soon lighted up with a glow. When the mouth is shut, j and the tow pressed together, the fire goes out, except the piece of \ I CONJURING. 663 prepared stiing. More tow is then taken into the mouth, and treated in the same manner. In this short account of conjuring, I have purposely avoided such tricks as require expensive appai-atus. Such apparatus is either entirely bevond a boy's reach, or at all events he ought not to be encouraged in the notion of spending much money on objects of no real use. A boy of any ingenuity will make the greater part of the apparatus himself, or at least he can do the painting and polishing of Jiis machinery. I have mentioned no macliinery that need cost more than two or three shillings at the outside, and not that, if a boy is acquainted with the use of tools. THICKS WITH CARDS. In accordance with the previous rule, the principal stress is laid on card tricks that require no apparatus, and may be performed with ordinary cards. 1. TO MAKE THE PASS. This is a necessary beginning for card tricks. " Making the pass " is the technical term for shifting either the top or the bottom card to an;^ place in the pack that you like. It is almost impossible to de- scribe it, and I can only say that it will be learnt better in five minutes from a friend, than in as many hours from a book. As, however, a friend is not always to be found who can perform the pass, I wiU endeavour to describe it. The cards are held in both hands, right hand underneath and left above, as in the engraving, where, as the bottom card is to be raised to the top, the little finger is seen between that card and those above it. By a quick movement of the ri^ht hand, the bottom card is eiippea away towards the left, and is placed upon the top card, undei 664 EVERT boy's book. shadow of the left hand, which is raised for the moment to allow of its passage. This movement must be assiduously practised before it is exhibited ia public, as nothing looks more awkward than to see it clumsily performed, in which case two or three cards generally tumble on the floor. 2. TO TELL A CABD BY ITS BACK. While shuffling the pack, cast a glance at the bottom card, make the pass, and bring it to the top. Continue to shuffle, and lay upon it by degrees as many cards as you like, say six. Then lay the pack on the table, face downwards, and divide it into seven neaps, be- gioning at the bottom, and leave the seventh heap larger than any of the others. When you have done this, take one card from the top of the seventh heap, appear to calculate, and lay it, face upwards, on one of the other heaps. Do so with five more cards, thus leaving your slipped card at the top of the seventh heap. You then announce that by the aid of the six. cards you will name the seventh. You name it accordingly, after carefully studying the other cards, and on asking a spectator to take it up, it will be seen that you are right. if you place five caros above the slipped card, you mil lay out six heaps, and if eight cards, there will of course be nine heaps. 3. THE CARD NAMED WITHOUT BEING SEEN. As in the last trick, cast a glance at the bottom card, say the ace of spades. Lay out the pack in as many heaps as you like, noting where that one is laid which contains that bottom card. Ask any one to take up the top card of any heap, look at it, and replace it. You then gather up tne heaps apparently by chance, but you take care to put the heap containing the bottom card upon the card which has been chosen, lou then give any one the cards to cut, and on countm^ them over, the card that munediately follows the ace of spades is the card chosen. If by any accident the two cards should be separated when cut, the upper card of the pack is the chosen one, and can be picked out with seeming cai*e. 4. THE CARD TOLD BY THE OPERA GLASS. Make out a table, such as is given on the next page, Fig. 1, and place it iu an opera-glass, so that the figures wUl be visible when you look through it. For convenience, I have made miue as seen in Fig. 2, the numbers 1, 2, 3 iu each series being understood. The best plan is to write the numbers, or cut them out of a book, and paste them on a circular piece of cardboard, which must then be soaked in oil, so as to make it semi-transparent. The li^ht will then easily pierce through it, and the figures will be better visible than if it were opaque. I CONJURING. 665 It win be seen that Fig. 2 coEtains as much matter as Fig. 1, and that two-thirds of the figures are saved by it. Fig. 1. /I. 31. 10. 32X . / 4. 21. 13. 22. \ ' 7. 11. 16. 12. \ 19. 33. 22. 23. 25. 13. Fig. 2. These prelimiiiaries being arranged, tell any one to take any twenty- seven cards out of a pack, and to think of any one of them. Deal them into three heaps, and ask him in which heap it is, and what number from the top he would like it to come after the third deal. ^0^ EYEllYBUi'S BOOR >^ w *.-, Kr. +1... *,^. ..j„ .;..; :d last but !! ^ci readily disiixiguiiiliieU as coiUiitou cui»AA. AUDACITY. •cf-s^fnlW played bv sheer ai party has been astonished by the performer holding a pact oi caras over his head, and naming each. The fact was, that he was standing exactly opposite a large mirror, in which the cards were reflected, while the spectators, having their backs to the mirror, suspected nothing. Here are one or two tricks that depend on audacity for success. 6. THE CAUD FOUND AT THE SECOND GUESS. Offer the cards to any one, and let him draw one. Yon then hold the cards behind youi* back, and tell him to place his card on the top. Pretend to make a great shuffling, but omy tui-n that card with its back to the others, still keeping it at the top. Then hold up the cards with their faces towards the spectator, and ask him if the bottom card is his. While doing so, you inspect his card at your leisure. He of course denies it, and you begin shuffling again fui'iously. " Let me do that," he will probably say ; so, as you are perfectly acquainted with his card, you let him shuffle as much as he likes, and then, when you get the cards back again, shuffle until \m CONJURING. 667" card is at the bottom. Then pass them behind your back, make a ruffling noise with them, and show him his o^vn card at the bottom. 7. THE CAED FOtTND UNDER THE HAT. Have a needle stuck just inside your sleeve. Hand the cards, &c. just as -in the preceding trick, and tell the taker to put the card on the top," Take out the needle, and prick a hole nearly through the top /V ( UNIVERSITY 1 672 EVERY BOYS BOOK. will come out of the vase. At the third stroke, loosen the catch on which the weight stands, by means of a string that communicates with your table, and the three cards, will rise slowly up. In order to show that the cards have really vanished from the pack, take the pack out of division 2 and let any one examine it. If you prefer, you can draw the thread yourself, by having a kind of pedal under your table, to which the other end of the string is attached, instead of being fastened to the weight b. If you prefer the weight, you must have a small shelf for the weight to rest upon, when it has descended sufGiciently low, or the cards will be forced entirely out by the thread, c is a representation of one of the divisions, showing the semi-circular cut that is made in them for the convenience of taking out the cards. 21. THE METAMORPHOSIS. In this most excellent trick you choose from the pack the four eights and the two of diamonds ; you put the four eights in the left hand and the two on the table ; you take in the two, placing an eight on the table, and they are all two's. You exchange the two for the eight, and they all become black cards ; you again exchange the eight for the two, and they all turn red ; and after again exchanging, yon have, as before, the four eights and the two of diamonds. The method of accomphshing this trick is as follows : Get three plain white cards, exactly like p&ying cards, and paint them as in the engraving. Mix them with an ordinary pack, and when you are 1t» 7 -4' 3 searching for the four eights, with which you say you are goingto perform a trick, take them from the pack, and with them an ordinary eight of clubs and a two of diamonds. Show the cards as in Fig. 2, making the spectators observe that there are the four eights. Put the two of diam-onds behind the eight of clubs, and lay the eight on the table. The two must be inserted before the eight is removed, or the mystery of the marking will be apparent. Close the cards, turn them over, and spread them out. CONJURING. 673 when they will appear as in Fig. 3. Take in the eight and lay the two on the table ; close the cards, and while shufiling them, turn card No. 2 the other way upwards. The cards will then all appear black, aa My^ in Fig. 4. Take in the two and remove the eight, turn them over, and spread them out, when they will appear all red, as in Fig 5. Finally, take in the eight, replacing the two on the table, reverse No. 2, and you -will have the four eights and the two of diamonds just as they were at first. You must invent plenty of talk durinjr your changes. If the spectators say that the cards are double, spread them out, and hold them up to the light, (for the light cannot pene- trate through the places where the cards are placed over each other,) and if they ai-e still sceptical, hand them the two of diamonds to look at, and in a moment or two hand them the eight of clubs, asking them whether they would like to examine a black card also. This will effectually disarm suspicion. 22. TO CHANGE A CARD IN A PERSON'S HAND. Cut very neatly the spots from a three of spades. Lay tte pierced card on an ace of diamonds, and rub pomatum on the ace of diamonds through the places which the spades occupied. Kemove the pierced card, and sprinkle the ace of diamonds with jet powder, which ad- hering to the pomatum, will transform the card into a three of spades. Place the transformed card at the bottom of the pack, and snow a X X 074 EVERY BOYS BOOK. person what card it is. Make him declare it that every one may near, then place it on the table, face downwards, and push it over the cloth to the spectator, which action wiU rub off all the jet powder. Tell him to place his hand on the card. Let a three of spades be at the top of the pack, and an ace of diamonds the second from the bottom. Show another person the ace of diamonds, and ask him to teU the name of the card openly. Put the pack down, face downwards, rtud in so doing, make the pass, and bring the three of spades to the oottom. Tap the hand of the person who is yarding the card, and then tell him to take up the card and show it to the spectators, when it will be seen to be the ace of diamonds. Simultaneously, you take up the pack, and show the three of spades at the bottom. CRYPTOGKAPHY. The meaning of the word " Cryptography " is, as is well known, " hidden or secret writings," and was used in ancient times, when conspiracies were common, and murders an every-day occurrence, as the means of communicating from one person to another in such a manner that it could not be read by any one save those who were admitted into the secret of its construction. A widespread conspiracy, or, as it would be more properly termed, rebellion, could not be carried on between persons at a distance from each other unless they resorted to cryptography ; in fact, the means of correspondence was in those times of so slow and dangerous a nature, that without the utmost care and secrecy in the arrangement of the cipher it would certainly have been discovered, and then death would be the consequence. In order to mature their designs in safety, and to throw off all sus- picion, men were obliged to put their wits to work and invent some way of informing each other of everything that did transpire, so that no one else should be the wiser for it : thus was cryptography dis- covered ; and wonderful cunning and uigenuity were displayed in its construction, as wiU be seen by the examples that are given. It was also used in former times in transacting affairs of state, in communicating messages from one general to another in time of war, and in many other ways of a more innocent nature, too numerous to mention. Now, at the present time, when aU is peace and prosperity, and news is brought to our very doors by post and telegraph, crypto- graphy is only interesting as a curious study, or to amuse ourselves in an idle hour by finding out its hidden mysteries. The first and most common form of cryptograph we read of was by the transposition of letters, and is, as we may see, capable of great I CRYPTOGRAPHY. 675 improvement ; indeed, it is the basis on which most of the letter ciphers are formed at the present day. We give the following as an example : — For — a bcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz. Use — d efghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzabc. The sentence, " We meet to-night," in this cipher would become, " Zh phhw wr-qljkw." The next is formed on the principle of the above, but is rather more intricate : for instance, if we wanted to inform some one that, " All going on well, send supplies as soon as possible/' we should put it down in the following ord!er : — a g s \ s 1 e s 1 n n i s g w d e n i e s s a b i 1 u a s 1 n 1 P s P e You must read it down the first perpendicular column, then down the second, and so on. You must then form the letters in the hori- zontal columns into imaginary words, and place them down on paper as you would a common sentence, thus : — " Ag spso loelos Inn iosgwden iocs sab Unas Inlp spe." lou must arrange with your correspondent beforehand that the width of the horizontal column should consist of six letters (or more, if you like) ; so by placing the letters six in a line, one under the other, without regard to words, the puzzle is easy to solve. Another good cipher is by using the figures 1 and 2 differently arranged for every letter in the alphabet, as will be seen by the following key : — mil 11112 11121 11122 11211 11212 11221 11222 12111 ] k Imnopqr 12112 12122 12211 12212 12221 12222 21111 21112 21121 s t uvwxyz 21122 21211 21212 21221 22222 22212 22221 22122 Now if we wanted to write the words '* Come now," we should do it in this way, knowing that there are five figures to every letter, and when a word is formed there is a comma : — 11121122221221211211, 1222] 1^22222222. X X 2 676 EVERY boy's book. The next was a favourite of that unfortunate king, Charles I. h--^-=-^- The next is rather good and somewhat difficult ; — Divide a piece of cardboard into twenty-six departments, and in each place a letter ; then take another piece (small enough that the letters on the first piece can be seen), and fit it into the centre of the first, dividing this into the same number of departments ; then put a piece of thread through the centre of both, so that you can turn the smallest card round, filling the spaces up with letters in any way you Uke. Thus: In using the dial, turn it round until, say, the letter m in the middle card comes under the letter A in the outer circle ; next take what you want to write, and find it letter by letter in the outer circle, putting down on paper what appears directly under it in the inner circle. CRYFTOGRAPHT. 677 Now if you want to write "1 sliall come soon," first write the letters A m, so as to enable your correspondent to fix his dial like your own, as the A is in the outer circle and the m under it in the inner — " Am d ufmyy rjxi ujjk." You may arrange your dial in any way you like, but must be sure to place what letter is under the A at the beginning of your cipher The next is something like the last : — Now if you want to tell some one that " They are all coming over," you must write it down and place the figures 5, 4, 3 over every letter in succession. Thus : — 5435 435 43 5 435435 4354. They are all coming over. Then look for the letter T in the dial ; the figure 5* being over it, you must look for the fifth letter from it, which is O : put it down, and go on to the next letter in the message, H ; find H in the circle, and as 4 is over it, put down the fourth letter from it, I) : for E, with the 3 over it, we must write down the third letter from E ; and for the next letter, Y, 5 being over it, the fifth letter ; and so on, always counting in the direction of the arrows. The cipher will run eventually : " Odbt woz wig ylhekb kszn." The way to read this cipher is to put 543 down the same as before, and to count them on the circle in the opposite way to which the arrows are pointing. The most fatnous and complex cipher perhaps ever written was by Lord Bacon. It was arranged in the following manner : — 678 EVERY BOY'S BOOK. aaaaa stands for a abaaa stands for i &i baaaa stands foi r aaaab b abaiib k baaab >, s aaaba c ababa 1 baaba t aaabb )f d ababb )) m baabb „ u&v aabaa e abbaa )) n babaa J, w aabab a f abbab a babab X aabba 1 abbba p babba y aabbb )} abbbb j> q babbb z Now, suppose you want to inform some one that " All is well ; " first place down the letters separately according to the above alphabet — aaaaa ababa ababa abaaa baaab babaa aabaa ababa ababa. Then take a sentence five times the length in letters of " All is well," — say it is, " We were sorry to have heard that you have been so unwell." Then fit this sentence to the cipher shown above, like this — aaaaaababaababaabaaabaaabbaba Wewere s o r Tjtok&Ye heard i h. a t j o m aaabaaababaababa. h&yeheenaounioe /L Marking with a dash every letter that comes under a B. Then put the sentence down on your paper, printing all marked letters in italics, and the others in the ordinary way, thus — " We were sorry to ^ave heard th«^ you hav^ heen so unM?e/l." The person who receives the cipher puts it down and writes an A under every letter except those in italics ; these he puts a B under ; he then divides the cipher obtained into periods of five letters, looks at his alphabet, and finds the meaning to be, " All is well." Here is a specimen of a music cryptograph : — ^^TTTT^^^g^ ^ e i, j u, V s 1 ^m -zz. a ra CRYPTOGRAPHY. 679 The next is good, but rather lengthy :— a b c d e f S h i i k 1 m n P q r s t u V w X y z Here is the key of another : — 1 a f 1 q 7 2 b K m r w 3 4 c d h i n s t X y 5 e-1 k— 2 p-3 u— 4 z— 5 In picking out the letter you want, you must see under what number it stands, then see what number is at the end of the line, then put those two figures together, and they will represent the letter : thus, 15 represents V ; 23, M; 43, O ; and 55, Z. The sentence, " We meet to-night," would be— 2551, 23515144, 4443, 3342223244. The next is a very difficult and complex cryptograph to decipher. Draw a table of four columns, like the figure below. In the first column place the six different arrangements of the figures 1, 2, 3, and number the other columns 1st, 2d, and 3d respectively :- • 1st. 2d. 3d. 123 t y c n h r e m e a i 132 b e f s y h i s S t r t 213 e r e e t m X w a e n t 231 e r m c k m a r f e i 312 w p e e e t w a h h y 321 1 m r t i c i h 1 e g You must agree with your correspondent how many letters wide each of the three columns shall be — we wiU say four. Then take your sentence — say it is, " They are coming by the first steamer next week from America ; we hope they will come right." 680 EVERY BOYS BOOK. You must then place every letter dovm separately, writing the figures in the first coluirm in succession over them, thus — 12313 221323131232 112313221 32 Theyarecomingbythefirststeam 313123211231322132313123211231 ernextweekfromAmericawehopethe 3221323131232 1. ywillcomeright. Over the first letter, " t," stands " 1," therefore write " t " in the column marked first ; over " h " is " 2," therefore write *' h " in the second column ; over " e " is " 3," then put " e " in the third column, and so on ; but when four letters are written abreast you must begin a new line. After doing the above, you must take the letters in each column separately (beginning with the first), and form them into imaginary words, putting a dot under the last letter of each column to show your correspondent that the column ends there ; thus — Tycnb else ree ermc w pee Imrt hrem yhistmx wk mar eot wi ciheaoi gtrtae ntfoei ah hyl oeg. ' The person receiving the * message knows the width of the column (four letters), the arrangement of tlie figures 1, 2, 3, and the use of the dots, and reconstructs his table directly ; he then puts the letters in order by a backward process to the one we have gone through, and reads the message. The next is a cipher of a different kind : — P A B C D MN . QR . E F KL* I'J *G H wx TJV The dots stand for the last letter in each square : thus would j be _|, and P the same with a dot put in the middle, thus _^|. 1 A LJ and B U j The sentence, " Rgtjtledge's Magazine for Boys," would be □joy gardener. He has, as a rule, no time to attend to tender plants, and if he once plants his garden, keeps it clean, and adds a new member to it now and then, it is perhaps as much as can be expected, considering how many other things he has to do. Besides, he goes away to school now and tlien, and what is to become of his tender plants then ? Most bovs will be proud to take care of their own tilings, and will be mucn better satisfied with a hardy little plant, which cannot suffer when they go away for six weeks at a time, than with one that may go off with the first frost. Clearly the best thing for the young gardener to do is to cultivate the most interesting and pretty of the hardy flowers of all seasons. Usually these are infinitely more interesting than the tender exotics of the frand flower garden. Many of them are English plants, notably the eautiful lily of the valley, the pink, the carnation, the graceful Solomon's seal, the various lovely primroses and polyanthuses, and a host of others. Yes, you will do most wisely by adopting all those charming old inmates of our gardens, which, independently of their associations, are not to be surpassed for their beauty by any tender- lings. It will be our pleasant duty to point out to you the kind that vou may grow with the greatest ease, and pick out for you the most beautiful kinds known. It is most essential to be very careful about the plants you put in your little flower garden, for your space is generally small, and there is in consequence the greater necessity to take care that every spot of it is occupied with a "good thing," as gardeners are wont to say. There are hundreds of plants mentioned m garden books, and sold m nurseries, that are little better than weeds, and which would, therefore, sadly disfigure your garden. Presently we shall write you a list, which may be implicitly depended upon — every plant being beautiful, hardy, and in all respects suited to your wants. As boys are usually allotted but a small portion of border for their flower garden, it is better to adopt the mixed border system, that is, a mixture of different kinds, tastefully arranged, and have nothing to do with what is called "bedding- out," or planting great masses of one thing. By the raix^d system, you will be enabled to enjoy a little of everything, and at all seasons, from the time that the crocus opens its brightly-burnished golden blossoms in early spring, tiU the Christmas rose ventures to show its large white flowers in the depth of winter. Do you hke exguiiiitd3t-4;iploured little flowers in the yNIVERSITY J 712 EVERr boy's book. dawn of spring — little brightly blue things that " come before the swallow dares ? " You can grow such without expense or trouble in vour little parterre. The charming bushes of dwarf shrubs, and large border flowers, which bloom in May, must have charms for you as for all of us, and these too you may have in perfection ; while the roses of June and July, the lilies of August, and the grand gladiolus of the autumn, will all be perfectly at home in your borders, as will eveir good and beautiful flower garden plant. In laying out your small patch of flower garden, it is best to confine yourself to a central bed (which may be square, round, or oval), and borders around that, and not to attempt anything elaborate in the way of laying. Attempts to lay out small bits of ground in a geometrically elaborate or Lilipu- tian imitation of the natural style, is almost sure to end in the pro- duction of something ridiculous or cockneyfied. Confine your atten- tion chiefly to the plants, laying out the ground in a convenient manner. Let the design be subordinate altogether to the plants. AU trivial artificial ornaments, in the way of shells, coloured gravel, statuettes, sundials, &c. should be left out of the plan altogether. The most beautiful garder-s are those in which plant-beauty, and that alone, is conspicuous. If you can make the visitor forget all about design — forget everything but the fact that he is in a beautiful and varied garden, with nature's own gems, free and healthy, on every side, you will attain the highest success of which the ancient art of gardening is capable. We will- suppose, then, that you have selected your little bit of ground. The next thing to do is to prepare it thorouglily. Now, in ordinary cases this is not half done. We are going to recommend you to plant permanent things, plants which will not require removal for many years, and you will not have a thorough opportunity of preparing the ground after you once plant. Therefore, the preparation of the ground is of tenfold greater importance in your case than in that of the ordinary gardener, whose beds of geraniums, or suchlike, are empty in winter, so that he has an opportunity of dressiug and diggijfig them every year. Before marking'the walks or anything of the kind, when, in fact, your little piece of ground comes into your hands at first, remove all matters from its surface, add manure to it in abundance, and have the whole dug as deep as you can go, without bringing up the bad subsoil at the bottom. If the ground be sandy, so much the better ; then all you have do is to give it plenty of cow, or any other rich manure that comes to hand. If, on the other hand, it be of a clayey, stiff, tenacious nature, Hke much of the ground to the north side of London, you must act quite differently. Most pretty border plants like a light, warm, free or sandy soil, and abhor a heavy, wet one. The way to cure, if we may so speak, or, in other words, improve the very stiff soil, is to add plenty of sand, leaf-mould, horse manure, or gritty scrapings from roads, or any other loosening material of this kind that you can GARDENING. 713 obtain. Dig it in deep, and dig the ground over again, so that it may be thoroughly incorporated with the soil. All this should be doiie in autumn, if you have the time — in early autumn, if possible. When well done, and tlie ground levelled, then you may mark your little walks — with a line — and your central bed ; and if in this operation you can get the gardener to assist you, do so by all means. In many cases the gardener gets ready the boys' garden, and presents it to him ready for planting, and that is the best way ; for the planting and attention required afterwards will be as much as you can do, if you do it well. A word or two as to edgings for the borders and the bed. Don't have anything to do with those nasty stone edgings, so much advertised of late, as they look very ugly and out of place in in a garden. The neat little edging of box is, perhaps, the prettiest as well as the oldest in existence. But we are inclined to think that little edgings of plants that flower are the best for your case. Try to be original with your edging as with everything else, if possible, and whatever may be used as an edging near your garden, avoid, and have something distinct. We know of about one hundred pretty plants for making edgings, but can only mention such here as you are likely to be able to obtain without aifficulty. The best are the rosy thrift {Armeria vulgaris rubra), a lovely spring plant ; the pretty little white and blue campanula pumila, and its white variety ; the large blue gentian of the Alps {G. aculis). this is plentiful in Scotland, but not about London ; the pretty little blue aubrietia, to be obtained everywhere; the variegated cocksfoot grass {Bactylis glomerata variegata ; — what a pity it is that we are obhged to use such names) ; and the double daisy m various colours. Should you make a box edging, use the dwarfest and best kind ; and if you happen to notice any other dwarf hardy plants that make tasteful edgings, use any you fancy, by all means. The more variety we have the oetter, and the only thing that it is particularly desirable you should avoid is any forms of those crockery wares, or artificial stone edgings, as they are all as bad and ugly as need be. We will now follow with a list of the most suitable plants for your garden. To each plant a figure will be attached, to indicate the position it should occupy in your beds or borders. We will, for con- venience sake, throw the various heights of the plants used into three classes — 1, for the smallest plants, or those fitted for the front of the border ; 2, for the medium-sized, or those suitable for the middle parts ; and finally, 3, for the taller kinds, which require to be placed at the back, or near the back of the border. Doubtless you will make a point of growing the rose ; that is deservedly everybody's favourite. You may plant the rose either in the back part of your border, as a standard in the middle, as a dwarf bush, or on the front edge, pegged down close to the earth — not a bad way of growing it, by the way. But avoid the standard rose, if you can ; it is ugly, awkward, and by no means so satisfactory as a rose '* growing upon 714 EVERY boy's book. its owu roots : " that means, a kind not grafted upon another, but quite on its owu resources. Roses generally are grafted upon free growing common kinds, known as stocks. The most pleasing in the end, and by far the most satisfactory, are the roses upon their own roots. They make dwarf but long-lived and vigorous bushes — the very best things you can employ in the middle parts of your borders. If there be sufficient room, have a dozen kinds of roses, each different. Every spring, from deaths during the winter, and changes of one kind or another, you will have to look over your borders 'to fill up vacancies. It is best done about the end of May, when you may exactly see the state of the plants in the border, by filling up the majority of these vacancies with the better kinds of bedding plants, &c. By doing so you may enjoy both phases of gardening — the beautiful and interesting hardy fiowers, to be pre- sently named, and the brillant and common flowers of the summer parterre, the pretty kinds of verbenas, the dwarf and neat lobelias, the variegated and other geraniums, and in fact, any kind of bedding plant that comes to hand. Next, for the selection of the more valuable and more uncommon hardy flowers, leaving out all such as are difficult to obtain. Among all the flowers of spring, few are better known than some of the anemones — apennina (1), fulgens (1), coronata (1), sylvestris (1), and Honorine lobert (2), are the very best. Among them we have the sweetest blue, the brightest scarlet, and the purest white. Of the columbines {Aquilegias), the best for your purposes are the common border varieties. Tliey are mostly fitted for the central hue of the border. Of the magnificent delphmiums, so richly blue, tall, and stately, there are many oeautiful new kinds — so many that I need not enumerate them, but most nurserymen are pretty sure to have varieties of them. Being tall, they are mostly suited for the back, or nearly the back portions of the borders : if you have a central bed, they will also look very well towards the middle of it. By the way, the middle of such bed might well be devoted to a choice shrub or two, say a good rhododendron or kalmia — that is, if the soil would suit such. The peony is almost too big for such little gardens ; but a plant or two may be ventured in some unimportant spot. The yellow Dachelor's button {Rammculus acris, fl. pi. 2), is very pretty, and so exceedingly is Uielytra spectabilis (2). Baptisia austrahs (3). Coro- niUa varia (2). Galega officinaUs alba (3). Lathyrus grandiflorus (3), a cHmbing plant, very fine for gomg up a low treUis. The white and red everlasting peas (3), also climbers. Orobus vemus (2). The perennial Lupin (3). Achillea segyptiacum (2), A. aurea (1), A. Eupatorium (3), and A. millefoUum roseum (2) — all fine and free. Of Michaelmas daisies {Asters), A. versicolor (I), elegans (3), turbi- nellus (2), Amellus (2), will be found highly beautiful. The Pyrethum in fine variety of beautiful colour and size : they have been raised of late yeai's in great quantity by Mr. Salter of the Hammersmith Wra GARDENING. 715 rseries, and are admii-ably suited to the middle line of borders, therefore the figure 2 will indicate their position to a T; their colour is rich ana distinct in the extreme. The fine autumnal flowering Pldox (3) is also sold in great and beautiful variety, and should have a place in every good collection. Six or eight of the best kinds should be in the boy's garden. Nearly every nurseryman supplies them cheap. In the harebell family {Campanulas) we will find some very fine, particularly pumila (1), cai-patica ( 1 ), persicifolia (3), and P. alba (3), grandis (2), macrantha (3), rotundifolia (2). The fleur-de-lis, or Iris, has some beautiful varieties, of which the best are germanica (2), florentina (2), pallida (2), De Bergii (2), pumila (1). Tritoma grandis (3), and glaucescens (3), are noble things for the back of a border. The double wallflowers (2), the alpine wallflower (1) {Cheiranthus olpinus). The Potentillas (2). Veronica amethystina (2), and corym- bosa (2). The Virginian tradescantia (2) ; the crimson loose-strife (3) ; Lythrum roseum superbum. I give you the hard names so that you may have the less difficulty in procuring the plants, for many may know them by their Latin name, who would not know them by their common one, and vice versd. The American cowslip (1) : this being a very chaste and pretty plant, have as much as you can of it. Salvia argentea (2). This plant has grand silvery leaves, and should be in every collection. Perennial candy tuft, 1 {Iberis). There are three kinds of this — corrseafolia, saxatilis, and Garrexiana, all good, hardy, and beautiful. Arabis alpina (1) ; Aubrietia purpurea (1); Alyssum saxatile (1): all three very easy to grow, and very common. The beautiful little Hepaticas in various colours, blue, white, and red. You must secure a stock of these, above all things; they are among the prettiest of spring flowers, and will " set off" charmingly the front parts of your borders. There is a fine new kind of hepatica {H. angutosa), a noble kind, which you will also do well to obtain : give it a rather shady position in light soil. One or two tufts of the Christmas rose will be quite enough. "When this begins to show its flowers, a few weeks before Christmas, you will do well to cover the plant with a hand-glass, leaving a little air at the top. This will prevent the flowers from being injured or hurt by rain ; they will grow very much larger and whiter than if left exposed. Of Pentstemons (2), a good variety should be grown, especially if the soil be hght and good, such as they delight in. Sedum iabaria (2), is a fine autumnal flowering plant, which must not be forgotten. Rudbeckia Newmannii (3), a very fine autumnal bloomer. Lithospermum fruticosum (1), a wonderfully pretty plant for the fronts of borders. Any kind of pink (1) that you can con- veniently obtain, should be grown ; they are sweet, hardy, neat, and, in a word, perfect for your purposes. They are considerably varied of late vears, and highly useful for cutting for bouquets, &c. The front of the border is the best place for them. Immediately behind them, and scarcely so far back as the line of the second row, is the place for the carnations and picotees, which of course you 716 EVERY boy's book. will be sure to cultivate. There is nothing more beautiful in our gardens than many of these, so beautifully and richly coloured, and so delicately and exquisitely margined and striped. Linum nar- bonense (2), and Perenne album (2), noble kinds of hardy flax, are also good. The (Enothera tribe will furnish some beauty : notably the sweetly coloured (E. acaulis (1), which opens its very large flowers in the evening, and keeps them open till nearly breakfast-time in the morning ; the noble yellow macrocarpa ; and the large evening prim- rose {(E. Lamarkiana). Some dwarf tiny shrubs, that flower freely, will look beautiful in your border, and of such you caAnot find one more beautiful than the early spring flowering heath , 1 {Erita earned) ; it is a mass of handsome oloom, and very hardy and neat in habit. Other capital little shrubs are Daphne Cneorum, sweet and pretty — various dwarf kinds of native heaths, and Genista tinctoria (1), and sagittalis (1). In addition to the above, it need hardly be added, that such universally esteemed plants as the lily of the valley (1), the primrose (1), and the polyanthus, should te well represented. Latterly there have been raised considerably varied kinds of primrose and polyanthus, and nothing can be more charming than mixed masses of sucn. From a packet of seed of each (ask for that of the ordinary mixed kinds), you may raise a considerable variety of beautiful kinds. Double daisies (1), too, in various colours, will be found very pretty in the spring, as will the numerous kinds of pansy (1), the gentian, and the forget-me-not. By the way, you must not forget some tufts of of the common forget-me-not ; it does very well as a border plant in all but the driest soils. At Trentham it is tastefully employed to form a margin round some pretty little gardens, dedicated to the various younger members of the family; and we have known people to be so full of gratitude to a departed dog, as to plant a rin^ of it round the little monumental slab wiiich indicated his place of burial in the garden border. The various pretty and very dwarf kinds of saxifrage (1), and Sedum (1), too, you will find neat and distinct for the very front of your border, in which you will of course arrange the dwarfest plants. One word more. It would be a pity to confine you to this or any other selection. The more varied your garden is, and the more distinct from that of your friends or neighbours, the better. The selection above given is as good as can be made, and may save you from getting a lot of ugly weeds in your garden, under the name of flowers ; but in addition to these, you would do well to add any other pretty plant met with in your rambles, and which seems to you worthy of a place ; while with friends who cultivate plants, you may exchange any that you have plenty of, for new varieties, or raiything that you may fancy. GARDENING. 717 THE BOY S FEUIT GARDEN. There are few boys who cannof. appreciate the virtues of a deli- cious melting pear or good apple; and our object in writing this paper is to tell them how to grow such in a comparatively short space of time. In old times, and, indeed, generally at present, people plant for those who come after them — "plant for their heirs," m fact, — plant trees that will come into bearing in twelve years or so ; and therefore some may say, why offer the boys such a far-off treat ? But times change, and the system which produces the finest fruits now in our markets, happens to be exactly suited to the boy's garden. Large and beautiful apples have been sold in Paris during the past spring for as much as three francs a-piece ! These were in many, or in nearly all cases, grown upon little trees not more than a foot from the ground, and several of them not more than two or three years old ! The French are the best growers of apples and pears in existence ; and in France originated this dwarf method of growing theip. The way they do it is as follows : — The best kinds of apple* are grafted on a variety known as the Paradise, which induces a very dwarf growth and early fertility in the kinds grown upon it. We have seen these fruiting, this year, at two years of age, bearing fine fruit, much better than you see on trees developed to full size. They are grown in two ways, generally as cordons, and occasionally as little standards. The "cordon" is simply a single plant of apple, trained along a wire, supported about a foot from the ground. The little standard, or bush, is simply a diminutive Lilliputian kind of tree — just such as a boy would wish for in his garden. Not taller, if as tall as himself, he can shorten the shoots and gather the fruit with the greatest ease. The culture of these little trees is so simple that no boy need fail with them. A sunny spot should in the first instance be chosen, that is, if the young gardener can get it ; and it is not often that he is allowed any but a bye nook of some kind or other ; and no wonder, because hitherto boys' gardens have simply been short-lived little pxhibitions of untidiness, never yielding any result and very little beauty. But the young gardener who manages well Lis fairy part of fruit garden, will soon produce a little feature that any place might be proud of. Next, as to how to do it. Very little ground is required. A small patch w'.H afford space for a great number of little trees. A sunny open spot should be selected, where the trees will have all the advantages of sun and air to perfect their fruit, and render their shoots short, firm, and fertile, instead of sapp^, gross, and useless. The soil should be of a slightly sandy or loamy nature, and not wet. 1 f the ground be badly dramed, and water lies in it much, it is aiuiost hopeless to attempt fruit- 718 EVERT boy's book. growing, and the little gardener had in that case better turn his attention to something with which his soil and circumstances are likely to agree. One of the chief points in gardening is to choose the course most suited for your own soil, climate, and position. Thus the boy who lives in a great city, or the suburb of one, and who has to contend with the smoke and other evils incident to such, must pursue a very different plan of gardening to the boy who lives in the country, and has all the advantages of pure, sweet air for uis plants. The best of all soils for our little fruit-trees,, is one mode- rately sandy, yet not too loose and free, with what we may term a free bottom, that is, a sandy or other subsoil beneath, whicli will permit the water to pass off freely from the fertile or upper earth. But although this is the best soil, there are few others that we need reject — the worst, perhaps, being deep, stiff, soap-like clay. The best time to plant is in the autumn. Be sure you ask for the young apple-trees grafted on the " Paradise," and the Dears on the Quince stock. Both apples and pears may be grown as little standard trees or as cordons. In planting, do not put the roots deep, and spread them out even, forming first a rather firm and slightly convex surface, on which to place the little plant. This will be found to suit very much better than making a loose sort of hole into which to put the roots. It should be borne in mind that when fruit-trees send their roots deep into rich or cold ground, they produce a lot of coarse, useless wood, barren of fruit, or nearly so. To counteract this ten- dency, what is called root-pruning has been resorted to. It simply consists in taking up the trees once ia two years or so, and replant- ing them — at least, this is the way with our little trees. It may not be necessary on many soils ; but where it is, it may be readily done during pleasant dry weather in autumn. The check given to the tree by the disturbance, causes it to form fertile buds and a stubby habit. It is well that the young amateur gardener should know this, so that he may apply a remedy if his fruit-trees grow too strong and prove barren. But generally they are fertile enough, and even sometimes produce a successful crop the first year after planting ; the second year they should bear well. The acci- dent of a severe frost while the trees are in flower, will of course always do mischief, and may ruin a crop ; but all are liable to this, as well as our Lilliputians. It is best to plant the erect little trees in a small square — pears and apples separate, for uniformity sake — and to place the cordons around this, just as the French make a sort of edging of them in their gardens. Indeed, if the boy cannot obtain a neat little sunny square for his tiny trees, he will hardly fail to succeed in getting permission to arrange a few in cordon fashion along the edge of some border. It is simply done by either driving down a strong wooden post, or an iron one. so as to support a wire at about ten inches or a foot from the ground. Beneath that, the GARDENING. 719 trees are to be planted, say at a distance of six or eight feet, and tied alonoj the wire. When once this is done there is no further trouble, except to pinch back the shoots in summer so as to keep them close and compact. This operation rerniires a little attention. The main stem, which is of course tied carefully but not too tightly to the wire sends out side shoots in the summer. When these are about four, or say from three to five inches long, they are to be pinched back, or in other words, nipped off, within about an inch of the base of the young shoot, in the case of apple-trees— in the case of pear-trees it should be leit somewhat longer. This is for the summer pruning ; in winter it may be necessary to go over the trees with a kuile, and remove or shorten awkward spurs, or cut out dead bits here and there ; but the summer pinching is the chief thing to be done in the matter. When the trees produce too plentiful a crop of fruit, these should be thinned when very young, so that those left may assume the splendid flavour and size which makes fruit grown in this way superior to that grown in the old and large tree system. I will now give you a list of the best kinds to use in this way, and which can be bought in any respectable nursery. Of apples the very best are ('olville Blanche and Reinette de Canada, Cox's orange pippin, Hawthornden, Herefordshire Pearmain, Greaves' pippin, or any other first-class kind of apple. Of pears, Marie Louise, Winter Nelis, Beurre Diel, Jargonelle, Beurre d'Amanlis, and Josephine de Malines, will be found very suitable for the dwai*f bush or cordon style, as will most first-class pears. Cropping the Ground. DIGGING. When land is fii'st brought under the spade it should be well dug, and it ought to be trenched up ; that is, a full spit or spadeful should be taken and thrown somewhat higher than the general level of the ground, and turned, so that the under part of the soil is brought to the surface ; in doing this effectually a sort of trench wiU be left at the part where the spade goes in, and at the end of digging a piece of ground in this manner tnis trench wdU be required to be filled up. It is usual for gardeners to provide for this at the onset by bringing a barrow fuU of the mould from the part at which the spade is first put in, and filling up the trench so left at the end of the process. Common digging, when the ground is not to be trenched, consists in turning it over regularly and evenlv with the snade. When manure is necessary, it is either hoed over the groimd and due m as the digger proceeos, or in trenching it may Be laid in eacb 72U EVERY BOrS BOOK. successive trench as it is made, which will of course be covered by the next line of digging. Flower-beds are best turned up with a smaU three-pronged spade-fork ; and it is often necessary to use the same instrument when digging between strawbeny and other roots, which is technically called forking. The earth in this process is not turned over, but only broken up and loosened, and the handle of the fork not turned in the process, but drawn gently backwards with a kind of knock, which can be easily acquired by practice. HOEING. The hoe is of very gi'eat use in a garden. There are generally three kinds of hoes: 1st, the narrow; 2d, the broad; and 3d, the Dutch hoe. The small hoe is used for hoemg in flower-beds; the broad one f^ for earthing up peas, potatoes, &c., and ^^ m^ the Dutch hoe is of service in dry ^ \ [Iw^ weather in clearing the ground quickly of weeds. The two former hoes are used by drawing the handle to you, and hence caUed draw hoes; but the Dutch hoe is used by thrusting for- I ward, when the weeds cut up by it fall [ through the hollow portion at {a) clear [1 " of the operation. In hoeing the hoer ' should be particularly careful to go quite to the roots of the weeds, and clear of the roots of the plants. In hoeing up peas he should be careful to draw the earth nicely among the haulms ; and in hoeing up cabbages not to sprinkle the oirt among the tender leaves forming the hean of the plant. BAKING. There are two kinds of rakes, — the broad and narrow. The broad rake is for raking over seed beds, and the narrow one for raking borders among flowers, &c. In the use of the rake the gardener should first lightly drag off all the weeds and stones from the soil In Jiolding the handle of the rake high, all the loose stones, weeds, &c., will be easily drawn from the ground vdthout the mould ; when the handle is held low, the teeth of the rake enter the ground and scratch it up, which is sometimes necessary to be done ; but the little gardener should be careful not to rake away his soil ; and the little hard balls of earth that come over with the stones, &c. should be pulverised by the back of the rake. WEEDING. The garden should always be kept perfectlv clear of weeds ; a weed in a garden is a dLsgrace to the gardener, and unless a young person GARDENING. 721 makes up his mind to be very particula'' m this he had better never think of gardening. Chickweed, dandelion, plantain, bindweed, and every other description of extraneous growth should be quickly removed, and that worst of all weeds, called the gardener's plague, " couchgrass," should be extirpated entirely, as should all suckers from the roots of trees. Weeds, if not in seed, should be thrown into the manure pit, but sticks or stones should never be mixed with them. SOWING SEEDS. The ground having been dug and raked, and otherwise prepared, is fit for the reception of the seed. Radishes, can-ots, parsnips, are sown by the hand broadcast ; the way of sowing carrot seed is to mix it with the earth in a large flower-pot, and then to scatter it very thinly over the bed : at least, that way is suited to the boy's garden; in the open garden and the field they sow carrots and parsnips in drills. Peas are sown in drills about three inches deep and four feet apart. Broad beans are put in with a dibber in straight lines about five inches apart, the rows being four feet from each other. Erench beans are sown thinly in drills about four feet apart. Scarlet runners are put in by the dibber singly about three inches apart, and should have bean sticks placed near them as soon as they appear, upon which to climb. Cabbage-plants, should be put in by the dibber about nine inches apart, in rows about four feet distant from each other. Cauliflowers should be planted eighteen inches apart either way, as should Scotch kale and sprouting brocoli. Spinach may be sown thinly in drills three feet apart, or broadcast in beds. Lettuce-seed, cabbage-seed, cauliflower-seed, and all kinds of flower-seeds suhold be first sown in warm situations in good mould very thinly, and theu the plants should be transplanted as they grow of suffi- dibber. cient size. Potatoes should be planted with the dibber nine inches apart, in rows three feet apart, as should Jerusalem artichokes. Onions should be sown broadcast, in beds about six feet wide and fifteen or twenty long. The beds for parsnips and carrots may be six feet wide and thirty long. TRANSPLANTING. This is a most important operation, and is indispensable in the art of gardening. A vast number of seeds must be sown in beds, and afterwards transplanted into their final situations ; this is mrticularl^ the case with regard to flowers. The instrument with which trans- planting is performed is callde a trowel, of which there are botli small and large. In using it the principal thing to be attended to, is to take the best and most vigorous of the plants raised in the seed- bed, without mjuring their roots, and with the earth around them, 3 A 722 EVERY BOYS BOOK. and placing them, with as Httle disturbance of their roots as possible, in their new situations. In transplanting shrubs, &c. from pots, the planter should very sHghtly break the earth round the roots of the plant, so that its fibres may have free play in the new earth. In transplanting shrubs, &c. particular care should be taken in digging ^ them up, so that the young fibres of the roots are not injured. When shrubs, &c. are first transplanted, they should be moderately watered, and of course it is bad management to plant shrubs at a time when they are likely to suffer from sun. The right time to transplant is in the autumn and spring, when the ground is nice and dry, and " in good working order," as gardeners term it. WATEKING. Nature is the best waterer of plants, and it is good poHcy to leave the matter as much as possible in her hands; but we must assist her now and then by applying it ourselves. In watering, pond water is much better than pump water ; and in warm weather, if no pond water can be procured, it is weU to pump the water into some lai'ge tank or tub, and let it stand for some hours exposed to the sun and air before using it. Morning and evening are the proper times for watering ; the middle of the day, or during a hot sunshine, is a very improper time for using the watering-pot in summer-time, although it is the best time for usin^ it in the winter. In watering plants in flower-pots the finger should be first passed round the pot where the mould joins the sides of the pot, so as to close up the littJe crack or crevice between them, otherwise the water will pass down this crack, and go out at the hole at the bottom of the pot without affording it any benefit. In watering, never let the water pass from the watering-pot close to the stem, but rather turn up the earth in a httle circular space for a few inches round the plant, so that the water may soak down to the extremities of the roots, where the spongelets are which draw up the nutriment fi'om the earth to sup- port the plant. When you water, water well and thoroughly, and then there will be little need to do it often. To water frequently, and give a little at a time, is very bad gardening. GARDENING. 723 VAEIOUS MODES OF PROPAGATION. Plants are reproduced or propagated in various ways; some by seeds, some by offsets, as tulips and hyacinths ; some by dividing the root, some by layers, some by cuttings. Currant and goosebeiTy- trees, as -vrell as rose-trees, and also the vine, are propagated by cuttings; i.e. pieces of the young last-year branches are cut off about six laches in length, and, the top being taken off, are placed with the thickest end in the ground. Strawberries are reproduced by dividing the root, or by taking the runner which the plant has itself fixed in the ground as the nucleus of a new plant, and putting it in a proper situation. Raspberries give out suckers from the parent root, which may be taken off and replanted, like the lilac, the rose, and many other plants ; but in takmg them off, which is generally done by a spade,, they should be taken pretty near to the parent stem, and should have fibrous roots attached. In taking offsets, such as those of bulbous roots, it is only necessary to take those which nature herself separates from the parent bulb ; m tubers, such as the artichoke and potato, the tubers of middle si^e are to be taken and planted ; or in regard to the latter root, the eyes or shoots only are sometimes planted, the root being cut into various portions. LAYERS. If we observe the strawberry plant, we find that at a certain season of the year it throws out offsets, and at certain distances a knob or knot arises, from which roots shoot into the earth, while from its upper centre a bud appears, and then a new plant is formed. The process of layering is to artificially produce this, and similar operations of nature. Some plants throw out roots whenever their stump or branches come in contact with the soU, but others require the assistance of art. The art of layering, therefore, consists in taking the shoot of a growing plant as near the root as possible; this is first to be cut liaJf tnrough, and then a slit is made in an upward direction, and, a piece of twi^ being placed in the divided part, the shoot is pegged down with the jomt buried in the ground. After a time this joint begins to throw out roots, and when these are firmly established and begin to draw nutriment from the earth, the shoot may be detached from its parent stem, and it then becomes a new plant. Layers may be made in the spring months, and also in the month of July. PIPINGS Axe cuttings of carnations, pinks, &c. They are tubular stems, having joints at certain distances, and they are pulled asunder by the fingers at these joints ; the lower leaves are then pulled off, and the pipe is placed in some nicely prepared soU, leaving its upper portion, consisting of the sprouting leaf bud, to grow, while the lower pipe shoots into a root. 3 a2 724 EVERT boy's book. GEAFTIKG. Grafting, inarching, and budding, are generally perfoimed in the mouth of March. The operation of marching is sometimes performed by nature. When two branches of a tree lie in contact, the rough winds of -winter often cause them to rub against each other, so that a wound is produced in one or both, and the juices that flow from the wounded parts gradually cause an incorporation of the substances, so that the two branches become united into one. This is not to be wondered at in branches of the same tree, or in those of the same kind, but it is a matter of some surprise to find that a tree bearing small and unpalatable fruit may be cut down, and the remaining part ^afted Avith a scion from a species bearing large and delicious fruit, mstead of the small sour fruit of the stalk. Thus it is then that by grafting, we preserve and multiply a favoured variety of trees which could not be propagated from seeds with any certainty of success. In order to the full success of this operation, grafting must be per- formed according to the rules that experience has laid down. The first is to graft or unite only such species as have a relationship sub- sisting between them. The operation never succeeds unless this union of nature is attended to, and the plants belong to the same genus. The next rule requires that the inner bark of the scion, and the inner bark of the stalk, be exactly united together, in order to facilitate the free course of the sap. The most common method of grafting is whip-grafting, or tongue- grafting. The name of whip-grafting is given from the method of cutting the stock and the scion sloping on one side so as to fit each other, and then tying them together in the manner of a whip-thong to the shaft or handle. The scion and stock are cut obliquely, and as nearly as possible at corresponding angles. The top of the stock is then cut off nearly horizontally, and a slit is made near the centre of it doAvnwards, ana a similar one in the scion upwards. The tongue, or wedge-like process forming the upper part of the sloping face of the scion, is then inserted downwards in the cleft of the stock, the inner barks bein^ brought closely to unite on one side so as not to be displaced by tymg, -which ought to be done immediately with a riband, or matting, or bass, brought in a neat mannei- several times round the stock. The next operation is to clay the whole over an iuch thick all round, for about half an inch or more below the bottom vi the graft to an inch over the top of the stock, finishing the coat of clay in a kind of oval form, closing it effectually, so that no light, wet, nor wind, may penetrate. TONGTJE-GRAJTING. Tongue-grafting is not very different to whip-grafting, and is per- • formed as follows. The stock being ready, cut it off at three or toui mches from the grc/imd, and, with a very sharp, .straight, and narrow- I GARDENING. 725 bladed knife, cut a thin slip of wood and bai-k upwards from about two inches below the top of the shortened stock. Make this cut at one pull of the knife, inserting the edge rather horizontally, and when it has gone through the bark and into the wood a little short of the middle, pull straight upwards. Then at less than half-way down this cut a thin tongue, not more than three-eighths of an inch long. Proceed in the same way with the thick part of the scion, making a sloping cut of about the same length as the cut of the stock, and make a tongue to correspond with that in the stock. Bring the four edges of the bark, that is, the two edges of the cut in the top of the stock and the two corresponding edges of the cut in the bottom of the scion, to meet precisely, which can never be the case unless the first cut in the stock and that in the scion is even as a die, &nd performed with a knife as sharp as a razor. The two parts thus formed, the tongues and the stock clasping one another must be bound up as before. BUDDING. Budding is the art of taking a bud from one tree and making it gi'ow on another. A bud can only be planted upon a tree of the same kind as itself, and the operation is generally performed in the month of August. The bud should be taken from a shoot of the same year's growth, and, in taking it, should be neatly cut out by incisions made above it, below it, and longitudinally on either side, and the piece taken should include the bud, without injury to the bark, and a small piece of wood of an oblong fonn pointed at its extremity. A place IS now cut to receive the bud in the shoot of a stock, and the best place is n^ar the fork of a branch; the method of cutting is similar to that adopted for taking out the bud, and the bark is open on both sides of the slit, and the piece of bark to which the bud is attached is then fiUed in, and the bai-k of the stock closed over it ; the two parts are then bound together with strips of fresh matting tied in bows and ends, for the purpose of being easily loosened as the bud increases in growth. The operation of budding requires the aid of a budding-knife, which may be readily purchased, and the success ol the operation depends upon the care and nicety with which it is per- formed. INARCHING. We have akeady mentioned how nature performs what is called inarching. The gardener's art consists simply in bending a branch partly cut through, and inserting the belt thus formed into a slit made downwards in the stock to receive it. The parts bein^ nicely fitted are bound with matting. In five or six months the head of the stock may be cut off, and the plant removed. 726 EVERY boy's book. GRAPTING-CIAT. Most of the operations of grafting require clay to be put round the parts. This is made of three parts of stiff yellow clay to one of horse- dung fresh as it falls, with a little cut hay, well mixed together j another kind of clay is made of a pound of pitch and a pound of yeUow wax, mixed with two pounds of cow-dung. The use of them in covering the grafting posts is to keep them moist and cool till 9 proper union has taken place. PRUNING. The proper time for pruning trees is ia December or January, for then the sap is down, and no injury can be done ; and the art in pnining consists in cuttiug away tne " water shoots," or non-bearing wood, " dead wood," and " superfluous wood." The water shoots, as they are called, appear to be strong growing branches, but generally produce neither flowers nor fruit; the superfluous wood are those shoots which grow in the way of each other, or cross each other, which should always be removed. The great principle in pruning a fruit tree is to leave all the tree free and open, so that the air and sunshine may pass through it, and to preserve the buds of the bearing wood. The shoots should be cut off as near to the stem or branch as possible, and all growths or suckers which appear below the crown of the tree should be taken off. The present practice of thumb-pruning is very excellent; by this means the superfluous shoots, &c., are removed by the thumb naU as soon as they appear, and thus the tree does not exhaust itseK by the growth of useless wood. The young pruner should be very careful in cutting away, and recollect that what he cuts off he cannot put on again. TRAINING. The training of trees appHes principally to those that are fastened to wooden trellises, to poles, or to walls. The principle of the art is to extend the bearing branches of a tree or plant, so as to improve its growth, its beauty, and its produce. Peaches, nectarines, apricots, vines, &c., are trained against walls by shi-eds of cloth being placed round the branches, and the two ends nailed to the wall. In doing this, care should be taken to give the branch room to play, and yet to confine it, not to hurt the tender fruit-shoots in the operation, and to let all the branches be free of each other. Roses and jasmines are often trained round verandahs by their different parts being tied with ropes' end or tarred twine to different parts of the trelhswork. Sometimes flowers are trained by being tied *:o stakes or long poles, and others are brought to pass through the round of an ornamental ladder, or through the meshes of wirework of different forms. But in every kind of training the principle is the same, namely that of keeping the branches elear of each other, and of preserving the flowering and bearmg shoots. Neatness and taste are also mdia- GARDENING. 727 pensable requisites to the training and management of trees and flowers, whether for nse or ornament. INSECTS AND DEPREDATORS. There are various kinds of depredators which find their way intft gardens; — worms, slugs, caterpillars, moles, ants, birds, butterflies, snails, &c. These must be got rid of, or kept down, otherwise the gardening labours are soon at an end. In wild nature all the above " vermin," as some people designate them, are of the greatest service in some way or other; even worms and moles, which are very destructive in gardens, are of great service on commons, and there- fore in destroying them we should always do so with as little pain as possible to the individuals ; and, as prevention is better than cure, the young gardener should look out in winter for the eggs of various moths and butterflies, which may be often seen encircBng the twigs of trees, or under the eaves of paling, &c., and destroy them. Cater- pillars are best got rid of by picking them from the plants ; and slugs, and snaUs, and worms, are otted eradicated by turning a brood of young ducks into the ground for a short time, where they can do no injury to the beds. They may also be entrapped by laying cabbage leaves in different parts of the garden, under which they will creep in the night time. Moles must be caught with a mole-trap set in the Une of their march. It consists simply of a bent stick, aiid a wire formed into a noose, slightly attached to the neck of a peg, into which the animal runs his head and gets strangled, by the elasticity of the rod drawing up the noose when the peg is disturbed. Ants are best got rid of by destrojiiig their nest and eggs, " hi ~ the latter of wliich are excellent food for young chickens, pheasants, &c. The most destructive insect is the aphis, which attacks the rose, and this is best destroyed by the fumigation of tobacco-smoke, either through a paii' of common bellows, or by means of the whirl-fiitnigator, which may be purchased for a few shillings ; but the most certain mode of destruction is to obtain a few "golden beetles," and put near the plants infected by aphides; these are their natural enemies, and where they are placed the aphides will soon become extinct. PROTECTION FROM FROST. The common trees and fruits of the ^rden require but httle care as regards frost in our comparatively mild winters, but many plants^, trees, and shrubs, coming originally from warmer chmates, require much attention during winter to keep them alive. It is useless to 728 .j^EUY boy's book. attempt preserving geraniums, myrtles, and a great many of our common summer plants, without keeping them through the winter in a greenhouse of some kind or other. A small greenhouse may now be cheaply erected, but for the preservation of a small number of plants the greenhouse pit is the cheapest and most convenient sub- stitute. It consists only of a hole twelve feet by four duj^ in the ground to the depth of six feet, having at the top a skylight. It should if possible be dug in a sheltered situation, open to the south and well backed behind, and the glass-top, which should merely con- sist of one frame laid in a slanting f)osition to the south over the top of the hole, the back of which is raised to support it, the front being slightly lowered. The entrance to the pit is at the side, to which a stout wooden door nailed over with straw bands should be attached, and two or three steps should lead to the interior of the pit, where a few shelves may be arranged upon which to place the flowers, &c. In this pit flowers, cuttings, Dulbs, and a varietv of other things, may be preserved through the winter, with very little cost or trouole, and it will be of a great deal of use in many other respects. THE YOUNG GARDENER'S CALENDAR FOR THE WORK TO BE DONE IN ALL THE MONTHS OF THE YEAR. JANUARY. In January, if the weather wiU permit, manure the ground, and dig the manure in. Plant out some strong early cabbage in warm situations : plant early kinds of Windsor beans. Sow peas, early WarAvick, in drills two feet and a-half asunder ; sow a first early crop of spinach ; sow early radishes, and cover them with straw two mches thick, then uncover every imld day, and cover again in the evening. Plant in the flower border the various bulbs, such as snowdrops, crocuses, daffodils, jonquils, &c., and also their offsets. Plant also the hardy herbaceous plants, such as asters, golden rods, campanulas, Canterbury bells, &c. Keep gravel walks clean. I GARDENING. 729 FEBRUARY. Peas, beans, spinach, lettuce, carrots, parsnips, beet, &c., may now be sown ; and in hotbeds cucumbers, small salading, melons, lettuce, &c. Give air to plants under frames in the natural ground. Dig and prepare the compartments of beds and borders ; sow many sorts of hardy annual flower seeds; the tender sorts in hotbeds, such as lark- spurs, candy-tuft, yellow lupines, pansies, virgin stock, sweet scabious mignonette, ten-weeks stock, &c. And for edgings of border, plant box, thrift, daisies, parsley, strawberries, &c. MARCH. Still continue to prepare an appropriate ground by digging and manuring, sow again peas, beans, &c., if necessary, and especially a bed of turnips. Now is the time also to sow small herbs, as thyme, aavory ; you may also now plant various slips or cuttings of rosemary, rue, wormwood, and lavender. These should be the outward shoots produced last year, five or six niches long, and should be planted m a shady border, six inches apart. Now also may be sown nasturtiums, which may be sown in patches, dibbed in six inches apart, or in. drills, near a rail or running fence. Potatoes may also be now planted in open weather. In planting them, take care to get the best sorts, and pick out some of the finest of a moderately large size, and then divide the tubers into two or three parts, leaving an eye or two to each ; plant the pieces in rows about eighteen inches from each other, and about four inches deep. Now also is the time for pruning the various fruit trees, planting fresh sets of raspberries, strawberries, &c. In the flower garden the tender annuals are to be sown in liotbeds, such as cockscomb, balsam, china-aster, tobacco, convolvulus, &c. Ranunculuses, anemones, and the hardy annuals, may be sown in the open ground, and transplanting of all kinds of plants, shrubs, &c., may now be performed. APRIL. Tliis is a transplanting month, particularly for cabbages and cauli- flowers, all which should be now taken and put out for summer use. Celery should also now be pricked out. Continue to plant, if neces- sary, pot herbs and sweet herbs, such as rooted slips of bahn, penny rojal, and camomile. It is a good time also to plant out shps of mmt from the roots ; other crops of peas may also now be sown, as also a late crop of beans. Now also you may sow gourds and pumpkins in a frame. All pruning must be finished. Insects must oe looked after on fruit trees, v ines may be laid down in layers ; wall-fruit thinned; strawberry beds weeded, and kept very clean; new- budded and new-grafted trees weU examined to see if the clay keeps close to the grafts. In tie flower garden or borders some of the tender annuals may now be pricked out, and some of the others sown 730 EVERT boy's book. in the frame, such as Prince's feather, capsicum, love-apples, Indian com, eourds, sweet balsam, marvel of Peru; stocks, and the hardy annuals , may now be sown in the open ground, as Adonis poppy, sweet peas, catch-fly, annual sunflower, larkspur, lupines, Venus s looking-glass. The best way to sow sweet peas is in pots, and protect them well from the birds, who will otherwise not leave one. Inarching may now be performed on evergreens and other plants, which you may wish to propagate this way. MAT. Lettuces wiU now want tying up. Peas will require sticking. Do not tie your lettuces up too tightly, and when you stick your peas put in the stick in a slanting direction. Clear and thin carrots and parsnips, leaving the largest plants at least four inches from each otlier; thin also onions; plant out cauliflowers. Sow brocoH seeds for the crop to come in on the following winter and early spring. Sow and plant savoys ; top the broad beans that are now in blossom, which will make the pods set sooner and swell faster. Plant the various kinds of Prench beans, sucii as the white speckled, in drills about three feet apart, and sow them tliin. Prick out and plant celery ; continue to sow radishes and small salading for daily use. Water new planted crops, and now let more than common care be taken to destroy weeds amongst crops of every kind ; and now is the time for using your Dutch hoe freely among the rows of peas, beans, and spinach ; but do not leave your weeds about in the drills or borders ; clear all carefully away, and keep the garden clean and neat. JUNE. Look after your melons, pumpkins, gourds, and cucumbers, in frames ; let them be well supplied with fresh air and water. To save cauliflower seed, mark some of the best and earliest plants, with the largest and whitest and closest flower heads, which should not be cut, but left to run to seed. Peas may still be sown, and French beans also, as may cabbage and colewort seed. Gather mint, balm, and other aromatic herbs, towards the end of this month, for diying. Examine any new planted trees, see that they are not too dry, and that they are well secured. Water should be given to those that show any symptoms of flagging; water them well, but not frequently. Take care that your strawberry beds are also well watered. Hang up nets before early cherry-trees against walls, and over small trees, to protect them from the birds. . Most of the tender annuals may be now finally planted out, and now is the time to take up the roots of tulips, crown unperials, jonquils, &c., and to take awaj the offsets. Continue to support with, sticks all the tall growing flowering plants. Cat box-edgings, and regulate your flower borders, keeping your plants well watered if the weather should be very dry. GARDENING. 73I JULY. Bllso some carrot seed to raise young carrots for use later in the autmnn. Celery may be transplanted, winter spinach may be sown, lettuces may be planted out, coleworts may be sown. Gather you r cucumbers as they appear, and gather all sorts of seeds as they ripen in dry weather, pulling up the stems with the seed where it can be done. Bring out the cockscombs, double balsams, and all other curious annuals kept till this time in frames. Transplant annuals into the borders. Lay carnations and sweetwilHams ; propagate pinks by ]>ipings; transplant perennial plants. Take up bulbous roots, cut box-edgings, regulate ^our flower borders. Plant cuttings and slips of succulent plants; smft geraniums and other plants into larger pots, if necessary. AUGUST. Cauliflower seed must be sown between the 18th and the 24th. Celery should now be transplanted into trenches, and lettuce planted out. In the end of the month the dry flower stems of aromatic plants, such as hyssop, sage, lavender, should be cut down. Now look well out for various seeds as they ripen, which gather by cutting or pulling off the seed-stalks, then place them in the full sun against a hedge or wall to get them thoroughly dry. All flowers shoidd now be carefully attended, and watered when necessary. The piidi pipings should now be planted out in beds, and the seeds of manv bulbous flowers, such as tulips, hyacinths, lilies, may be sown to obtain new varieties. Flower borders should occasionally be gone over with a sharp hoe, after which they should be raked over neatly, and all weeds and litter cleared away. SEPTEMBER. Lettuces may now be planted in frames, or in very warm borders, for Avinter use. Brocoli, cabbage and savoy plants may also be planted out, and young plants pricked out into nursery bedLs, Celery should be earthed up, and you should tie up the leaves of endive to blanch the plants white. The spinach sown in August should be thinned and cleared out, and small salading should oe sown once a-week or fortnight. Gather ripe seeds as before, and see that the birds do not devour them. Now is a good time to plant the strong runner plants into separate beds, and at about fifteen inches asunder either way. Towards the end of the month hyacinth and tulip roots may be planted, as well as any other bulbous root. Anemone and ranunculus seed may be sown, and perennial plants transplanted. Continue to keep the flower borders always very clean, and begin digging vacant beds and borders for future planting. 732 EVERY BOY S BOOK. OCTOBER. Now the apples and pears begin to ripen. Seeds are still to be looked for and preserved, vacant spaces of ground are to be dug up and manured. Emit trees may now be transplanted, and currant and gooseberry-trees may be planted. Recollect that the currant-trees may be cut close down to the fruit buds, but the gooseberry only half way down the last year's wood. Cut out irregular growths and suckers, and keep them trained to a single stem below. Straw- berry beds should this month have their winter dressing of manure, and all the runners cleared away close to the head of the main plants. Raspberry plants may be pruned, the old stems cut away, and the last year's suckers' stems selected for the next year's bearings, and each of them shortened one-third in height. In the flower-garden the borders should be nicely dressed, and all kinds of plants may be transplanted, or their roots divided, and bulbs not yet planted may be put into the earth. Plant all kinds of shrubs and evergreen trees. NOVEMBER. Now is the time for digging up potatoes, and taking up carrots, parsnips, onions, &c., and scoring them for winter use. Winter spinach should be weeded, and the red beet-root dug up. Onions may be pricked out to come in earlv in the spring. Trees may be pruned ; all sorts of fruit trees and bulbous roots planted. Now tender plants should be removed to the pit or greenhouse. DECEMBER. Peas maj be sown in a warm sheltered spot to come in early in the spring, as may Windsor and broad beans. Celery should be well earthed up, and all vacant ground manured, dug, or trenched. Secure the roots of newly planted trees from the frost by laying dungy litter round them, and the same may be done to the spots m which hyacinths, tulips, anemones, and ranun- culuses are planted. Small young tender seedling flower plants also require care at this season. The borders may now be finally cleared and laid nice and smooth, the remainder of pot plants removed to the greenhouse or pit, which should be closed during the night, and only opened in fine mild weather ; as the frost comes on place mats above the fflass during the night, which should be removed in the morning. All leaves from trees, &c., should be collected in a pit for manure, free from sticks or stones, and the whole garden put into order foi the frost MIMICEY AND VENTRILOQUISM. " He w can I become a ventriloquist ?" is the frequent thought of a boy; and he is told, probably, that it is an exceptional faculty, and cannot possibly be acquired. This is not so ; perseverance and practice are alone necessary to produce those wonderful results which never fail to captivate the pubHc, if the student has a fair musical ear, and a talent for imitation which few boys are without. The deceptive nature of the sounds are the result of certain natural principles, which are called in to aid the experimenter. Those who nave seen any professors of the ventriloquial art now living must have been struck by the apparent ease with which the effects are produced. This is not only the result of practice, but the careful attention to certain acoustic principles which regulate the direction of sounds. A sudden change in the direction of sound is oftentimes very per- plexing to the ear, even when the eye can assist the other organs. The change of direction of the sound of a peal of bells, which is often interrupted by intervening buildings, is a familiar instance of this, their sound appearing to come from different places as the hearer changes his position. We can easily imagine that when the hearer is still, and the source of the sound moves, the deception becomes much greater, if skilfully appUed to the purpose. The first great secret is to take a full and deep inspiration, so that the lungs may be well filled, to be used as a Highlander uses the windbag of his bagpipes, as required. If we remember that the larynx, which is the cavity in the throat behind the tongue, is capable of considerable flexibility, as well as the trachea or windpipe, we have good materials for ventrUoquial effect ; thus the mouth and tongue have really, but not apparently, a great deal to do with the modifications of the assumed voice. A clever ventriloquist recom- mends the mouth to be kept closed, and the tongue rolled back, so as to regulate, as it were, the sound which is formed in the larynx. This may be done by strengthening the abdominal muscles ; and it is probably from this being so frequentlj^ done, that the name of " belly- speaking " arose. The highest perfection of ventriloquism is speaking with the Hps closed, and apparently without an effort of any kind^ Some old and some modem professors had this marvellous pover in peifection. 734 EVERT boy's book. It has been recently observed that by constant practice the veil of the palate can be so exercised that it can be raised or depressed at will, so as to dilate or contract the inner nostrils. The effect of this contraction is the same as Mr. Hardy's rolled tongue ; it muffles, as it were, the sound, renders it weak and dull, as if coming from a distance. On the other hand, if the nostrils are dilated to any extent, the sound gradually becomes apparently closer and closer, because it is more distinct. The uncertainty of the direction of sound greatly aids the ven- triloquist. If a man and a woman are placed at either end of a tolerably large room, and each imitates with tolerable success the voice of the other, the confusion between the eye and the ear is so great that it becomes next to impossible to know which it was that spoke. It is thus necessary that the ventriloquist should either by word or gesture direct the attention of his hearers to the spot from whence they expect the sound to proceed. Really, in practice, there is little difference between the sound of a muffled voice, whether it is outside the door, above the ceiHng, or down in the cellar. It is possible to acquire such a knowledge of the modifications of sound by distance, obstructions, or other causes, as to imitate them with wonderful accuracy. The late Mr. Love used to carry on a dialogue with a person in a box, and by a masterly modulation of his voice he fave it a muffled tone when he sat upon the box, and different egrees of sharpness as he gradually opened the lid. The best practice is to begin with imitations only of different voices, until some progress is made. Then commence to practise the muffled voice until the audience are satisfied that it is done tolerably well, for the operator cannot judge of the effect it is producing save by experience. The voice may now be changed until the second voice IS marked by some distinguishing characteristic, such as bass, alto, gruff, or speaking. Then the distant voice may be tried, to be modulated as before as success is attained. A well-known ventriloquist used to make some excellent effects by speaking with a closed mouth when drawing an inspiration, instead of the usual method of speaking during the expiration of the breath. We win suppose a venti-iloquist about to give an illustration of his art. He first takes care that none of his audience are between the line of his mouth and the spot from which the sound appears to proceed. Thus the simplest cause of ventriloquial effect is produced by standing with your back to the audience and your face to the door. With closed jaws you direct a muffled voice against the door. The sound which reaches the ears of the audience is a voice apparently outside the door, but in reality it is an echo of the artificial voice only. Take a simple example. You knock at the door, and in your natural voice you inquire if anyone is there. Assuming the kuffled tone, you say that "it's a friend," and then inquire his MIMICRY AND VENTRILOQUISM. 735 name and business. The answers being given, you sliglily open the door and the corner of your lips at the same time, and tlieu tht, voice loses its muffled tone, and appears more distinct as it comes closer. The deception is more difficult to maintain, and the ventriloquist suddenly turns round and shows that the voice is in reality a mere shade. If we try the ceiling voice, or the familiar " man on the roof," we should use the upper notes, and reserve the lower notes for the " man in the cellar." In either of these illusions the lips should not be opened at all. The modulation of tones should be managed in the larynx, by the action of the tongue only, unless the voice is supposed to come down the chimney into the room. In either case the mouth should be turned to the place from whence the sound is supposed to proceed ; and when speaking in his natural tones, the performer should address himself directly to the audience; always using appropriate gestures to signify the ascent or descent of the owner of the fictitious voice. These two voices are in reality the onlv true ventriloquial voices. The variation of tone and accent depends more on the organs of imitation than on true ventriloquism, though when both arts are combined the effect is so much enhanced as to become perfectly marvellous. One of the simplest sounds to produce is that of the humming-bee, wasp, or bluebottle fly. The first sound is produced in the chest, the latter by the lips. It is always well to attempt to catch the insect after it has indicated its presence. This enables the sound to be raised in tone, and occasionally muffled when the offending suppositious insect is inclosed in the handkerchief. The imitation of a knife-grinder is easily done, the grinding being produced by a sharp hissing sound through the teeth, and the " buffing" or poHshing, by gently closing the Hps and drawing the breath through them until they vibrate — a not uncommon schoolboy accomplishment. The sawing of wood, the frying of a pancake, the uncorking of a bottle, and the gurgling noise of pouring out the liquid, may all be successfully imitated; but these are much less striking and ingenious than true ventriloquism. PUZZLES. 1. THE DIVIDED GAEDEN. A person let his house to several mmates, who occupied different floors, and having a garden attached to the house, he was desirous of dividing it among them. There were ten trees in the garden, and he was desirous of dividing it so that each of the five inmates should nave an eaual share of garden and two trees. How did he do it P THE VERTICAL LINE PUZZLE. Draw six vertical lines, as below, and, by adding five other lines to them, let the whole form nine. 3. THE CAItDBOASD PUZZLE. Take a piece of cardboard or leather, of the shape and measurement indicated by the diagram, cut it in such a manner that you yourself may pass through it, still keeping it in one piece. 4. THE BUTTON PUZZLE. In the centre of a piece of leather make two parallel cuts with a penknife, and just below a small hole of the same width; then pass a PUZZLES. 737 piec« of string under the sb't and through thf. hole, as in the figrire, and tie two buttons mueh larger iian the hole to the ends of the string. The puzzle IS, to get the string out again without taking off thp buttons. 5. THE CIKCLE PUZZLE. « Get a piece of cardboard, the size and shape of the Jl\ diagram, and punch in it twelve circles or holes in the O^ position shown. The puzzle is, to cut the cardboard into four pieces of equal size, each piece to be of the same shape, and to contain three circles, without cutting into any of them. 6. THE CROSS PUZZLE. Cut three pieces of paper to the shape of No. 1, one to the shape of No. 2, and one to that of No. 3. Let them be of proportional sizes. Then place the pieces together so as to form a cross. ■^ N^ /N ^ 7. THREE-SQUABE PUZZLE. Cut seventeen slips of cardboard of equal lengths, and place them . 1 z r -« 1 10 11 B 1! 4 1 8 1 e 1 M IS ■ f5 / 1 » 1 .9 on a table to form six squares, as in the dia^am. It is now required to take away five of the pieces, yet to leave out three perfect squares. 8. CYLINDER PUZZLE. Cut a piece of cardboard about four inches long, of the shape of tlie diagram, and make three iioles in it as represented. The puzzie is, to make 3b O A D 738 EVERY BOYS BOOK. one piece of wood pass through, and also exactly to fiU, each of the tnree holes. 9. THE NUNS. Twenty-four nuns were arranged in a convent by night by a sister, to count nine each way, as in the diagram. Eour of them went out for a walk by moon- light. How were the remainder placed in the square so as still to count nine each way ? The four who went out returned, bringing with them four friends; how were they aR placed still to count nine each way, and thus to deceive the sister, as to whether there were 20, 24, 28, or 32, in the square ? 10. THE DOG PUZZLE. The dogs are, by placing two lines upon them, to be suddenly aroused to life and made to run. Query, How and where should these lines be placed, and what should be the forms of themP ''o^ V o o o V o °