The American Boy's Handy Book Read online

  Of course, such a book cannot, in the nature of things, be exhaustive, nor is it, indeed, desirable that it should be. Its use and principal purpose are to stimulate the inventive faculties in boys, to bring them face to face with practical emergencies when no book can supply the place of their own common sense and the exercise of personal intelligence and ingenuity.

  Many new ideas will suggest themselves to the practical, ready-witted American boy, many simplifications and improvements on the apparatus here described; but it is hoped and expected by the author that the directions here given, as far as they go, will be found intelligible and practicable.

  Nor is the volume, as is too often the case with this class of books, only to be made use of by lads with an almost unlimited supply of money at their disposal.

  All apparatus described are either to be constructed of material easily obtained by almost any boy without cost, or by a very small outlay.

  The author would also suggest to parents and guardians that money spent on fancy sporting apparatus, toys, etc., would be better spent upon tools and appliances.

  Let boys make their own kites and bows and arrows; they will find a double pleasure in them, and value them accordingly, to say nothing of the education involved in the successful construction of their home-made playthings.

  The development of a love of harmless fun is itself no valueless consideration. The baneful and destroying pleasures that offer themselves with an almost irresistible fascination to idle and unoccupied minds find no place with healthy activity and hearty interest in boyhood sports.

  CONTENTS.

  SPRING.

  CHAPTER I.

  KITE TIME .. 3

  Man Kite, 4; The Woman Kite, 7; A Boy Kite, 8; Frog Kite, 8; The Butterfly

  Kite, 10; The King Crab Kite, 11; Fish Kite, 12; The Tur tle Kite, 13; The Shield

  Kite, 14; A Star Kite, 15; The Chinese Dragon Kite, 15; The Japanese Square

  Kite, 16; The Moving Star, 17.

  CHAPTER II.

  WAR KITES .. 19

  Unarmed War Kite, 19; Armed Kites, 20; Armed Kite Fighting, 20; How to Make

  the Knives, 21; How to Make Cutters, 21; Kite Clubs, 22.

  CHAPTER III.

  NOVEL MODES OF FISHING .. 23

  The Bell Pole, 23; Jugging for Cats, 23; The Dancing Fisherman, 25; Toy Boats

  for Fishing, 26; The Wooden Otter, 26; Fishing for Fresh-Water Clams, 27.

  CHAPTER IV.

  HOME-MADE FISHING TACKLE .. 29

  The Rod, 29; Tin and Spool Reel, 30; The Forked Stick Reel, 31; Home-Made

  Nets, 32; A Home-Made Minnow Bucket, 34; Inhabitants of the Water, 34.

  CHAPTER V.

  HOW TO STOCK, MAKE, AND KEEP A FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM .. 36

  Stocking, 42; The Frog, 43; Gold-Fish versus Bass, 45; Aquarium Cement, 45.

  CHAPTER VI.

  HOW TO KEEP AQUATIC PLANTS IN THE HOUSE OR FLOWER-GARDEN .. 47

  Water-Lily, 47; Cat-Tails, 47.

  CHAPTER VII.

  HOW TO STOCK AND KEEP A MARINE AQUARIUM .. 49

  Cement for Marine Aquaria, 49.

  CHAPTER VIII.

  HOW TO COLLECT FOR MARINE AQUARIUM .. 53

  SUMMER.

  CHAPTER IX.

  KNOTS, BENDS, AND HITCHES .. 57

  How To Make a Horse-Hair Watch-Guard, 59; Miscellaneous, 60; Whip-Lashes,

  64; Splices, Timber-Hitches, etc., 65.

  CHAPTER X.

  THE WATER-TELESCOPE .. 71

  How to Make a Wooden Water-Telescope, 71; A Tin Water-Telescope, 72.

  CHAPTER XI.

  DREDGE, TANGLE, AND TRAWL FISHING .. 73

  A New Spor t, 73; The Tangle, 75; The Trawl, 75; How to Make a Bake-Pan

  Dredge, 76; A Tin-Pail Dredge, 76; How to Make a Broomstick Tangle, 77;

  The Old Chain Tangle, 77; Hints and Suggestions to Amateurs, 77; The Use

  of the Tangle, 79.

  CHAPTER XII.

  HOME-MADE BOATS .. 80

  Bir th of the “Man-Friday” Catamaran—The Crusoe Raft, 80; The Crusoe Raft,

  82; The Scow, 84; A Floating Camp, or the Boy’s Own Flat-Boat, 87; The Yan-

  kee Pine, 93.

  CHAPTER XIII.

  HOW TO RIG AND SAIL SMALL BOATS .. 97

  Simplest Rig Possible, 100; Leg-of-Mutton Rig, 101; The Latteen Rig, 103; The

  Cat Rig, 103; How to Make a Sail, 104; Hints to Beginners, 105.

  CHAPTER XIV.

  NOVELTIES IN SOAP-BUBBLES .. 107

  Ever y Boy His Own Bubble-Pipe, 107.

  CHAPTER XV.

  FOURTH OF JULY BALLOONS, WITH NEW AND NOVEL ATTACHMENTS .. 110

  CHAPTER XVI.

  HOW TO CAMP OUT WITHOUT A TENT .. 119

  Hints to Amateur Campers, 127; Provisions, 128; Shelter, 128; Choosing Companions, 128.

  CHAPTER XVII.

  BIRD SINGERS, ETC. .. 130

  The Block Bird Singer, 130; The Corn-stalk Fiddle, 130; The Pumpkin-vine Fife,

  131; A Pumpkin-vine Flute, 131; Cane Fife, 132; The Voice Disguiser, 132; The

  Locust Singer, 132; The Hummer, 134.

  CHAPTER XVIII.

  BIRD NESTING .. 135

  How to Collect and Preser ve Eggs, 135; Birds’ Nests, 137; Preser ving Nests, 138.

  CHAPTER XIX.

  HOW TO REAR WILD BIRDS .. 139

  Robins, Thrushes, Wrens, and other Small Birds, 139; Squabs, 139; The Cow Black-

  bird, 140; Wrens, Sparrows, and Finches, 141; The Bobolink, 141; The Catbird, 141;

  Robins, 142; The Brown Thrush, or Thrasher, 142; The Wood Thrush, 142; Bluebirds,

  143; The Summer Yellowbird, 143; The Bluejay, 143; Humming-Bird, 144.

  CHAPTER XX.

  HOW TO REAR WILD BIRDS—CONTINUED .. 146

  The Crow, Hawk, and other Large Birds, 146; The Hawk, 148; The Hawk as a

  “Scare-Crow,” 148; The Hawk as a Decoy, 148; Owls, 149; Sea Birds, 149;

  Strange Domestic Fowls, 151.

  CHAPTER XXI.

  HOME-MADE HUNTING APPARATUS,ETC. .. 152

  Spearing Fish, 152; How to Make a Fish Spear, 152; How to Make the Torches

  and Jack-Lights, 153; The Boomerang, 154; How to Make a Boomerang, 154;

  To Throw a Boomerang, 155; The Miniature Boomerang, 156; The Whip-Bow,

  156; Throw-Sticks, 157; The Bird Bolas, 158; The Elastic Cross-Bow, 159.

  CHAPTER XXII.

  HOW TO MAKE BLOW-GUNS, ELDER GUNS, ETC. .. 161

  To Make a Blow-Gun, 162; Squirt-Guns, 163; Elder Guns and Pistols, 163; The

  Spring Shot-Gun, 164.

  AUTUMN.

  CHAPTER XXIII.

  TRAPS AND TRAPPINGS .. 169

  Rats, 170; The Paper Pitfall, 170; Jug Trap, 171; The Mole and How to Trap Him,

  172; The Figure Four, 172; Mole Trap, 173; The Toll-gate Trap, 174; The Partridge

  Snare, 175; Set-Line Snares, 176; The Spring Snare, 177; Hen-Coop Trap, 178.

  CHAPTER XXIV.

  DOGS .. 180

  How to Choose a Dog, 180; How to Train Dogs, 182; To Teach a Dog to Retrieve,

  183; Pointers and Setters, 184; Pet Dogs, 184.

  CHAPTER XXV.

  PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY FOR BOYS .. 187

  Skinning, 188; Stuf fing, 190; A New Manner of Preser ving Fish, 192; Design for

  Sketching Aquarium, 194; Preser ving Insects, 194; Morse Insect Box, 195; The

  Lawrence Breeding Box, 196; Spiders, 196; How to Make Beautiful or Comical

  Groups and Designs of Insects, 197; Marine Animals, 198.

  CHAPTER XXVI.

  EVERY BOY A DECORATIVE ARTIST .. 199

  Shadow Pictures—Photographic Paper—How to Enlarge or Reduce a Picture,

  etc., 199; How to Enlarge or Reduce by Squares, 201; How to Make a Camera

  for Drawing, 202.

  WINTER.

  CHAPTER XXVII.

  SNOWBALL WARFARE .. 207

  How to Build Snow For ts—How
to Make Shields and Ammunition Sleds, 207;

  How to Build the For t, 208; How to Make an Ammunition Sled, 209; How to

  Make the Shield, 210; Rules of the Game, 211; A Snow Battle, 212; How to Bind

  a Prisoner without a Cord, 214; Company Rest, 215.

  CHAPTER XXVIII.

  SNOW-HOUSES AND STATUAR Y .. 217

  Snow Statuar y, 218.

  CHAPTER XXIX.

  SLEDS, CHAIR -SLEIGHS, AND SNOW-SHOES .. 220

  A Chair-Sleigh, 220; Folding Chair-Sleigh, 221; The Toboggan, 222; Snow-Shoes

  or Skates, 223.

  CHAPTER XXX.

  HOW TO MAKE THE TOM THUMB ICE -BOAT AND LARGER CRAFT .. 224

  CHAPTER XXXI.

  THE WINGED SKATERS, AND HOW TO MAKE THE WINGS .. 227

  Bat Wings, 228; The Nor ton Rig, 229; The Nor wegian Rig, 230; The Danish Rig,

  231; The English Rig, 232; The Cape Vincent Rig, 232; A Countr y Rig, 233.

  CHAPTER XXXII.

  WINTER FISHING—SPEARING AND SNARING—FISHERMAN’S MOVABLE SHANTIES, ETC. .. 234

  Smelt Fishing and the Smelt Fisher’s House, 235; The Spearsman’s Shanty, 237;

  Snaring Fish, 238; Spearing Fish, 238; How to Build a Fishing House, 239.

  CHAPTER XXXIII.

  IN-DOOR AMUSEMENTS .. 241

  Bric-à-Brac, or the Tourist’s Curiosities, 241; Mind-Reading, 244; A Literary

  Sketch Club, 245.

  CHAPTER XXXIV.

  THE BOY’S OWN PHUNNYGRAPH .. 248

  CHAPTER XXXV.

  HOW TO MAKE PUPPETS AND A PUPPET-SHOW .. 254

  How to Make the Stage, 254; The Scener y, 255; The Old Mill, 256; Puss, 257;

  Corsando and the Donkey, 257; The Royal Coach, 258; Carabas, 259; How to

  Work the Puppets, 259; Stage Ef fects, 260; How to Make a Magical Dance, 261;

  How to Make a Sea Scene, 261.

  CHAPTER XXXVI.

  PUSS-IN-BOOTS. DRAMATIZED AND ADAPTED FOR A PUPPET-SHOW .. 263

  Act I., Scene I., Landscape, with Tree, Bridge, and Mill at one side, 263; Scene

  II., Woods, 265; Act II., Scene I., King’s Palace, 265; Scene II, High-road, 266;

  Act III., Scene I, Interior of Ogre’s Castle, 268.

  CHAPTER XXXVII.

  HOW TO MAKE A MAGIC LANTER N—A KALEIDOSCOPE—A FORTUNE-

  TELLER ’S BOX, ETC. .. 272

  A Home-Made Kaleidoscope, 273; The For tune-Teller’s Box, 274; The Magic

  Cask, 276; How the Barrel is Made, 277.

  CHAPTER XXXVIII.

  HOW TO MAKE THE DANCING FAIRIES, THE BATHER, AND THE ORATOR .. 279

  How to Make a Handkerchief Doll, 279; The Bather, 280; The Orator, 281.

  CHAPTER XXXIX.

  HOW TO MAKE VARIOUS AND DIVERS WHIRLIGIGS .. 283

  Potato Mill, 283; A Saw-Mill, 284; The Rainbow Whirligig, 284; A Paradoxical

  Whirligig, 286; The Phantasmoscope, or Magic Wheel, 286.

  CHAPTER XL.

  THE UNIVERSE IN A CARD-BOX .. 289

  CHAPTER XLI.

  LIFE INSTILLED INTO PAPER PUPPETS, AND MATCHES MADE OF HUMAN FINGERS .. 291

  To Light the Gas with your Finger, 292.

  CHAPTER XLII.

  HOME-MADE MASQUERADE AND THEATRICAL COSTUMES .. 293

  The White Man of the Deser t, 293; ‘‘The Four teenth Centur y Young Man,

  ” 294; The Mediæval Hat, 294; The Wig, 295; Eyebrows, Moustache, and Beard,

  295; The Doublet, 295; Trunks, 296; Tights, 296; To Dress, 296; The Baby, 297;

  How to Make a Handkerchief Hood, 297.

  Spring

  The American Boys Handy Book.

  CHAPTER I.

  KITE TIME.

  IT IS a pleasant sensation to sit in the first spring sunshine and feel the steady pull of a good kite upon the string, and watch its graceful movements as it sways from side to side, ever mounting higher and higher, as if impatient to free itself and soar away amid the clouds. The pleasure is, however, greatly enhanced by the knowledge that the object skimming so bird-like and beautifully through the air is a kite of your own manufacture.

  I remember, when quite a small boy, building an immense man kite, seven feet high. It was a gorgeous affair, with its brilliant red nose and cheeks, blue coat, and striped trousers.

  As you may imagine, I was nervous with anxiety and excitement to see it fly. After several experimental trials to get the tail rightly balanced, and the breast-band properly adjusted, and having procured the strongest hempen twine with which to fly it, I went to the river-bank for the grand event.

  My man flew splendidly; he required no running, no hoisting, no jerking of the string to assist him. I had only to stand on the high bank and let out the string, and so fast did the twine pass through my hands that my fingers were almost blistered. People began to stop and gaze at the queer sight, as my man rose higher and higher, when, suddenly, my intense pride and enjoyment was changed into something very like fright.

  The twine was nearly all paid out, when I found that my man was stronger than his master, and I could not hold him! Imagine, if you can, my dismay. I fancied myself being pulled from the bank into the river, and skimming through the water at lightning speed, for, even in my fright, the idea of letting go of the string did not once occur to me. However, to my great relief, a man standing near came to my assistance, just as the stick upon which the twine had been wound came dancing up from the ground toward my hands. So hard did my giant pull that even the friend who had kindly come to the rescue had considerable trouble to hold him in. The great kite, as it swung majestically about, high in the blue sky, attracted quite a crowd of spectators, and I felt very grand at the success of my newly invented flying-man; but my triumph was short-lived. The tail made of rags was too heavy to bear its own weight, and, breaking off near the kite, it fell to the ground, while my kite, freed from this load, shot up like a rocket, then turned and came headlong down with such force, that dashing through the branches of a thorny locust-tree, it crashed to the ground, a mass of broken sticks and tattered paper. Although the sad fate of my first man-kite taught me to avoid building unmanageable giants, the experiment was, on the whole, satisfactory, for it proved beyond a doubt that it is unnecessary to follow the conventional form for a kite to make one that will fly.

  Man Kite.

  To make this kite you will require four sticks, some rattan and some paper. In regard to his size, I would suggest that the larger the man is, the better he will fly. Now let us suppose you are going to make this fellow four feet high. First, cut two straight sticks three feet nine inches long; these are to serve for the legs and body; cut another straight stick two and one-half feet in length for the spine, and a fourth stick, three feet five inches long, for the arms. For the head select a light piece of split rattan-any light, tough wood that will bend readily will do-bend this in a circle eight inches in diameter, fasten it securely to one end of the spine by binding it with strong thread, being careful that the spine runs exactly through the centre of the circle (Fig. 1). Next find the exact centre of the arm-stick, and with a pin or small tack fasten it at this point to the spine, a few inches below the chin (Fig. 2). After wrapping the joint tightly with strong thread, lay the part of the skeleton which is finished flat upon the floor, mark two points upon the arm-sticks for the shoulder-joints, each seven inches from the intersection of the spine and arm-stick, which will place them fourteen inches apart. At these points fasten with a pin the two long sticks that are to serve for the body and legs (Fig. 3). Now cross these sticks as shown in diagram, being careful that the terminations of the lower limbs are at least three feet apart; the waist-joint ought then to be about ten inches below the arm-stick. After taking the greatest pains to see that the arm-stick is perfectly at right angles with the spine, fasten all the joints securely. Upon the arms bind oblong loops of rattan, or of the same material as the head-frame. These hand-loops ought to be about three inches broad at their widest parts, and exact count
erparts of each other. The loops for the feet must approach as nearly as possible the shape of feet, and these, too, must be exactly alike, or the kite will be "lopsided," or unequally balanced. Now cut two sticks three inches long for the ends of sleeves, and two others four inches long for bottoms of trousers (Fig. 4); fasten the two former near the ends of the arm-stick, and the two latter near the ends of the legsticks, as in the illustration. The strings of the frame must next be put on, as shown by the dotted lines (Fig. 5). Commence with the neck, at equal distances from the spine, and about seven inches apart; tie two strings to the arm-sticks; extend these strings slantingly to the head, and fasten them to the hoop, one on each side of the spine, and about five inches apart. Take another thread and fasten to the top of cross-stick of right arm, pass it over and take a wrap around the spine, continue it to top of cross-stick upon left arm, and there tie it. Fasten another string to bottom of cross-stick on right arm, draw it tight and wrap it on spine four inches below intersection of arm-stick, pass it on to the bottom of cross-stick on left arm, draw taut and fasten it. Tie the body-string at the right shoulder-joint, drop the thread down to a point exactly opposite the termination of spine upon the right leg, take a wrap, and draw the line across to point upon left leg exactly opposite, bind it there, then bring it up to left shoulder-joint and tie it. For the trousers fasten a string at a point on right arm-stick, eleven inches from the intersection of spine, extend it down in a straight line to inside end of cross-stick of left limb and fasten it there. Tie another string at a point one inch and a half to the left of spine upon right arm-stick, extend it down in a straight line to outside end of cross-stick of left limb. Go through the same process for right leg of trousers, and the frame-work will be complete.

  For the covering of a kite of this size I have always used tissue paper; it is pretty in color and very light in weight. Paste some sheets of tissue paper together, red for the trousers, hands and face, blue for the coat, and black, or some dark color, for the feet. Use paste made of flour and water boiled to the consistency of starch. Put the paste on with a small bristle brush, make the seams or overlaps hardly more than one-fourth of an inch wide, and press them together with a soft rag or towel; measure the paper so that the coat will join the trousers at the proper place. When you are satisfied that this is all right, lay the paper smoothly on the floor and place the frame of the kite upon it, using heavy books or paper-weights to hold it in place. Then with a pair of scissors cut the paper around the frame, leaving a clear edge of one-half inch, and making a slit in this margin or edge every six or seven inches and at each angle; around the head these slits must be made about two or three inches apart to prevent the paper from wrinkling when you commence to paste. With your brush cover the margin with paste one section at a time, turn them over, and with the towel or rag press them down. After the kite is all pasted and dry, take a large paint-brush, and with black marking-paint, India ink, or common writing fluid, put in the buttons and binding on coat with a good broad touch. The face and hair must be painted with broad lines, so that they may be seen clearly at a great height. Follow this rule wherever you have to use paint upon any kind of kite.