22 chapters
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22 chapters
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
“How to do it,” might very well be the title of this new handy-book for American boys. It is first and last a practical guide, based upon the experience of those who have done what they describe. Results are wanted, not theories in a book of this kind, and careful tests have been applied to secure working results and the certainty that everything will come out all right. Another point, which has had the most careful attention of a board of editors, is that of selection. It would be easy to inclu
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Chapter I BACK-YARD PLEASURES
Chapter I BACK-YARD PLEASURES
Since home is the natural centre of life, it will be most helpful if we find out what we can do just outside the house. In large cities there is usually no front yard, and even where such space exists its use as a play-ground is apt to be undesirable. But the back yard even in cities often affords some chances not only for gardening on a small scale but also for making and using a variety of things which will furnish constant amusement. For boys who like to “play Injun” in the back yard, here ar
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Chapter II PET SHELTERS
Chapter II PET SHELTERS
Most boys are interested in pet animals, and at one time or another possess them. Cats and dogs are domesticated and will always stay about the house if they are properly cared for and treated kindly, but rabbits, guinea-pigs, squirrels, monkeys, and reptiles often forget where they belong and will wander away and neglect to come back. For this reason it will be necessary to build houses and hutches for them, and so safeguard the doorways and screenings that they cannot escape. It is not possibl
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Chapter III SUMMER-HOUSES AND PERGOLAS
Chapter III SUMMER-HOUSES AND PERGOLAS
For the back yard, or in the fields and woods near the house, a summer-house or pergola will be found a comfortable nook in which to spend many pleasant hours. A simple summer-house is shown in the illustration, Fig. 1. This is made of four posts, has a shingled roof, and is provided with seats on three sides. Obtain four spruce posts four inches square, or four tree-trunks from four to six inches in diameter. Plant them in the ground, forming a square of six feet. The posts should be embedded f
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Chapter IV WEATHER-VANES AND WINDMILLS
Chapter IV WEATHER-VANES AND WINDMILLS
From the time of the earliest habitation of the earth, nature’s great forces, wind and water, have been employed to furnish power for man’s uses. Wind engines and mills for motive power have become almost obsolete in and about the great cities, as they are so cumbersome and uncertain, but in the country they are still used to a great extent for pumping water, milling, and operating light machinery. Windmills have been made in a number of shapes by the people of different nations, and some of the
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Chapter V AËRIAL TOYS
Chapter V AËRIAL TOYS
To have a flying-machine is the dream of every boy. To build a large one is exceedingly difficult, but a small one run by a rubber band can be easily constructed. You will not be able to fly up to the roofs of houses and spires of churches, but it will furnish you much amusement, without the danger of a broken neck. I will tell you exactly how I constructed one of these machines, and then you can make one for yourself. The backbone was a knitting-needle. The wings, or more properly aëroplanes, w
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Chapter VI COASTERS, SKEES, AND SNOW-SHOES
Chapter VI COASTERS, SKEES, AND SNOW-SHOES
All real boys welcome the approach of the winter season with its glorious opportunities for sport on the snow and ice. Toboggans, double-runners, skees, and snow-shoes—the very words make the blood tingle in one’s veins, and happy is the boy whose home is in the Northern climes where there is real winter for at least four months out of the year. Nowadays it is possible to purchase almost everything for winter sports, but the boy who is handy with tools and of an inventive turn of mind will take
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Chapter VII SAIL-SKATING AND SNOWBALL ARTILLERY
Chapter VII SAIL-SKATING AND SNOWBALL ARTILLERY
Sail-skating is a very enjoyable means of getting over the ice, and with properly constructed frames and sails a very respectable rate of speed can be maintained. In using a sail the boy is the boat, and by his manipulation of the sheets he can go where he pleases, either before the wind or tacking, as in a boat. The skating-sail shown in Fig. 1 is an improvement over the old style of attaching two diamond-shaped cloths to the ends of yard-arms. To make the frame obtain two clear pine or white-w
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Chapter VIII KITES AND AEROPLANES
Chapter VIII KITES AND AEROPLANES
The ship kite (Fig. 1) is an odd shape for a wind-toy but a good sailer in any breeze. It is quite easy to make and requires but one mast, four yard-arms, a keel, some thin, strong twine, and the necessary covering materials. The mast is thirty-six inches long, the lowest spar twenty-four inches long, the top one twelve, and the two middle ones proportioned in length to the two side-strings tied at the ends of the top and bottom sticks—that is, at A and B on both sides of Fig. 2. The keel of the
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Chapter IX FISHING-TACKLE
Chapter IX FISHING-TACKLE
Every boy knows how to go a-fishing, but an intelligent boy is not long in learning that the mere getting of a lot of fish is a small part of the pleasure. That is why he prefers the rod to the seine, one big fish to many smaller ones, one cunning old trout or pickerel outwitted to a basket of stupid fish that contended for the bait. Presently he begins to desire more delicate tackle, and understands that he is fishing for sport, not fish. I take it that the whole art and mystery of angling is h
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Chapter X LAND-YACHTS AND PUSHMOBILES
Chapter X LAND-YACHTS AND PUSHMOBILES
A few years ago the only kind of yacht known to the boys were those that sailed in the water, but in this advanced time, when many unheard-of things have been made possible, the land-yacht has made its welcome appearance. Down on the Southern coasts, particularly Florida and California, where the sand packs fine and hard, the land-yacht is an important feature both for pleasure and business, and if properly handled in a good breeze it will run from ten to twenty miles an hour. No end of fun can
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Chapter XI FIRE-ENGINES AND TRUCKS
Chapter XI FIRE-ENGINES AND TRUCKS
Every boy is interested in fire-engines and fires, and in the absence of the real thing there is a great deal of fun to be had in playing fire. The regular steam apparatus is rather beyond a boy’s constructive ability, but the engine shown in the illustration (Fig. 1) can easily be made from an oil or pork barrel, a keg, a pump, and a set of old wagon wheels. A box may be used for the seat and a small force-pump may be had at a hardware store for a nominal sum. The pump should be fitted with a h
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Chapter XII WATER-WHEELS
Chapter XII WATER-WHEELS
All boys like to play about the water, and dams and water machinery afford an endless amount of amusement. Moreover, the pastime has its useful side. Once you get a wheel in operation with a shaft and pulley attached, it is then a simple matter to harness your power and make it do all sorts of things, such as sawing wood, churning milk, operating a fan on hot days, and even turning a grindstone or light wood-working machinery. There are three kinds of wheels, the overshot, breast, and undershot.
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Chapter XIII BOATS
Chapter XIII BOATS
Of all the things that a boy is interested in there is nothing more fascinating than boats, whether they are to row, paddle, or sail in, and, as many of the simple kinds are quite within the ability of a boy to make, he can take a great deal of pleasure in their construction. For the sea-shore and salt waterways the boats should be heavily constructed, and as this is usually beyond the average boy’s ability, the sea-going dorys, surf-boats, and heavy sail-boats will be omitted, and those describ
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Chapter XIV CATAMARANS
Chapter XIV CATAMARANS
For safety on the water, as nearly as safety can be assured, there is nothing to compare with a catamaran, for they are practically “non-capsizable,” and if not damaged to the leaking-point one or the other of the two boats will float and hold up several persons. Fig. 1 gives a good idea for a rowing catamaran that any boy can make from some boards and light timbers. It is provided with a seat and oar-locks so that the occupant may be seated above the water far enough to row easily. The boats ar
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Chapter XV ICE-BOATS
Chapter XV ICE-BOATS
For travelling over the ice there is nothing to beat an ice-yacht, and some that have been constructed on the Hudson River are of gigantic size and power. Boats of this kind, and having the speed of an express-train, are dangerous for boys to play with, but the ordinary ice-boat that will go from ten to twenty miles an hour is within the ability of any well-grown boy to make and safely handle. It is quite a simple matter to make a good ice-boat, for it is but a framework properly put together an
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Chapter XVI HOUSE-BOATS AND RAFTS
Chapter XVI HOUSE-BOATS AND RAFTS
A house-punt of very simple construction is shown in Fig. 1. The punt is from sixteen to twenty-four feet long according to the size desired, but for a party of four boys it should be twenty-four feet long, eight feet wide, and two feet deep with a cabin eight feet high. The sides and middle rib should be of pine, spruce, or white-wood one inch and a quarter thick, free from sappy places and knots. If the boards cannot be had as long as twenty-four feet nor as wide as two feet, use two boards tw
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Chapter XVII MARLINE-SPIKE SEAMANSHIP
Chapter XVII MARLINE-SPIKE SEAMANSHIP
Ropes may be joined to one another either by knotting or by splicing. If the rope belongs to the running rigging (such as halyards, sheets, etc.) of the vessel, it will be necessary to put a splice in it, as a knot would refuse to render (pass) through the swallow (opening) in the block. There are three kinds of splices in general use—namely, the long, the short, and the eye-splice. When joining running rigging a long splice is always employed, as it does not increase the diameter of the rope, a
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Chapter XVIII CAMPS AND CAMPING
Chapter XVIII CAMPS AND CAMPING
Camping in the mountains, fields, and forests is one of the most delightful features of life in the summer-time. But a good deal of the fun depends upon doing things the right way. To experienced campers many of the following ideas and descriptions may be familiar, but among them there may be some suggestions that will be found of value. The tent is the all-important thing, and to make one large enough for two or three boys is not a difficult matter. What the boy does not know on his first campi
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Chapter XIX TRAPS AND TRAPPING
Chapter XIX TRAPS AND TRAPPING
The ways of trapping are as various as the ingenuity of savage or civilized man can devise. I like best the traps that one can make. They seem to give the animal a fairer show; they develop our own constructive faculties; and the nearer we can get to the savage way the more fun it always is. Steel traps have a place that wooden traps can never fill; but give me something that I can make with my own hands, with the simplest tools, out of whatever materials the spot affords where the animal lives.
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Chapter XX TREE HUTS AND BRUSH-HOUSES
Chapter XX TREE HUTS AND BRUSH-HOUSES
The most delightful season in the woods, throughout the northern and middle parts of the United States, is during the summer months, and in the South right up to Christmas; while in other parts of the country, through southern Texas and California, the woods are attractive all through the year. Brush-houses, sylvan retreats, and tree huts of various kinds are made by boys all over the country, and some very unique and original ones are often constructed from simple and inexpensive materials. Eve
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Chapter XXI WALKING-STICKS
Chapter XXI WALKING-STICKS
Here are some suggestions for an entirely new and fascinating out-of-doors occupation. It has become a habit with me when walking in the woods to keep a sharp lookout for stocks for walking-sticks, so that in the course of many years I have got together quite a unique collection. To these a number have been added through exchanges with friends. This hobby has borne other fruit than the mere gathering together of curious sticks. For have I not learned the scientific and common names of most of ou
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