The American Boy's Handy Book

by Daniel Carter Beard

  The Mediæval Hat.

  Soak an old felt hat thoroughly in hot water; put it over the top of some blunt-ended object, a bed-post, for instance, and, grasping the brim with both hands, pull down steadily and firmly until the crown becomes elongated to the proportions of the ones belonging to the hats worn by the clowns in the circuses (Fig. 239). In stretching the hat be very careful not to tear the felt. Turn the brim up in the back and pull it down in front.

  Fasten a long feather of any kind. a chicken or turkey feather will answer, to the back of the hat, and let the plume droop over the front, as shown by Fig. 240.

  The Wig.

  To make this you will probably have to ask your mother’s or sister’s assistance. Induce one of them to make a cloth skull-cap of the shape shown by Fig. 241. Cover, and sew to this cap Spanish moss or “curled horse-hair,” such as is used by upholsterers (Fig. 242). Cotton or excelsior will make very respectable wigs when nicely arranged and sewed on to neatly fitting skull-caps (Figs. 243 and 244).

  Eyebrows, Moustache, and Beard

  can be made of white or black cotton, fastened to the face with a little mucilage.

  The Doublet,

  to be in keeping with the mediæval hat, must fit quite closely, and an ordinary knit under-shirt is just the thing, especially if it be a bright-colored garment. At the neck fasten a broad white collar, a piece of lace or a ruff, borrowed for the occasion from some lady friend. From the same source procure a large bow of ribbons to fasten at the throat and conceal the band and button on the front of the shirt. If ruffs or lace cuffs be added to the sleeves, the doublet will be complete, and the shirt so disguised that no one will suspect its true character (see Fig. 245).

  Trunks.

  Take any pair of old pants and cut them off at the knees; if they are a trifle too large for you, they will make all the better trunks.

  Let the same lady friend that made the skull-cap, hem the bottom of the pants. The hem should be strong enough to hold strings within for drawing the bottoms tightly around the limbs (Fig. 246).

  If you do not wish to impose too much upon the good nature of your lady friends, you may put the strings in the pants yourself after the manner shown by Fig. 247.

  Half a dozen slashes cut in the trunks through which some bright-colored cloth is allowed to show, adds greatly to the general appearance.

  Tights.

  A pair of knit drawers arranged with straps that pull the bottoms of the drawers over the insteps and heels of the feet, make as good a pair of tights when worn with trunks as any that can be rented from the costumer, and they are much more pleasant to wear than the often uncleanly hired garments (Fig. 248).

  To Dress.

  First put on your stockings; then pull on the tights, allowing the straps to fit under the foot. Next put on the trunks, and pull the bottom of the legs of the latter garment up as high as possible, draw the strings and tie them tightly, this will make the trunks puff out and spread open the slashes. Next put on the doublet, and allow it to fall outside the trunks. Slippers or low shoes should be worn.

  A friend and myself once made a couple of suits like the one just described, using red knit underclothes for tights and white flannel pants slashed with red for trunks. Red-covered shoes and red feathers in our hats completed the costumes, which were exactly alike in every particular. So closely did we resemble each other when masked and dressed in these home-made garments, that our most intimate friends were unable to distinguish one from the other.

  The Baby

  is a mirth-provoking disguise when well personated. To transform yourself into a baby, remove your coat and vest, and, after procuring two long white skirts, fasten one at your waist, and let the waist-band of the other come just under your arms, so that this skirt will fall over the first one adjusted. Let some one tuck up your shirt-sleeves to the shoulder, and run ribbons through them and out at the neck, tying the ends in bows at the shoulders. To do this, the shirt must be opened at the throat and the collar-band tucked under; this makes a low neck and short sleeves. A broad sash passed around under the arms and tied in a large bow-knot looks very baby-like (Fig. 249). The head should be covered with a hood. The latter can be made of a piece of white cloth, or a large handkerchief folded in the following manner:

  How to Make a Handkerchief Hood.

  Fig. 250 represents the handkerchief. Take the corners A and B and fold them under, as shown by Fig. 251. Allowing the handkerchief to rest flat upon a table, turn the corners made by the fold over as you would in making a paper hat; this will give you Fig. 252. Again proceed as you would in manufacturing a paper hat, and turn the bottom C D up over A B; roll this bottom piece up and over about three times (Fig. 253). Pick up the handkerchief by the ends C and D, and you will have Fig. 254, a pretty and complete baby-hood, which, when it is put on the head, and the ends C and D tied under the chin, will conceal the hair, and besides adding to the baby look, it will help to disguise the person wearing it.

  Thus, I might go on until next year, telling how to make all manner of costumes; but I have sufficient confidence in boys to believe that, as a rule, they only need a hint or two to start them in any project, and that their own ingenuity will carry them through. So far I have carried my descriptions of boyish pastimes through the seasons, and I now halt at the recurrence of spring; not, believe me, for lack of matter, for suggestion breeds suggestion, until there seems to be no end, and my greatest difficulty has been to avoid devoting too great a space to any one topic.

  No boy need hope to achieve success as a manufacturer of any of the objects described in this book unless he carefully reads the description and masters the details. Remember that even in sports and plays no slipshod, careless, and partial effort can avoid failure. As a rule, the best and most earnest worker is the liveliest and heartiest companion.

  It is not without regret that the author bids farewell; and if the reader of this book derive half the enjoyment from the perusal that the author has from the writing, then the book is not a failure; and if what little that has been said encourage and help any boys—be they few or many—to appreciate, love, and enter into all sensible sports, as every true American boy should, then has this book fulfilled its mission.

  INDEX.

  A

  Aquarium, the, 37–54; fresh-water aquariums, 37; badly constructed aquariums, 37–38; the author’s first aquarium, 37; how to make aquariums, 39–41; plants for the aquarium, 39; land and water aquariums, 40; fountain for aquarium, 41; the author’s aquarium, 41; stocking the aquarium, 42–43; food, 43; aquarium cement, 45; see also Aquatic Plants. Marine Aquariums, 49–52; improvements on common tank, 49; cement, 49; arrangement of marine aquarium, 50; collecting for marine aquarium, 53–54; importance of healthy specimens, 50; the marine worm (Polycirrus eximins), 54; barnacles, 54; sketching aquariums, 194.

  American Canoeist, The, 97.

  Amusements for in-doors, 241; games: bric-à-brac, or the tourist’s curiosities, 241; mind-reading, 244; the Literary Sketch Club, 245; the “Boy’s Own Phun nygraph,” 248; puppet-shows, 254; magic lanterns, 272; a home-made kaleido scope, 273; fortune-teller’s box, 274; the magic cask, 276; dancing fairies, 279; handkerchief tricks, 279; the potato mill, 283; the saw-mill, 284; whirligigs, 284; the magic wheel, 287; the universe in a card-box, 289; electrical experiments, 291; masquerades, 293.

  Animal magnetism, 291.

  Aquatic plants; see Plants.

  Arsenical soap for preserving stuffed birds, 189; how to make, 192; Wallace’s receipt, ib.

  Artist, every boy his own decorative, 199–203; shadow pictures, 199; photographic paper, 200; how to enlarge or reduce drawings by squares, 201.

  B

  Balloons, paper, 110; unsafe shapes, ib.; safe models, 111; how to build hot-air balloons, 111–118; wick preferable to sponge for fireball, 113; sending up the balloons, 114; fireworks for, 116; see Parachutes.

  Barnacles for aquariums, 54.

  Bends and hitches; see Knots.
/>
  Bird-bolas, 158; for hunting, 158; for target practice, ib.

  Birds’ eggs, how to collect and preserve, 135; the right and wrong of egg-collecting, ib.; the egg-drill and blow-pipe, ib.; blown eggs, ib.; drying, 136; the egg cabinet, ib.; cataloguing, ib.

  Birds, how to stuff; see Taxidermy.

  Bird-nesting, 135; wanton destruction of nests, ib.; the yellowbird’s two-story nest, 137; meadow wren’s nest, 137; preserving nests, 138.

  Bird singers, 130; the block singer, ib.

  Birds, wild, how to rear, 139–151; learn habits when wild, 139; food, ib.; squabs, ib.; cow blackbird, 140; wrens, sparrows, and finches, 141; bobolinks, ib.; catbirds, ib.; robins, 142; thrushes, ib.; bluebirds, 143; summer yellowbird, ib.; bluejay, 143; humming-birds, 144; crows, 146; hawks, 148; owls, 149; sea birds, ib.; strange domestic fowls, 151.

  Blackwall hitch, the, 60.

  Blow-guns used by the Dyaks of Borneo, 161; how to make blow-guns, 162; Indian blow-guns, ib.

  Blow-pipes, 135.

  Bluebirds, how to rear, 143; as pets, ib.

  Bluejays, how to rear, 143.

  Boats, home-made, 80–96; the author’s experiences, 80; the catamaran, ib.; “Man-Friday,” 81; the Crusoe raft, 82; the scow, 84; flat-boats, 87; the “Yankee Pine,” 93; see also Ice-Boats.

  Boat-rigging, 99; the “fore-and-aft” rig, ib.; a simple rig, 100; the sails, 101; the spars, ib.; leg-of-mutton rig, 101; for the canoeist, ib.; its advantages, 102; “latteen” rig, 103; the cat rig, 103; its general use, 104; “jibing,” ib.; sailmaking, 104; hints to beginners, 105.

  Boat-sailing, 97–106; first principles, 98; experiments, 97–105; sailing before the wind, 98; to windward, 99; tacking, ib.; going about, ib.; hints to beginners, 105; reefing, 105; the lee-board, ib.; the “Dandy,” 106; to make a landing, ib.

  Bobolinks, how to rear, 141.

  Boomerangs, 154; how to make, ib.; to throw a boomerang, 155; miniature boomerangs, 156.

  Boys’ books, experience with, 126.

  Bowline knot, 60.

  Breeding-box for insects, 196.

  Bric-à-brac, the game of, 241.

  Brown, Captain Thomas, 187.

  Bulldogs, 181; bull-terriers, ib.

  Butter flies, how to preserve, 195.

  C

  Camera obscura, home-made, 202.

  Camping out, 119–129; without a tent, 119; selecting a site, 121; the rustic cottage, 119; frame-work of, 120; thatching, 121; double cottages, 122; fur niture for: the bed, 122; rustic chairs, 126; camp tables, 127; fireplace, 123; the barrel oven, 124; the stone stove, 125; how to make a butter-knife, etc., 126; hints to amateur campers, 127; provisions, 128; shelter, ib.; slab shanties, ib.; choosing companions, ib.

  Cane fife, 132.

  Caprellas, 79.

  Card box, the, how to make, 289.

  Catamaran, the author’s, 81.

  Catbird, how to rear, 141; stories about, ib.

  Cat-rigged boats, 103.

  Cement for aquarium, 45–50.

  Chambers’s Journal quoted, 144.

  Clams, how to catch fresh-water, 27.

  Clubs—the Kite Club, 22; the Literary Sketch Club, 245.

  Cooking in the camp, 123; the barrel oven, 124; the stone stove, 125; the primitive camp-fire and pot-hook, 126.

  Corn-stalk fiddle, how to make, 130.

  Costumes for masquerades, 293; white man of the desert, ib.; four teenth cen- tury young man, 294; mediaeval hat, ib.; the wig, 295; eyebrows, moustache, and beard, ib.; the doublet, ib.; trunks, 296; tights, ib.; the baby, 297; handkerchief hoods, ib.

  Cow blackbird, 137; how to rear, 140.

  Crabs, how to preserve, 198.

  Cross-bow, the elastic, 159.

  Crows, 146; how to rear, 147; the author’s crow “Billy,” ib.

  D

  “Dandy,” or steering sail, 106.

  Deadfalls, objections to, 173; for moles, ib.; for squirrels, 174; for minks or ’coons, 175.

  Desk, how to make a folding, 91.

  Dogs, 180–186; as companions, 180; the necessity of training, ib.; how to choose a dog, ib.; the qualities of a good dog, ib.; trick dogs, 181; the poodle, ib.; the Scotch terrier, ib.; Newfoundland, ib.; the Shepherd dog, 225; bulldogs, ib.; bull-terriers as a boy’s dog, ib.; pointers and setters, 184; pet dogs, ib.; their tricks, ib.; the author’s dog “Monad,” 185.

  Dog-training, 182–184; strict obedience to commands, 182; the use of the whip, 183; patience in training, ib.; teaching the pointer or setter to “stand,” ib.; to “retrieve,” ib.; “ to heel,” 184; to “down charge,” ib.; to “hi on,” ib.; to “quarter,” ib.

  Dredges, 73–75; oyster dredges, 74; col lector’s dredges, ib.; bake-pan dredge, 76; a tin-pail dredge, ib.; hints about dredging, 77.

  Drawing from shadows, 199; how to enlarge and reduce by squares, 201; how to make camera for drawing, 202.

  E

  Eggs, collecting; see Birds’ Eggs.

  Elder guns and pistols, 163.

  Electricity, simple experiments with, 291; electrified paper puppets, ib.

  Emerton’s “Life on the Seashore,” 78.

  F

  Finches, how to rear, 141.

  Fireworks for balloons, 116.

  Fish, a new manner of preserving, 192.

  Fishermen, knots for, 59.

  Fishing, novel modes of: the bell-pole apparatus, 23; “jugging for cats,” 23; the dancing fisherman, 25; toy-boat fishing, 26; the “wooden otter,” ib.; contrivance for catching frogs, eels, etc., 27; Fish-spear ing, 152; how to make a fish-spear, ib.

  Fishing-tackle: suggestions for making the rod, 29; the reel, 30; the net, 32; a home-made minnow bucket, 34; the fish car, 92; fish bait, 25, 34.

  Fishing through the ice, 234; automatic fishing-tackle, ib.; smelt-fishing and smelt fishers’ houses, 235; “umbrella smelt tackle,” 236; spearing shanty, 237; snaring fish, 238; spearing fish, ib.; how to build a fishing-house, 239.

  Flat-boats, 87; how to build, 88; the cabin, 89; its arrangement, 89–92; their advantages, 92.

  For tune-teller’s box, the, 274; how made, 275; its operation, 276.

  Fourth of July balloons, 110.

  Furniture for camping out, 122; the bed, ib.; rustic chairs, 126; camp table, 127.

  G

  Games for in-doors, 241; bric-à-brac, the tourist’s curiosities, ib.; mind-reading, 244.

  Gas, how to light with the finger, 292.

  Gas soap-bubbles, 108.

  Gibson, Mr. Lang, 137.

  Gibson, W. Hamilton, 161.

  Guns, how to make them: blow-guns, 162; squirt-guns, 163; elder guns, 164; spring shot-guns, ib.

  H

  Hammer (T. F.), article on winged skat ers by, 227.

  Hammock hitches, 66.

  Handkerchief tricks, 279; the handkerchief doll, ib.; the bather, 280; the orator, 281; handkerchief hood, 297.

  Hawks, 148; how to tame, ib.; strap for leg, ib.; food, ib.; as scarecrows, ib.; as decoys, ib.; as pets, ib.

  Hemingray, Mr. Ralph, 197.

  Herring gulls, stories about, 149.

  Hitches, how made: “Blackwall hitch,” 60; bale hitch, ib.; sinker hitch, 61; simple hitch, ib.; double hitch, ib.; half hitch, 66; timber! hitch, ib.; close hitch, ib.; hammock hitch, ib.; diagrams showing hitches, Figs 58, 59; see Knots.

  Holder, Mr. Fred, 72.

  Hummer, the, 134.

  Humming-birds, how to tame, 144; stories about, ib.; the nests, ib.; food, 145.

  Hunting, home-made apparatus for, 152; the fish spear, ib.; torches and jack- lights, 153; the boomerang, 154; whip- bow, 156; throw-sticks, 157; bird-bolas, 158; elastic cross-bow, 159; slings, 160; blowguns, 162.

  I

  Ice-boats, 224–226; “ Tom Thumb ice- yachts,” ib.; see also Skating with Wings, 227.

  Insects, mode of preserving, 194; the mounting-board,195; device for pinning insects, 195; Morse’s insect box, ib.; the Lawrence breeding-box, 196; spider bottles, ib.; to make insect g
roups, 197.

  Instantaneous photographs adapted to the magic wheel, 288.

  J

  Jack-lights, how to make, 153.

  K

  Kaleidoscope, a home-made, 273.

  Kites: how to make man kite, 4; woman kite, 7; boy kite, 8; frog kite, ib.; butterfly kite, 10; king-crab kite, 11; fish kite, 12; star kite, 15; shield kite, 14; Chinese kite, 15; Japanese kite, 16; armed kite, 20.

  Kite-time, 1.

  Kite clubs suggested, 22.

  Kite-cutters, how to make, 21.

  Kite war fare, 19; armed kites, 20.

  Knots, the art of tying, 57; secure and in secure knots, 58; definition of a “bend,” ib.; a “hitch,” ib.; the single fisherman’s knot, 58; double fisherman’s half knot, 59; Blackwall hitch, 60; bow-line knot, ib.; cask sling, 61; anchor bend, ib.; Flemish knot, ib.; rope knot, ib.; simple knot, ib.; double knot, ib.; “fire-escape sling,” 64; boat knot, ib.; “six-fold” knot, ib.; loop knot, ib.; Dutch double knot, ib.; running knot, ib.; twist knot, ib.; chain knot for whip-lashes, 65; shroud knot, ib.; “lark-head” knot, 66; crossed running knot, ib.; sailor’s knot, ib.; weaver’s knot, 67; granny knot, ib.; true lover’s knot, 70; see diagrams, Figs. 57, 58, 59; see also Hitches. “Knuckle dabsters,” made from mole skins, 172.

  L

  Lanterns for kites, 17; for balloons, 166

  “Lateen rig” for boats, 103.

  Lawrence, Mr. Albert, breeding-box for insects invented by, 196.

  Lee-board, the, 105.

  “Leg-of-mutton rig” for boats, 101.

  Locust singer, the, 132.

  London Field, stories from, 149.

  M

  Magic cask, the, 277.