following manner: Take a piece of board about eighteen inches wide and
three feet long for the bottom. Fasten upright boards about three feet
high at each end. These end pieces must be rounded at the top. Now buy
from any dealer in hardware a piece of coarse strong wire netting long
enough to go over your wooden frame, and nail it securely to the bottom
board on one side, and to each of the end pieces, bending it over the
rounded top. If you fasten it with stout tacks, it will be strong
enough, and there will be no danger of splitting the wood of the ends.
On the front of the cage the netting should stop within three inches of
the bottom, so as to leave room to put in a drawer, like the drawer of a
bird-cage, which you must pull out and clean every morning. Make the
drawer of a sheet of tin. Any tinsmith will turn up the sides for you,
leaving the front a little higher than the others, so as to overlap the
netting. If you can procure the wire netting only of a certain width,
grade the length of your cage accordingly.
If you can get a stout branching bough of some hard wood, fasten it
securely from end to end of the cage before putting on the wire
covering, as your pet will enjoy climbing about on it much better than
running in a revolving cylinder, which is neither healthy nor natural
exercise for a squirrel. The end boards must also be of some hard wood,
or the sharp teeth of your little pet will soon make sad havoc with
them.
Now for the sleeping apartment. Cut a round hole in one of the end
boards near the bottom, and fasten on the outside a neat little box, the
bottom of which must be level with that of the cage, so as to present
the appearance of a tiny extension. In this box there must be a hinged
door large enough to allow you to change the bedding, which must be
clean dry moss or cotton-wool, and through which you can feed your pet.
You can also cut a small hole in the wire netting at the top of the cage
large enough to admit a nut, and the squirrel will soon learn to climb
up and take food from your hand. After cutting the hole, bend back the
ends of the wires, so as to leave no sharp edges. Give the squirrel a
little milk occasionally. You can put it in a dish like a canary's
bathing-cup, which is low enough to slide out and in with the drawer. If
you are ingenious, you can make a neat and comfortable cage at a very
trifling expense.
* * * * *
VICTOR L.--The first of the historical sketches entitled "Old Times in
the Colonies" is in YOUNG PEOPLE No. 35.
* * * * *
E. M. B.--Your "first attempt" is correct and very pretty, but
unfortunately the same solution appeared in YOUNG PEOPLE No. 22,
therefore we can not use it.
* * * * *
L. B.--Mexico has so much commercial intercourse with the United States
that Mexican postage stamps are as easy to obtain as those of any
Spanish-American country.
* * * * *
L. B. S., Hempstead.--It is contrary to the rules of our Post-office Box
to print letters offering articles of any kind for sale.
* * * * *
Correct answers to puzzles are received from Isabel L. Jacob, John N.
Howe, Emma R., Allie Maxwell, Alice Ward, G. Volckhausen, Bell, Annie
Volckhausen.
* * * * *
Favors are acknowledged from H. L. J., Arthur H. Gould, Theresa Morro,
Harry McG. Wood, Edith Bidwell, Agnes D. C., Charles De Gaugue, Bessie
Guyton, Clyde E. Marsh, Gilbert P. Coleman, F. L. Van Valkenburgh, S. P.
Duffield, Mary Louisa Olmstead, E. W. Rice, Nellie Anderson, R. D.
Britton, E. A. De Lima, Percy Cunningham, Mary F. Wright, Winifred Serl,
Arthur Kramer, Libbie M. Hayes, Josie A. Dole, Thurman Allen, Charlie L.
Lewis, Louie E., M. Leona N., May F. Brinckerhoff, Freddie Barnes, Harry
Clark, Eddie Williams, Grace A. Lindsey, Dora A. Knobel, Bertie Reid,
H. W. S., Frank E. Boyd, Josie M. Patten, Arthur D. Thaller.
* * * * *
ANSWERS TO PUZZLES IN NO. 54.
No. 1.
H
L A G
L I L A C
H A L C Y O N
G A Y L Y
C O Y
N
No. 2.
S O F A C O R D
O P E N O D O R
F E E T R O S A
A N T S D R A Y
No. 3.
E D I N B U R G H
B E N A R E S
B E R N E
E C K
E
U L M
L Y O N S
B A R N A U L
S I N G A P O R E
No. 4.
Astronomy.
* * * * *
CHARACTER TREES.
1. Pear. 2. Bay. 3. Pine. 4. Date. 5. Crab. 6. Fir. 7. Box. 8. Broom. 9.
Sloe. 10. Spruce. 11. Bread-fruit. 12. O-range. 13. O-live. 14. Mace.
15. Locust. 16. Cork. 17. Haze-l. 18. Plantain. 19. Cedar. 20. Plane.
21. Beech. 22. Sandal. 23. Vine. 24. Red ash. 25. Palm. 26. Judas.
* * * * *
Throwing Light.--Hair, hare.
* * * * *
Anagram in letter on page 30--Scythe.
* * * * *
PUZZLES FROM YOUNG CONTRIBUTORS.
No. 1.
TRANSPOSITIONS.
Transpose joined, and get separated. Transpose a cave, and get a coward.
Transpose a language, and get an eating-trough. Transpose a person of
rank, and get to confuse. Transpose indifferent, and get a soup-dish.
Transpose a species of gems, and get curious. Transpose brutal, and get
profit. Transpose to confuse, and get displeased. Transpose a chief, and
get a current.
BOLUS.
* * * * *
No. 2.
EASY NUMERICAL CHARADES.
1. I am a bird composed of 9 letters.
My 4, 6, 3, 9 is part of a wheel.
My 8, 2, 1 is an opening.
My 7, 2, 5, 9 is to venture.
ARISTOTLE.
2. I am an animal composed of 9 letters.
My 8, 2, 4 is a fish.
My 1, 6, 3 is a pronoun.
My 8, 7, 5, 9, 3, 2 is a bird.
SNOWDROP.
* * * * *
No. 3.
EASY SQUARES.
1. First, to resound. Second, a company. Third, a part of the body.
Fourth, birds.
G. B. D.
2. First, a shining body. Second, a story. Third, a tree. Fourth, to
stagger.
3. First, a bird. Second, something always found in ships. Third, a
jewel. Fourth, a spring.
4. First, a river in England. Second, employed. Third, a germ. Fourth, a
collection of ancient poetry.
BELL.
* * * * *
No. 4.
ENIGMA.
In stocking, not in shoe.
In white, not in blue.
In grave, not in merry.
In bright, not in dreary.
In foot, not in arm.
In tropic, not in palm.
In denial, not in yes.
In gown, not in dress.
In bread, not in pie.
In laugh, not in cry.
In second, not in third.
The whole a singing-bird.
MAGGIE L.
"HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE."
"HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE" has drawn to its pages a large number of the
best writers for youth in this country and England; and an extensive
corps of artists is constantly employed in providing pictures for the
entertainment of its readers. Among those who will contribute stories,
poems, sketches, etc., during the coming year, we may mention Mr. F. W.
Robinson, of London, Miss Louise M. Alcott, Mrs. D. M. Craik (Miss
Mulock), Mrs. Rose Terry Cooke, Mrs. Harriet Prescott Spofford, Mr. John
Habberton, author of _Helen's Babies_, Mr. William L. Alden, author of
_The Moral Pirates_, Miss Virginia W. Johnson, author of _The Catskill
Fairies_, "Sherwood Bonner," Mr. David Ker, the Rev. W. M. Taylor, D.D.,
Bishop Dudley, of Kentucky, Mrs. John Lillie, Mr. James Payn, of London,
Mrs. Louise Chandler Moulton, Mrs. Margaret Eytinge, Mrs. Helen S.
Conant, Mrs. W. J. Hays, "Mary Densel," Mr. Edward Cary, Mr. Benson J.
Lossing, Mr. Edgar Fawcett, Mr. W. O. Stoddard, Mr. Frank Stockton, Mrs.
Mary D. Brine, Mrs. A. M. Diaz, Mr. C. C. Coffin, Mr. A. A. Hayes, Jun.,
"Sydney Dare," Mrs. Margaret Sangster, Miss Mary A. Barr, Miss Lillie E.
Barr, Miss Sarah O. Jewett, Miss Josephine Pollard, Mr. Frank H. Taylor,
Mrs. Lizzie Champney, Mrs. E. H. Miller, Mrs. M. E. W. Sherwood, the
Rev. Bradford K. Peirce, D.D., Mr. G. B. Bartlett, and W. Elliot
Griffis.
Among the artists who will contribute during the year to the pictorial
attractiveness of YOUNG PEOPLE we may name Mr. E. A. Abbey, Mr. C. S.
Reinhart, Miss M. R. Oakey, Mr. A. B. Frost, Mr. J. E. Kelly, Mr. Howard
Pyle, Mr. F. S. Church, Mr. Thomas Nast, Mr. J. O. Davidson, Mr. Alfred
Fredericks, Mr. S. G. McCutcheon, Mr. Sol Eytinge, Jun., Mr. W. H.
Beard, Miss C. A. Northam ("C. A. N."), Mr. W. A. Rogers, Mr. Charles
Graham, Mr. H. P. Wolcott, Mr. Frank Bellew, Mr. W. M. Cary, Mrs.
Charles H. Sheppard (Jessie Curtis), Mr. M. Woolf, Mr. J. W. Champney,
Mr. Palmer Cox, and Mr. W. P. Hooper.
HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE.
SINGLE COPIES, 4 cents; ONE SUBSCRIPTION, one year, $1.50; FIVE
SUBSCRIPTIONS, one year, $7.00--_payable in advance, postage free_.
The Volumes of HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE commence with the first Number in
November of each year.
Subscriptions may begin with any Number. When no time is specified, it
will be understood that the subscriber desires to commence with the
Number issued after the receipt of the order.
Remittances should be made by POST-OFFICE MONEY-ORDER OR DRAFT, to avoid
risk of loss.
Volume I., containing the first 52 Numbers, handsomely bound in
illuminated cloth, $3.00, postage prepaid: Cover, title-page, and index
for Volume I., 35 cents; postage, 13 cents additional.
HARPER & BROTHERS,
Franklin Square, N. Y.
[Illustration]
THE FIRST SNOW-STORM.
Oh, what shall we do? cried a sad little bird--
Oh, what shall we do? cried she;
For the fields lie white in the morning light,
And there's never a leaf on a tree--
Tree, tree, tree--
And there's never a leaf on a tree.
Oh, let us be off to the fair sunny South--
Oh, let us be off, said he;
For they tell me down there they've enough and to spare
For my dear little wifey and me--
Me, me, me--
For my dear little wifey and me.
[Illustration: FIG. 1.]
[Illustration: FIG. 2.]
THE NUN.
By tracing Fig. 1 very carefully on a piece of white card, cutting it
out, and painting with black ink as indicated, drawing in the beads and
cross, then folding at the dotted lines, and afterward painting the hood
and prayer-book, also the arms and hands, pasting the two sides of the
book together, folding the two small pieces at the soles of the feet
inward, and mounting the whole on a card, you can produce the
representation of a nun as shown in Fig. 2.
A RARE STONE.
The cat's-eye (so called from the changing pearly light it exhibits,
which is not unlike that observed to emanate from the eye of a cat) is a
variety of the precious or noble opal. It is a transparent quartz, of a
yellow hue, slightly tinged with green, and is full of minute fibres of
"asbestos"--a term denoting its incombustible quality, for which it was
used by the ancients for wrapping round dead bodies on the funeral pile,
so as to prevent their ashes from mingling with those of the fire. The
finest cat's-eyes in the world are obtained from Ceylon, and a perfect
gem is of great value. The Hindoos esteem it next to the diamond. Its
average size is that of a hazel-nut, and it is a favorite stone with
jewellers. In 1820 one of these precious gems, about two inches broad,
was sold for £400. The largest now known is one inch and a half in
diameter, and formerly belonged to the King of Kandy, but is now in the
possession of Mr. Beresford Hope.
Among the Marlborough gems one of the most curious is a monster
cat's-eye, an inch and a half high, admirably cut into the form of a
lion's head.
De Boot describes the cat's-eye as good for all diseases of the eye,
being placed under the lid, and allowed to work its way into the corner.