girls for the little round bangles, which tinkle so musically with every
movement of the slender white wrist, that we are forcibly reminded of
the old nursery rhyme:
“With rings on her fingers,
And bells on her toes,
She shall have music
Wherever she goes.”
And as it has long been a matter of rivalry, as to who should display
the greatest number of these resonant favors, it is quite certain that
one of the pretty trifles will make a very acceptable present to any of
your sisters or girl friends you may desire to please. They are usually
made from ten cent pieces, but occasionally a bit of silver no larger
than an old-fashioned three-cent piece is used. The coin is beaten or
rolled flat, and the giver’s initials or monogram, with perhaps a date,
is engraved on one side. Now a much more unique and artistic thing could
be made by annealing the coin, and beating its surface flat on some
firm, hard bed. After the silver is reduced to the proper size and
thinness, with a pen or pencil draw some odd designs, and hammer it in
shape with a small, blunt-pointed nail. Ancient coins, such as are
frequently on exhibition in store windows, afford excellent subjects for
this class of ornaments. When the design is well indented, the work can
be cleaned by boiling it in sulphuric acid and water, and polishing it
with chamois-skin.
A BANGLE BRACELET.
A bangle bracelet can be easily made of hammered work, from a narrow
strip of sheet-silver, which can be obtained from any silversmith at a
small cost. The design is to be traced on the silver in the same manner
as upon the sheet-brass, and great care must be taken in the working out
of each little detail. When the work is finished, it should be sent to a
jeweler to be made up and polished. This is of course an expensive, as
well as a very nice piece of work, and should not be tried until
considerable skill in the manipulation of sheet-metal has been acquired,
and success seems in a large degree certain.
Many ladies are fine workers in repoussé, and it cannot fail to be a
source of satisfaction to every one interested in the art to know, that
each year its merits are becoming more fully known and appreciated by
that great class of people, whose purchases govern the prices of all
artistic things. Now, boys, I have simply touched upon this very
interesting subject of repoussé, and given you a few directions, culled
from my own experience. If, however, I have succeeded in stimulating in
you a desire to pursue this subject further, you will find many
excellent helps, in the form of books or pamphlets, in any of our large
stores devoted to artists’ materials and supplies.
―――――◀▶―――――
A FRAME FOR A PLAQUE.
A fine frame for any kind of plaque, whether repoussé, porcelain,
leather work, or papier-maché, can be easily made from a square piece of
wood, about six inches wider than the subject to be framed; this can be
beveled at the edges, or left as when sawed. In the center, with a
strong pair of carpenter’s dividers describe a circle, whose diameter
shall be half an inch shorter than that of the plaque. Bevel the front
edge of this opening, then covering the whole front surface of this wood
with thin glue, lay it, face downward upon the piece of plush or velvet,
intended to cover it; the material lying flat and smooth, with its
raised surface downward, upon an uncovered table. Cut the center of the
cloth away, allowing enough on the edge to draw over the opening of the
frame; slash this to within a short distance of the wood, that it may
lay evenly when finished; now glue this firmly down upon the back, and
bring over the outside edges and fix them in the same way. When this is
dry, fasten in your plaque with brads driven into the back of the frame,
and extending over the edge of the opening at its back. Finally, when
certain all is securely fastened, wet a piece of brown paper, cut to
exactly cover the entire back of plaque and frame both, cover it with
paste and press it in place. It is necessary to wet the paper first, to
prevent its wrinkling or forming great bubbles when dry. When the paper
is dampened, a bit of paste around the edge is all that is necessary to
hold it in place.
After this backing is completed, a couple of screw-eyes and a wire cord
are to be added, and your plaque is ready for your walls.
―――――◀▶―――――
THE AQUARIUM.
[Illustration]
The name aquarium was formerly sometimes given to a tank or cistern
placed in a hot-house, and intended for the cultivation of aquatic
plants; but in later years its signification has widened, so that it now
embraces animals as well as plants in its category. Its use seems to
have been known nearly a hundred years ago, and a number of gentlemen,
in the latter part of the eighteenth century, made several successful
experiments by means of this “scientific plaything,” as some writer has
happily called it. The aquarium can be used for either salt or fresh
water animals, the former necessitating a residence conveniently near
the sea, for the purpose of occasionally replenishing it with a fresh
supply of the water. It may be an ordinary globe, or it can be made of
slabs of heavy glass, fastened inside an iron frame-work, with a
peculiar kind of cement, made specially for the purpose. They can be
obtained in different sizes at several places in New York and other
cities, and as the materials in themselves are expensive, and the work
of making one usually results in a series of disappointments, and
finally, in total failure, the expediency of buying one ready-made
cannot be too strongly urged upon the young naturalist. Although the
large aquarium accommodates more inmates, the globe is much more easily
cleaned, and answers equally well for a few fishes, as the one in my
window will testify. As fresh-water animals and plants are more
accessible to the larger proportion of boys in the country, and the
globe much cheaper, while it occupies less space than the large square
articles alluded to above, it may possibly not come amiss for me to
give, for the benefit of those of my readers who are interested in the
subject, a description of my own fresh-water aquarium, and what little
experience I have derived from it.
It is a globe of ordinary shape, and has the capacity of a common
water-pail. For several years it was stocked with gold-fish, but it was,
moreover, a source of ceaseless anxiety and trouble. The fish would die
or turn black without any apparent cause, and, still worse, would
frequently have what we termed “fits” in the night, and jump out of the
globe on the floor, where they would be found, cold and lifeless, in the
morning.
The experiment of keeping these decidedly troublesome pets was finally
given up, and the empty globe placed high and dry upon a closet shelf.
One day nearly a year ago, a young member of our household brought home
three small fishes (the common dace), and begged so hard that the globe
might be brought out, and converted into the family fish-pond once more,
that we finally consented, and the little fishes were soon at home in
our library window. Not more than a week after this, a genuine
mud-turtle was added to the collection, and, strange as it may seem,
these little creatures have lived at peace with each other ever since.
We covered the bottom with a few pebbles from the brook, and afterward
added some sand and a handful of shells from the sea-shore.
We experimented with several species of water-plants, but were convinced
that a tiny fine-leaved plant, of which I have forgotten the name, but
which grows very plentifully in our northern fresh-water brooklets, and
the _vallisneria Spiralis_, or common tape or eel-grass, gave the
greatest satisfaction on the whole. With these little plants growing on
its bottom, we are not obliged to change the water for several days at a
time.
In bright sunny weather the plants give forth plenty of oxygen for the
fishes to breathe. This can be readily seen by noting the little
air-bubbles adhering to the leaves and stems, or rising slowly to the
surface of the water; but in cloudy weather this gas-making process
diminishes, so that after awhile the air becomes vitiated, and the
fishes, finding it hard to breathe, are forced to swim near the top,
with their heads at the surface of the water. At such times it is well
to introduce fresh air into the water, by filling a cup with the water,
and, holding it an inch or two above the surface, pour it slowly back
into the globe; by repeating this process several times the water is
made comparatively pure once more. Another and easier way of
accomplishing this is by using a small syringe instead of the cup; but
care must be taken in either case to avoid hitting the fish with the
descending stream.
Their food consists of angle-worms and flies in summer, and bits of
fresh meat cut very fine with the scissors, during the colder portions
of the year.
THE SALT-WATER AQUARIUM.
[Illustration]
The globe answers equally as well for salt as for fresh water fish,
provided its inmates are not crowded and are supplied with a sufficient
quantity of good sea-water. In obtaining this supply, it is desirable to
have it dipped from deep water some distance from the shore, or from the
channel if possible.
In preparing your globe, put a handful of gravel and sand on the bottom,
then with three or four irregular stones build a cave or little arch,
for the fishes to play beneath.
Although some authorities say that the aquarium should be kept in the
shade, the one with which the writer was familiar through childhood
always stood in a south window, which was only partially shaded by some
great trees in the garden beyond.
Occasionally, on very sunny days in spring or early summer, before the
leaves were fully grown, a newspaper would be placed between the glass
and the window-pane, or over a corner of the top, to give the desired
protection; but the tiny cavern usually supplied sufficient shade, and
it was ever a source of unabating amusement to watch the little fellows
swim in and out through the arches, darting now here and again there,
hiding in the shadow of some moss-grown stone, to spring out a moment
later upon an unsuspecting companion swimming leisurely by; their little
games of hide-and-seek and of tag were very entertaining to witness, and
we children would frequently find ourselves quite excited over the
success or failure of our special favorite in the game.
As the aquarium of which I speak was a large one, it frequently had
several inmates at the same time; among these the little nippers, or, as
the dwellers along the coast of New York State call them, killie-fish—so
named by the Dutch settlers from their frequenting the little kills, or
inlets, along the shore—always held a conspicuous place. Indeed, these
little fishes seem to be blessed with a long string of names entirely
disproportionate to the size of their tiny little bodies. In some places
they are known as minnows, while on the shores of the Narragansett they
retain their old Indian name of Mummychog. They are a bright, lively
little fish, darting through the water with such rapidity, that you hold
your breath in fear lest they dash themselves against the glass at the
end, but they never do; just as contact with it seems a matter of
certainty, they suddenly turn a sharp angle, face about, and perhaps
come to the front and peer at you through the glass, with their funny
little faces pressed up close to its surface. They are of a
greenish-gray color upon the back, which gradually shades to a bright
silvery tone at the sides, and their eyes, which are large and staring,
have a very mild, good-natured expression.
Very different from these are the sticklebacks (_Gasterosteus_), also
fine subjects for the aquarium, for a more pugnacious or plucky little
fellows it would be hard to find than these graceful little tyrants,
which in early spring are found in our creeks and salt-water ditches in
great abundance. As this is the only season of the year in which they
can be captured, it is best to be on the watch for them during the last
of March or the first of April. A dip-net, made of a piece of mosquito
netting caught over a small hoop, and attached to a long, slender
handle, is best for catching all kinds of fish for the aquarium, and the
shores of bays or salt-water streams supply a greater abundance than the
open sea, or the shore washed by the heavy ocean waves. If your globe is
the vessel you are to use, the sticklebacks will afford you quite as
much amusement as any fish you could find, for aside from their quick,
lively manner, they are a very handsome fish. The male is of a rich
ruddy color, his little silvery sides giving forth gleams of red or
blue, which vary considerably, according to his temper. If he feels
quiet and peaceful, they are pale and soft in tone, but if indignant,
they become very brilliant, and the little chap with his savage, fiery
eye, becomes an object of great respect and terror to all the other
denizens of the water within reach of his teeth or sharp little spines.
The female is less brilliantly colored than the male, is blunter in
build, and has a comparatively mild disposition, leaving all little
differences with other fish for her liege lord and master to settle, for
which duty he is perfectly well fitted and takes great delight in
performing; indeed, so quarrelsome were these little fellows, that they
would soon kill all fish of other species in the tank, and when no other
subject was at hand, would fall to and fight one another, biting as ugly
dogs might do, and spearing with their tiny spines, till one had
acquired complete supremacy over all the rest. It is very interesting to
watch the process of their nest-building, and to see them, like so many
lilliputian carpenters, lay the sticks and hairs in place, working as if
their whole life depended upon their unceasing exertions. We used to put
in bits of broom-corn split in threads, and bristles from the
floor-brush, for materials; and the work of building would generally
occupy three or four days. The nest was built in one corner of the box
(we were obliged to keep the sticklebacks in a separate glass case, as
they killed all the other fish if together) and well up on the sides,
with a tiny round hole at the top for the fish to go in and out. After a
short time—I do not remember now just how long—hundreds of little fish
came out from the nest, and were very lively for two or three days, but
in a week they were all dead, and the parents had the waters to
themselves once more. We never succeeded in raising the young fish, I
remember, but I do not now recall whether any reason was ever ascribed
to our failure, or if it was even known.
But to go back to our large aquarium. Fortunately for us, not many fish
are as quarrelsome as the sticklebacks, and most of those I shall now
describe live together in perfect harmony. The young of larger fish do
very nicely for a time in the aquarium, and a young eel is a rather
amusing although somewhat sluggish fellow to keep.
The most amusing denizens are creatures of the crab family. The little
hermit-crabs, found in quantities on any shelving beach of the bay or
sea inlet, create much sport for the young naturalist. These little
crabs, you must know, are soft little fellows, for whom nature in a
frugal moment prepared no house or covering to protect them from the
thumps they might receive from both water and stones; but the little
fellows, with a shrewdness one would hardly suspect in creatures so
small, rise equal to the occasion, and help themselves to the empty
snail-shells left by their more fortunate neighbors. When small they
occupy the little black snail-shells, moving from a smaller to a larger
as they increase in size. After outgrowing these plainer homes they take
possession of the pretty grayish-white shells also found in abundance on
our shores. It is frequently quite amusing to watch two fight over a
particularly desirable one, which either has chosen for its own, and
ofttimes the battle will be long and heavy before either will give up
that which he considers by rights his own. If you have one or more of
these little wanderers in your globe, remember to put in two or three
empty snail-shells for them to flee to when they have outgrown their
present abode. Their manner of eating affords a very entertaining
spectacle. Clams, either soft or hard, cut into tiny bits, form the
principal food for all the dwellers in the aquarium, and a long stick
with a needle driven in one end, to form a tiny spear, is used in
passing it to them. When a particular crab is to be fed, a bit of clam
is taken up on the needle, and lowered down in the water to a position
directly in front of him. At first, before he has become acquainted with
this mode of dining, he draws in his claws, and nothing but the shell is
to be seen upon the bottom; but in a few moments the little fellow lets
himself out again, little by little, with a quick, jerky movement, till
at last his two little eyes stand in an upright position, and he is
ready to seize the tempting morsel. This he does with his longest claw,
and holding the clam firm in his grasp, he proceeds to pick it in pieces
with the other long claw, and pass it along to the smaller set, which in
turn give it to the next in order, until it finally disappears in the
mouth itself, and is swallowed by the little creature.
It is important to have two or three snails in your globe to act as
scavengers, and keep the water free from the refuse which would
otherwise remain on the bottom. These little creatures are often seen
moving slowly along on the surface of the glass, feeding upon the green
moss or confervæ which accumulates so quickly on all the objects under
water. The pipe-fish, a peculiarly shaped specimen, comparatively rare
on our Atlantic coast, is worthy a place in your collection; and the
shrimp, the acrobat of the aquarium, whose funny little backward
movements, when the poor little fellow is frightened, create so much
laughter among the little folks, must not be forgotten. Young scallops
are very pretty, and when left undisturbed open their shells a trifle,
disclosing a beautiful fringe of tiny blue tentacles which wave to and
fro with every motion of the water.
The medusæ, also called jelly-fish, with their umbrella-like cover, and
long, slender tentacles streaming downward, are pretty for a time, but
do not live long after they are taken from the sea. The Cydippe and the
Beroe are very lovely specimens of this class, the former particularly
is noticeable for its beautiful iridescent colors. The beautiful orange
colored medusa is an unsafe inmate, as he very soon kills all the fishes
within his reach.
[Illustration]
If it is possible, obtain one or more of the beautiful sea-anemones, and
add it to your globe; the large, bright-colored members of this class
are only to be found in the tropics, but very pretty, delicate specimens
are sometimes found in our northern waters, where a rock or bit of
stonework is constantly washed over by a swift current. If possible, it
is better to take the stone on which they rest, as it is almost
impossible to remove them from its surface without killing them. This
was, however, done several times with success, and the anemones lived in
our aquarium as long as they could be expected to exist in perfectly
quiet water. When these creatures are at rest or frightened they draw
down into little shapeless masses; but when looking for food they
stretch up again, and expand on the top of the long stalk, as we may
call it, a beautiful flower-like head, resembling an aster in form, and
of a deep brownish-yellow color. When food is passed down to this
animated blossom, it will fold its little tentacles one by one around
it, and pass it down into its mouth, open to receive it, but which is
entirely hidden by the beautiful petals of this delicate flower.
All of you have probably noticed the serpulæ, or worm-like excrescences
often seen upon oyster and other hard shells. If one of these shells be
taken from the water and immediately placed on the bottom of your
aquarium, after a few days, when the little animals feel quite at home,
they send out of one end of their slender tubes bunches of the
loveliest, delicate brown fern-like feelers, which sway about in the
water like the beautiful roadside ferns in a gentle summer breeze.
But in the salt as in the fresh water aquarium, vegetation is necessary
for a healthful condition of the inmates. Here we see on a miniature
scale that wonderful balance of organic forces which exists on the
larger globe around us. The vegetation exhales the purifying oxygen,
which renders the water fit for sustaining animal life; the fishes and
other animals in their turn give forth the carbonic-acid gas, which is
equally needed for the healthful development of the plants; while, last
of all, the snails—those little scavengers nature has so wisely
provided—remove such minute portions of decaying matter as might
otherwise pass unnoticed, and so contaminate the entire water in the
globe.
―――――◀▶―――――
THE WOODEN WINDMILL.
So common were these little toys among the companions of my childhood,
that it seemed almost superfluous to insert what I supposed every boy
must be familiar with; but upon questioning my young friends, I find
that very few of them away from the sea-coast towns of New England, and
the sailor-like influence or atmosphere which permeates them, know
anything of the pretty little windmills, or weather-vanes, which we
copied from those of our sailor friends.
It was no uncommon thing in those days for some boy less ingenious than
his companions to use a little strategy, and so get his work done for
him by proxy; and the manner in which he would proceed was generally
something like this: Early some bright spring morning, with jackknife
and shingle in hand, he would saunter down to the wharf, upon which he
knew at an early hour the old sea captains of the village would
assemble, and wait his chance. Here the old captains, and the sailors,
who by reason of their advanced age took the same honorary title, were
wont to gather on the sunny side of the weather-beaten old store-house,
and watch from under their heavy gray eyebrows the bay stretched out
before them, while they enjoyed their pipes, and lived over again the
wonderful adventures and disasters of their successive voyages; and here
he would watch for his prey, little suspected by those kindly old souls,
who had, years long gone by, ruled with iron will over the crews and
destinies of great ships, known to him only by their names. Occasionally
two or three would arrive at the wharf together, and he knew his chances
were gone for that day at least; but usually some one, whose breakfast
may not have claimed as much attention as usual, would be seen making
his way down the quiet village street, easily recognized by his rolling
gait, his inseparable pipe, and manner of scanning the clouds and
horizon. Now our friend would begin to whittle in earnest, soon
attracting the attention of the ancient mariner by his awkward
movements. Of course, he would receive no end of ridicule for his
stupidity; but as that did not sink very deep in his boyish soul, he was
prepared to pay a greater price, if necessary, for the work he expected
to receive. It not unfreqently happened that the old fellow would take
the shingle to show him how to begin, and would get so much interested
in the work that he would offer to do it during the day, and would
actually whittle away on the little boat, while he or one of his
companions related for the fiftieth time how the _Nautilus_ passed
through so many hair-breadth escapes, and finally reached port at last,
with no soul missing and cargo untouched.
It was during these long voyages, when time hung heavily on their hands,
that they acquired their skill in fashioning these mechanical toys,
which almost always had for their motive power the wind or the waves.
[Illustration: Fig. 1]
[Illustration: Fig. 2]
[Illustration: Fig. 3]
[Illustration: Fig. 4]