“ Blows that were meant for the knag sometimes fall heavy upon an opponent’s knees, and soon legs are to be seen streaming with blood. In the heat of the play they feel it not, though next day they will possibly not have a part of their under limbs without bruises between ankles and knees. With terrific swing Donald or Duncan, who stands six-feet two in his socks, will drive it like a cannon ball through the air ”

“ Too many youths fall into mere aimless dawdling, and waste the golden years of their life loafing about smoking cigarettes, watching others play, chattering endlessly about games, but never engaging in them. Though this book is written for the boy’s play hour, it will not be without value in aiding him upon the sterner side of his career, if it shows him how to train hand and eye, how to strengthen his will and muscles, and if it inculcates patience, exactitude, and perseverance. ”

“ Express your belief that somebody is up the chimney, and stoop near the fireplace to question the intruder in a soft and rather high-pitched voice. Then draw down the corner of the mouth turned from the audience, and deliver your answers with force, so that the sound may be deflected from the stone-work supporting the mantel-piece. Your man in the chimney is a rough, cantankerous fellow, who accounts for his presence in the most absurd way, and answers with great warmth, especially when there is a fire in the grate. ”

“ It would be idle to pretend that it is possible in the chapter of a book, or indeed in a book itself, to give instruction that would make a boy an artist; but most people have the capacity to make sketches, and this is a pleasing and useful training of the eye and hand. The power to bring away a sketch of a scene that has charmed us is one well worth the cultivation, and in the making of the sketch we see many things that would otherwise escape our notice. ”

“ The window box, too, is not merely a fine weather friend. As you sit in your room upon a rainy day it is at the window beside you, and if your window is open the scent from the flowers comes in with every breeze. ”

“ When kept in small cages budgerigars, not having room to properly “show off,” are apt to become silent, but once in an aviary and the change is marvellous, as they dart about, tumbling, twisting, and climbing in all positions in the most graceful and delightful manner, and singing a pleasant little song all the while, stopping now and again as though to exchange confidences and to express delight at their surroundings. These birds do not bathe, but one of their greatest delights is to tumble and roll about in wet grass ”

“ The hasty player keeps giving away his men until possibly he has only one left, whilst his more wary opponent has three or four. But can he give that man away and so win? Not much! He soon finds he is perfectly helpless, and the other player can force him to take all his men, whilst his solitary man or King remains still on the board, a woeful example of “vaulting ambition, overleaping itself and falling on t’other side.” ”

“ No one under eighteen years of age should run a mile. The method of training is to run a quarter, or half a mile, according to the strength of the runner, and then each day to increase the distance or to run the same distance at a greater speed. Gradually by this process the lungs, the heart, and the muscles are strengthened until feats hitherto impossible become easy. In a long-distance race judgment must be exercised whether to go the distance rapidly and trust to endurance or to run warily and win by a spurt at the end, when it may be that your opponent is exhausted. ”

“ Just at this juncture the obliging trout come into season, and best of all, are ravenously hungry. Now is the time for the beginner to try his hand with the deceitful fly. Do not be discouraged, even if you have made a dismal failure of it last August. In the summer holidays it requires a practised hand to take trout with fly; but in April on a moorland stream a boy may go out and actually have some success on his first attempt. It will be wiser, certainly, to practise a little first, in your own garden, with all the tackle except the fly. ”

“ You want to have all your muscles developed alike, not one at the expense of another. To avoid this lop-sided kind of growth is the reason that gymnasiums have such a variety of appliances.
Now for the apparatus, and how it should be used. What boy, especially if he has lived in the country, has not tried to climb a rope, or go up a ladder hand over hand, and then, for the first time in his life, realised how heavy he is? Perhaps no form of exercise develops so quickly the upper arm and the chest as work on the rope and ladder in a gymnasium. ”

“ Buff’s playfellows next pass in succession, between him and the candle, distorting their features as much as possible—hopping, limping, and performing odd antics, so as to make their shadows very unlike themselves. Buff, who is not blindfolded, must try to guess to whom the shadows belong, and if he guesses correctly, the player whose shadow he recognises takes his place. Buff is allowed only one guess for each person, and must not turn his head either to the right or to the left to see who passes. ”

“ When the young polyphonist has acquired some degree of skill, he need not be at a loss to entertain his friends, provided he is fairly resourceful as regards acting. But acting is of the greatest importance to the polyphonist. As a knife-grinder he must work an imaginary wheel, and deftly turn the blade of a table knife upon the stone; as a waiter about to “pop” a cork with a strong click of the tongue against the palate—he should first insert a shadowy cork-screw with a chirrupy squeak ”

“ Over this part of the hutch you must have a well-fitting wooden door, not only to keep them warm, but to darken the nest and so make them comfortable. In giving your rabbits their food, remember that you cannot measure the quantity exactly, any more than you can say that because you have eaten so much to-day you will want exactly so much to-morrow and every day during the week. Study and observation are the only true guides. In giving soft food and green food let them have as much as they eat up greedily and no more. ”

“ Plants that hang over the front of the box are graceful like single petunias and rock bindweed, and for the rest each boy can make a selection of his favourites for the remaining part of the box. If he likes he may have a number of boxes so that when one has had its day another may be ready. ”

“ Boys should be ever on the look out to find from the boxes of other people what thrives in these boxes. Each end of the box should be left for climbers that will run up each side of the window, and no better plant for this position can be named than the delicate canary creeper with its pale green leaves and dainty yellow flowers. ”

“ If a boy finds he has special ability in this direction he should read the lives of artists, visit picture galleries, and join an art class, where he will be conducted through the severe discipline that leads him to drawing the living human form, amusing himself meanwhile by sketching in the lanes and woods, among the mountains, or wherever he happens to be, even if it is in the streets. ”

“ It is chiefly by the judicious use of ground baits, and by fishing at a proper depth, that one angler is more successful than another, although fishing with the same baits and within a few yards of each other. If a place can be ground baited frequently fish begin to come there regularly for food. Care must be taken not to glut the fish, and the bait upon the hook ought to be more attractive than the bait flung into the stream. The ground bait most in use includes bran mixed with clay, and made into balls of about the size of a pigeon’s egg. ”

“ Draughts in Nineteen Easy Lessons.—It is very easy to learn the moves of the men on the draught-board, but it is not quite so easy to learn to play draughts. Draughts is not a complex game like chess, but simple and straightforward, and herein lies its charm to many people who are afraid of chess with its variety of men, and their diverse powers and Pg 293 moves. In draughts there is only one description of men when the board is set for play, and the only addition is when any of these men become promoted to Kings by gaining the opposite side of the board from that whence they started. ”

“ The object in the game is for one of the players to give all his men away, or get them fixed immovably, which, of course, would be a lost game in ordinary draughts, but is a won one at the losing game. It must be borne in mind, in playing the losing game, that it is not good policy to give away men at the beginning of the game so as to be left with three men against six, or two against five, for as a matter of fact in most positions the player with the superior forces can give all his men away, leaving the other player with one or more of his men left. ”

“ On the body the hair grows to such a length that it trails on the ground, some actually having it as long as seven or eight inches. The hair or fur should be as long, soft, and silky as possible, and to keep it in proper order a good deal of attention is necessary; it grows very evenly from a natural parting, from the crown of the head to the stern, falling over to each side, and to keep your pet neat and trim as well as healthy you must brush its coat regularly, using a soft brush, and if any part is matted take a wide-toothed comb and very gently comb it out. ”

“ If you are fishing a northern stream, or a Devon or Cornwall brook, you will find it worth while to go on casting even if you see no rises; but on Hampshire, or other slow running rivers, the usual plan is to wait for a rise. But this style of fishing, though practised with some success by the lucky fellows who are in Winchester School, is not altogether suited for the restless nature of a boy. ”

“ Carbonic Acid Gas.—When substances containing carbon are burnt, one of the products is an invisible gas, commonly called carbonic acid gas. After an explosion in a mine, all the workings are filled with a deadly gas, which often kills more men than the explosion. This is called choke damp, and is the same as carbonic acid gas. Whenever a fire burns—gas, lamp, coal fire, or candle, this gas is one of the products. Let us fasten a piece of wire round our candle, and, after lighting it, lower it down into a glass bottle with a wide mouth. ”

“ Before entering for his school sports a boy must realise the important fact that it is given only to a few to excel at everything. The majority must be content to discover the branch of sport for which, by their natural abilities, they are most suited, and then to practise quietly and persistently so as to gain the best possible results. ”

“ In preparing for the jump, too long a run should not be taken, and in making the spring, the feet should be placed firmly together. The whole of one’s force should be put into each effort, and care should be taken to avoid making false attempts. When once he has started, the jumper should make up his mind to go right through. Both the jumper and the short-distance runner will find that a few minutes’ daily practice with a skipping rope will greatly strengthen the legs and the fore part of the feet, on which much of the strain is placed. ”

“ In clubs and chess resorts, where there are many sets of men, a second Queen, if need be, is borrowed from another set. Sometimes, where only one set of men is available, a Rook (if one has been captured) is turned upside down, the promoted Pawn is placed on the top, and there you have a most excellent substitute for a Queen. Supposing, however, that no piece has been lost when the Pawn is promoted, then a piece of twisted paper can be placed on the head of the Pawn, and again we have a good substitute for a Queen. ”

“ Hedgehogs destroy beetles, eating them quickly and gladly. They need no looking after, but will fend for themselves, though it is better to have a little hutch to put them into sometimes. Their feeding-time is in the night; and if there are black-beetles in the kitchen, the best plan is to leave the hedgehog there.
Silkworms.—Buy a few eggs, which should be of a lilac or grey colour. Avoid yellow ones.
The silkworm when hatched is black, and about one-fourth of an inch long. The desire for food is the first sign of life, and it is more alive then than at any other time. ”

“ I could have pounded along for miles, but I was as slow as the proverbial cart-horse, and when it came to hard racing I was beaten by boys who had practised less persistently than I had, and whose limbs and muscles were therefore lissom and pliant.
The exact amount of practice required depends a good deal on the stamina and build of each particular boy. Big, muscular boys can undergo far more work than lightly-strung ones of less robust constitution; but it may be taken for granted as a general rule that it is better to do too little than too much. ”

“ Singular Arrangement of Sixteen Cards.—Take the four kings, the four queens, the four knaves, and the four tens of a pack, and ask if there be any one in the company who can form a square with them in such a manner that, taken in any direction, from right to left, from the top to the bottom, by the diagonal—anyhow, in fact—there will always be in each line a king, queen, knave, and a ten. Everybody will think the thing easy, but it is certain that no one will succeed in doing it. ”

“ Walking races are sometimes included in the sports’ programme, the distance usually being one mile. The best training for this is to walk half a mile, or sometimes three-quarters, at one’s best pace, taking great care to be perfectly fair, to keep the head erect, and to avoid all semblance of wriggle or shuffle.
For the hurdle race and steeplechase the beginner should practise persistently over obstacles similar to the ones which are to be used on the day, but never going the full distance, and occasionally running fifty yards or so on the level with a view to an improvement in speed. ”

“ In the Highlands it is a grand sight to see two opposing bodies of clansmen—met as of old they met with targe and claymore—to fight out a friendly game. Everything is cast aside but shirt and kilt, and bare-headed and bare-legged the contestants seem to have walked out of the picture of some ancient Highland foray. ”

“ It will be found that many fish, especially chub and dace, can be caught much better at this season by flies, either natural or artificial, than by the usual float and shot system.
A common house fly, used either on the top of the water or sunk by a single shot, will be found very effective, both for these fish and for roach, rudd, and bleak. Chub will take any large insect readily, if it is presented to them in an artistic manner—that is, in such a way that they can see little of either tackle or angler. ”

“ The natural way of providing the oxygen is to secure the aid of water plants. These absorb carbonic acid gas, and, having made use of the carbon in their growth, set free the oxygen, which is waste as far as they are concerned. Thus in a well-balanced aquarium the fish provide the plants with carbonic acid gas, and receive back the oxygen which they need; the plants provide the fish with oxygen which they do not want, but which is the very life of the fish, and receive back the carbon without which they would die. ”

“ The first thing a sculptor does in setting about a bust is to fix a square, upright peg, or support, about twenty inches in length, into a wooden platform eighteen inches square. The platform, in order to prevent warping, should be made of two pieces of board so joined as to have the grain of the one running transverse to the other. The peg is generally furnished with a bar, like a Latin cross, and is provided at the top with what is called an armature, that is, two pieces of lead piping looped over the peg from side to side, so as to form, as it were, the outline of a head. ”

“ School games and odd trials of skill will probably give the aspiring athlete some idea of the direction in which he is better than, or as good as, his fellows. In running races it is generally found that the heavily and powerfully-built boy is best suited by short-distance races, that is from a hundred yards to a quarter of a mile; but a long, loosely-knit lad usually excels at distances from half a mile to a mile. ”