Chapter I: HAVE often been asked to describe a “Cabinet for Specimens,” such as (1)

I made for minerals. It would be equally good for shells, eggs, coins, or even for a bookcase. The shelves hold the specimens protected from dust with glass doors, and from meddling fingers with a lock and key. The cupboard (or drawer if preferable) below holds duplicates useful in making exchanges, and the needful tools for the specialty which interests you.

The cabinet of course can be made of black walnut or any other hard wood, but for lightness as well as cheapness I used pine (stained) and put in a back of dark-brown cambric instead of wood, the cambric costing fifteen or twenty cents, where the wood would cost nearly a dollar and a half.

I can’t give you close estimates about lumber either as to price or lengths, because at different mills boards vary greatly in dimensions, and values at the West or in Maine are unlike those in cities. I will therefore describe my own, feeling sure that by this time if you have made all the other articles in the series you can alter the pattern I give you, or follow it accurately, according to the purpose you have in view.

My cabinet fits easily in an alcove six feet, six inches high, and four feet, six inches wide; and is large enough to hold an interesting collection. For convenience in cutting, the seven boards I used were selected according to the following dimensions:

A—12 feet by 12 inches.
B—6 feet by 10 inches.
C—8½ feet by 12 inches.
D—12 feet by 12 inches.
H—4 feet by 13 inches,
and 2 boards for shelves 8 feet long by 1 foot wide.

If possible, get three-fourths-inch board, as it is both lighter and cheaper, but inch-board is often easier to get and my measurements are for that. Get it all as clear as possible.

Besides the boards you will need two pieces of two-inch moulding six feet long, and two pieces of three-fourths-inch about eleven feet long, to hold the glass in the doors, and three pair of hinges; also lock and key if you desire all to be secure.

Take _A_, divide in two, plane edges and square ends for sides.

Take _C_, cut two boards, each four feet two inches long, and one foot wide, for top and bottom.

From _B_ cut two pieces that shall be six feet long, and four inches (for sides of door casing), then from remainder cut strip three and one half feet by one inch, to go behind lower moulding for hinges of _E_.

From board _H_ (which is four feet by thirteen inches) cut out block at _each end of one edge_, three inches long by one wide.

Nail _CC_ on to top and bottom of _AA_, taking care to put top and bottom (_CC_) _on_ and not between uprights _AA_.

At point nine inches from lower _C_, nail board _H_, with the projection facing outward. On each side on front nail strips _BB_. You will find they fit into cuts made in _H_.

Nail the three and one half feet strip close to bottom _C_ between _BB_.

From remainder of board _B_ cut piece three and one half feet long; with splitting-saw divide this into two boards, one eight inches, one four inches wide. Nail the four-inch piece directly under _C_, between the _BB_. This finishes the front for the doors.

Now for the mouldings: from one of the two-inch strips cut piece four feet, four inches long; cut ends at angle of forty-five degrees; cut two pieces one foot three inches long: have right-hand end of one and left-hand end of other cut at angles of forty-five degrees, i. e., one half of a right angle. Cut a second similar set of mouldings, nailing one set to top, the other to bottom of cabinet.

The piece three and one half feet by eight inches is a kind of door, which is hinged to the strip behind the moulding at the bottom. In my cabinet I have it for a cupboard, as I said before, but you can put in a drawer in its place if you prefer.

For the doors, cut from _H_ four pieces four feet, ten inches long by three inches wide, and four pieces one foot, nine inches long by three inches wide.

The best way of putting this together is of course to mortise it. To do this, draw lines at each end of one of the long pieces on the edge one fourth inch from each side; then draw lines _across_ the edge at points three fourths and two and one fourth inches from end.

This rectangle must now be cut out. Bore three one half inch holes one and one half inches deep: then with chisel split out the remaining wood and smooth as nicely as possible. Repeat this on all the long pieces.

To make the tenons or tongues which fit the mortises, measure one and one fourth inches from ends of short sticks, and with try-square draw line all round the stick. On sides of stick saw in one fourth inch deep; on edges saw three fourths inch deep. Then, parallel to sides, draw lines one fourth inch from sides of stick on the end, and two more lines three fourths of inch from and parallel with edges of stick. Place edge of chisel just outside of lines and chip off the little blocks, gradually shaving the tenons down to the lines.

If this is nicely done, the tenons will fit into the mortises so that the side edges and ends of the four long sticks will fit snugly on to the short ones. Put a peg through long and short pieces at the tenons to keep them from coming apart.

This can be done in another way that is also somewhat easier, by cutting from the sides at the ends of the pieces squares three inches by three inches by one half inch and screwing together.

If you have only one light of glass to each door, there will be no need of a cross-piece, so you will simply have to put the moulding round on the inside of the door frames. If you have smaller panes, you will need the crossbars.

For the four shelves you will require you must cut the two eight-foot boards into four, and make cleats to support them. These are merely narrow strips of wood nailed on inside of _HH_ (at the height desired) on which the ends of the shelves rest. The staining is done by the rule given in a former paper, and the hinges and lock are set as in the tool cabinet.

About four yards of dark cambric tacked on the back will finish a neat, simple, but serviceable cabinet like the illustration.

XIII.—A BOY’S “CATCHALL.”

THERE is no better way for a boy to spend his evenings, half-holidays, and vacations, than in making some useful and pretty articles of furniture for his own room, providing he has an aptitude for such work, and the mechanical ingenuity and natural patience to do it with neatness and accuracy. Yet a boy should not—if he takes pleasure in such work—become discouraged if his first attempts are not wholly attended by success, as no success comes without perseverance; and perseverance, if the love for the work be not wanting, will inevitably bring its own reward.

The average boy is not usually blessed with overmuch room in which to bestow his many treasures—his bats, balls and marbles, his collection of butterflies and bugs, relics of many a pleasant tramp through field and wood, and last, but far from least important, the treasured books of tale and adventure, so dear to the heart of a genuine boy; therefore the little case or cabinet of the illustration has been contrived, for his own making, as a resting-place for all these and more, and to prove the happy truth of the old adage, “A place for everything, and everything in its place.”

It may be constructed of nicely-selected pine, for this is easily obtained, is cheap, and any little mistake will not entail too much expense if the work has to be done again, and also it is easily worked, and takes a beautiful golden color when “filled,” and finished with shellac. Pains must be taken not to mar the wood with tool-marks. To make a nice piece of work, you will not use any nails, but put the case together with dowels, screws, and glue.

Now look over the drawings together. _Sketch No. 1_ shows the completed case as it should look when finished and in place. The first section, _A_, (_Sketch No. 2_) is a fair-sized box with lifting cover, and a shelf beneath. This will be found handy for many odds and ends of boyish treasures too cumbersome to be stored away in drawers and boxes. _Section B_ contains the specimen, or butterfly case, with a row of small drawers below, these drawers being handy receptacles for marbles, tops, twine, or like odds and ends that make a troublesome litter when thrown together in a large drawer. Two large drawers below these, and the shelf, will find their uses, without doubt. _Section C_ has a couple of shelves for books, with storage room for bats, hockey sticks, etc., below; and in one corner is a small box large enough to hold two or three balls; outside of this, as the other plans will show, is a receptacle for a foot-ball, made of bent wire. This, if not a desirable addition, may be left off.

Having looked our case over in a general way, let us now go into the details of construction and finish. In _Sketch No. 2_ will be found all the general measurements. The figuring and lettering on the _Detail Sketch_ all refer to this drawing. We will first get out the stock for the side-pieces of the various sections, four in number, and two of them—those belonging to _Section B_—of exactly the same size and shape. These should be of one and one fourth inch stock, and of the dimensions given in _Detail Sketch No. 3_. Mark out carefully the simple outline indicated for each piece, using a piece of charcoal, so the line may be easily wiped out and corrected if unsatisfactory. Go over the corrected outline with a soft pencil to preserve them, and then saw them out. This must be done with care, to keep the edges even and true, using either a draw tool or small saw on the finer outlines.

The half-trefoil on side of _Section A_ at the bottom should be drawn with a compass, or scribing tool, and cut with a hand scroll-saw; and the simple pattern on the sides should first be marked out with a compass, the larger hole carefully cut out with a sharp tool to the depth of one fourth inch. The smaller holes, surrounding it, bore out to about the same depth with a small auger-bit. The straight line decoration on sides of _Sections B_ and _C_ are first neatly lined with a pencil, and then cut with a sharp tool, one fourth inch wide, and about as deep. The cover of _Section A_ should be of seven eighths inch stock, and should project fully an inch over the side and front. The back piece, on which the hinges are fastened, should be two and one half inches wide. This will allow ample room for the back board, and give to the cover, when open, sufficient slant to lean easily against the wall. This piece should be well glued and doweled into place, and two neat brass hinges set in, to hold the cover. The bottom of box and bottom shelf of this same section are of same thickness as top, firmly doweled and glued into place. The front panel is of same thickness, and cut to fit exactly into place, doweled and glued. The small jig-saw patterns at bottom of _Sketches No. 8_, _9_, _10_, are cut from one half inch stock, and glued on firmly. _Section A_ is now ready to attach to the side piece of _Section B_. This must be neatly and firmly done with dowels and glue.

In _Section B_ first get out the top, centre and bottom shelves, as well as the narrow strip division for the drawers; these last need not run back more than three inches, excepting for the row of small drawers. This division should run entirely from front to back, the same as the shelves. The thickness of all the shelving is the same throughout. Having framed together our sides with the centre and bottom shelves, and drawer partitions, next place the two narrow uprights, on which the doors are to be hung, in position. These are one half inch wide and firmly doweled and glued into sides; the doors are hung with simple brass hinges and made to lap one over the other on one fourth inch rebate, and shutting against an upright post about three fourths inch square. Glue a strip one inch wide and one half inch thick around the sides and back piece, for the top to rest upon and be fastened to, by one fourth inch dowels, and glued; this strip should, for further security, be fastened by a number of small screws. Space will not allow the details of construction of drawers; but if the lad will look at any well-made drawer, he will easily find out for himself.

We have already got out the side for the book shelves and bat holder, _Section C_, and have only to dowel and glue shelves firmly into place, put the back boards in position, having got them out the size and shape shown by _Sketches 7 and 8_.

Now our case is well framed together and it only remains for us to finish various small details. After fitting a one fourth inch shelf into the specimen case midway, the next move is to line the whole of the specimen case and the two long drawers beneath with thin, flat pieces of cork about one eighth inch in thickness. First apply to the whole surface to be covered, a thin coating of hot glue, fitting in the piece of cork while the glue is hot; rub well into place, and apply an even pressure, to be left until the glue is thoroughly “set;” when this is done cover all the cork with nice white paper, applied with flour paste. Frame up the door as shown in _Sketch No. 12_, of one half inch stock, setting the glass in from the front into a narrow rebate. Then glue a narrow moulding on the outside to prevent the glass from falling out. Hang the door with brass hinges and fit a small lock into place; then dowel neatly into place the under brackets, _Nos. 9_, _10_, _11_, in their respective positions, place pretty brass pulls on all the drawers, and the case is nearly ready for finishing.

In the book case _Section 6_, the simplest way of arranging the shelves is to bore a row of one fourth inch holes front and back and at both sides, and fit little pegs into these for two shelves to rest on. These may be raised or lowered by changing the positions of the pegs. Make a little box as shown of one fourth inch stock, fasten this neatly with small screws into the left-hand upper corner of the bat holder under the lower shelf; this is to hold the base and hockey balls. The back of the case may be made of narrow strips of one fourth inch sheathing, held in by screws.

Fill the woodwork thoroughly with a good filler; Wheeler’s is good. After it is wholly dry, go over the case with a good coat of white shellac, and when dry, rub it down carefully with powdered pummice stone, oil and emery cloth. A second coat of shellac carefully rubbed down, will result in a rich golden brown hue, that will improve with age. This case, when complete, will cover a small space of four feet nine inches by three feet three inches.

In buying stock, select the best pine for all portions that will show. Get the stock well planed and smooth it down.

If made by a carpenter, twenty-five dollars would be the smallest payable price for a good job, so that the price named is not at all excessive for a really good thing.

This case being somewhat elaborate is intended both in design and instructions here given, for those boys who have a fair knowledge of construction, and some ideas as to the best way to set about it; and it must be borne in mind although pine is soft and easily worked, it is also easily soiled and injured by tool marks more readily than the harder woods.

The general schedule of material and cost given below will be found useful in buying.

SCHEDULE OF COSTS, ETC.

50 feet, ⅞ inch pine, } at 6c per foot, $4.50
25 " ½ " }
Sawing, if done at a mill, about 1.50
Finishing and filling the wood in four coats, about
1 quart of shellac, etc., 1.50
Hardware, locks, hinges, drawers, pulls, etc., etc., 1.50
Glass for doors, .50
Cork, paper, glue, etc., about 1.50
------
Total, $11.00

XIV.—HOW TO BUILD A PORTABLE WOODEN TENT.

WOODEN tents such as I am about to describe, are in use by the contractors who are building the western extensions of the Denver and Rio Grande Railway in Colorado. There are no towns there ahead of the railway, and it is necessary to provide sleeping-quarters, provisions and eating-houses, for the engineers and road-makers. It is therefore needful to have a style of building which can be put up and taken down easily, and, above all, which shall be capable of transportation over the frightful mountain roads. The result, it seems to me, might be useful to bevies of boys, to schoolmasters and pupils, and to families who camp out every summer for some considerable time, and really need to take to the woods a house somewhat better than a cloth tent, where they can live in warmth and comfort, and which shall be a cosey headquarters for storing supplies, and to which they may return. My object now is in these papers to instruct our young home carpenters how during their winter leisure to get one of these comfortable wooden tents in complete readiness for summer transportation. It can be done very cheaply; if you can improve on it, so much the better. For my part, I have never seen or heard of the like anywhere else, though I believe that circus sideshows sometimes have a far more cumbersome arrangement answering the same purpose.

Boys might club together, not only to own such a portable house in common, but to build it—a jolly way of spending Saturdays in some great wagon-house or tool-chamber where there is a big workbench and a good tool-chest.

This movable house consists wholly of wood except the roof, which is canvas, and the floor, which is dirt, unless you choose to plank it. It may be made of any size you see fit, it only being necessary that all the parts are adjusted to the scale decided upon. The dimensions I give, however, are measured upon a plan twelve feet square, because that happened to be the actual size of the one nearest to me. The railway men generally join from two to half a dozen of these together, end to end, making a long and commodious building. A half-dozen congenial families could do the same, insuring endless good times in the forest solitudes. One twelve-foot length is then known as a “section.” If you would rather have an oblong figure, make your ends shorter and reduce the length of your rafters; or, if you don’t like the pretty low pitch of the roof which my measurements imply, lengthen your uprights and rafters to suit your own ideas of the right angle.

Now for my details:

The walls of your tent-house, six feet in height, are to be made of inch-thick matched flooring twelve feet long. They should be No. 1 pine, best quality. Fasten these firmly together, to the width of six feet, by three dressed cleats, six inches wide, one at each end and one in the middle, and do this on both sides. Make three of these platforms, or walls, which will furnish three sides of your house. For the fourth side make a similar platform nine feet in length, filling out the remaining three feet with a door.

This door swings _out_, and the hinges should be very strong, preferably of the kind used on barn doors, so that it can be lifted off its hanging with ease, and so that the long shaft of the hinge will act as a support to prevent undue sagging. An arrangement must be made to lock this door. It can easily be secured on the inside by a bolt, and outwardly by hasp and padlock.

There remain, now, the peaks or gables at the ends, to be provided for. Many of the railway men get their roof canvas sufficiently large to come down and cover this, but I think a better plan would be to make two triangular platforms of boards, fitted to your peak, cleating them together just like the lower walls. Then place about four flat staples in the outside of your end walls, and let iron hasps bolted to the lower edge of your peak boards drop into them. This would hold the bottom of the peak and the top of the end wall squarely together. In addition to this a couple of bolts should pass through the upright and be secured by nuts, so as easily to be unscrewed. (_See fig. 14._) There should be no middle cleat on the inside of the gable. The general character of these walls appears in several of the illustrations, but the cleating is shown in _fig. 1_. Screws should be used throughout instead of nails. The woodwork remaining to be shaped, consists of the uprights, or centre-poles at each end, the ridgepole, rafters and braces.

The two uprights in my model were 8 feet and 9 inches in height; a greater length would add pitch to the roof. These uprights should be made of clear, firm stuff, 4 inches by 2, and should be thickened at their lower ends by adding pieces of similar size, as shown in _figures_ 2 and 4. This upright stands inside of the wall, and edge-wise. Into its upper inner edge must be set two iron “eyes” having an inner diameter of three quarters of an inch. (_See fig. 3_). The uppermost of these is placed about two inches from the top of the stick, and the second six inches below. These eyes should pass clear through the timber and be held by nuts on the other side. Six feet from the bottom of the upright, a hooked bolt should be passed through the timber, the hook facing outwardly, and having enough space between it and the wood to allow the wall to come between. Its purpose is to hold the end wall snugly to the upright: therefore it must be loose enough so that it can be turned up while the wall is being put into position, and then turned down to clamp it firmly, as in _figure 4_.

Having made both uprights alike, you now turn your attention to the ridgepole. This ought to be somewhat heavier than the uprights, two by six scantling being none too strong for the strain which the weight of your canvas and an occasional gale of wind will put upon it. It is twelve feet long, of course, and six inches from each end will have an iron pin 18 inches in length driven through from its upper side, intended to go through the eyes at the top of the uprights. This is shown in _fig. 5_.

On each side of this ridgepole screw in four stout staples or eyes, one at three inches from each end, and the others at equal distances between; to these the rafters are to be attached. (_See figs. 3 and 5._) Similar staples must be placed an inch below the upper inside edge of the side walls to contain the irons at the lower end of the rafters, as in _fig. 6_; of course, therefore, it is necessary that the staples in the walls should fall exactly opposite those on the ridgepole.

The rafters themselves, eight in number, may be made of the same sized stuff as the uprights, or lighter, if a tough wood like elm or ash is used instead of pine; and each will be 7 feet and 4 inches long unless you want a pretty steep roof, in which case you must lengthen them somewhat. To the underside of the upper end is fastened a strong curved hook, which hangs in the staples on the ridgepole (_fig. 5_); while to the lower end is fastened a pointed iron three inches long, and set at such an angle that it will stand vertical in the eye on the wall (_see fig. 6 next paper_) when the rafter is in place.

XV.—HOW TO BUILD A WOODEN TENT. (_Continued._)

THE braces are intended to serve the same purpose as the guy-ropes of the ordinary wall tent, and are three in number on each side. They consist of stout sticks (two by four inches is a good size) long enough to reach the ground from the top of the wall (five and one half feet in the present case) at an angle of forty-five degrees. At the upper end, underneath, which is beveled to stand flat against the face of the wall, the brace is armed with a strong hook. This hook sets into an eye inserted into the top of the outside cleat, just as the rafters are hooked to the ridgepole. At the lower end, which also is beveled off to fit the ground, is fastened a large ringbolt. This is on the upper side, so that when the brace is in position, the ring lies flat on the ground beyond it, and through it is driven a barbed pin of iron. These braces not only hold the wall from sagging out, but equally prevent it from pulling in, which is just as great a danger. How they are arranged is seen at a glance in _fig. 7_.

There is also another brace which goes across from the corner of the side wall over the doorway to the upright, where it is hooked into an eye placed six feet above the ground. This cross-brace forms a lintel to the door, and serves to make solid the otherwise somewhat shaky end of the right-hand siding.

Now comes the setting up and roofing; but before you can do that you must provide fastenings at the corners of your walls. I have reserved this for the last, since it is the most difficult bit of mechanism.

Go to a blacksmith and have him forge for you six pieces of iron of the shape shown in _fig. 8_, each about an inch and a half wide, and an eighth of an inch thick; the shafts, or straight ends of three of them, should measure six inches from the point marked _a_, while the shafts of the others should be nine inches in length, the elbow being alike in both cases. In the shaft should be punched two holes big enough to pass stout bolts through; but in both sizes these holes should be within six inches from the straight end. Having provided yourself with these bent irons, bolt one of the _short size_ upon each end of the _outside_ of the _rear_ wall of your house six inches from the lower border, and in such a way that the bent end which is to be turned _upward_, shall project beyond the end of the wall just enough to leave a space of a quarter of an inch between the inside of the curve and the edge of the cleat to which it is bolted. Draw the nuts on your bolts very tight. Now take your remaining short one, and put it upon the lower corner of your front wall, so that its lower edge shall be just seven inches from the bottom of the wall, and with the elbow projecting as before, but _turned down_.

You have now left your three longer pieces of iron. One of these must be placed on the lower rear end of your right-hand side-wall (as you face the door) at seven and one half inches above the bottom, and with the elbow turned _down_. The other two go on opposite ends of the left-hand wall, that at the rear end turned _down_, and that in front turned _up_, the former seven and one half, the latter six inches above the bottom edge. But _all these long ones must project_ three and one quarter _inches_, because they must reach past the edge of the adjoining wall, as you will see when you stand the walls up; the edge of the rear flush with face of the sidings, and lock them together, as shown in _fig. 9_.

Though I have seen the same arrangement at the top, yet a better way is as follows: (_Figs. 10, 11 and 12._)

Have your blacksmith make three flat pieces of iron, each six and one half inches in length, having a closed loop turned up at the end, which carries a link six inches long, as in _fig. 10_. Bolt this piece of iron near the upper corner of each of the end walls—that is, above each of the _short_ hooks, allowing the loop in which the link hangs, _and no more_, to project. Get at the same time three squarely bent hooks of round iron (_fig. 11_), with a thread and nut at the long end, and the bent-up point no longer than the inner diameter of the link, lengthways, so that it will freely pass through the link. Set these hooks in those unprovided upper corners of your remaining walls that come opposite your links when the walls are set up, at such a distance that when the link is bent around the corner it will snugly fit over the hooks. In order to do this, however (and you can see what I mean by a glance at _fig. 12_), you must set your hooks so loosely that you can turn their points backwards. The link is then slipped over, and the reversion of the hook to the position shown in _fig. 12_ binds the two walls cornering there as securely together as the interlocking hooks hold them at the bottom.

You will notice that I have no clamps or link at the front end near the door. There is no chance for any. Instead we trust for solidity to the outside brace, which is specially important, and to the horizontal brace which extends across from the top of the wall to the forward upright. (_See fig. 13._)

The next thing is your canvas. Measure how much you need for your roof, and determine how far down your walls you want it to extend. If you are going to camp in very cold weather, you would do well to have it all the way to the ground. It would add greatly to the warmth. As a rule, though, you will only want it to come well over the top of the siding, with some lapping in front and rear to keep out driving rains. When it is sewed into a big sheet you must attach to it at frequent intervals a short stout strap. Opposite these straps (_fig. 15_) nail to the outside of your walls straps containing big buckles (_fig. 14_) whereby you can buckle down taut your canvas roof. I know of no more secure and convenient method of holding the tent cover than this; but I would advise you to experiment on the reach and “full” of your cloth before nailing the buckles to the wood work.

Now comes the setting of your tent-house up. The first consideration is the position. I can only say that it should be level, and where water will not drain into it in case of heavy rains. The next thing to be decided is, Will you have a floor? If so, lay it a few inches larger than your building, set your house on it, and nail down a narrow cleat all around inside close to the wall; an upright bolt dropping into the floor in the centre of each side, will be well also.

First set up the centre poles and ridgepole, placing the latter on top of the former, and sliding the iron pins down through the eyes. (_Fig. 3._) Then place in position the _rear_ wall. The side walls will come next, their clamps dropping easily at the corners into those of the end wall, and holding them firm while you slip the links over their hooks and twist them tight. Then set up the braces at the door end, and put up the front wall, turning down the tent pin on the ridgepole, to hold it firm, and locking the whole structure with the last link. Next, hook on the rafters, bolt the triangular gable walls to the upper part of the ridgepole, and set your braces at the sides. Nothing remains but to draw over your canvas, put your door upon its hinges, and hang up your hat. You are at home; a home you have put together at leisure hours in your barn or woodshed during the winter, have taken to the woods in a lumber-wagon, and set up with the help of a single companion; and when you are done with it you will carry it back to town and store it away in the woodshed or stable again.

In respect to the cost, I can give no estimates so good as in a few moments you can compile for yourself. It all depends on the price of materials and the cost of blacksmithing in your own neighborhood. The weight and breadth of the canvas purchased is also to be estimated variously, according to your selection, and the expense will be increased according to the degree of finishing, painting, and decoration put upon the structure. If I should make one for myself in New York or New Jersey, I should not anticipate its costing me more than twenty-five dollars ready for setting up; but this includes no floor and no painting. The interior furnishing of cots, cupboards, tables, stoves, _et cetera_, I presume you will understand as well as I. Also that you can contrive to put in windows as you want them, and provide a means of carrying your stovepipe through a tin ring in the canvas roof so as to be safe from ignition. I only wish I might help enjoy all the fun you will have!

XVI.—HOW TO MAKE A FERNERY.

AUTUMN is the time to be getting ready for your fernery—all you who are off in the country (or who live there), or are just getting back from your summer vacation, with a big parcel of ferns and things which you collected at the White Mountains, or among the Green Mountains, or the Berkshire Hills, or at Mount Desert, or in some woods, or by some pond, or by the sea, or somewhere, no matter where—lovely things were around you wherever you went.

I know what you have been doing: for, have I not seen in my summer trips for these twenty years, how you young people do; how it seems as if you wanted to carry all the woods home with you; how, hot and tired, but happy, you have been seen coming back to the farmhouse or hotel where you boarded, with your arms full; how you put your treasures safely away in the coolest, shadiest corner of the back piazza, and asked anxiously if they would keep till you could get them home? And when the morning of packing up came, what a stir to get them all into the smallest possible compass; for were not the older folks of the party all complaining because the boys had cut so many cones, and the æsthetic grown-up daughters had such bundles of cat-tails and sun-flowers, so that the “baggage” was already beyond all bounds of reason!

If it should happen that you have not secured what you would like to stock your fernery with, you can do it now: and if anybody should tell you that those frail-looking things will not stand the journey home, you can answer, on my authority, that they are mistaken. Just get the roots, and you are all right. I have not much doubt that there are ferns growing in a Western city to-day from some dry-looking roots which a lady from New England took out with her, and after being a week on her journey, distributed among her friends, so that the ferneries all about the city were beautiful with them by Christmas time.

There is a good deal of vitality in roots: their hold on life is something wonderful. Plant them, and you will hear from them, as Doctor Franklin did from a seed or two he found in a piece of broom corn, to which, I suppose, all the brooms in the United States may be traced.

Therefore, collect, and have patience. The way is to tear up a whole mass of the greenery from some moist knoll or hummock, moss and all. It will be sure to be full of things, gold-thread, bunch-berry, partridge-berry, mitre-wort and dew-berry; and every one of them will blossom in a fernery in winter. No knowing what will come up out of the moss. Get also from the woods the two-leaved Solomon’s seal—you will know it by the bunch of finely speckled berries; the Indian cucumber root, the rattle-snake plantain, lady’s slipper, wake robin, chick-weed, winter-green, princes’ pine, pyrola. All these and many others will bloom there, and violets. I might make a long list of flowers, besides nearly all kinds of ferns, and mosses. But it is well to get any and every little delicate woods’ plant that you like; roll them up in moss, which will keep them damp enough, and when you get home, fit up your fernery.

But first—in accordance with the principle laid down by the famous Mrs. Glass, in her cook-book, who says about cooking a hare, “first, get your hare,”—you will first _get_ your fernery.

Many persons would have one quickly enough but for thinking the expense too great. But it is not at all important that you have one of those nice black walnut cases with the costly oval or round glass. A home-made one is more convenient, and much cheaper.

This, which the artist has drawn from one in use, is, as you notice, proportioned like a house with a steep roof. The frame is of hard wood—a mere sash to hold the glass (for it is really a glass house), so are the bottom or floor, and the base, which is about four inches deep. A groove is cut in the sash, in which the glass is set firmly; no putty was used, though I should suggest it as being more secure. All the corners are dovetailed together and made sure by little brads.

The roof is separate, so as to be lifted off; and when on, is kept fast in place by means of two little corks the size of a pipe stem, which are fastened to the pieces of wood at the bottom of the roof, and shut into holes made for them in the strips on which it is set, so that when closed not so much as a crack is to be seen. This is eighteen inches long and fourteen wide, and from base to top is twenty-four inches. The glass sides are about ten by sixteen; the ends ten by twelve; the sides of the roof are ten by sixteen, and the triangular pieces at the ends, ten by ten. One could be more elegantly proportioned if the roof was not so steep. These figures are given as a guide. This is very roomy, especially in height; but that is no disadvantage, because a tall fern can be set in the middle and have space to spread off at will, or some little hooks can be screwed into the ridgepole (likening it to a house), and tiny hanging things suspended from them.

The glass is of the common window-pane kind, and was about eleven cents a pane; eight panes were required, and the man who had them for sale cut them to fit the sash. The wood was maple, and was hunted out of the odds and ends in the loft of the wood-house. Any thoroughly seasoned wood, even pine, is suitable, and the cost is not worth mentioning. The frame should be neatly finished and joined, should be strong and firm on account of the weight after the earth and plants are in; and before the glass is cut, should be stained, or oiled, or painted, outside and in. A pretty stain is made by stirring a tablespoonful of burnt umber into a cup of vinegar, more or less, according to whether you wish the color to be lighter or darker. Stir vigorously and put it on with a little swab: it will dry in the course of a few hours, and then can be varnished if you like. Five cents’ worth of umber is enough to do your fernery, with plenty left for three or four brackets besides.

All the work should be faithfully done, for you want no shrinking or gaping or warping afterwards. You must remember that it is to be subjected to dampness within and dryness without. Once done well, your fernery will last for years, and you can have something beautiful in it from January till January comes again, a perpetual delight to all who see it; and costing so little.

Now, an important part remains—the movable zinc tray, which must just fill the wooden bottom, and be of the same height, but not fit so closely that you cannot take it out when necessary. Ours cost fifty cents, but may be made for less; any tin-man will make it.

There you have the figures. You can proportion one as you like, but this is large enough unless you wish to set little flower pots in; but a larger one would be heavy to move about, and instead of a fernery one would need a Wardian case.

Now, for the fitting up. Last October we removed the roof and the tray and washed the glass, preparatory to having everything fresh and clean for the coming winter. The old contents were emptied, and we began anew. The first thing was to place a layer of broken brick, and small pebbles and gravel, on the bottom of the tray for drainage, perhaps an inch and a half deep, over which we scattered bits of charcoal to keep all pure. We had previously collected a great store of things from the woods with which to stock it, taking up a whole mat of moss with all that therein grew, and everything with a little of the woods’ mould on the roots; also we had a clump of pitcher plants from a cranberry meadow, and some rattle-snake plantain. Altogether for our fourteen by eighteen accommodations, I should judge that we had about a wheel-barrow load of material to select from; but we were in the country then.

It is always desirable to use the rich, mellow leaf mould that is found in the woods. You can easily take up your plants with enough of it clinging about them; and it is so loose and light it will not add materially to the bulk or weight. Not much is needed for the fernery; two or three inches of it only above the bed of drainage, mixed with a little sand. In the cities it can be obtained from greenhouses. Many of the plants would flourish if only moss was put in.

In ours we placed a good layer of such soil; and the first plant we set out was a tall, beautiful fern which reached nearly to the roof, for we wanted it to look pretty all at once without waiting for things to grow. Then a pitcher-plant, purple polygala, creeping snow-berry, lots of partridge-berry, with the scarlet berries on, and nearly all of the wild things I have named. Then we went into the garden and dug up lilies-of-the-valley that we were sure were going to bloom, which is indicated by the bluntness and plumpness of the crown just above ground (the leaves were gone), also roots of pansy and fragrant single violet. These we put into the corners where they would have the most light. We packed the tray full, too full, perhaps, not forgetting roots of maiden-hair fern. We had not much faith in trailing arbutus, though we set out a root or two; our hopes for that sweet flower we based on the clusters of buds we gathered from the woods, and these we put in a small tumbler of water and set among the greenery.

Then we gave our little garden under glass a thorough sprinkling, put the roof on, and set it in the light. Occasionally we raised it and admitted the air for a short time, but it does not answer to do this often. It must be kept covered, watered perhaps once a month, kept in the light and warmth.

The result to us was beyond our highest anticipations. Though the pansies did nothing but grow tall and rank, there was always a violet to give a friend—a delectable violet which made the room fragrant when it was taken out; there were “many flowers” week after week; mitre-wort bloomed, princes’ pine, gold-thread, and other little things; and while snow yet lay on the ground, the lilies-of-the-valley blossomed. Greatest success of all, and to our utter amazement, the pitcher-plant flowered, maiden-hair thrived, the great fern spread off till its tips touched the glass, the rattle-snake plantain sent up a spire of bloom, and everything was beautiful.

I have told you now the method, the expense, and how simple a thing it is to fit up a fernery. Another winter we shall put in tulip bulbs and some other garden plants there may be room for. Things will bear packing quite closely if you are careful to keep those that like the shade in the background, and let the others have the best chance for the light. Occasionally the fernery needs turning so the sun can reach all; otherwise it requires but little care.

XVII.—A BOY’S RAILWAY AND TRAIN.

IN a certain old-fashioned house that I visit, a large attic is set apart as a playroom for the boys, in which to keep their tools, their jig-saw, and their treasures of all sorts, dear to the hearts of young people.

All around the edge of this room runs a small railway with curves and switches complete, with bridges and tunnels, and an elegant station, made of a deserted dog house, and painted in the newest style.

Over this track, propelled by boy-power, runs many times a day, a train of cigar-box cars, engine and tender, baggage and passenger cars, all in order. And everything about it, from the ties to the latest parlor car, was made by two boys under fourteen years of age, at a very small cost.

These boys are no wiser or more skilful than other boys, and there is nothing about it hard to make. I thought many of you young readers of mine would like to copy it, and so I have studied the thing, taken my instructions from the builder himself, and here it is, so plainly told that no ordinary boy of twelve need make a mistake if he follows directions exactly, although to make it perfectly clear, I have to use a good many words which make it _look_ hard. To begin with the track: first, come

THE TIES.

To make ties for a single track, take a board one inch thick. Saw from the end a piece five inches long, and split it with a chisel into ties an inch square. The number you will need depends, of course, upon the length of your road. Having these ready, the next thing is the

RAILS.

Buy at a tinner’s sheets of tin which come fourteen by twenty inches in size, though any other size may be used. If convenient, have the tinner cut each sheet into eleven strips twenty feet long and about one and a quarter wide. You can, however, cut them yourself, with a pair of old shears, first measuring carefully, and ruling the sheet off.

Along one side of each strip of tin, near the edge, punch nail holes; one close to each end, and four between, making thus six holes about four inches apart.

To bend the rail to shape, take a ruler and scratch a line the whole length one quarter of an inch from the edge which has no holes. Lay this edge on a straight board, with the mark exactly on the edge of the board, so that the quarter of an inch sticks out beyond the board. Then tack the tin with two or three tacks, to keep it from slipping, while you take a hammer and pound the tin down over the edge till it is bent at a right angle to the rest. Then take out your tacks, and laying the tin on the board, pound this turned-up edge over till nearly flat. This makes the top of your rail, as you see in _fig. 1_ (which shows the end of a rail) at _a_.

To make the bend _c_ (_fig. 1_) draw a line the whole length half an inch from the edge where the holes are. Again tack the tin to the board, with the half-inch sticking out beyond, and pound this edge over into a right angle. This completes your rail, the holes being along the edge marked _b_ in the figure.

TO LAY THE TRACK.

Place a number of ties side by side, and with a ruler and pencil draw two lines across them, three and a half inches apart, having about three quarters of an inch beyond the lines at each end. These marks are to guide you in laying the track straight. When you have thus prepared a number of ties and rails, fasten them together by nailing, with small-sized carpet tacks, through each punched hole, on to a tie, being careful that the _end_ of each rail reaches no more than half over its tie, so that the next rail may join on right (_fig. 2_). The tacked edges of the two rails turn towards each other on the inside of the track, and thus do not show when a train is on, and the angle _c_ rests exactly on the line drawn on the tie. Go on in this way till your rails are all used, or you come to a curve.

TO MAKE A CURVE.

Take a cold chisel, or an old common chisel, and one of your finished rails. On the flat side (from _b_ to _c_, in _fig. 1_) cut slits reaching from _b_ to _c_, and half an inch apart. Lay a row of ties in the curve you wish to make, and bend the rail to fit them. The slits will enable you to bend them nicely, on one side by gaping apart, and on the other by slipping over.

If you want a guard rail to keep your train from running off at this point, lay an extra rail fastened in the same way inside of each rail on the curve.

TO MAKE A SWITCH.

Select a point where two rails join, for a switch, and take one length of rail for the purpose. This length, which includes both rails, of course, is to be movable, and so must slide over the common ties, and not be fastened to them. To keep them in place they must be tacked to special ties, much thinner, and coming between the regular ties that they slide over. Having prepared this length, put a tack, smaller than the hole you have punched, through the end hole at _a_ (_fig. 4_), so that the switch will move easily on it.

At _b._ (_fig. 3._), where your two tracks come together, you must put pegs (_b. b._) to keep the switch from moving too far either way, and throwing your train off. Also, from this point, the ties must be long enough to hold the side track till it is clear of the regular track (_fig. 3_). The curve of this side track is made, of course, by the directions for making a curve. The last special tie at _c_ (_fig. 3_) must run out far enough to take a hold of, to move the switch.

TO MAKE A FROG.