50 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



in a bird. In tlie Malay kite the cross-stick is almost as long as ihe 

 backbone; in the Eddy kite it is slightly longer. The Malay cross- 

 piece is permanently formed to the shape of a Cupid's bow, the 

 central arch to the wind, thus pressing out the covering in a wide 

 keel ; in the Eddy kite the cross-piece is slightly bent by a cord, like 

 the simplest form of archer's bow. All kites of the Malay and Eddy 

 type are intended — unlike the common kite — to fly without a tail. 



It was doubtless in the island of Java and in the Malay Penin- 

 sula that kite-flying had its earliest and greatest development. The 

 practice appears to have spread from these countries to China and 

 Japan, where the forms are greatly varied and the uses extended. 



In China the notable forms are the dragon kite and the bird 

 kite. The flrst is composed of a large painted disk representing a 

 horrible head, drawing two lines of smaller disks diminishing to the 

 tail, where they unite in a tuft of some sort ; each disk being also con- 

 nected with one opposite in the parallel row. This basal form is 

 diversified by various treatment. 



The frame of the Chinese bird kite is generally made up of 

 bamboo splits in looj^s, joined in rude, conventional imitation of 

 the body, spread wings, tail, and head of a bird. This kite is often 

 provided with a musical attachment in the shape of a hollow section 

 of bamboo pierced with holes, or furnished with reeds that are 

 vibrated by the wind. When mounted high in air, the tones pro- 

 ceeding from it resemble those of an a^olian harp, and can be heard 

 at a great distance. 



Chinamen have a superstition that both these forms of kite are a 

 protection to the family against evil spirits — the flrst, by frightening 

 them away; the latter, perhaps, by abashing them by its harmonies, 

 as those which infested Saul were influenced to depart from him 

 at the sound of David's harp. Sometimes these kites — the cord being 

 securely fastened — remain aloft for several days and nights; the 

 family meanwhile enjoying an unusual sense of security. 



■Kite-flghting is also practiced in the vicinity of the cities and 

 larger villages. This sport consists in tearing the kite of a rival or 

 cutting the line ; the first, by means of long wooden knives attached to 

 the assailant's kite; the latter, by small fragments of glass mixed 

 with glue, as a coating for the upper portion of the line. All 

 Chinese kite-flying, though skillful, is in some feature barbaric. 



In Japan the kite-forms indicate a more practical character in 

 the makers. The kites are shaped to represent many kinds of ani- 

 mals — quadrupeds, birds, and flslies. When in the sky, these kites 

 might convey information quite a distance to acquaintances who 

 could recognize them and thus know what family was repre- 

 sented at the other end of the string; for in Japan the sport is 



