Soint Figures in String. 141 



appropriating the cords which I made from whipcord. In uniting the 

 ends, I used a long splice but when my strings began to disappear, I gave 

 up the splicing which proved very tedious work on such small cords, 

 especially as the boys never seriously tried to learn how to splice. 



For ordinary practice with these string figures it is best to take a 

 piece of soft string about six feet long and to tie the ends by what is 

 called the Fisherman's knot, which is one of those every Boy Scout 

 knows. When two cords are required for any figure (there are two such 

 described in this paper) it is of advantage for display purposes to make 

 use of different colours. 



A few words about the nomenclature used in describing the figures 

 will not be out of place here. When the cord is passed round any finger 

 we have two strings passing from that finger and a loop on it. These 

 strings are called the near or far one according as they are on the near 

 or far side of the finger as we look at the hands when held facing one 

 another with the palms inwards. The loops are called dorsal if on the 

 back of tbe finger, thumb or wrist, and palmar if on the inner or palmar 

 side. Thus we may have the cord passing round the back of the left 

 middle finger and thence to the right hand. In this case, there is a left 

 middle near string, a left middle far string and a left middle dorsal loop. 

 When there are two loops on any finger, the one which is further from the 

 root of the finger (distal) is called the upper loop and the other one the 

 lower loop. As soon as a loop is transferred from one finger to another, 

 it takes its name from the finger on to which it is transferred. The 

 fingers are named : — index, middle, ring and little. Ordinarily the 

 movements of both hands should be as far as possible simultaneous where 

 similar movements are performed by both. It is important to note 

 the order of the various manipulations with great accuracy, otherwise 

 the figure will not come out. This is especially the case in the opening 

 movements as illustrated in Figs. 1-4. Generally the palmar string 

 must be taken up by the right hand and afterwards by the left and not 

 vice-versa unless expressly stated. 



Many string figures begin with what is known as "Opening A." 

 This is the case with the figures which I have called Ka-erdn, Erepsa, 

 Kitubra, Awotiner, Wanamari-Yember, and Yiping while two others, 

 Kapdi-shankard and Kara, begin with the first position of Opening A. 

 This First Position is shown in Fig. 1, where it will be seen that the cord 

 passes across the palm of each hand and round the back of the thumb 

 and little finger to the opposite hand. The next step in Opening A is to 

 take upon the back of the right index the palmar string crossing the 

 left hand and afterwards the right palmar string on the back of the left 

 index. These two movements are shown in Figs. 2 and 3. On separating 

 the hands, if we look at them from above, we get the pattern shown in 

 Fig, 4. 



For the benefit of those who are interested in string figure working 

 and who may be acquainted with Dr. Haddon's system of describing them, 



