160 



[July, 



eighth o£ an inch beyond tho rabbet, thus leaving the sides G Gr, 

 which ei close the angle Ya, each an eighth of 

 an inch thick. Then take out F6 and saw off 

 at I, and so on till the board is finished up, a 

 section o£ one of these lengths is shown at K. 

 If any difficulty should be found in carrying 

 out the above, the angled wood can be pro- 

 cured, at some factory where steam power is employed to cut wood, 

 at a few shillings per hundred foot run. 



The next requirement is a square slate an inch or two wider than 

 the base of the cage. This can be sawn out of roofing slates, and 

 perforated in the centre (found by diagonals) by means of a drill bit 

 and hand brace, the hole being afterwards enlarged sufficiently Csay 

 to half an inch diameter) with a " half round rynder." Here again, 

 should the work be considered too troublesome, any slater who has 

 the necessary machinery would cut and drill the pieces at a moderate 

 cost. These perforated slates are then brushed over with glue and 

 litharge, or India rubber solution, and covered with canvas or slipper 

 felt, from the centre of which a hole, corresponding to the perfora- 

 tion, has been punched or cut out. 



To put the cage together, cut off four pieces of angled wood 

 (B B) a couple of inches shorter than the height ; lay them on a table 

 with their angles facing one another in the position of G, Fa, G (fig. 1) 

 and vice versa, brush over their horizontal surfaces with hot glue to 

 which litharge has been added, and press on one of the pieces of glass 

 A, moving it backwards and forwards to get rid of air bubbles, and 

 taking care that it is tight up into the angles ; serve another pair and 

 glass the same, leave them for a short time to 

 dry, then turn them up on their sides, the 

 angles facing, and having brushed over two 

 other surfaces, put in a third piece of glass, 

 and, before this is quite dry, the fourth piece, 

 making sure that these fit closely up to the 

 other glasses : then turn the whole up on end 

 on to a flat superficies, such as a marble mantle 

 piece, and press down the glasses so that they 

 touch the level surface at all points. When dry cover the top with 

 muslin D, stand the even base on the felted slate C, and the latter 

 again on a jam pot, and then you have Courtice's cage complete and 

 ready for use. 



