66 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[February, 
How tlie Boy's Eyes ** Sparkled.” 
A Father writes Bee. 30. “_It would have Cone the 
Publishers good to have seen our Jamie come rushing 
in from the P. O., all out of breath, to-day, and how his 
eyes did sparkle as he opened part after part of his ‘Mul- 
tum in Parvo Knife,’ which came to him as a Premium 
for the club of subscribers he sent for the American 
Agriculturist! He is the happiest boy alive ; I would not 
have him without the knife, if I had to pay for all the 
subscribers he sent. I am going to help another of my 
boys get a list to send you, to obtain a Bracket Saw, and 
a Pocket Tool-holder. People complain of ‘ hard times,’ 
but I really believe that the American Agriculturist will 
help them in the hard times, and that we shall do every 
one a favor whom we persuade to take and read the pa¬ 
per_’’—That is only one of a great number of happy 
households, made so by the arrival of premiums from this 
office—the Tool Holder, the Microscopes, the Bracket 
Saws, the Pocket Knives, the Crandall’s Blocks, the Gold 
Pens, the Big Dictionary, the Melodeons, etc., etc. It 
will do the boys good to exercise their business tact, and 
their persuasive powers in gathering lists of subscribers, 
and it will do the subscribers obtained good also. Let 
all the boys and girls keep at this work all winter. The 
Premium List, which every one can get free by sending 
here for it, pictures and describes many good premium 
articles for the little people, and older ones too. 
Fim for a Winter’s Evening'. 
The article in December, showing some ways for 
amusing a holiday party—which are as good at any other 
time—have caused some parents to ask for more. One 
asks for some simple tricks in which all of a party of 
young folks can join, and which will not need so much 
fixing beforehand, as the “ giantess ” and others. There 
is one, quite old, but no doubt will be new to many 
new readers, which will afford some amusement. It is 
GUESSING AT A HAT. 
Pin a newspaper or other paper to a door or the wall, 
close down to the floor. Let the oldest boy put on a stiff 
or “ stove-pipe ” hat, or ask the father or older brother 
to wear it. How let each one, in turn, mark with a pen¬ 
cil on the paper what he thinks is the liight of the hat. 
That is, if the hat were set upon the ground, mark where 
the top of the crown would reach upon the paper. The 
fnn consists in placing the hat down—after all have made 
their guesses—and seeing how near, or more likely how 
far from, the real size the marks will be_Here is an¬ 
other quiet bit of amusement, which is really very 
astonishing to those who never have tried it. It is 
TO SEE THROUGH A HOLE IN THE HAND. 
Roll up a piece of paper or a pamphlet to make a tube 
about 9 to 12 inches long, and an inch or so across. Put 
can see very clearly the things beyond. It is a very easy 
but most surprising little experiment, and will please old 
as well as young people. You will of course wish to 
know why this is so, why there seems to be a hole through 
the hand when there is none. The scientific journals are 
talking about this, but their explanation would hardly 
suit youngsters. We usually look at the same thing with 
two eyes, and the two images make one in our mind. 
Here we separate the two eyes in an unusual manner, and 
the mind brings together the circle made by the tube for 
one eye, and the hand seen by the other, and makes one 
of them. You can use a card or a book instead of the 
hand, and see the hole in 
the same manner, but it is 
more surprising to look right 
through your own hand, as 
as if a clean hole had been 
cut through it. You can vary 
this in several ways. If, 
when looking through the 
hole in the hand, you stretch 
out your left thumb, so that 
it will be seen by the right 
eye through the tube, the 
thumb will appear to be di¬ 
rectly across the hole in your 
hand. Instead of looking at 
the hand, use a card; make 
a black spot on the card as 
big as a half dime, and look 
at it as before; the black spot 
will appear to be floating 
in the center of the hole, with 
nothing to hold it there. 
Another variation is to make 
a round hole in the card of 
the size of the half dime ; look at this hole with the left 
eye, so that the real hole will be within the imaginary 
hole; the hole will appear exceedingly bright, and sur¬ 
rounded by a ring of shadow.Probably most of you 
have made shadows on the wall to please the baby ; by 
holding the hands in the proper position between the 
lamp and the wall, very amusing shadows can be made. 
On the same principle you can make a very lively and 
AMUSING SHADOW GAME, 
or “Shadow Buff,” as it is called, only instead of one be¬ 
ing blinded, and trying to tell who those who are caught 
are, by feeling their dress, hair, etc., the one who is it , 
has both his eyes open, and tries to guess who is who by 
their shadows. If there is no plain piece of white wall 
for the shadows, then hang up a sheet; there should be 
but one lamp in the room, and this must stand where it 
will not get upset, and spoil the sport, and where it will 
throw the shadows of those who pass in front of it upon 
the sheet. The one who is to guess, is seated with his 
face to the sheet, and the rest go by one by one, and he 
Xlie Doctor’s (,'orrcspondi'nce. 
S. L. Richards among other things wishes to know about 
JEWELS IN A WATCH; 
he asks what they are, and what is meant by a “ full 
jeweled watch.” Of course S. L. knows that there are 
several wheels in a watch. That each wheel has an axle 
through it, and the ends of these axles, called pivots, rest 
in holes or bearings, in the frame of the watch. The ac¬ 
curacy of the watch depends greatly upon having the 
parts move easily, and without friction ; these pivots are 
constantly in motion, and every means is taken to have 
PLAYING THE GAME OE SHADOW BDPP. 
this tube to your right eye, and look through it at some 
object, attentively, keeping both eyes open. Now hold 
up your left hand with its back toward you, and bring it 
near the lower end of the tube, looking at your hand 
with the left eye, while the right eye is fixed on some¬ 
thing through the tube. If you hit the right position, 
which you can soon do, putting the edge of the hand 
against, not over, the lower end of the tube, you will be 
Surprised to see a hole in your hand through which you 
tries to tell whose the shadows are. When one i 
he or she takes the seat, and the game goes on. The fun 
consists in trying to disguise the shadows, by holding 
the hands or arms, or parts of the dress in such a man¬ 
ner, as to make strange forms on the sheet. The en¬ 
graving will show how this is done. Perhaps a better 
way is to hang the sheet over a doorway; the one who 
guesses being on one side in the dark, while the others 
pass between the lamp and the sheet on the other side. 
them move as easily as possible. A pivot of steel moving 
in a brass bearing; will have less friction than in a steel 
bearing; if it move in a bearing of diamond the friction 
will be very much less, indeed, as little as can be. Dia¬ 
monds, rubies, sapphires, garnets, and other hard stones 
arc used for the bearings of the pivots in watches, and 
are called “jewels.” Diamonds are rarely used, as they 
are so difficult to work; in the finest watches the jewels 
are usually rubies, and in the cheap ones rock-crystal, 
and even glass may be found. Some of the jewels are not 
larger than a pin’s head, yet all these little things have to 
be ground and shaped, and have holes drilled to receive 
the pivots. In some watches only the pivot of the bal¬ 
ance-wheel is jewelled, others have two or more holes 
jewelled, and when every pivot runs on a jewel, the 
watch is said to be “ full jeweled.” My friend R. is 
right in supposing that I can tell him about another mat¬ 
ter, but as it does not belong to the Boys and Girl’s Col¬ 
umns, I shall have to do it at another time and elsewhere. 
_Master Johnston, in Northern New York, wishes to 
know how to build a hand-sled, and asks if he could not 
make one which his pony could draw. As to 
boy’s sleds, 
there is an endless variety in these, some are regularly 
framed, runners and all, and have the runners shod with 
iron; these are much like a small sleigh, and are of 
course very expensive; the common ones are made with 
two pieces for runners, and a top. Snow does not often 
remain in the city long enough for boys to get much sled¬ 
ding, but when 
a snow does last 
a few days, I 
have seen boys 
with a sled 
made of a box, 
begged from 
the grocers. 
The bottom and two sides are all that are used ; the bot¬ 
tom of the box serves for the top of the sled, while the 
sides are cut down and rounded at the ends, to make 
runners. Not very strong or handsome, you would think, 
but the little fellows seem to get as much fun out of these 
rude box-sleds, as richer boys do with the best. Some 
time ago our friend Mr. Snook, sent us a sketch, showing 
how a farmer’s boy could make a good and servicable 
sled ; his drawing is given in figure 2. On almost every 
farm is a pile of odds and ends, in which are put broken 
implements, parts of carts and wagons, and other things 
too good to throw away or burn, and which are kept, 
thinking they may sometimes “ come in play.” If a boy 
can find in such a place an old plow of which he can use 
the handles, he has a first rate start towards building a 
sled. The plow handles are generally of hard wood, 
well seasoned, and smooth. Cut off the handles about 
two feet, or so, from the bend, turn them points up, and 
you will have a pair of capital runners, which will slide 
almost as well as if shod with iron. For the sides you 
will need two pieces of inch board, two feet long, or of a 
proper length to suit the runners. It will make the sled 
look much better if you shape out the ends of the side 
pieces, as shown in the engraving. Then you must fasten 
the sides firmly to the runners . and here you must be 
Fig. 2.—boy' 
