1877 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
67 
careful. Whether you use nails or screws, the hard wood 
of the runners must be bored for them, and this will take 
both patience and strength. When the sides are on, you 
will then make the top, and for this you must nail on the 
boards cross-wise, to make the sled strong. The width 
may be according to fancy, or the use you are to make of 
it. If simply to “coast ” or slide down hill, a long and 
narrow sled*is best, bu.t if you wish to carry loads, you 
will need it wider. You can put a round stick in between 
the upturned points of the runners, to hitch a drag-rope 
to, but in coasting this will he in the way, and you can 
as well hitch two ends of a rope to the points of the two 
runners. I don’t think you can manage very well to 
make a pony sled and a hand-sled in one. For the pony, 
perhaps, the best thing would be what is called 
A JUMPER. 
As I don’t know how old my young friend is', I am not 
able to say whether he can manage to make a jumper or 
not. Farmer’s boys, generally, learn to use an ax when 
quite young, and if our youngster can work handily with 
an ax or hatchet, he can very likely make a jumper.- 
However, I will tell him about the jumper, and if he can 
not make it by himself, he can get some older person to 
help. By giving an engraving, fig. 1, you will at once 
see how it is made, and it will save much description. 
Two saplings of the same size serve for runners and 
shafts, and make up the principal part of the jumper. 
These should be of hard wood, if wanted to last. Hav¬ 
ing the young trees, both of the same size and length, 
care should be taken to smooth oft - all the knots, if there 
are any, and if you wish to be very nice, you can peel at 
least the runner part. As the shafts must be high enough 
to hitch to the harness, while the runners are flat upon 
the snow, they must be bent. This is done by cutting 
half way or more through each stick, and you can easily 
contrive a way to bend it. You will then need to fasten 
your sticks together at a proper distance to suit the pony. 
A piece nailed or pinned on in front of the bend, answers 
both to strengthen the jumper, and fas a place to which 
to fasten the traces. Take care to have this strong, as 
much of the strain comes here. You can then put on 
another cross piece, as a foot rest, and make the seat 
serve to strengthen it still more, as it will, if made as 
shown in the engraving. You may, if you prefer, floor 
the whole over with boards, and use another kind of 
seat. Jumpers are so common over the border, where 
there is usually snow in plenty, that they are often called 
“ Canada Jumpers,” but they are also used a great deal 
in the States. A man can knock one together in a very 
short time, and there is no reason why a handy boy can 
not manage to make one. I hope my young friend will 
succeed in making a useful jumper, that it will be 
strong to avoid accidents, and that he will have many 
pleasant rides with his pony. 
Aunt Sale’s Chats. 
Bettine.— The following formula will, I think, answer 
yonr requirements : 
A B D H P 
C C E I Q 
E F F J K 
G G 6 K S 
I J L L T 
K K M M U 
M N N N V 
o o o o w 
G R T X X 
S S U Y Y 
U V V Z Z 
W W W 
Y Z 
Should a person wish you to find out a word or name, 
let him tell you in which of the upright columns the first 
letter of the word may be found; if it can be found in 
only one column, then it is the top letter; should it be 
found in more than one, then add together the alphabet¬ 
ical numbers represented by the top letters, and the sum 
will be the number sought. By taking one letter at a 
time in this way, the whole word can be discovered. For 
example: Take the word Barling; D is found in but one 
column, consequently is the top one. The same with A; 
R is in the second and last columns; the top letters of 
those are B, and P ; these are the second and sixteenth 
of the alphabet, their sum is eighteen, and the eighteenth 
letter of the alphabet is R, the letter sought; L you will 
find in the columns headed B, and H, whose sum is 
twelve, and L is the twelfth letter of the alphabet. In 
this way, letter by letter, you can find out any given word. 
For Chocolate Icing for Calces —take half a pound of 
powdered loaf-sugar and two ounces of grated chocolate; 
put them into a sauce-pan with about a gill of water, and 
stir it over the fire until the mixture assumes the con¬ 
sistence of thick cream; then spread it over your cakes, 
and set them in the oven for two or three minutes. 
. Carpenter’s Boy.— Not a bit of “ trouble,” my boy, 
you may “ ask questions ” every month if you choose, 
and I will answer them to the best of my ability. You 
want to know the meaning of the terms “ four-penny,” 
“six-penny,” “ten-penny,” etc., as applied to nails, 
“ Four-penny ” means four pounds to the thousand nails, 
“ six-penny ” six pounds to the thousand, and so on. It 
is an old English term and meant, at first, “ ten -pound ” 
nails (the thousand being understood); but the old Eng¬ 
lishmen clipped it to “ ten -pun ” ; and from that to ten- 
punny: and so it degenerated, until “penny” was sub¬ 
stituted for “ ■pound .” So, when you ask for four-penny 
nails, now-a-days, you want those, a thousand of which 
will weigh four pounds; but in these degenerate times, 
I question whether you will get as many as a thousand in 
that weight. When a thousand nails weigh less than one 
pound, they are called tacks, brads, etc., and are reckon¬ 
ed by ounces (to the thousand); so you will see “ 8-oz.”, 
“ 10-oz.”, “ 16-oz.”, etc., on papers of tacks. That used 
to puzzle me (before I knew better)—how eight small 
tacks should make one ounce, and sixteen much larger 
ones should make an ounce tool So I asked—just as 
you did. I am never ashamed to say “ I don’t know,” 
unless I have neglected an opportunity to find out. 
Aunt Sue’s l*uzzle-IEoi. 
CROSS WORD. 
My first is in cloud but not in sky, 
My next is in swim but not in fly, 
My third is in man but not in boy, 
My fourth is in marble but not in toy, 
My fifth is in work but not in play, 
My sixth is in moment but not in day, 
My seventh is in sound but not in tone, 
And my whole is the name of a precious stone. 
Alice S. Paul. 
ANSWERS TO PUZZLES IN THE DECEMBER NUMBER. 
Numerical Enigma. —Thanatopsis. 
Concealed Capes. — 1. Clear. 2. Henry. 3. May. 4. 
Land’s end. 5. Good Hope. 6. Horn. 7. Fear. 
Cross Word.—M adrid. 
Square Word. 
A S P E R 
STAVE 
PALES 
EVENT 
RESTS 
Double Acrostic. 
H- al —L 
O—tta w —A 
L-edge—R 
L- ila -C 
Y- out -H 
RHYMES. 
(Example— 1. Here the ink has been spilled- 
2. By the gun it was killed-. Blot , shot. 
1. 'O ! see the bright morning- 
2. Her fair head adorning- 
3. Belf, china, and iron : - 
4. Neither panther nor lion- 
5. More than one, less than three- 
6. Too choice ’tis, for me- 
7. In the stable I live- 
8. A great fright I give —- 
9. You oft rise by me- 
10. In her dress, do you see 1- 
11. Here the tiger lies down- 
12. Green, speckled with brown- 
13. How much must I pay- 
14. I venture to-day- 
15. In caution I’m seen- 
16. And I’m pretty lean- 
alphabetical arithmetic. 
R B H ) C T U I L N ( U B U C 
CBN 
R I I 
R B H 
I BL 
CBN 
U B T N 
B I NU 
UBD 
Thymauni si het prelucia sitaccerichartfo tager dimns. 
CHARADE. 
My first needs no delight its nature to show, 
My next is two-thirds of a dwelling, 
My third is oft felt in the air, and we know 
That destruction its pathway is telling. 
To England pray go, if my whole you would meet, 
And list to its musical lays, 
For indeed you will find it a songster most sweet, 
E’en poets have sung in its praise. H. W. Otis. 
NUMERICAL ENIGMA. 
I am composed of 69 letters: 
My 10, 40,19, 3, 52, 44, 30, was the scene of a European 
battle, where an army of ninety thousand men, com¬ 
manded by my 27, 53, 12, 56, 24, 61, 50,-25, 2, 19, 39, was 
defeated by an 9, 24, 66, 54, of thirty thousand. 
My 22, 9, 14, 44, 58, 15, 13, 67, is the name of a famous 
battle, which decided the fate of my 38, 28. 20, 23, 49, 53, 
37, 33, who died at my 7, IS,—43, 56, 11, 69, 38, 61. 
My 47, 65, 66,1, has been something sung just before 
going to battle. 
My 60, 26, 46, 8, 16, 64, 27, 35, 5, 6, is a name dear to 
Americans. 
My 17, 34, 45, 62, 57, 27, 19, 42, was a noted naval officer 
in the late war. 
My 19, 21, 27, 68, 48,59, 51, was a distinguished military 
officer in our late war. 
My 4,1, 29, 32, 36, 48, 55, 31, represent many of the 
United States. 
My 20, 63, 45, 41, 31, is a famous city in Europe. 
My whole is a prophecy of peace. M. O. Colcord. 
ANAGRAMS. 
1. Oh 1 bad boy 1 6. I’m Kate’s. 
2. Surf free. 7. Scan any one. 
3. A scalp-den. 8. Inform us. 
4. Rain came. 9. Rough, hot fare. 
5. Sure leap. 10. Send rats in mud. 
Xantho. 
positives and comparatives. 
1. A ton,—a servant. 2. A coin,—the middle. 3. A 
body of water,—to reflect. 4. An animal,—more novel. 
5. A vehicle,—a butcher. 6. A boat,—to cleanse. 
Bessie. 
concealed square word. 
Bring a wide apron with you ; one a trifle long at each 
side. W. L. E., Jr. 
Anagrams.— 1. Magazines. 2. Arrangements. 3. Garden¬ 
ing. 4. Companions. 5. Jealousy. 6. Barbarisms. 7. Num¬ 
bering." 8. Opportunity. 9. Cultivators. 10. Refinement. 
Transpositions.— 1. Rets, pest, step. 2. Mate, tame, team, 
meat. 3. Arm, ram, mar. 4. Veal, lave, vale. 5. Abel, able, 
bale, beal. 6. Naps, span, pans. 7. Now, own, won. 
Flowers and Vegetables.— 1. Hollyhock. 2. Pumpkin. 
3. Marigold. 4. Sunflower (son-flour). R. Onion. 6. Corn. 
7. Carrot (parrot). 8. Butter-cup. 
Er.—What wondrous life is this I lead ? 
- Ripe apples drop about my head. 
The luscious clusters of the vine 
Upon my mouth do crush their wine. 
The nectarine and curious peach, 
Into my hands themselves do reach. 
Thanks for letters, puzzles, etc., to Dan. F. G., Sophie, J. 
F. D., Alpha and Bet, M. T. Hedd, Gus, Maggie, and Effie G. 
How Things are ISoiie in Other 
Countries.—Dressing" the Hair. 
Quite a long jump, you will think, from bread-making 
to hair-dressing; but in telling you about common things 
in other countries, where their ways are different from 
our ways, we do not need to follow any regular order. 
It is a very curious fact, that there are scarcely any 
people, even the very lowest and least civilized, who do 
not do something to the hair of the head or face. There 
is much about hair, the manner of its growth, and the 
way it looks under the microscope, that is interesting, 
but we can not talk about these at present. Of course, 
the first use of hair is to protect the head, as well from 
heat, as from cold; another use is as an ornament; or¬ 
nament has its uses, else there would not be such a va¬ 
riety in hair on both men and beasts. Animals covered 
with feathers instead of hair—the birds—are the most 
highly ornamented of all, and we are very sure that 
all the beautiful variety they display, is not without its 
uses. Compare a person with a fine head of hair, with 
one who is bald, and you will hardly doubt that hair is 
for looks, as well as for comfort. In ancient times the 
different nations and tribes had their fashions in hair, as 
do those of the present day. The ancient Greeks and 
Hebrews admired long hair, while the ancient Egyptians 
did not like it at all, but removed all the hair, and wore 
light wigs. Fine hair was thought so much of in olden 
times, that plucking out, or tearing the hair, was the 
way of showing the greatest possible grief. Among 
civilized people there have been curious customs. Some 
two hundred years ago a French king had a deformed 
shoulder, which he hid by means of an enormous wig, the 
bottom of which was so long as to cover his defect. Of 
course, this made wigs fashionable, and they were gen¬ 
erally worn ; they were often made of silk, and so large 
as to reach half way down the back. In early times, in 
this country, our great grandfathers, and their fathers, 
followed the ways of England, and the judges, gover¬ 
nors, and all great dignitaries wore enormous horse-hair 
wigs. The war of the revolution put an end to all that 
here, though in England the custom is still kept up, and 
you will see in the illustrated English papers pictures of 
public occasions, in which judges, mayors, and all the 
rest have these ridiculous horse-hair head-coverings; 
even in the courts at the present time, in England and 
its Colonies, a lawyer puts on a black gown and a horse¬ 
hair wig, to address the judge, who sits gravely decked 
in what seems to us such senseless “ toggery.” It is no 
wonder that in London slang “ big vigs ” is the name for 
the dignitaries. With us short hair is the general rule 
for men, and long hair for women, but with many tribes 
of Indians the opposite is the custom ; the men pride 
themselves on their long locks, while the women, as is 
often the case, cut their hair on a level with the eyes, 
and look droll enough. Speaking of the treatment of 
the hair by Indians, reminds us of a curious custom 
among the tribes of Arizona and New Mexico. When 
we first went among them, we found several of the men 
With the most singular head-dresses; a sort of turban on 
