190 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
No. 147. 
were upon the water, lighting up the dewdrops on the 
palmetto, and transforming them into innumerable gems. 
The night was mild. The air was perfumed by the odor 
of the yellow jasmine ; and we all, instead of grumbling 
at our misfortune, made ourselves tolerably merry for 
while, and—went to sleep. Such was my advent to St. 
Augustine at the hour of midnight. 
■* 
Kites—and How to maltc them. 
Quite a number of our young readers have written dur¬ 
ing the past Winter, desiring us to tell them something 
about kites. We very cheerfully comply with this re¬ 
quest. for we consider the making and flying of kites as 
one of the most innocent, instructive, interesting, and 
healthful amusements, in which boys can engage. It is 
a better exercise for girls too, than many of the coarser, 
romping amusements. We always love to see sisters as¬ 
sisting their brothers in cutting out, pasting and modeling 
their kites, and so far as we have observed, a kite is al¬ 
ways more tasteful when a sister has helped get it up, 
and the pleasure in flying it, greater when she is present. 
How pretty a thing is a kite as it rises proudly, and 
gaily floats and dances through the air ! It seems almost 
a thing of life ; and the pleasure is greatly hightened by 
the skill required to construct and fly it well. No won 
der that it has been a great favorite with the boys in this 
and other countries. Travellers tell us that in China, kite 
flying is heartily entered into by the men as well as the 
boys ; a regular day being set apart every year for the 
purpose of trials of their skill. On these days each one 
endeavors to raise his kite highest, and to bring down his 
neighbor’s by drawing his own line back and forth over 
that of his opponent to cut it off; though it often happens 
that his own kite comes wavering to the ground. 
Kites, although chiefly designed for amusement, are 
not without their practical uses. For example, they are 
sometimes serviceable in raising a line to hights which 
could not well be reached by other means. A few years 
since a party carried a line in this manner over Fompey’s 
pillar, a very tall column in Egypt, and then by draw ing up 
stronger cords, they were able finally to ascend to the 
top. The mighty chasm spanned by the Niagara Sus¬ 
pension Bridge was first crossed by sending a kite over, 
and using its string to draw over first a strong twine, then 
a still larger one, and finally wires and cables. Dr. 
Franklin first made the kite famous by sending it up 
with small steel points (lightning rods), and drawing 
down electricity from the clouds along the wet string. 
Fig. 2. 
A thousand instances might be named, where the kite has 
been made to serve a useful purpose. 
Village boys usually succeed best with kites, mainly, 
we suppose, because so many of them get together that 
they show each other. Farmers’ boys live more remote 
from each other (to the great advantage of their habits 
and morals), and when one of them fails in flying a kite, 
he can not at once get instruction and assistance. We 
know this by experience, for when a boy, we often tried 
to fly a kite, but having no descriptive books or papers — 
no Agriculturist was published then—and no one to show 
ui, we never succeeded well. But though too old and 
busy, to spend much time with kites now, it is a great 
pleasure to explain them to our own little ones, and to 
our young readers, especially those who live in the 
country. Boys who know all abuut kites, need not read 
what follows, for we are writing only for those who do 
not know. 
WHAT MAKES KITES GO UP. 
Tie four short strings of equal length to the corners of 
a shingle. Then join the loose ends of these four strings 
to the end of another string. If now you take hold of 
the string and run against the wind, the shingle will 
stand out perpendicularly, or “straight up and down, 
because the four strings are all of equal length, and they 
hold the side of the shingle square against the wind, 
But now make the low er string a little longer than the 
upper one, and then the upper end of the shingle will be 
tipped forward a little, and the wind will strike “slant 
ing” against it, and slide off from the lower end which 
slants backward. This will push the kite upward, just as 
the wind striking against the sail of a ship w hich is going 
against the wind, drives it sidewise and partly forward 
Indeed, a ship is really a great kite. Its rudder acts 
much like the tail of a kite to keep its head pointing partly 
against the wind, so that it may move in the right course 
If the strings fastened to the shingle were stiff wires so 
that you could keep the end leaning forward always slant 
ing upward, then the shingle would rise upward. But 
with only strings on, the shingle would turn over bottom 
side up, or sidewise, and the wind would shoot it side 
wise, or most likely downward. But put a little weight 
upon the lower end which slants backward, and then of 
course the wind would always “ glance ” off from the 
lower side, and keep the shingle going upward. You see 
then that to have the shingle going up, you must have the 
strings unequal, but in just the right proportion to give it 
the right slant for rising, and then you must have a weight 
“ tail"’ on the lower end to act as an anchor or rudder 
—the same as the long stick on a rocket to keep its point 
erect, while the force of the powder drives it upward. 
We have spoken of a shingle for illustration. Unless 
very thin, a shingle is too heavy for a kite, and a frame 
covered with cloth or paper is used. 
HOW TO MAKE A KITE. 
The first thing needed will be the frame-work, to give 
stiffness to the kite, and also to afford a place to fasten 
the line and the tail. The manner of making depends 
upon the kind of kite wanted. In fig. 2 is shown a hexa¬ 
gonal, and in fig. 3 a star kite. These are the most com¬ 
mon forms. For the hexagonal form (fig. 2) three sticks 
are used as a frame. These should be made of pine, ce 
dar, or some light wood, the two longer ones II inches, 
and the other 8 inches in length, or in about these pro¬ 
portions. If these lengths 
are used, the kite will be 
about 91 inches high. For 
one twice as large, use sticks 
twice as long, and so on, 
these being of the right pro¬ 
portions to have the kite well 
shaped. The sticks should 
be made round, and of from 
i to 1 of an inch in thickness, 
according to the size of the 
kite. When the sticks are 
ready, lay them across each 
other in the shape you see in 
fig. 2, being careful to have 
them cross at the center of 
each stick; and let the ends Fig. 4. 
of the long sticks spread apart 6 inches at the 
top and bottom if the long sticks are 11 inches long. 
They can be fastened together by carefully driving a 
tackthrough them, or tyingthem witha string. Next cut 
notch in the end of each stick, deep enough to receive a 
small cord or string, and pass the string around the out¬ 
side of the sticks in the notches, as you see in the picture. 
Be careful to draw it tightly, and tie it around the end of 
one of the sticks, so as to hold the frame firmly. Cut a 
notch in the upper part of each of the long sticks, where 
you see the small points in fig. 2, that is. half way be¬ 
tween the center and the upper ends, and also in the 
lower parts quite near the bottom, to fasten the line and 
the tail, and your frame is finished. 
The frame of the star kite (fig. 11) requires four sticks ; 
the two longer ones of any length you choose, and the 
others half as long. These are to be fastened together in 
the middle, as already described, with the ends of the 
shorter ones half way between the others, as shown in 
fig. 3. The twine around the outside is passed from stick 
to stick, and wound around the end of each in notches 
made for the purpose. The string for flying this kite is 
attached by loops to the four ends of the short sticks. 
In fig. 4 the frame of a bow kite is shown, which requires 
two straight sticks and one curved. The long straight 
stick is 21, and the short one 12 inches long, or in this 
proportion. Let the sticks be crossed at 14 inches, or two 
thirds the length from the bottom of the longer one, and 
fastened as before described. The curved stick may be * 
bit of thin rattan or whalebone, or a willow twig, or any 
kind of wood easily bent. This is to be bent around the 
upper end of the kite, and fastened to the end of the cross 
piece, and the top of long stick. Strings only, pass from 
the ends ofthe cross piece to the bottom of the kite. The 
strings in this kind of kite are fastened near the ends of 
the sticks, where you see the points in fig. 4, and the tail 
at the bottom, as shown in fig. 5. 
Having finished the frame of either of the above kinds, 
it is next to be covered on one side with paper. News¬ 
papers are good ; for quite small kites tissue paper, being 
lighter, is better. Where the kite is very large, cotton 
cloth is sometimes used. Lay your frame upon the pa- 
larger than the frame, so that it may be doubled over the 
edge of the frame and pasted down. Common paste, 
made by mixing flour and water, is all that is needed. Be 
careful to paste the paper on the frame smoothly, and to 
use but little paste, to keep the kite light. It is well to 
paste a few short narrow strips of paper on the back of 
the kite to hold the paper to the sticks, say one strip in 
six inches. After pasting, leave the kite a few hours to 
dry thoroughly. When this is done, the tail and sfling 
may be attached. 
The tail is made of long strips of cloth, generally old 
pieces taken from the rag-bag, and tied together; or small 
twists of paper tied about six or eight inches apart on a 
stout string will answ-er. The length of the tail will de¬ 
pend on the size of the kite, and the weight of the cloth 
used ; the longer it can be made without being too heavy, 
the more graceful it will look when in the air. A heavier 
tail will be needed when the wind blows quite strongly. 
The tail is the anchor or rudder, which keeps tbe kite 
from “ diving ” or swaying about too much in sudden gusts 
of wind. If very short, the kite would turn round it and 
dive downward. The first thing is, to get the strings ar¬ 
ranged to give the kite the right slant or angle (35° from 
a perpendicular) for ascending against the wind. The 
next most important point is to get the tail of the right 
weigth and length, and on this the beginner will have to 
experiment, and calculate, and “ try, try again’’ for a 
long time, before he becomes an expert kite-flier. But all 
this adds to the excitement and pleasure. 
For the line, cut a small hole through the paper, where 
the notches were made in the sticks, tie a short string 
firmly in each notch, and let the loose end come through 
the paper to the front of the kite : then tie these ends to¬ 
gether to form one string, and fasten the line to the end. 
These short strings should be so arranged, as to bring the 
top of the kite a little more than a third down toward the 
line, or to vary 35° from a perpendicular. This will give 
it the right slant to raise it well in the air. (The bow- 
kite complete and somewhat ornamented, is shown at 
fig. 5). The line should be light and strong, the size, of 
course, varying with the dimensions of the kite. 
To raise the kite, choose a day when a good breeze is 
blowing, a clear space without trees or buildings, and for 
the first few trials get a friend to assist you. Let him hold 
the kite while you take the line in your hand, unwinding 
it as you walk and go about thirty steps against the wind; 
then have him take the kite by the lower edge with both 
hands, holding it as high as he can. Now run straight 
against the wind, your friend letting the Kite go as you 
start, and it ought to rise Let out the line slowly as you 
run. When it is pretty well started, you can stand still, 
and give out the line as fast as the kite will carry it up 
w ell, until you have reached the end of your ball. When 
you have succeeded in fairly raising it, so that it keeps its 
place pretty steadily, you will find much pleasure in 
watching its motions and stud) ing their cause. 
