1883.] 
AMERICAN' AGRICULTURIST, 
29 
A Mother Goose New Year’s Dinner. 
Herewith is presented a diagram of a New Year’s 
■dinner table, with the various good things of the 
•season spread before a circle of characters from 
I. A country of Europe. 2. An insect, and a letter. 3. A silly person. 4. Name of an 
author. 5. An unruly member, (i. A cooking utensil, and 8 exclamations. 7. Father, 
■and wee bits. 8. A vehicle, and to decay 9. A boy's name, a vowel, and parts of the 
foot. 10. Underground room and a grain. 11. A bird minus the last letter, and a fruit. 
12. The staff of life. 13. A goat’s trick, and to sin. 14. Round parcels. 15. Elevated 
animals. 16. To gathor-and measures. 17. Lot’s wife. 18. A fruit mixture. 19. To 
walk affectedly, and mixed type. 20. Frozen water, and what cat’s love. 21. Portions 
of a woman. 22. Two good French words. 23. What a queen thought her people should 
eat. 24. A language, and sweet sentiments. 25. A vegetable, and a game. 26. Eve’s 
temptation. 27. An interjection, and chains of mountains. 28. Periods of time. 29. 
Couples. 30. Screw fasteners. 31. An old New Year's drink 32. Adam’s ale. 33. Be¬ 
tween back and front, and to go wrong. 34. A melodious old woman. 35. A jolly old 
man whom children love. 36. A pie-loving boy. 37. A slovenly girl. 38 and 39. Two 
unfortunate water carriers. 40. A wilful maiden florist. 41. Dear little shepherdess. 42. A 
swift runner. 43. A hunter’s baby. 44. Little lady afraid of spiders. 45. A hungry singer. 
the well-known household melodies of Mother 
Goose. It is left for the young readers to glance 
over the “ bill of fare ” and note its completeness. 
be worth several dollars. An ingenious French¬ 
man has shown children how to make a neat toy to 
cost but little. The glass figures and the balloon 
are hollow, though they may have a little water in 
them, and are light enough to float. Each one 
has a minute hole in 
the foot or elsewhere, 
and when the sheet of 
rubber tied over the 
top is pressed, a little 
water is forced into 
the body of the figure, 
or into the balloon, 
and becoming heavier, 
bo’h sink in the water. 
When the pressure is 
removed, the elasticity 
of the air drives the 
water out of the fig¬ 
ures, and up they go. 
To make an imitation, 
the most important 
parts needed are a wal¬ 
nut (English,) and a 
bottle with a mouth 
wide enough to admit 
the nut. Carefully 
halve the shell, take 
out the kernel, and 
then join the parts 
with sealing-wax, be¬ 
ing sure it is quite 
water-tight; then Dore 
a little hole, not larger 
than a pin head at the 
bottom — see dotted 
line at o. The wooden 
man will be too light, 
A Home-Made Bottle Imp. 
Probably most of you have seen in one form or 
another, the amusing toy called “ The Bottle 
Imp.” It usually consists of some kind of glass 
image, which stays at the top of the water in a tall 
marrow glass jar. At the command of its owner, 
the bottle imp .—Engraved for the Am. Agriculturist. 
it will go to the bottom, remain there for a long 
time, rise to half way, and do other amusing things. 
Sometimes the jar is much larger, and contains a 
beautiful balloon,entirely of colored glass, and must 
and you will need to 
give him a bit of lead, p, to keep him steady. 
Attach some fine wire to the nut-shell, by which 
to suspend the figure. After all is adjusted, tie a 
piece of sheet rubber over the mouth of the bottle, 
and press on the rubber, when the figure should 
sink and rise, according to the amount of pressure. 
Winter Sports. 
How well we remember with what rejoicing we 
used to welcome the first snow of the season, and 
hasten to drag out skates and sled 
from their summer quarters and 
see that they were all right. In 
the city, snow is only a “snare 
and a delusion,” melting too soon 
for much sleighing, and trans¬ 
forming the streets into lakes of 
mud or running rivers. But in 
the country it is glorious, and there 
is no sweeter music than the mer¬ 
ry twinkle of the sleigh-bells, as 
the runners glide smoothly over 
the snow. The coasting hill will 
be all the better, if the boys have 
taken the precaution overnight to 
pour a few buckets of water upon 
the track. Starting from the top 
of the long slope, away you go, 
rushing along, swifter and swifter, 
your very blood dancing in your 
veins, and the landscape seeming 
to spin away behind you. If you 
are unfortunate enough to have an 
up-set and perhaps go flounder¬ 
ing head first into a snow-bank, 
never mind, jump up and go at it 
again ; your mishap will only cause 
a laugh, and add to the general 
fun. Girls, too, are often as fond of 
coasting as their brothers. Boys, 
be sure and give the girls a ride on 
your sleds, for a “pleasure shared 
is a pleasure doubled.” The boy 
who can successfully convey 
sleigh load of young people down 
a steep hill, has reason to be 
proud of his proficiency as a pilot. 
A snow-ball battle too is great 
sport on a winter’s day ; half of the boys defend¬ 
ing the fortress from within, while the others 
attack it from without. To make a snow-fort, 
wooden shovels may be used if the snow is light, 
but if it cakes, heavier implements will be neces¬ 
sary. The foundation must first be marked out, 
either in a square or circle ; then clear out the 
snow from within, piling it upon the boundary 
line to form the wall. The same process is carried 
on without, until a Strong wall is made, which 
should be considerably broader at the base than at 
the top, and from six to seven feet in hight. If 
it is to be a very ambitious construction a parapet 
can be raised above the walls, on the top of which 
the defenders stand to ward oil the attack of the 
besieging party. Loop holes should also be pierced, 
through which the smaller boys can harrass the 
enemy with snowballs ; but care should be taken 
to strenghten the surrounding parts, or the 
besiegers may find a conveniently made breach 
through which to enter the fortress. The ammuni¬ 
tion should not be too large or hard, and ice balls 
should always be strictly prohibited, as they are 
very dangerous. The writer remembers very well 
the time when an ice ball closed one eye for sev¬ 
eral hours, and gave me much pain. Soft snow is 
plenty hard enough for real fun. All the military 
operations should be conducted with good humor 
and fair play in every respect. 
w 
s 
fli 
i 
An Illustrated Itebus that will interest and 
instruct all who study out its meaning. Work is 
usually the price of progress in all things. 
“ THIS LITTLE (BIG ?) PIG HAD BOAST BEEP ! ” 
Engraved for the American Agriculturist. 
