The American Boy's Handy Book

by Daniel Carter Beard

  The water-telescope is not made of aqueous fluid, as its name might imply, but is a contrivance made of wood or metal, through which, when one end is partly submerged, objects beneath the water can be plainly seen that would otherwise be invisible.

  It is astonishing how many fathoms of water become almost as transparent as air when viewed through one of these simple and amusing contrivances. In Norway, the fishermen make practical use of the water telescope when searching for herring shoals or cod, often by its means discovering new and unlooked-for fish.

  How to Make a Wooden Water-Telescope.

  All that is necessary is a long wooden box, a piece of glass for one end, and some paint and putty for making the seams water-tight. Fix the glass in one end of the box, and leave the other end open to admit the eyes of the observer, as shown in the illustration (Fig. 60).

  A Tin Water-Telescope,

  is a funnel-shaped tin horn, about three or four feet long, eight to ten inches in diameter at the bottom, and broad enough at the top to admit both eyes of the observer (Fig. 61). Sinkers should be soldered on near the bottom, as shown in the illustration (Fig. 61). This in a measure counteracts the buoyancy of the air contained in the water-tight funnel, and helps to submerge the big end.

  The inside of the funnel should be painted black, to prevent the light from being reflected upon the bright surface of the tin.

  If any difficulty is found in procuring a circular piece of glass, the bottom may be made square and square glass used, and fitted into a leaden frame made for the purpose.

  Any tinner can, at a moderate cost, make an instrument like the one just described.

  A water-telescope will add greatly to the entertainment of a boating party or picnic, furnishing a new and novel feature that will become popular wherever it is introduced.

  Mr. Fred. Holder tells me that while collecting marine animals with his father, Dr. Holder, the naturalist, they had a boat built with a glass in the hull, arranged and worked upon the same principle as a water-telescope. It was of great service where the water was not too deep. While one person rowed the other watched the bottom, which Mr. Holder describes as having the appearance of a beautiful panorama passing beneath him. Fish of all colors and forms filled the intervening space, and sometimes a "devil fish" would cross the scene, flapping its great wing like fins as it flew rather than swam through the clear water.

  CHAPTER XI.

  DREDGE, TANGLE, AND TRAWL FISHING.

  A New Sport.

  THIS new pastime not only insures the fisherman something to show for his day’s work, but, by furnishing an incentive, it lends an additional charm to rowing or sailing, and combines the pleasures of fishing and boating, perhaps, in a greater degree than any other sport upon the list of out-door exercises. There is no good reason why the “dredge” and “tangle” should be monopolized by a few learned scientists, nor why the sport should not be indulged in by all boys, as well as men, who love the open air, the salt sea breeze, Nature and her wonders.

  To put this new pastime within the reach of the boys, this chapter illustrates and describes the “regular” dredge made upon the most improved pattern, and it also shows how serviceable dredges and tangles may be made out of simple materials to be found about any house.

  The dredge is an instrument made to drag along the bottom of the water and scoop up the objects, such as corals, sponges, etc., that are found there.

  The common oyster dredge is a familiar object at all sea-side places, but it has two or three defects which make it objectionable to the amateur dredger. In the first place, it requires a skilled hand to keep it right side up when in use. Nothing is more discouraging to a beginner than to discover, after a long pull, that on account of the dredge being towed upside down the scraper has been unable to perform its duty. The meshes of an oyster dredge are made very large purposely, that all small objects may slip through. Among these small objects are some of the curiosities most prized by the collector.

  To remedy the first defect, the collector’s dredge is made with a scraper upon both sides (Fig. 65). The second defect is overcome by using a net with very fine meshes.

  The net, if unprotected, would soon be cut and torn into shreds by the sharp-edged shells or rough bottom. To prevent this, it is enclosed in a leather or canvas bag open at both ends (Fig. 65). The dotted line shows the net inside.

  The handles and scrapers are composed of iron.

  If the machine become fast between the rocks of the bottom, the string that binds the joint marked in the diagram (Fig. 65) will part, thus allowing the machine to turn edgewise and free itself.

  Many curious objects were frequently brought up clinging to the cable or the frayed edges of the canvas cover of the dredges first used, and it was noticed that the dredge itself seldom contained any of these objects. This fact gave birth to

  The Tangle,

  a name given to tassels of hemp that are often attached to the bottom of the dredge itself or used separately (Figs. 66 and 67).

  The Trawl.

  If the bottom to be explored be smooth a trawl can be used (Fig. 68). This consists of a net larger than the one connected with the dredge. The front of the net is attached to a rod at the top and hangs slack at the bottom, being weighted by small sinkers. The rod is fastened to runners which allow the trawl to slide smoothly over the bottom. Weights are sometimes fastened to the ends of the runners. It is a good idea to have pockets in the net, to prevent the fish from escaping. The end of the net should be gathered and tied with a string, so that by untying the string the contents can be dumped out in less time than it takes to tell of it.

  How to Make a Bake-Pan Dredge.

  There is a sort of flat sheet-iron pan used in the kitchen for holding bread or biscuit while baking. It is seldom that the cook cannot show you one of these pans (Fig. 62) that has served its time and been discarded. Such a one will make a first-rate frame for a dredge. The only difficulty will be found in cutting the bottom out neatly. If there be a tin shop in the neighborhood it is best to take the pan there and have the tinner cut it for you; or you may do it yourself with a can opener or some other convenient instrument. Cut as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 62, which represents the pan bottom upwards. This will leave a margin of about an inch and a half still adhering to the pan; with a strong nail and a hammer punch holes all around the marginal piece of the bottom. Make two larger holes in each end to admit the ropes forming the handles.

  Bend the bottom pieces out as illustrated by Fig. 63, and it will produce a compact and handy frame for a small dredge.

  An old coffee sack can be readily adapted so as to serve as a net, but if the canvas cover be used as in Fig. 65, mosquito netting of double thickness will answer for the inner pouch.

  Fig. 64 shows a “bake-pan dredge” with ropes attached ready for use. Although the framework of a “regular” dredge can be made by any blacksmith at trifling cost, it is more fun to make a dredge for one’s self. When once the principles upon which a machine is made are thoroughly understood, it requires but little ingenuity to produce home-made substitutes that will perhaps answer as well, if not better, than the originals.

  A Tin-Pail Dredge.

  Take any old tin bucket, knock the bottom out, and attach a piece of coffee sack for a net. Tie bunches of hemp to the rim, first punching holes for the purpose, and you will have a make-shift dredge like the one in the tail-piece that only requires a few minutes to manufacture. Even with such a crude apparatus as this, many things may be captured for the cabinet or aquarium, the hempen tangles serving not only to entangle star-fish, sea-urchins, and the like, but in a measure preventing other creatures that have been scooped up by the pail from making their escape.

  How to Make a Broomstick Tangle.

  Saw off from an old broom handle a piece of stick about two and one-half feet long; hunt up three or four pieces of chain about the size used for large dog-chains; with small iron staples fasten these chains at intervals along the br
oomstick. Tie bunches of hemp securely along the chains. If you have no hemp, unravel pieces of old rope ends and tie them to the chains as in the illustration (Fig. 66). The broomstick, being light, will possibly float in spite of the chains. This can only be prevented by attaching weights to the stick.

  If a couple of iron wheels can be procured and put upon the ends of the broomstick they will not only counteract the buoyancy of the stick, but will also, in a measure, prevent the tangle from fouling stones or other objects on the bottom.

  In the place of the iron wheels, simple weights of lead or other material maybe used, and instead of the chains, weighted strings can be tied to the stick and the hempen knots fastened to them. Still another tangle can be made of a piece of old chain.

  The Old Chain Tangle,

  as may be seen by the illustration (Fig. 67), is simply a piece of iron chain decorated with hempen tassels and occasional cross-sticks. A rope is attached to one end, and by its means the tangle is hauled over the bottom to gather up its load of curiosities.

  Hints and Suggestions to Amateurs.

  If dredging from a sail-boat, divide the crew into two parties, one to manage and sail the boat, the other to attend to the casting and hauling of the dredge. It is as necessary that the boat be carefully managed as it is that at least one person’s undivided attention be given to handling the dredge. The dredging rope should be about twice as long as the water is deep. A wooden reel or windlass attached to one side of the boat near the stern will be of very great assistance, especially when the net comes up filled with mud or heavy stones, as it frequently does; in which case, if there be but one boy to attend to it he will find it no light task to pull in the line hand over hand.

  A piece of old oilcloth or tarpaulin will answer to dump the contents of the dredge upon, although a large wooden tray, or “picking-over board,” as it is called, is much better. A small board of the kind intended for a row-boat is shown in the illustration at the head of this chapter.

  Common glass preserve jars, or wide-mouthed bottles, make excellent receptacles for living specimens. A convenient rack for carrying these easily and safely may be made from any wooden box, by nailing laths or slats across the top from end to end and side to side, making the squares thus formed just large enough to hold the jars or bottles in an upright position.

  The sail-boat is best for long excursions, but for a short trip a row-boat is preferable, it being more readily handled and independent of the wind.

  Although a dredge without tangles will bring up many curious and interesting objects, the specimens are apt to be confined to the mollusca or shell-fish, mixed, of course, with all manner of rubbish.

  If properly managed, the pouch, when it reaches the surface, will be about half full. After it has been emptied upon the “picking-over” board, the mud and sand may be washed away by pouring water over the mass. Although not absolutely necessary, a large sieve is a desirable addition to the dredger’s outfit, and furnishes valuable assistance when the mud or sand is to be searched for minute objects. Some dredgers use a “nest of sieves,” so arranged that the strainers, four in number, fit freely within one another. The top sieve is of course smaller than the others, but the meshes are larger. The second sieve is a little larger, with finer meshes. The third is still larger, with a much finer mesh, and the fourth, the largest sieve of the lot, has a mesh so close as only to allow the finest sand or mud to pass through. The contents of a dredge when filtered through a “nest of sieves” is divided up into a graduated series, the largest objects at the top and the smallest at the bottom. Mr. Emerton, in his “Life on the Seashore,” describes a sieve for hanging over the side of a boat “in the shape of a half cylinder,” the bottom being made of strong wire; but, as before remarked, sieves are not absolutely necessary, and may be dispensed with when the object is only a day’s fun with the curiosities of the sea.

  The Use of the Tangle.

  Partially buried in the mud of the bottom are to be found many pretty corals, queer and curious sponges, and those funny animals called sea-cucumbers. The dredge may skip these, but the hempen tangles, when they sweep the bottom, catch all such rough or irregular objects and bring them to the surface, along with a miscellaneous assortment of star-fish, sea-urchins, crabs, shrimps, and hundreds of other creatures.

  Wyville Thompson, in his interesting account of the dredging cruise of the Porcupine and Lightning, mentions one haul when the tangles contained not fewer than 20,000 sea-urchins, which “were warped through and through the hempen fibres and actually filled the tangles; and,” adds Mr. Thompson, “they hung for days round the bulwarks like nets of pickling onions in a green-grocer’s shop.” At times the tangle, when it comes to the surface, is completely covered with curious little shrimp-like creatures called Caprellas. Indeed, so many surprises await the dredger and tend to keep up the excitement, that this new sport cannot fail to interest and delight all who participate in it; and when the young dredgers return home they need not do so empty-handed, but may, if they choose, bring curiosities from the bottom of the sea that will not only astonish their parents, but most likely puzzle their teachers and professors

  Under the head of TAXIDERMY, among the autumn sports, will be found some hints which will aid the reader in preserving marine specimens for the cabinet or for future study.

  CHAPTER XII.

  HOME-MADE BOATS.

  Birth of the “Man-Friday” Catamaran.—The Crusoe Raft.

  NOT so very many years ago I remember visiting, in company with my cousin Tom, a small lake at the head waters of the Miami. High and precipitous cliffs surround the little body of water. So steep were the great weather-beaten rocks that it was only where the stream came tumbling down past an old mill that an accessible path then existed. Down that path Tom and I scrambled, for we knew that large bass lurked in the deep, black holes among the rocks.

  We had no jointed split bamboo rods nor fancy tackle, but the fish there in those days were not particular and seldom hesitated to bite at an angle-worm or grasshopper, though the hook upon which the bait squirmed was suspended by a coarse line from a freshly cut hickory sapling.

  Even now I feel the thrill of excitement and expectancy as, in imagination, my pole is bent nearly double by the frantic struggles of those “gamy” black bass. After spending the morning fishing we built a fire upon a short stretch of sandy beach, and cleaning our fish and washing them in the spring close at hand, we put them among the embers to cook.

  While the fire was getting our dinner ready for us we threw off our clothes and plunged into the cool waters of the lake. Inexpert swimmers as we were at that time, the opposite shore, though apparently only a stone’s-throw distant, was too far off for us to reach by swimming. Many a longing and curious glance we cast toward it, however, and strong was the temptation that beset us to try the unknown depths intervening. A pair of brown ears appeared above the ferns near the water’s edge, and a fox peeped at us; squirrels ran about the fallen trunks of trees or scampered up the rocks as saucily as though they understood that we could not swim well enough to reach their side of the lake; and high up the face of the cliff was a dark spot which we almost knew to be the entrance to some mysterious cavern.

  How we longed for a boat! But not even a raft nor a dugout could be seen anywhere upon the glassy surface of the water or along its reedy border. We nevertheless determined to explore the lake next day, even if we should have to paddle astride of a log.

  The first rays of the morning sun had not reached the dark waters before my companion and I were hard at work, with axe and hatchet, chopping in twain a long log we had discovered near the mill. We had at first intended to build a raft; but gradually we evolved a sort of catamaran. The two pieces of log we sharpened at the ends for the bow; then we rolled the logs down upon the beach, and, while I went into the thicket to chop down some saplings, my companion borrowed an auger from the miller. We next placed the logs about three feet apart, and marking the points where we inten
ded to put the cross-pieces, we cut notches there; then we placed the saplings across, fitting them into these notches. To hold them securely we bored holes down through the sapling cross-pieces into the logs; with the hatchet we hammered wooden pegs into these holes. For the seat we used the half of a section of log, the flat side fitting into places cut for that purpose. All that remained to be done now was to make a seat in the stern and a pair of rowlocks. At a proper distance from the oarsman’s seat we bored two holes for a couple of forked sticks, which answered admirably for rowlocks; across the stern we fastened another piece of log, similar to that used for the oarsman’s seat. With the help of a man from the mill our craft was launched; and with a pair of oars made of old pine boards we rowed off, leaving the miller waving his hat.

  Our catamaran was not so light as a row-boat, but it floated, and we could propel it with the oars, and, best of all, it was our own invention and made with our own hands. We called it a “Man-Friday,” and by its means we explored every nook in the length and breadth of the lake; and ever afterward when we wanted a boat we knew a simple and inexpensive way to make one—and a safe one, too.

  The Crusoe Raft,

  is another rustic craft, but it is of more ambitious dimensions than the “Man-Friday.” Instead of being able to float only one or two passengers, the “Crusoe,” if properly built, ought to accommodate a considerable party of raftsmen. Of course the purpose for which the raft is to be used, and the number of the crew that is expected to man it, must be taken into consideration when deciding upon the dimensions of the proposed craft.