Harper's Round Table, August 13, 1895 Part 8

Next, lay out a cross section of your canoe on a plank, and saw this out. Your section should be 2 ft. 6 in. across the top, which is the breadth of beam of your canoe; it should be 24 inches high, which is the depth of the craft; and the side lines of the section, which will determine the lines of your canoe, should be gracefully rounded, so that the boat when finished will appear as in Fig. B. Now, then, fasten your section upright on the keel, and with the bow, the stern, and the breadth of beam thus settled, all you have to do is to nail your two pine strips (12-3/4 ft. by 2 in. by 3/4 in.) to the bow and the stern.

They will get their spread from the mid-section. The skeleton of the canoe is now complete, and the inside ribs may be bent on.

In order to make the oak strips pliable, boil them in water until you can twist them into any shape you choose. Then nail them to the keel at their middle point and to the gunwale boards above, sawing off the protruding ends. These strips form the ribs, and when they dry out they will keep the form they a.s.sumed when nailed on. All the nails should be of copper, and clinched when driven in; this is done by holding a flat iron against the points as they come through. There should be six inches of s.p.a.ce between each rib. Next take your thin pine strips, which are of about the same length as your sheer planks, and plane them on one side only. These are now fastened to the ribs lengthwise, the unplaned side out, parallel to the gunwales, about two inches apart. This brings all the planking on the outside of the ribs. Be sure to have the protruding lines (after the canvas is put on) run fore and aft, and do not forget that the planking is brought down to a fine point at the stem and stern, and is securely clinched.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. C.]

The canoe is now ready to be decked. Fig. C shows about where the deck pieces should be fixed to form the c.o.c.k-pit. They ought to be inserted about a quarter length of the boat from each end. The deck beams should be of one-inch square spruce, and as soon as they are clinched in you can saw out your mid-section, which is now of no further use except as lumber. As such it will come in handy for braces, etc. On top of your deck beams lay the c.o.c.k-pit combing of 2 in. by 3/8 in. pine, putting in braces of triangular-shaped pine underneath as a support to and from the ribs. After all the ribs are thus securely fastened, turn your boat bottom upward and lay on the canvas.

This is by no means an easy matter, as you will soon find out, but patience and care will do much toward making the undertaking less difficult. Medium-weight sail duck is a good kind of canvas to get, and second-hand material will do, provided it is firm; in fact, weather-beaten canvas is preferable, as it has a smoother and more pliable surface. To insure its setting firmly and smoothly make four gores along the upper edge on each side and sew them firmly. Sponge the canvas off on both sides with water, and while damp tack it along the gunwale, allowing the stem and stern-posts to protrude half an inch. Use galvanized iron or copper tacks, and do not be afraid of putting them too near together. If you don't use plenty of tacks there will be danger of a leak. Now turn your boat right side up again, and as the canvas dries it will tighten and set with a firm surface. Have the canoe dry in the sun if possible.

Before tacking on the deck canvas, give the inside and outside of the hull a liberal coat of a mixture composed of three-quarters boiled oil to one-quarter raw oil, with some patent drier. This acts as a filler for the canvas, and makes it water-tight. When this has become perfectly dry, apply two coats of brown ready-mixed paint for the inside, and two of dark green for the outside. These are serviceable colors. But before applying the last coat of paint, put on a gunwale-waring strip of 1-in.

spruce, and a spruce keel of 1 in. by 5/8 in. As the keel and waring strips are put on after the canvas has been painted, they ought to receive two coats of filler and one of spar varnish. This adds greatly to the appearance of the canoe. It is not advisable for the novice to attempt to manufacture his own paddle. It is cheaper in the end to buy one, and a good paddle is to be had for $3.

[Ill.u.s.tration: S. A. SYME.]

The two scholastic representatives at the Metropolitan champions.h.i.+ps of the A.A.U. held in Syracuse were Syme of Barnard School and Baltazzi of Harvard School. Syme entered as a member of the New Jersey Athletic Club, while Baltazzi wore the winged foot. The latter did not jump to his usual mark, dropping out at 5 ft. 9 in. Some excuse for this may be that he wrenched his ankle at that period of the contest, and could not do better afterwards. But Syme was in better fortune. He contested the low hurdles with Sheldon and Chase, and won. To be sure, Sheldon fell on the eighth obstacle, but Syme breasted the tape nevertheless in 28-4/5 secs. It is encouraging for all lovers of sport to see how the school athletes--the real representatives of the younger generation--are getting in everywhere, and getting in with credit to themselves.

THE GRADUATE.

[Ill.u.s.tration: STAMPS]

This Department is conducted in the interest of stamp and coin collectors, and the Editor will be pleased to answer any question on these subjects so far as possible. Correspondents should address Editor Stamp Department.

The rise in value of many scarce stamps during the past two years has been phenomenal. For instance, the 1 brown, 1878 issue, with anchor water-mark, in unused condition. Two years ago this stamp could be bought for $15, whereas the last copy sold of which I have any record brought $250. The one s.h.i.+lling 1862, with white line across the corners of it, unused, was catalogued at $50, a little more than a year ago, but to-day would probably bring $300 at auction. The curious thing about this stamp is that hitherto not a single copy has been found in used condition. Without the white line this stamp used is worth fifteen cents, and hundreds of thousands were sent to this country every month for three years (1862-65).

The finest and most complete catalogue of U.S. stamps from 1853 to 1870 has just been published in England at ten s.h.i.+llings. The work is ill.u.s.trated by numerous plates and fac-similes, and it takes note of the most minute varieties. It was written by Gilbert Harrison, who possessed at the time of his death the finest collection of U.S. envelopes ever made.

Active steps have been taken to form a list of those philatelic pests, "speculative" issues which threaten to bring stamp-collecting into disrepute. Quite properly the initial steps have been taken in London, as some of the earliest as well as latest offenders in this respect have been some of the colonies of Great Britain. All the so-called Chinese local stamps, the San Marino Jubilee, St. Anthony Jubilee of Portugal, as well as many of the surcharged colonial stamps, should be avoided by every collector. The money spent on them is simply thrown away.

C. A. S.--The 1834 dime is catalogued at 40c., in fine condition; 20c., in fair.

M. S. S.--Fifty cents a thousand.

H. F. COOPER.--The Paris and London prints are much finer than the Belgium and Athens prints. The same plates being used in both places.

W. T. BLACKWELL.--"Re-engraved" stamps mean those stamps of which the original die having been somewhat worn by the many transfers, has its lines deepened. The result is always a commoner-looking stamp than the original, and if the same ink is used, the re-engraved looks much darker and heavier. An article on the different kinds of paper will probably be printed soon.

J. HARING.--Probably no $1 U.S. coin was issued in 1904. The die was prepared but not used. About fifty years ago the die disappeared from the Mint, but was returned after an interval of some months. Ever since that time, at long intervals, one of the coins comes upon the market. The first one brought $1000, the last one about $500.

A. R. KETCHAM.--Always send a 2c. stamp if you wish an answer, or, still better, a self-addressed stamped envelope.

PHILATUS.

BOUGHT HIS OWN FURNITURE.

An amusing story is told of a gentleman living in London. As the anecdote goes, it seems that he had a pa.s.sion for the purchase of second-hand furniture at auctions, and that in making "good bargains" he had filled his house with antiquated and almost useless articles. Upon one occasion his wife took the responsibility, without consulting her husband, to have a portion of the least useful of the pieces removed to an auction-room to be sold. Great was her dismay when, on the evening of the day of the sale, the majority of the articles came back to the house. The husband had stumbled into the auction-room, and, not knowing his own furniture, had purchased it at a better bargain than at first.

INDIA-RUBBER BAIT.

According to a Troy fisherman, the latest triumph of Yankee inventive genius is an India-rubber fish-worm. It is said to be a remarkably good imitation of the common earthworm, is indestructible, and in actual use proves as alluring to the fishes as the genuine article. The old fisherman will be quick to see its advantages. One can equip himself for a day's sport without digging over a whole garden in his search for bait. A handful of India-rubber worms will last him a whole season, and there will be no necessity for pulling up the line every few minutes to see if the small-fry nibblers have left the hook bare. It is possibly hardly necessary to add here that the fisherman who tells of this invention may be like other fishermen, in which case the reader need not believe the story unless he wants to.

QUICK WIT.

A comedian in a French theatre once made a great hit out of a painful accident. One day, while indulging in a bit of horse-play on the stage, he hit his head violently, entirely an accident, against one of the pillars of the scene on the stage. On hearing the thud everybody uttered a cry. "No great harm done," said the comedian, "Just hand me a napkin, a gla.s.s of water, and a salt-cellar." These were brought, and he sat down, folded the napkin in the form of a bandage, dipped it in the gla.s.s, and emptied the salt-cellar on the wet part. Having thus prepared a compress according to prescription, and when every one expected he would apply it to his forehead, he gravely rose and tied it round the pillar. The effect of his action was such that every one set him down as the readiest and wittiest man in his profession.

THE FIRST TELEPHONE.

The Sheffield _Telegraph_ gives the following interesting account of the first telephone of which there is record:

The first telephone that was ever used was not electrical, nor was it a scientific instrument in any sense of the term. A little more than fifty years ago the employees of a large manufactory beguiled their leisure hours by kite flying. Kites large and small went up daily, and the strife was to see who could get the largest. The twine that held them was the thread spun and twisted by the ladies of the village.

One day to the tail of the largest kite was attached a kitten, sewed in a canvas bag, with a netting over the mouth to give it air. When the kite was at its greatest height, some two hundred feet or more, the mewing of the kitten could be distinctly heard by those holding the string. To the clearness of the atmosphere was attributed the hearing of the kitten's voice. This is the first account we remember of speaking along a line.

ADVERTIs.e.m.e.nTS.

Highest of all in Leavening Power.--Latest U. S. Gov't Report.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Royal Baking Powder]