length for a youth should be from four and a half to five feet; the most finished have their ends tipped with horn (fig. 2).

Arrows are generally made of white light wood, such as deal, ash, &c.; the most finished are varnished. The length of the arrow must be in proportion to the size of the bow; the nicks of the best are cased with horn, and should fit the string exactly. The principal thing

FIC 3.

to be attended to is that they are perfectly straight, and the feathers can be tied with a piece of strong thread, the lower portion being about half an inch from the end; a grey goose feather is the best of all for the purpose.

FIC.

It is not necessary for the young archer to have all the equipments of a complete bowman; our object being to give such directions as will enable him to make a bow and arrow, and use them properly. Having made these, he must have an object to shoot at, and that is generally a target (fig. 4). They are made of plaited straw bands wound round a centre and sewn together; over

this is placed paper or canvas, and painted white; a series of four circles is then painted upon it at equal

distances, the inner one is called the bull's-eye, and the great object is to hit this if possible.

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Position in shooting (fig. 5). The archer taking his stand before the target, his face being a little inclined to the right, turning slightly round so that his eye and the target are in a direct line; the body perfectly upright, with the left foot slightly in advance and holding the bow horizontally in the left hand, the fore-finger holding the arrow secure on the wooden part of the bow, in the centre-the right hand fixing the nick of the arrow on the string where it is held fast between the first and second

finger, the fore-finger of the left hand is next removed from the arrow, the centre of the bow grasped tightly, gradually raise the bow with the left hand, at the same time pulling the string by the right, and when the arrow is drawn about two thirds of its length, the nick of it should be brought close to the right ear, and the aim taken; this must be done quickly, and it can only be done well by practice.

THIS is a common sport among boys, more particularly in the country; it has a great advantage in being easily made with a common knife. The piece of wood which is called the "cat" is about six inches in length, and from one and a half to two inches in diameter, gradually tapering from the middle to each end.

The cudgel with which the game is played is about the length and thickness of a common hoop-stick. The player taking this in his right hand strikes one end of the cat smartly, which causes it to rise in the air, high enough to be struck before it again falls to the ground.

There are several ways of playing the game of cat. The most common is to make a ring, selecting a piece of flat ground; one boy holds a piece of string that will make the circle required at the centre, and another one takes the extremity of the line, and with a piece of chalk he walks round and forms the ring; the

player takes his stand in the middle, and his business is to strike the cat outside the ring; should he fail in doing so he is out, and the next player takes his place. If successful, he judges with his eye the distance the cat is driven from the centre of the ring, and calls for a number to be scored to his side; if the number named be found to exceed the same number of lengths of the stick, he is out; if, on the contrary, it does not, he obtains his call.

Another game is to make six or eight holes in a circular direction, and at equal distances from each other; at every hole the players take their stations, with their sticks; one on the other side tosses the cat to the nearest batman, and every time the cat is struck the players must change their positions, and run once from one hole to another. If the cat is sent a great distance, they continue to run in the same order claiming a score towards their game every time they change from one hole to another. If the cat is stopped and thrown between any two of the players, and it crosses him after he has left one hole and before he reaches the next, he is out.

POP-GUN.

SELECT a straight piece of an old branch of the elder-tree; cut it about six or eight inches long. The pith in the inside is then forced out with an iron ramrod, or one made of hard wood turned or cut to this shape.

The Pellets are made with moistened tow or brown paper; when the pellet is prepared it should be laid over the mouth of the gun in sufficient quantity to require squeezing or plugging in. The first pellet must be driven through the gun to its other end, and the second again driven in a similar manner. When forced through the gun, the air between the pellets being incompressible beyond a certain point, forces out the lower pellet with a loud pop, from which the name of pop-gun is taken.