Harper's Outdoor Book for Boys

Camping in the mountains, fields, and forests is one of the most delightful features of life in the summer-time. But a good deal of the fun depends upon doing things the right way.

Every boy knows how to go a-fishing, but an intelligent boy is not long in learning that the mere getting of a lot of fish is a small part of the pleasure. That is why he prefer...

Since home is the natural centre of life, it will be most helpful if we find out what we can do just outside the house. In large cities there is usually no front yard, and even...

Of all the things that a boy is interested in there is nothing more fascinating than boats, whether they are to row, paddle, or sail in, and, as many of the simple kinds are qui...

The ship kite (Fig. 1) is an odd shape for a wind-toy but a good sailer in any breeze. It is quite easy to make and requires but one mast, four yard-arms, a keel, some thin, str...

Most boys are interested in pet animals, and at one time or another possess them. Cats and dogs are domesticated and will always stay about the house if they are properly cared...

From the time of the earliest habitation of the earth, nature’s great forces, wind and water, have been employed to furnish power for man’s uses. Wind engines and mills for moti...

A house-punt of very simple construction is shown in Fig. 1. The punt is from sixteen to twenty-four feet long according to the size desired, but for a party of four boys it sho...

It has become a habit with me when walking in the woods to keep a sharp lookout for stocks for walking-sticks, so that in the course of many years I have got together quite a un...

To have a flying-machine is the dream of every boy. To build a large one is exceedingly difficult, but a small one run by a rubber band can be easily constructed. You will not b...

The ways of trapping are as various as the ingenuity of savage or civilized man can devise. I like best the traps that one can make. They seem to give the animal a fairer show;...

The most delightful season in the woods, throughout the northern and middle parts of the United States, is during the summer months, and in the South right up to Christmas; whil...

A few years ago the only kind of yacht known to the boys were those that sailed in the water, but in this advanced time, when many unheard-of things have been made possible, the...

All real boys welcome the approach of the winter season with its glorious opportunities for sport on the snow and ice. Toboggans, double-runners, skees, and snow-shoes—the very...

Every boy is interested in fire-engines and fires, and in the absence of the real thing there is a great deal of fun to be had in playing fire. The regular steam apparatus is ra...

For travelling over the ice there is nothing to beat an ice-yacht, and some that have been constructed on the Hudson River are of gigantic size and power. Boats of this kind, an...

Ropes may be joined to one another either by knotting or by splicing. If the rope belongs to the running rigging (such as halyards, sheets, etc.) of the vessel, it will be neces...

For safety on the water, as nearly as safety can be assured, there is nothing to compare with a catamaran, for they are practically “non-capsizable,” and if not damaged to the l...

For the back yard, or in the fields and woods near the house, a summer-house or pergola will be found a comfortable nook in which to spend many pleasant hours.

All boys like to play about the water, and dams and water machinery afford an endless amount of amusement. Moreover, the pastime has its useful side. Once you get a wheel in ope...

Sail-skating is a very enjoyable means of getting over the ice, and with properly constructed frames and sails a very respectable rate of speed can be maintained. In using a sai...

TWO HALF HITCHES (Fig. 31).—This is an exceedingly simple way of fastening a rope, and it has the double advantage of being proof against jamming. Take a turn around the object...

“How to do it,” might very well be the title of this new handy-book for American boys. It is first and last a practical guide, based upon the experience of those who have done w...