be explained very well. This must be done by experimenting and it
is enough to say that the kite must balance perfectly. The string
is fastened by a slip-knot to the band and moved back and forth
until the kite flies properly, then it is securely fastened.

A reel is next made. Two ends--the bottoms of two small peach
baskets will do--are fastened to a dowel stick or broom handle, if
nothing better is at hand. These ends are placed about 14 in.
apart and strips nailed between them as shown in Fig. 4, and the
centers drawn in and bound with a string. The kite string used is
generally a heavy packing thread. This is run through a thin flour
or rice paste until it is thoroughly coated, then it is run
through a quantity of crushed glass. The glass should be beaten up
fine and run through a fine sieve to make it about the same as
No.2 emery. The particles should be extremely sharp and full of
splinters. These particles adhere to the pasted string and when
dry are so sharp that it cannot be handled without scratching- the
fingers, therefore the kite is flown entirely from the reel. To
wind the string upon the reel, all that is necessary is to lay one
end of the reel stick in the bend of the left arm and twirl the
other end between the fingers of the right hand.

A Chinese boy will be flying a gaily colored little kite from the
roof of a house (if it be in one of the large cities where they
have flat-roofed houses) and a second boy will appear on the roof
of another house perhaps 200 ft. away. Both have large reels full
of string, often several hundred yards of it. The first hundred
feet or so is glass-covered string, the balance, common packing
thread, or glass-covered string. As soon as the second boy has his
kite aloft, he begins maneuvering to drive it across the wind and
over to the first kite. First, he pays out a large amount of
string, then as the kite wobbles to one side with its nose
pointing toward the first kite, he tightens his line and commences
a steady quick pull. If properly done his kite crosses over to the
other and above it. The string is now payed out until the second
kite is hanging over the first one's line. The wind now tends to
take the second kite back to its parallel and in so doing makes a
turn about the first kite's string. If the second kite is close
enough, the first tries to spear him by swift dives. The second
boy in the meantime is see-sawing his string and presently the
first kite's stri