The record-union., 1897-10-20
KITE CUTTING.
MURDERoUS LOOKING INSTRU-
MENT USED.
introduced at a Northern Resort
by a Justice of the SUI
preme Court.

Mary an old heart has been made
young again of late by the discovery
that kite flying can now be fndulged in
by others than boys without loss of
dignity. What was once merely pas
time has now been reduced, or ad
yanced, to a science. In the city, of
course, no one but scientific men, or
such as pursue their amusements un-
der the guise of science, have been able
to play with kites They have sent
them up from the roofs of tall build
ings and told us how they contrived to
avoid being dragged off and dashed to
pieces On the paving stones; how the
reels or windlasses were handled; how
much superior piano wire is to rope
when one wishes to put up a flight of
kites a-tandem, and all that sort Of
thing. Ali this without causing the
hearts of mature readers to beat any
quicker. At the summer resorts this
summer it has been different. One tug
at kite string changed staid men into
boys again, and awakened memories of
arts ard articles which had been put
aside for a generation or more. Grown
ups" not only asked permission to feel
how she pulled" but sent their busi
ness cards travelling up the string as
messengers, and tried their hands at
kite making.
OF course Difference had to be paid
to the scientific spirit which had
brought so delightful a privilege to the
old boys: and so before they began the
construction Of the old fashioned types
which they had known in boyhood-
bows, four and six cornered-some ex-
perimaQted with the new tangled things
with which military men and meteoro-
logical sharps are amusing themselves
and calling the sport scientific investi-
cation. These are the Hargrave, cellu-
lar or box kites, and the Malays, which
look like an old style four cornered or
diamond kite, save that they are made
to siy without tails by putting the
cross stick near the top and binding it
so rs to permit the covering to bag.
1t would perhaps not be fair toward
science to quote the opinions of the
old boys as to the comparative excel
lence of the new tangled flying ma
chimes and the kites of their boyhood
days. but it was noticeable at one of
the resorts on the Maine coast, at
least, that several grown ups wearied
of the scientific things and turned to
the old styles with enthusiasm. Then,
| too. the writer got acquainted with g
singular instrument and learned how
| the Tug of kite could arouse ambi-
tions that had long been dormant. In
| a group of men watching a kite that
had been put up for their entertain
/ af hn
| Court of the United States, the Chief
| Justice of the Supreme Court OF New
| England State and the President of the
Louisiana Cane Growers Association
| The kite was Of the six cornered type
| and had been built and put up by
Louisiana man. 1t behaved brilliantly,
| and the Justice felt State pride we'll
| ing UP within his breast as he came
| forward to ''see how she pulled" The
| New Ergiander confessed with due hu-
militv that though he had invented a
| corn PLANTER as a boy, he had never
made a kite that could have compared
with the New Orleans specimen soar
ing hundreds Of feet above him.
| '.That's the kind of kite that can fly!"
said the Justice of the Supreme Court,
holding to the string. Doesn't she pull?
Now we ought to have cutters on her
tall
naught of cutters, but the President OF
| The men from the North knew
| the Cane Growers Association explain
ed and demonstrated. He got a cham
pagne bottle that must have been cast
M by the sea chow else should II nave
reached the shores of Rockland Har-
bor?). and, seating himself by a stone,
began tapping the bottle against II. he
worked with great care and patience,
| and when he had done the greater part
of the bottle had been reduced to tiny
hits. From the heap he selected
dozen flakes of glass which We're more
o.. lass crescent shaped and had sharp
edges on their concave sides. These
he nlaced. concave side upward, IN a
wien of broom straws, and fastened
them firmly by winding twine around
tba visn A day or two later the Kite
a,,ars ~ the beach were made to realize
tt.a wonderful effectiveness of the
graceful but murderous looking lnstru-
ment when attached TO the tan u q
| kite. .t
In New Orleans, it appears pa
of the amusement of kite flylng cohslS.s
in ar,ning the kite tails with THESE eu'-
! ters and sending them up TO CUT ',le
| tvvine of other kites hfgh III tue on /.
| Sometimes a number or KITES wiz y
similarly armed, and pitched oattles aie
then fought, the boys nlaiieuse .ns
one against the other FOR posit.u,,s t,sa,,.
which shall enable them 10 urop 60 el.e,a
! kite tails across a rivaPs strlns, -
his is accomplished, slight pun senos
the pitc upward. and the pits ol cies
cent SHAPED glass do their WORK.