The Boy's Own Book of Indoor Games and Recreations / A Popular Encyclopædia for Boys - C. Stansfeld Hicks; John Nevil Maskelyne; Gordon Stables

These articles can be readily obtained at any ironmonger’s or smith’s, except the emery-paper, which an oilman would supply. The thick wire should be about as thick as a thin knitting-needle, the other wire, as it is for binding purposes, should be as thin as possible; so also should the zinc; the hinges ought to be about an inch long; the iron bar will be described as hereafter.

The following are the sizes and descriptions of pieces of wood for a cage 18 in. long by 13 in. high and 10 in. deep:—

Framework.
A.	11		inches	by	18		inches.		Bottom.
B.	10		„	„	12	¹⁄₂	„	-	Ends.
B´.	10		„	„	12	¹⁄₂	„	-	Ends.
C.	5		„	„	18		„		Front half of cover.
D.	3	¹⁄₂	„	„	18		„		Upper half of back.
Sleeping-boxes.
E.	6	¹⁄₂	inches	by	17		inches.		Bottom.
F.	3		„	„	17		„		Front.
G.	4	³⁄₈	„	„	3		„	-	Divisions.
G´.	4	³⁄₈	„	„	3		„	-	Divisions.
Doors.
H.	9		inches	by	18		inches.		Lower part of back.
K.	4	⁷⁄₈	„	„	5	³⁄₈	„	-	Cover of sleeping boxes.
K´.	4	⁷⁄₈	„	„	5	³⁄₈	„
K´´.	4	⁷⁄₈	„	„	5	³⁄₈	„

The wood should be ¹⁄₂ in. thick. The cage that I made, and which was a very neat one, was formed from a box and some loose pieces of wood obtained from a grocer for 4d.

First of all the pieces B B should be nailed at the ends of A, leaving 1 in. of A projecting at back, and then from the top of each of them a strip 5 in. by ¹⁄₂ in. should be cut, so that the piece C can now be nailed to join the ends and form front half of cover; across upper half of back we will next nail D: the framework is thus finished.

Now let us make the sleeping-boxes. First we must with a centrebit bore three holes an inch in diameter in piece F for entrances to nests; then let us nail G and G´ on one side of F to divide sleeping-box into three equal compartments; to these we should next nail E, projecting 1⁵⁄₈ in. beyond F to form run in front of nests. Two holes should then be bored with a bradawl near the front edge of this run, opposite middle hole to F, to receive ends of ladder, which will be described hereafter. Next we must tack a strip of zinc along this run with eight or nine tacks, punching small holes just above those bored with bradawl; then nail the sleeping-boxes thus made to B B´ and D as shown in drawing, leaving a slit of ¹⁄₈ in. between F and back edge of C through which a piece of zinc 4 in. by 17 in. is to be slipped, to keep the mice in their boxes while cleaning out the cage. The ends, bottom, and large door should then be lined with zinc inside, leaving a space of ¹⁄₂ in. all round front of cage, where the wires are to come; and just under the holes bored in the run outside sleeping-box punch two others the same distance apart in the zinc which lines the bottom—these are to hold the lower spikes of the ladder. The zinc should be tacked down as much as possible as well in the middle as at the edges, having holes punched in it for the tacks to go through.

Now bore holes ¹⁄₄ in. apart along C, and same in but not through A, about ¹⁄₄ in. from front edge of each, then cut off from your wire enough pieces 12³⁄₄ in. long to go through these holes, which will be about sixty-eight in number. Let the wood of A be quite ¹⁄₂ in. thick or a little more, so that the wires can have as much hold in it as possible. Straighten your wires, emery-paper them, and push them through the top holes, and bring them down to the corresponding ones in the bottom; then fix two longitudinal wires from B to B´ across the front of the others, and bind these upright wires to them with the pliant wire.

Hinge the doors to D, as shown in drawing, and splay front edge of each of small doors, K, K´ and K´´, and top edge of F, so that these doors may shut closely. Each small door should also have a hole made with the centrebit in the middle, and a piece of perforated zinc should be tacked over them inside to ventilate the nests. We now come to the ladder. Get two pieces of wood 8³⁄₄ in. long by ¹⁄₄ in. broad and ¹⁄₄ thick, and make holes every ¹⁄₂ in. along them, and in each end of them bore a hole, and drive a piece of thick wire ⁵⁄₈ in. long in all these end holes, leaving ³⁄₈ in. projecting from top ends, and ¹⁄₄ in. from bottom; then break off enough pieces 1 in. long to go into remaining holes of one of your sticks, and drive them in, but not so as to come through the other side; then drive the other ends into the remaining stick, and your ladder is finished. The boat-swings can be easily made in the same manner after looking at drawing, and fastened at the top of the wire that they are hung by with two staples to floor of sleeping-box. The fastenings can be made from staples, those marked a for large door, and b for small doors; the hooks of a should be put a little lower than middle of large door and the catches in ends of cage.

Thin strips of zinc should be tacked in any places where the mice could gnaw the wood.