Fix your gear into the case in such a position that the keel of the boat will be 7 in. above the floor of the box, and bend the starting lever so that the scoop will be the same distance from the floor and front of the box as in the former case. You have now to make the sea. Get a piece of silk of the kind called Persian, dark green or ‘undecided’ blue, about 18 in. square, and in the middle of it cut a slit 6 in. long, and in this slit fasten the hull of the boat with glue, puckering up the silk, to form the waves on the sides of the vessel. Crumple the whole of the silk into miniature waves, and glue the edges round the edges of the case and to the strip of wood fastened across the front 7 in. from the floor. Touch the crests of the waves with white paint. The silk waves will rise and fall with the motion of the vessel, and appear themselves to be the cause of that motion. If the silk has a tendency to drop in, it can be supported by a floor-board, 7 in. from the bottom, with a hole cut in the centre 5 in. long and 2 in. wide for the boat to work in, and a slot cut for the wire K, [Fig. 6]. Be very careful that all the joints and connections work easily, or a jerky motion will be the result.
Wind up the works and drop in a penny, and the lever hook will be lifted out of the escapement wheel, and round will go the pulleys, causing the little ship to pitch and roll till the slot A comes round again, when down falls the lever hook and stops the movement. The pace of the movement can be regulated by the angle of the fans of the fly catching more or less air.
As the minute spindle revolves twelve times, the pulleys will revolve only once, which will give about seventeen revolutions each time of winding.
Dancing ‘Niggers.’
[Fig. 9] is a view of a case of dancing ‘niggers,’ and is easily made. In the sketch the figures are one-third the real size.
Fig. 9.
The case measures 9 in. high, 7 in. wide, and 7 in. deep. The back forms a hinged door by which you can get at the gear. The slit for the penny is in the top, and near the right-hand back corner. The legs of the right-hand figure are both made separate from the body and jointed at the knees. They are fastened to the body by small pins, to allow of free working. This figure you must strengthen by glueing a piece of wood behind it 1 in. long, 1⁄2 in. wide, and 1⁄4 in. thick. The other figure has only the left leg moveable, and must not be jointed at the knee. Glue a strip of wood about 1⁄2 in. wide and 1⁄4 in. thick right up the back of this figure, and glue it to the floor board. The left leg must have a similar piece of wood glued behind it, and projecting 1⁄2 in. longer at the thigh end. Fix the leg to the body by a small pin, for it to work freely on, and in the piece of wood projecting fix, at right angles, a piece of wire about 2 in. long, and cut a curved slit in the background for this to work in, when the figure is about 1 in. from it.
This background you must make out of cardboard, and fix about 3 in. from the front of the case, which is glass. The background you can paint to any design you please, such as a street scene, or on the sands, and the floor to correspond.