How to Tie a Square or Reef Knot
Fig. 25
Once upon a time a little girl was carrying a bundle of cookies by the string, when suddenly the knot slipped and the cookies rolled in every direction, over the sidewalk and into the street. If the baker's wife had known how to tie a square knot instead of that useless "granny," the accident would never have happened. I wonder if you have ever had an experience of this kind. If so, I am sure you will like to learn how to tie the ends of a piece of string together so that they cannot slip.
Fig. 26
Take the ends of a piece of string, one in each hand. Cross them and bring the upper end down under the long end of the other piece (see Fig. 25). Now turn it back in the opposite direction above the first part of the knot, to make a loop, and pass the other end down through it (see Fig. 26). In this way each end of the string will come out beside its own beginning.
Two Hitches
There is no simple knot that you will find more useful than the half hitch. It is described in the directions for making the game of Floor Baseball in Chapter II. Two of these half hitches, side by side, are called by sailors a "clove hitch." In making nets this clove hitch is used to attach the first row of meshes to the top line or head rope, as it is called.