But little description either of the Common Whistle, or of how to make it, is necessary, it being so well known. The tin whistle can hardly be made except with the aid of expensive tools, but it may be purchased at a very trifling cost. No lad, however, need be without a whistle even when no toy-shop is near. A good whistle may be made out of almost any straight piece of scooped-out wood, the model of the tin whistle being adhered to as closely as possible. A nice piece of elder neatly carved and plugged may even be made to do duty for a miniature flute, and so made, various notes are to be extracted from it.
CRACK LOO.
See "[Brother Jonathan]."
CUP AND BALL.
The Cup and Ball has long been a favourite toy. It consists of a stem of ivory or some hard wood, one end of which is pointed, while to the other is fixed a small shallow cup. To the stem an ivory or hard wood ball is attached by means of a piece of string, and in one side of the ball a hole is drilled into which the pointed end of the stem fits. The game is, when the ball is loosely attached to the stem, to throw it up so as to catch it either within the cup at the one end of the stem, or on the point at the other end, the latter feat being by far the most difficult. To accomplish this, the stem is to be held lightly in the right hand; then make the ball revolve by twirling it between the thumb and forefinger of the left hand, and when its motion becomes steady, throw it up with a slight jerk of the right wrist, and as it descends endeavour to catch it in one of the ways just mentioned. Calculate well the length of the string in throwing up the ball, so that it is not thrown to the full length of the string, or it will be almost impossible to succeed in catching it.
Cupolette.
CUPOLETTE.
Although its warmest admirers will hardly maintain that the game of Cupolette requires much skill, yet it succeeds in affording considerable amusement. The materials for the game are a board with a number of sunken and differently numbered cups, a ball for each cup, and a movable arm, which is attached to the board, and from which a ball, heavier than the other balls, is suspended by a cord. The play commences with the balls placed in the cups; the first player then turns the arm to any position he prefers, draws the suspended ball out to the full length of its cord, and allows it to swing back, so as to strike one or more of the balls out of the cups. Each ball knocked out scores one point; a ball struck out of one cup and into another scores the number of points indicated by the number of the cup; a ball struck off the board is lost and scores nothing. Each player is entitled to four strokes, and each player, as it becomes his turn to play, replaces all the balls as at first, and proceeds as above. A game is usually either sixty-one or a hundred and one, according to the number of players. Sides may be formed if it is desired.