Putting the Kites to Work.
Bill tested the strength of the kite once by hooking a spring scale to the
kite string. The scale was made to register weights up to 25 pounds. But
our kite yanked the pointer immediately past the 25-pound mark as far as
it would go. We judged from this that the kite would lift at least 40
pounds. Such a pull as this it seemed a pity to waste, but how to utilize
the power was a problem until one day, when the kite was soaring up on a
south wind, Dutchy suggested that we tie it to one of the canoes and go
sailing upstream. We tried the trick at once, but it didn't work very
well, because the canoe was too light. The kite would drop unless there
was a heavy pull on the string. We had better success with the scow,
however, which provided a sufficient drag on the kite, and with the two
kites to pull us we sailed a long ways upstream, drifting down with the
current when we had gone as far as we cared to.
[Illustration: Fig. 243. The Scow Towed by Kites.]
The Diamond Box Kite.
Professor Keeler also gave us instructions for making a diamond-shaped
box kite, and though we never built one, it may not be amiss to publish
his instructions here. I quote from the chronicles of the S.
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