CHAPTER IX.

AVIARY.

The outside dimensions of the rustic aviary shown by Figs. 111 and 112 are--length, 3 ft. 2 in.; width, 1 ft. 6 in.; height, 1 ft. 10 in.

Hazel sticks, with the bark on, should be used, the straightest obtainable being best for the frame; if at all crooked or bent, the sticks can be straightened by steaming, or, if not too dry, by the heat of a spirit lamp.

Four uprights, 1 ft. 5-1/2 in. by 5/8 in., are first cut; then six rails, 1/2 in. thick, are made, with the ends shaped as shown in Fig.

113, to fit the uprights, measuring 2 ft. 10 in. inside the hollow ends when finished. Four of these should be laid on the bench side by side, and marked with a pair of compa.s.ses for the wires, which are 5/8 in.

apart. They are then drilled, the holes being bored right through the two sticks for the top rails, but only half through the bottom rails. If the stuff is not too hard, the holes may be pierced with a well-sharpened brad awl.

The uprights are now secured to the rails with 2-in. wire nails, driven so as to avoid the holes (see Fig. 114), and glue is applied at the joints. The bottom rail is flush with the lower ends, the next one being placed 1-1/2 in. above it; the third is 1/4 in. from the top ends. These form the front and back frames, and should be quite square and out of winding. The rails for the ends, also six in number, measure 1 ft. 3 in., and are bored and fixed to the uprights to correspond with the others in exactly the same way.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 111.--Front Elevation of Aviary.]

The two rails supporting the tree perches are placed about 7 in. from the ends. Before they are fixed, however, the tree perches must be arranged. These should be cut from the limb of a leafless tree, in winter, in order to retain the bark. Suitable pieces may be prepared by cutting off badly placed twigs and fixing them where required. They are then put on the perch rails, employing the same joint as the rails and upright, but securing with a strong screw.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 112.--End Elevation of Aviary.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figs. 113 and 114.--Details of Joint of Rails and Uprights for Aviary.]

When all is ready, the perches are fixed in the framework (see Figs. 115 and 116), and narrow strips of 1/4-in. board are fitted between the lower rails of the back and ends, to be faced with split stuff, put on diagonally as shown in Figs. 111 and 112. The best plan would be to take a sufficient quant.i.ty of material to the nearest sawmill to be divided by a circular or band saw; the material must be free from grit, or objections will be raised against cutting it.

A stain, made by thinning down brunswick black with turps, should be at hand to stain the wood before fixing on the split stuff, which is secured with fine panel pins.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 115.--Part Sectional Plan of Aviary.]

The wood bottom is 3 ft. 1-1/2 in. by 1 ft. 5-1/2 in. by 3/8 in.; it is planed both sides, and secured in place with screws. The top side is treated round the margin, as shown in Fig. 115, and the under side as shown in Fig. 117. The centre of the design of the under side, covering a s.p.a.ce of 2 ft. 3 in. by 8 in., is worked first; it is worked from the centre outwards, each strip being mitred as shown. The marginal strips are pieces of split cut slanting at the ends where they fit other pieces, and flush with the edge of the wood bottom, which is surrounded with the same stuff.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 116.--Cross Section of Aviary.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 117.--Half Under View of Bottom of Aviary.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 118.--Construction of Door Wires for Aviary.]

The wiring is all straightforward work. The wires are pa.s.sed through the top rails to those below and clipped off level at the top. Six feeding-holes are required, one in the centre at each end, and two at the back and front close to the perches. The top ends of these wires are pushed up through the rails; the circular ends are slightly sunk and fixed with small staples. Six wires are omitted from the middle of the front to allow for the door. The cross-wires, which should be of a stronger gauge, are then put in. In the back and ends it is immaterial whether they are put inside or out, but at the front they must be inside. The six wires above the door are inserted in twos, being returned in the same manner as the lower ends of the door wires (see Fig. 118), and soldered to the cross-wire, which is afterwards bound to the others with thin pliable coil wire. In making the sliding door, the returned ends of the wires are soldered to the base wire inside, so that the ends may fit round the wires of the doorway; the top ends fit round those above the cross-wire, and when the door is in place a scroll-piece is soldered on outside (see Fig. 111).

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 119.--Part Longitudinal Section of Aviary.]

Eight corner-pieces of the split stuff are put on close against the wires, being secured to the uprights and rails with pins. Two pieces of 1/4-in. board are next got out for the top, measuring 2 ft. 10 in.

long, 4 in. across the centre, and slanting at the upper edge to 1/4 in.

at the ends. The design is worked on these in split, the boards being kept in place with pins driven through the top rails, and the back and front connected at the top point by a length of wood of 2-in. by 1-in.

section (see Fig. 119). The roof-pieces, 1 ft. 5-1/2 in. by 1 ft. 7-1/4 in. by 1/4 in., are nailed on and covered with split stuff, as shown by Fig. 120.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 120.--Half Plan of Aviary Roof.]

A sliding bottom or tray is required for cleaning purposes; this is of 1/4-in. board, and is nailed to the strip that fits between the rails in front; other strips about 1 in. wide are nailed on the upper side at the extreme ends and back edge to form a tray for the sand, runners being put in against the lower end rails. The front strip is treated with the split, and to draw out the tray, the door may be slightly raised to admit the fingers to push it forward from the inside. Two additional perches put across from the wires, and fixed with staples, give strength to the front and back.

The aviary is now gone over with fine gla.s.s-paper, all white places being touched up with the stain and nicely varnished, with the exception of the perches. The aviary will stand on a table, but may be hung from the ceiling if desired. For hanging purposes, four screw-eyes are put in the top, two on the ridge, about 3 in. from the front and back, and one towards each end, placed midway to catch the rails. The four ceiling hooks should screw into the joists, the aviary being suspended with chains.

CHAPTER X.

FOOT-BRIDGES.

Very pleasing effects may be produced in public or private recreation grounds by the constructional use of rustic work of good design.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 121.--Rustic Foot-bridge.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 122.--Cross Section of Foot-bridge.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 123.--Enlarged Section of Girders for Foot-bridge.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 124.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 125.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figs. 124 and 125.--Parts of Joint of Post and Girder.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 126.--Detail of Middle Rail and Post of Foot-bridge.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figs. 127 and 128.--Joint of Strut to Post of Foot-bridge.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 129.--Twig Hollowed to fit Rail of Foot-bridge.]

Fig. 121 is a perspective view of a rustic foot-bridge suitable for a span of 8 ft. or 12 ft. The banks of the stream to be bridged are excavated to allow of the building of a low rubble wall, on which the sleepers rest, as shown in Fig. 122. The girders are formed of spruce or larch spars. In the present instance, four are used; and they may be 8 in. or 10 in. in diameter, according to the length of the span. They are roughly adzed down to sit on the sleepers, and each girder is also worked down tolerably flat on the inner sides. The girders are then bolted together in pairs with six 3/4-in. diameter coach bolts, as shown by Fig. 123. The posts are tenoned and wedged to fit mortices in the girders. Figs. 124 and 125 show the mortice and tenon joint.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 130.--Elevated Foot-bridge.]

The posts and top rails are 4-1/2 in. or 5-1/2 in. in diameter, and the intermediate rails 3 in. in diameter. Fig. 126 indicates the method of jointing the rails to the posts. The girder spars, with posts and rails fitted, having been placed in position on the sleepers, and plumbed up and stayed, the floor battens, 11 in. by 2-1/2 in., are fixed and the struts are fitted and pinned or spiked to the posts and sleepers. The joint for the struts is shown by Figs. 127 and 128.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 131.--Girder and Post of Elevated Foot-bridge Bolted to Sleeper.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 132.--Cross Section of Elevated Foot-bridge at Lower Step (Fig. 130).]

If the bridge happens to be in a locality that is subject to periodical flooding, it should be anch.o.r.ed to prevent its being unseated by flood water. The anchoring can be best effected by driving four short piles into the soil on the inside of both girders and near their ends. The girders can be fastened to the piles with coach bolts. The tops of the piles will be concealed by the end floor battens. The smaller twigs forming the ornamentation are now fixed, and Fig. 129 shows the vertical piece hollowed to fit the rails.

Fig. 130 gives a part view, in longitudinal section, of an elevated bridge, suitable for a span of 12 ft. to 18 ft., and raised on piles to enable small boats and canoes to pa.s.s under. Elm logs are suitable for the pile foundation. An iron ring must be fitted over the tops of the logs while they are being driven, and it will be necessary to use a pile-driver. The logs, having been sufficiently driven, are cut off to the required height from the ground line. Three piles on each side are required to carry the sleepers. The bridge is 5 ft. 6 in. wide, and the spars for girders are 12 in. in diameter. The sleepers are bolted to the piles, and the girders are also bolted to the sleepers as shown by Fig.

131. A row of smaller piles is now driven, and a plank, 11 in. by 3 in., is housed to the top ends of these piles, and also connected to the projecting ends of the girders. The treads of the steps rest upon the tops of the smaller piles, and the outer side of the piles and planks is covered with split saplings (see Fig. 130, and the cross-section, Fig.

132). The handrails and bal.u.s.trades are fixed in similar manner to those in Fig. 121.

CHAPTER XI.