d up a kite without a tail. But the question is
now no longer even open with the scientific kite-flyers, who not
only send up tailless kites with the greatest ease, but do so under
conditions which, to kites with tails, would be impossible: for
instance, in dead calms and in driving hurricanes. The tailless kite,
sent from the hands of a master, will fly in all winds.

It is true that kites with tails have given good results in
experimental work; but the tails are annoying and an unnecessary
weight, and may better be dispensed with. Every boy has had the
vexatious experience of sending up a kite in a light breeze with a
tail made light in proportion, only to find that, on reaching stronger
air currents above, the kite has begun to dive and grow unmanageable.
Then, when he has taken the kite down and added a heavier tail, he has
found the breeze at the ground insufficient to lift the extra load;
and so, between two difficulties, has had to give up his sport in
disgust. This is the one serious defect of kites with tails, that
they cannot adapt themselves to wind currents of varying intensities;
whereas the tailless kites do so without difficulty. And in tandem
flying, which is the backbone of the modern system, the weight of a
half dozen or more heavy tails would be a serious impediment, to
say nothing of the perpetual danger of the different tails getting
entangled in the lines.

HOW TO MAKE A SCIENTIFIC KITE.

It is important, then, to know how to make a scientific tailless kite,
such as is used by the experts at the Smithsonian Institution, or at
the Blue Hills Conservatory near Boston, for it must not be supposed
that kite-flying is merely an idle pastime; it is a pleasure doubtless
for boys, but it is also a field of serious experiment and observation
for men. The information I here present, including practical
directions as well as interesting theories, was obtained from Mr. Eddy
himself, and may be regarded as strictly accurate.

[Illustration: Frankfort Street. PHOTOGRAPHIC VIEW FROM A KITE.

This view, from a photograph taken from a kite by Mr. W.A. Eddy, New
York City at the crossing of Frankfort and William Streets.]

It is much better for amateurs to begin with a kite designed to fly in
strong winds, as it is a long and delicate task to learn to manage the
variety with extra wide cross-stick meant for ascension in calms. The
two sticks which form the skeleton should be of equal lengths, say six
feet;