in Fig. 94; then make two T-braces, like the one in Fig. 94 _A_,
of two-inch planks with braces secured by iron straps, or use heavier
timber, and bolt the parts together securely (Fig. 93), or use logs and
poles (Fig. 94), after which hang these T's over the ends of your two
cross sticks, as in Fig. 94, and spike the uprights of the T's securely to
the tree trunks. On top of the T you can rest a two-by-four and support
the end by diagonals nailed to the tree trunk (Fig. 94) after the manner
of the diagonals in Fig. 95. You will note in Fig. 95 that cleats or
blocks are spiked to the tree below the end of the diagonals in order to
further secure them. It is sometimes necessary in a two-tree house to
allow for the movement of the tree trunks. In Florida a gentleman did this
by building his tree-house on the _B_ sills (Fig. 94) and making them
movable to allow for the play of the tree trunks. Fig. 96 shows a two-tree
house and Fig. 97 shows a thatch-roofed cottage built among the top
branches of a single tree.

It goes without saying that in a high wind one does not want to stay long
in a tree-top house; in fact, during some winds that I have experienced I
would have felt much safer had I been in a cyclone cellar; but if the
braces of a tree-house are securely made and the trees selected have good,
heavy trunks, your tree-top house will stand all the ordinary summer blows
and winter storms. One must remember that even one's own home is not
secure enough to stand some of those extraordinary gales, tornadoes, and
hurricanes which occasionally visit parts of our country.

Since I published the first plans of a tree-top house many people have
adopted the idea and built quite expensive structures in the boughs of the
trees. Probably all these buildings are intact at the present writing.

The boys at Lynn, Mass., built a very substantial house in the trees, and
the truant officer claimed that the lads hid away there so that they could
play "hookey" from school; but if this is true, and there seems to be some
doubt about it, it must be remembered that the fault was probably with
_the schools_ and not the boys, for boys who have ingenuity and grit
enough to build a substantial house in a tree cannot be bad boys;
industry, skill, and laborious work are not the attributes of the bad boy.

Some New York City boys built a house in the trees at One Hundred and
Sixty-ninth Street, but here the police interfered, claiming that it was