HOW TO SEND UP A KITE.

There is only one way to learn the practical art of kite-flying, and that is to begin and do the thing yourself—­with many mishaps and disappointments at the outset.  One of Mr. Eddy’s practices when sending kites up in very light winds or in an apparent calm, is to reel out two hundred yards or so of cord in a convenient open space, leaving kite and cord on the ground until ready to start.  Then, by taking the cord at the extreme distance from the kite, and beginning to run with it, he gets it quickly into the upper air currents, which are always stirring more than those at the surface.  It is sometimes necessary to run for a considerable distance before the kite reaches a sustaining current; but a real kite enthusiast will not mind taking trouble; indeed he had better abandon the whole business if he does.  It is worth noting that even in a dead calm a kite may be kept up indefinitely as long as the flyer is willing to run with the cord at the rate of about five miles an hour.

In flying kites tandem there is always to be guarded against the danger of a breaking of the cord.  Few people realize how hard a pull is exerted by a series of kites well up in the air.  A strain of twenty-five or thirty pounds on the cord is not uncommon; and not only the strength of the cord, but the way of attaching it, is of great importance.  There should be two strings (never more), fastened to the upright stick at its lower end and at the point of crossing, the upper length being about one-third of the lower one, and the two being adjusted so that, when taut, the kite takes an angle of about twenty degrees with the ground—­which means that the kite goes up almost straight overhead, the string making an angle of about seventy degrees with the ground.

[Illustration:  THE HARGRAVE BOX-KITE.

It was by kites of this variety, flown in tandem, that the inventor, Hargrave, was lifted sixteen feet from the ground on November 12, 1894.]

In sending up a series of kites to fly tandem, it is best to head the line with a small kite, three or, four feet in diameter, and gradually increase the size until a diameter of six feet is reached for the one sent last.  This arrangement makes it possible to hold the upper kites by lighter cord, the heavier kites being reserved for the half of the line nearest to the ground; and thus there is a material lessening of the load to be borne.  The first kite should be well up, say five hundred feet, before the second is attached to the line.  But after that they maybe sent at closer intervals, sometimes with only a few hundred feet between them—­say two hundred feet in light winds, and five hundred feet in heavy winds.  Each kite in a tandem should have a length of at least one hundred feet of cord from the main line, and great care should be exercised in knotting fast the individual lines.