FOR THE LITTLE ONES.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 242, 12 October 1929, Page 3 (Supplement)

FOR THE LITTLE ONES.

w 4 WHEN YOUR SHIP COMES HOME. HOW TO UNLOAD HER CARGO. My Dear Little Friends, — Have you ever been down at the wharves when the big ships which come to us from very distant lands are unloading their cargoes? If you haven't, you've missed something worth seeing. First a big hook at the end of a thick wire comes slipping towards the ship out of the sky, one might think, until upon looking aloft one sees the criss-crossed metal arm of a monster crane. Into the hold of the ship the hook disappears, and for a moment the wire is still. But not for long. As soon as a package has been fastened to the hook, the piachinery is once more in motion, hauling the of the ship and lowering it to the wharf, where busy workers cart it off to the sheds or pack it on motor lorries, to ' be driven off to some place in the city. If you possessed a model crane you could have lets of fun. The kitchen table, a couple of chairs, or even an empty box, could become the wharf, and a mat or a piece of paper the ship from which cargoes are to be taken. Toy motor cars and trains coulJ be used, and during your play hour the scone would be equally as busy as the wharves in town when many large stea lers are at berth. Quite a nice crane can be made with the aid of two small cardboard boxes, a short strip of wood, a couple of hairpins or pieces of soft wire, and P>j a length of cotton yf thread. Taking one box, cut a square hole in the end of it, near the bottom, just big enough to allow the end of the wooden arm to be pushed through. In the centre top edge of the opposite end of the box cut a small hole in which the stick may rest when the end is pushed through the small square cut for it. In this position the stick and box will immediately suggest the shape of a crane. Straighten out a hairpin and break a short length from it, twist one end of it about the end of the arm from which the" "rope" is to hang, and bend the overlapping piece to form an eyelet, or "pulley," to take the "rope." A wire handle to wind the thread upon is twisted from another piece of hairpin, and is pushed through the side* of the box an inch or so from the end. A thread of 3trong cotton is tied securely to the centre of the "winder," and the loose end is threaded through a hole punched in the cardboard just above the arm of the crane, and led through the wire loop at the tip of the arm. There a hook is tied to it, so that packages can be more easily fastened to the crane. The second box, which must be the same size as the first one, is filled with some heavy substance, and the "crane" is firmly stuck to it with glue. The model is then ready for use, and no matter how soon your ship mi./ come home you will be prepared ® unload her precious cargo.

Peter