A SHUTTLECOCK

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 86, 2 July 1927, Page 27

A SHUTTLECOCK

W r ith about a dozen small quill feathers and a large cork, you can make a splendid shuttlecock. Take the feathers and, with a sharp pair of scissors, cut them down till they are three inches long. Cut from the lower part, so that the quill is left quite bare. Then cut the quill to a sharp point, and trim off the top of the feather to make it round. In this way you use the stiffest part of the feather. Then you need a nice smooth cork that measures about ljb inches across the top. With a sharp nail or a metal skewer, make some small holes close together around the outside edge of the cork. Place them as near the edge as possible, but not so near that the edge of the cork is broken. Dip the point of each quill into some gum and set into a hole. Arrange your feathers so that each one just slightly overlaps the next one. When they are all in place, take some strong thread and twist it in and out of the feathers, right at the bottom against the cork. Tie very tightly. Then twist another line of thread a little higher up where the plume part of the feather begins. Now place your shuttlecock in a safe, dry place till next day, when it will be dry and ready for play. RIDDLES Why is the sea like a cake?—Because it is often stirred and contains currents' Why should you go to bed after tea? —Because when T is taken away, night is nigh.