Page:The American Boy's Handy Book edition 1.djvu/226

when it does come down it sometimes comes with force enough to cut a small dog almost in two.^[1] Select a large open field where the ground is soft and there is no one around to be hurt. In such a field you may amuse yourself by the day throwing these curious weapons, and you can in this manner learn how to make the boomerang go through all manner of the most indescribable movements seemingly at your bidding.

here represented is supposed to be cut out of a card. The shape given in the illustration is a very good one, but it may be varied to an almost unlimited degree. Card boomerangs over an inch or so in length do not work well, but they may be made very much smaller.

One of these tiny instruments cannot be grasped by the hand, but when it is to be launched upon its eccentric journey Image missingFig. 125.Miniature Boomerang. the toy should be laid flat upon a card, allowing one end to project from the side as in Fig. 125. Take hold of the lower left hand corner of the card with the left hand, and with the forefinger of the right hand fillip the boomerang, striking it a quick, smart blow with the finger-nail, and the little missile will sail away, going through almost the same manœuvres that the large wooden boomerang does when thrown from the hand. Small boomerangs can be whittled out of a shingle with a pocket knife, and considerable amusement had with them; these small affairs can be thrown on the crowded playground, where it would be exceedingly dangerous to experiment with the larger and heavier club before described.