Materials Required:—

A quantity of reeds or thin straight twigs, a piece of cork, strong string.

This is made of dry reeds or any other light straight sticks—bamboo is good. It may be made of any size and may even be made large enough to carry one or more persons, if the size and strength of the branches and lashings is duly proportioned, but for a toy reeds will do nicely. Lay down first the crossbar beneath the raft and then space out the raft itself to fit it, leaving a little space between each reed. Take a strong thin string and fasten it with a tight loop over the end of the first reed, turn it down and round the lower cross-spar, and then up and around the upper one, and lay in the next reed, and so on. When the first row of lashings is done lay on the second pair of crossbars, and if there is any difficulty about lashing the string a large darning-needle may help you, but if the lashing is done in the right direction this is not needful. If a mast is wanted, a reel, or a cork with a hole in it, may be lashed down to the raft as in the diagram, and the mast can be set firmly into this.