At the same time that the boy develops his mind he should develop his body. Gymnasium are not always available for the boys who like exercise. An equipment of horizontal and parallel bars, horse and rings and dozens of other things, is expensive, if all the parts have to be purchased. Two or three boys with a few simple tools and the necessary lumber, bolts, and rope, can make a first-class gymnasium. The lumber should be purchased, if possible, squared and cut to length. Horizontal Bar. The most important piece of apparatus in the gymnasium is the horizontal bar. As many boys may not have place indoors for this apparatus, set it up outdoors. Once we have accomplished that much, we shall find it easy enough to bring it indoors if necessary, or set up a new one. The material we need is as follows: two pieces of wood, 4 in. square by 9 1/2 ft. long; 4 pieces, 1 in. by 7 in. by 6 1/2 ft. long; 4 pieces, 3/4 in. by 3 in. by 3 ft. 9 in. long; and 1 piece, 2 1/2 in. square by 5 ft. 7 in. long. This last piece should be well-seasoned, straight-grained hickory, to make a bar. For the other pieces it is best to use cedar, as that wood rots very slowly, but ordinary yellow pine will do very well. If possible, the four 7 in boards should be of hard wood. Besides the timber you need 2 bolts, 1/2 in. in diameter, and 7 in. long; 16 screws, 3 in. long; 4 heavy screw eyes with two 1/2 in. shanks; 50 ft. of heavy galvanized wire; 80 ft. of 1/4 in. manila rope and 4 pulley blocks. Four cleats are also needed; these can be made at home. Draw a line on the four 7 in. boards along the side of each from end to end, 1 1/4 in. from one edge. Beginning at one end of each board make 8 pencil dots on this line 5 in. apart. Bore holes through the board at these points with a 9/16 in. bit. Fasten two of these boards on each post with the 3 in. screws, as shown in the top view, forming a channel of the edges in which the holes were bored. Two of the filler pieces should now be fastened in each channel so as to make the space fit the squared end of the bar. The ends of the boards with the holes should be level with the top of the post, so that each pair of holes in the 7 in. boards coincide. Dig two holes 6 ft. apart, each 3 ft. deep, and remove all loose dirt. Set the posts in these holes on bricks or small stones. A mixture of one part cement, two parts sand and three parts small stones will make a better foundation. Be careful that not too much water is used in mixing. The channels formed by the boards must be set facing each other with the inner surfaces of the posts parallel, 5 ft. 8 in. apart. Fill in the holes and tamp the ground well. Each post must be well braced to keep it rigid while a person is swinging on the bar. Place four anchors in the ground at the corners of an imaginary rectangle enclosing the posts, so that the posts are 8 ft. from the short sides and 1 1/2 ft. from the long sides. These anchors may be made of pieces of wood 2 ft. square, around whose center four strands of heavy galvanized wire are twisted, then buried to a depth of 2 ft. The wires should be carried above ground at an angle of about 45 degrees. The heavy screw eyes are turned into the posts at the top and lengths of rope tied to each. These ropes or guys pass through pulley blocks, which are fastened to the projecting ends of the anchor wires, and return to the posts where they are tied to cleats. Do not tighten the guy ropes without the bar in place, as to do so will strain the posts in the ground. For the same reason do not change the elevation of the bar before slacking up on the ropes. For the bar you have secured a long hickory piece, which should be planed, scraped and sand-papered until it is perfectly smooth and round, except for 3 in. at each end. Through both square ends bore a hole to admit the 1/2 in. bolts which will hold the bar in place. The bar should be oiled and reversed occasionally to keep it from curving and drying. To set up such a horizontal bar indoors is just as easy. The posts should be 3 ft. shorter. Instead of the anchors we should use heavy screw eyes, which need not be set as far apart as the anchors were outdoors. To hold the posts in position you need L-shaped iron braces such as can be bought at any hardware store. Parallel Bars. Exercises on parallel bars are among the best means for the development of the back and shoulders. One can make a set of these bars with very little trouble, if one has or buys the following material: 4 posts, preferably cedar; 4 in. square and 6 ft. long; 2 base pieces, 4 in. square and 5 ft. 6 in. long; 2 cross braces 2 in. by 4 in. by 2 ft. 2 in. long; 2 side braces 2 x 4 by 7 ft. 8 in. long; 4 knee braces 2 x 4 by 3 ft. 8 in. long; 2 bars; 2 bars of straight-grained hickory 2 x 3 by 10 ft. long; 4 wood screws 6 in. long; 4 bolts, 8 in. long; 8 bolts, 7 in. long; and one dozen large spikes. First bevel the ends of the base pieces at an angle of 60 degrees. Chisel out two notches, 4 in. wide and 1 in. deep, beginning at a point 9 in. from either side of the center; these are to receive the lower ends of the posts. Bevel the two sides of one end of each post down to a width of the finished bar--a little less than 2 in. Cut notches in these ends to receive the oval bars. Bevel the ends of the knee braces, and fasten the lower ends to the beveled ends of the bases with spikes. The upper ends of the knee braces should be fastened to the uprights with 8 in. bolts put through holes bored for the purpose. It will be best to countersink the heads of the bolts--that is, they should be below the surface. With 7 in. bolts fasten the end braces with their top edges 2 ft. 6 in. from the bottom of the base. Drive nails slantingly into the ends of the posts, merely to hold them to the base while the apparatus is being handled. Now we must dig two parallel trenches, 2 1/2 ft. deep, about 5 ft. long, and 7 ft. apart, for the end braces and two more trenches just deep enough to hold the side braces. These side braces should be bolted to the posts just below the cross braces, so the bolts in both will not meet. The bars should be dressed down so that a cross section is oval as shown in the end view. Use the 6 in. screws to hold these to the notched uprights. Countersink the holes so that they can be filled with putty after the screws are in place. It would be wise to oil the bars with linseed oil to protect them from the weather. It is not necessary to use dressed lumber from the mill for this apparatus, except for the bars. If mill-cut lumber is used, it should be undressed, and if round is used, it should be left with the bark on it, to protect it from the weather. If the timbers, except the bars, are painted, the wood will last for years, but even unpainted cedar is very durable. The Horse. The horse may be used as an obstruction over which to leap, slide, or swing, and also as an artificial back for a peculiar style of leap frog, and many other games which boys are constantly devising. First, one must secure one-half of a tree trunk from a tree 9 in. to 15 in. in diameter--the larger the better--and 5 ft. to 6 ft. long. The round part must be planed, scraped and sand-papered until it is perfectly smooth. Make two parallel saw cuts 2 in. apart, straight down in the round surface of the log until each cut is 9 in. long. 18 in. away make two more cuts of the same size. Chisel out the wood between each pair of cuts and insert the two hand holds, which should be made of two pieces of 2 x 4 x 9, cut rounding on one edge. Nail these handholds in place. The body of the horse should be fastened to the posts so that its height may be adjusted. Two posts are needed, 4 in. square by 5 ft. long; 2 adjusting pieces 2 x 4 x 3 ft. 3 in. long; 1 cross brace 2 x 4 x 3 ft.; 2 bases, 4 in. square by 3 ft.; 4 knee braces, 2 x 4 x 3 ft.; 2 one-half inch bolts, 9 in. long, to fasten the knee braces at the top; ten 1/2 in. bolts, 7 in. long, 4 to fasten the knee braces at the bottom, 2 to fasten the cross brace, and 4 to fasten the adjusting pieces to the posts. Cut mortises, that is, cut out notches, on the bases so that the bottom ends of the posts are exactly in the middle; then cut a slanting notch 6 in. from each end for the knee braces. Bevel the ends of the knee braces, put them in place and fasten with bolts, the upper ends with a 9 in. bolt, the lower with a 7 in. bolt. Beginning 1 1/2 in. from the top, at intervals of 3 in., bore 5/8 in. holes through each post parallel to the base. Nine or ten holes will be enough. The adjusting pieces should be bored in the same manner, then mortised into the flat side of the log 15 in. from each end and secured with screws put through the top and into the end of the adjusting pieces. When the posts and knee braces have been securely fastened to the bases, these should be buried 2 ft. 4 in. in the ground, parallel to each other at the same distance apart as the adjusting pieces mortised in the horse top. Then bolt the cross brace with its lower edge resting on the ground. After the ground has been tamped hard the horse is ready for use. The height of the horse is adjusted by changing the bolts in the different holes connecting the two adjusting pieces with the two posts. All sorts of jumps and leaps will be devised to keep the horse in constant use. With some slight changes any of these pieces might be used indoors. The uprights would be shorter by so much as is now buried in the ground. The braces would have to be bolted at different angles. Probably the bases would have to be fastened to the floor to keep the uprights from upsetting. The apparatus bought for regular gymnasiums is made with heavy metal bases, but our apparatus will do fully as well if it is fastened to the floor. If we can weight it in some way, so much the better. Whatever we do we shall be sure to enjoy making the apparatus, and once it is made, how much prouder and happier we shall be than if we had bought everything readymade. Dumb-Bells. No gymnasium, whether indoor or outdoor, can be complete without a pair of dumb-bells. Any boy can make as many as he wants. First get two large tin cans--such as a quart fruit can--and cut out the ends. Shape four round pieces of wood just large enough to fit tightly in the ends of the cans. Then cut a hole in the center of each just large enough for the bar, which may be any piece of hard wood from 12 in. to 18 in. long. To one part of cement and two parts of sand add water till the sand and cement have thoroughly mixed. Pack this mixture tightly into the cans and insert the wooden disks in the ends. Push the hardwood bar through the holes in the inside disk so that it runs past the center of each can of cement and leaves a proper length of rod between. The two inner disks should first be strung on the bar and a few nails driven into the cement to give it a good grip. After several days the cement will be dry. Then remove the tin and wooden disks. The cement may now be filed into any shape desired. If a dumb-bell of this kind is not heavy enough it may be weighted with stones or metal mixed in the cement and sand.