Page:Kitecraft and kite tournaments (1914).djvu/30

22 perhaps 300 feet, and are then attached to the main kite line. Boys sometimes succeed in pulling up as high as forty kites on one line by this method. Another very interesting and beautiful series is the Chinese dragon kite type. In this a number of kites are harnessed together with about three cords running from head to tail.

These various groups will receive more explicit directions in separate chapters as we proceed. So far in our analysis we have been dealing with kinds of kites as to construction. There will be a number of chapters on various other features of kite work and accessories, including, Kite Decoration, Messengers, etc. The Chinese and Japanese people have been making kites a great many years and have become very skilful workers and decorators. Their decorations seem to tend more toward the dipicting of ugliness and fierceness instead of beauty and color harmony, altho many of the color combinations are very effective. The tendency toward fierceness can well be understood when we consider that it has a part in their religion, it being supposed that such ugly monsters helped to drive away the evil spirits.

The large Japanese square kite, which is rectangular in shape instead of square, usually has a big head with plenty of the whites of the eyes and teeth showing. Some very fine specimens have been exhibited at our "Kite Tournaments". They expend quite freely in making up their kites, use costly ornaments and considerable gilt and black. The gilt is usually very good that is used.

While the orientals have shown us some stunning effects in decoration, I believe that the future will show some results of color harmony and artistic spacing that will be much superior to theirs. We are busy as yet trying to master the kite craft from the constructive and flying side, but we are getting on, even on the decorative side as well.

We are now ready to discuss variety in the next chapter.