A _swing_ is a very useful adjunct to the amusements of the country, as many grown-up people are as fond of swinging as children. The most simple kind of swing is formed by tying the two ends of a strong rope to the branches of two trees which may chance to be conveniently placed for the purpose, the rope having been previously passed through two holes in a piece of flat board, which serves for the seat. A swing of this kind requires no attention but turning the seat the wrong way upwards in wet weather, and taking the rope down in autumn, as it will become rotten from exposure to the wet during winter. The seat should also have two strips of wood nailed on its under side, across the grain of the wood, in order to prevent it from splitting open, which it would otherwise be very likely to do, from being exposed to the alternations of wet and dry weather. Where there are no trees conveniently situated for a swing, two upright pieces of wood may be driven into the ground, with hooks or rings affixed to the upper part, to which other hooks are attached that have been previously fastened to the ends of a strong piece of rope. A swing of this kind is generally furnished with a chair or boat, and it is more fitted for a court or some piece of enclosed ground than for the open pleasure-ground. At the Duke of Devonshire's, at Chiswick, a hammock is hung between two trees for the purpose of a swing. If you have a _boat_ on your water, take care, when it is chained up in the boat-house, that it floats in water, and does not lie in mud. Pleasure-boats should be painted every year, and always be kept perfectly clean and dry in the inside. They should never be exposed for any length of time to the heat of the sun, and if the smallest opening is perceived it should be mended immediately. Great care should be taken, in a small pleasure-boat, to stand up as seldom as possible; and never to be tempted by the wish of seeing any particular object, to rush suddenly from one side of the boat to the other.