EASY GAMES WITH TOYS
INDOOR.
There are many elaborate toys which are not included under this head, as they are always sold with printed directions for using them. The games which follow are played with toys of the simplest construction, many of which may be easily manufactured by the reader.
BATTLEDORE AND SHUTTLECOCK.
This game is so well known as to require but little remark. The Battledores may be purchased at the toy-shops, as may also be the Cocks; but many of our young friends who know anything about carpentry may easily make both for themselves. The Battledores can be cut out with a key-hole saw into the subjoined shape. They should be about a quarter of an inch thick, the handles about six inches long, and the “spades” of about five inches long, and five broad. The Shuttlecock may be made by cutting a piece of cork into the following form, and placing a small brass nail at its lower end. The top should be plumed with five feathers standing outwards from the rim, being fastened by a little gum into small holes cut therein. The practice of the game is for two players to beat the Cock backwards and forwards from one to the other, and the one that lets it fall, by failing to strike it with his bat, is to give to the other a pea, bead, pin, or some other small article. Some foreigners, particularly the Chinese, play at this game with the toes, hands, elbows, and other parts of the body, and will keep the Cocks up in a most amusing manner, in the midst of many grotesque gestures.
BANDILOR.
This toy is simply a wheel or pulley of hard wood, having a very deep groove, round which a strong but fine cord is wound. The player holds the free end of the cord between his finger and thumb, gives a rapid rotatory motion to the bandilor, by allowing it to fall towards the ground; by a sudden jerk he now tightens the cord in the groove, and the toy rises towards his hand. A little practice will enable any one to keep the bandilor in motion for a considerable time by causing it to rise and fall alternately.
CUP AND BALL.
A ball of ivory or hard wood is attached to a stem of the same substance, having a shallow cup at one end and a point at the other. The player holds the stem in his right hand, as shown in the figure; and, having caused the ball to revolve by twirling it between the finger and thumb of his left, he jerks it up and catches it either in the cup, or upon the spike, to receive which a hole is made in the ball. We need scarcely say that the latter feat can only be performed by a skilful player. Cup and Ball was the favourite pastime at the court of Henry III. of France.
THE CUTWATER.
The Cutwater is a circular piece of sheet lead, notched like a saw round the edge, and having two holes pierced in it at some distance from each other, through which is passed a piece of string, the two ends being afterwards tied together. The annexed figure shows this toy, and the way it is to be held by the player. To set the Cutwater in action, the double string must be alternately pulled and slackened. Every time the string is relaxed the disc revolves, in consequence of the impetus it has acquired from the previous pull; and every time the string is tightened, it whirls round in an opposite direction, as the double string is then untwisted. If the edge of this toy be dipped in water, it may be made to sprinkle the bystanders and the player; hence its title of “Cutwater.”
FOX AND GEESE.
Fifteen ordinary draughtsmen compose the flock of geese. The fox may either be two draughtsmen placed one upon another, or any small object which may be at hand. The game is played on a board marked as shown in the annexed engraving. The fox is placed in the middle of the board, and the geese on the points on one side of it, as shown in the illustration. The game is to confine the fox to some spot on the board, so that there shall be either the edge of the board or else two rows of men round him. When the fox cannot escape, the game is done, and the player of the geese wins; but when one of the geese is left on a point next to that occupied by the fox, and is not supported by another goose behind, or by the edge of the board, the fox can take it, and by jumping over its head to the next space, he may, perhaps, escape the persecutions of some of the others, as all the geese are compelled to move forwards towards the end of the board that was unoccupied at the commencement of the game. The fox is allowed to move either backwards or forwards. Neither fox nor goose must be moved more than one space at a time. If the fox neglects to take when he has a chance, he is huffed, and one of the captured geese is restored to the back of the board. The fox should avoid getting into the lower square of the board if possible, as he will find it difficult to extricate himself from a position which can be so easily blockaded.
There is another method of playing fox and geese on a chessboard; namely, with four white men, representing the geese, and one black one, representing the fox.
The geese are ranged on the four white squares nearest one player, and the fox may be placed where his owner pleases. The best place for him is that marked in the diagram, as he can manœuvre in a very puzzling way.
The geese can only move forward, and the fox moves either way. The object of the geese is to pen up the fox so that he cannot move, and the fox has to break through.
If the game is properly played, the geese must win, the secret being to keep them all in line as much as possible. The fox tries to prevent this plan from being followed up; and if he can succeed in doubling the geese, or getting one to stand before another, he is nearly sure to pass through them.
GOOSE.
To play at Goose a board must be made containing sixty-three circles, placed so as to form some resemblance to the shape of a goose, and numbered consecutively. Two dice and a box, and as many counters as there are players, are required. Each player in turn throws the dice, and according to the number he throws, so he reckons, counting from No. 1, and placing his counter on the number he obtains. The player who first reaches sixty-three wins the game. But mark; he must throw sixty-three exactly, or else he has to count the surplus number back from sixty-three. For instance, suppose when at sixty he throws eight, this makes sixty-eight, five over sixty-three. The player must, therefore, take five back from sixty-three, and leave his counter at fifty-eight. The game is called Goose from the fact that a goose is usually drawn on every fourth and fifth ring; and the player who lands on one of these, scores double the number he has just thrown. Several obstacles occur, however, on the journey. On one ring is drawn a bridge, to pass which a toll of one counter must be paid. A little farther on is an inn, where the player halts for two turns and pays two to the pool; but if he fall into the pond, the unfortunate wight has to stay there until another player tumbles in too, when he is allowed to proceed on his journey. The last hindrance is a gloomy prison, in which the same rule holds good, except that the relieving party, instead of going on as in the case of the pond, remains in durance vile until somebody else enters the prison-house. Other obstacles may be inserted at the players’ option.
HEAD, BODY, AND LEGS.
One player takes an oblong piece of paper, and having divided it into three equal parts by folding, he sketches a comic head, either with pen or pencil, in the upper space; he then doubles the paper over, and hands it to another, who draws a body in the middle compartment, folds the paper over once more, and passes it to a third, who completes the figure by drawing a pair of legs in the lower space. The player who draws the head, must continue the neck a little way into the middle space, and he who sketches the body must just commence the legs in the lower compartment; this arrangement insures the connexion of head, body, and legs. Our first illustration shows how the paper is to be folded over for drawing the different parts of a figure. Each player should be provided with a pen or pencil, and a few pieces of paper; having drawn a head, he should fold his sketch in a proper manner and pass it to his right-hand neighbour; in this way a number of figures may be finished simultaneously. A knowledge of drawing is not expected of any player, as the crudest notion of a head, a body, or a pair of legs, will fully meet the requirements of the game. Those who have never played at Head, Body, and Legs, can have no idea of the absurd combinations that spring from the independent labours of the different players; thus, a man’s body will sometimes get joined to a donkey’s head, and be supported by the legs of an ostrich.
KNUCKLE-BONES.
This game is played with five little bones from a sheep’s trotter. One player tosses up the knuckle-bones, sometimes one at a time, sometimes all together, and catches them either in the palm or on the back of his hand, according to certain rules. Should he fail to perform one of the tricks properly, he must hand the bones to his opponent, who attempts to go through the same series of manœuvres with them. When the first player regains the bones through the unskilful play of his adversary, he once more attempts the feat he failed to accomplish before, and if he succeeds he tries to pass through the subsequent stages of the game. The player who first arrives at the end of the regulated series of tricks wins the game. It would be impossible to give the reader a clear idea of the manner of performing each trick without the aid of diagrams. In almost every school may be found an experienced player at knuckle-bones, whose directions will be of more value than any remarks we can make, though we were to devote a couple of pages to this pastime. In some parts of England a similar game, called “Jackstones,” is played with small round pebbles.
MERELLES, OR NINE MEN’S MORRIS.
This is an ancient English game, and ought not to be laid aside; so we resuscitate it for the benefit of young England. It used to be played in England on the ground with stones, but may be played best on a table indoors. The form of the merelle-table, and the lines upon it, as it appeared in the fourteenth century, are here represented. These lines are still the same. The black spots at every angle and intersection of the lines are the places for the men to be laid upon. The men are different in form and colour, for distinction sake. The manner of playing is briefly thus: Two persons, having each of them nine pieces, or men, lay them down alternately, one by one, upon the spots; and the business of either party is to prevent his antagonist from placing three of his pieces so as to form a row of three without the intervention of an opposing piece. If a row be formed, he that made it is at liberty to take up one of his competitor’s pieces from any part he thinks most to his advantage; excepting he has made a row, which must not be touched if he have another piece upon the board that is not a component part of that row. When all the pieces are laid down, they are played backwards and forwards in any direction that the lines run, but can only move from one spot to another at one time. He that takes all his antagonist’s pieces, is the conqueror.
PAPER DART.
To form this dart you must take an oblong piece of paper, and fold it down the middle lengthwise; then double each of the lower corners up to the middle crease, and fold the doubled paper over to the same mark; you must now turn each folded side outwards, and your dart will resemble the annexed figure. The paper dart, when thrown from the hand, rarely hits the object aimed at, as it generally makes a graceful curve in passing through the air. Boys sometimes amuse themselves by fighting sham battles with these harmless weapons.
THE POPGUN.
The best Popguns are made of a strong straight piece of elder-tree, which ought to be cut from an inner branch, and should be about six inches long. The pith of this should be pierced out by an iron ramrod fitting the hole; and when the inside is made thoroughly smooth by rubbing the rod up and down, it is ready for use. The pellets are made with moistened tow--brown paper is a nasty thing to put into the mouth, and we shall never advise the use of it. When the pellet is prepared, it should be laid over the mouth of the gun in such a quantity as to require squeezing and plugging in. The first pellet should be driven through the gun to its other end; the second pellet is to be driven in, in a similar manner to the first, and then it is forced through the gun: the air between the pellets being incompressible beyond a certain point, forces out the lower pellet with a loud “pop;” hence the the term “Popgun,” which has been applied to them. Popgun-playing is not a very healthy exercise, the pressing of the rammer against the pit of the stomach frequently leading to derangement of that organ. To prevent this, the lad who plays at popgun should have a small round board slung over his neck by a string, hanging as low as the pit of his stomach, like a “conductor’s ticket,” against which he should press the handle of his ramrod when he fires off his popgun.
PUSH-PIN.
This trifling game is usually played by two boys. Each player places a pin on the table, and then endeavours to push one pin across the other with his finger-nail; should he succeed, both pins become his property. At starting, the pins must be placed head to head, and the players push alternately. Sometimes each player puts down two, three, or even more pins.
SCHIMMEL.
To play this amusing game, which is of German origin, it is necessary to be furnished with five cards, on which are painted the figures of a white horse, an inn, a bell, a hammer, and a bell and hammer; with eight little ivory cubes marked on one side only, six numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and the other two marked, one with a bell and the other with a hammer; with a box for throwing the dice, a hammer for disposing of the cards by auction, and a proportionate quantity of counters for the players. The cards, dice-box, and auctioneer’s hammer, are shown in the annexed illustration. Any youth who can draw may easily prepare the cards; the cubes may be procured from an ivory-worker’s and may be marked with ink. The game can be played by as many persons as are present. The counters are to be distributed by one of the players who holds the office of cashier, their value having been previously determined upon by the players. This being done, twelve are to be deposited by each player in the pool. The cashier then disposes of the five cards separately to the highest bidders, the produce of which is also to be placed in the pool. The white horse is by far the most valuable card, and therefore fetches the highest price in counters. The inn ranks next, and is usually purchased by the most speculative player, as its value depends upon circumstances. The bell and the hammer generally fetch the same number of counters, these cards being equally valuable, and the card upon which both bell and hammer are painted fetches about half the number that is given for one of the single figures. The bidders are not bound to confine themselves to the number of counters dealt out to them at the beginning of the game; should they exceed it, they may pay the remainder of the debt by instalments out of their receipts in the course of the game.
Each person is at liberty to purchase as many cards as he may think proper.
The dice are then to be thrown by the players alternately, beginning with the holder of the white horse, any one being allowed to dispose of his throw to the highest bidder. When all blanks are thrown, each of the players pays one to the holder of the white horse, and he pays one to the inn. If with the blanks the bell, or hammer, or the bell and hammer together are thrown, the possessor of the card so thrown pays one to the white horse.
When numbers accompany the bell, hammer, or bell and hammer, the cashier is to pay the counters, to the amount of numbers thrown, to the holder of such card, from the pool; but if numbers are thrown unaccompanied, the cashier then pays to the thrower.
When the pool is nearly empty there arises an advantage to the inn, for if a player throws a figure greater than the quantity contained in the pool he pays the overplus to the inn; thus: suppose 4 are in the pool, if the players throws 10, he is to pay 6 to the inn; and if 2 are thrown, those 2 are paid to him from the pool, and so on till a figure is thrown which clears the pool, and so concludes the game.
If all blanks are thrown after the inn begins to receive, the players pay nothing, but the owner of the white horse pays one to the inn; and should the bell, &c. be thrown with the blanks, the holder of that card pays one to the inn; and if numbers accompany the bell, &c. the holder of that card must pay to the inn the number thrown above those remaining in the pool. Nuts are sometimes used as counters, and the players keep their winnings. Sometimes the cashier receives a halfpenny or a penny a dozen for the counters, and when the game is finished the receipts are divided among the players according to their winnings. Those who do not hold cards frequently find themselves richer at the close of the game than their speculative companions, whose winnings do not always exceed the price paid for their cards.
SPELICANS.
Spelicans are made of thin pieces of ivory cut into different forms, some being like spears, others saws, bearded hooks, &c.; of some of the patterns there are duplicates, whilst of others only one. Each pattern has a value assigned to it, the lowest being five, and the highest forty; the numbers do not run in regular succession--as five, six, seven, eight--but irregularly, as five, sixteen, twenty-five. Hooks, made of bone, are used pointers.
The game is played as follows:--One player should take up all the spelicans in a bundle, and holding them at a little height from the table, let them fall down in a confused heap on it; each player must then try alternately to take away a spelican from the heap without moving any of the others, and this it is generally very easy to accomplish at the first, for the top ones are mostly unconnected with the rest, but as the players proceed it requires some tact to jerk them out, with the help of the hook, made pointed for that purpose. The player who, at the entire removal of the heap, has the greatest number of spelicans, wins the game. Should any of the spelicans, while being removed shake the others, they must be put back into the heap again. It is usual in some places, instead of each player removing a spelican alternately, for one to continue lifting up the spelicans until he happens to shake one, when another player takes his turn until he in like manner fails, when another tries his fortune; and so the game continues, until all the spelicans are withdrawn.
Part II
Athletic Sports and Manly Exercises:
INCLUDING
ANGLING, ARCHERY, BOXING, CANOES AND CANOEING, CRICKET, CROQUET, DRIVING, FENCING, FIVES, FOOT-BALL, GOLF, GYMNASTICS, HOCKEY, RACKETS, RIDING, ROWING, SAILING, SKATING, SLIDING, SWIMMING, TRAINING.
ANGLING.
“When I was a mere schoolboy, Ere yet I learnt my book, I felt an itch for angling In every little brook.
“An osier rod, some thread for line, A crooked pin for hook; And, thus equipp’d, I angled In every little brook.
“Where sticklebacks and minnows Each day I caught in store, With stone-roaches and miller’s thumbs:-- These brooks afford no more.
“But I a little angler, With crooked pin for hook, Would shun each noisy wrangler, To fish the little brook.”
What can be more delightful than angling? Not indeed so much on account of the fish we may catch, but for the pleasantness of the recreation itself, for the cool streams, the shady trees, the little sunny nooks, the tiny or gigantic cascades, the meandering rills, the still pools, “with sedges overhung;” the picturesque mill-wheels, the deep mill-ponds, “smooth sheeted by the flood;” and above all, for the hair-breadth escapes, for the duckings, for the hazards, for the triumphs. We do not wonder at boys being fond of angling, it is almost an instinct with them, and has long been a favourite amusement with boys of all degrees, ages and constitutions. Therefore we shall be somewhat comprehensive in our notices of this interesting sport, that every boy who can bait a hook and hold a line may be an angler if he will.
A WORD ABOUT FISH.
First, however, let us say a word about fish in general, before we come to fish in particular. Fish or fishes are, to speak scientifically, a class of vertebrated animals (having a backbone) inhabiting the water; which breathe through the medium of that fluid by means of branchiæ or gills, instead of lungs; which swim by means of fins, and are mostly covered with scales. They are also generally furnished with a white membraneous bag close to the backbone, called the air bladder, by the dilatation or compression of which it is supposed they can rise or sink in the water at pleasure. All parts of their bodies seem to aid them in swimming in the water; their fins, their tails, and the undulation of their back-bones assist progression, and their whole structure is as much adapted for swimming as that of a bird is for flight.
The fins of fish consist of thin elastic membrane, supported by bony rays, and are denominated according to their position--dorsal on the back, pectoral on the breast, ventral near the vent, anal that between the vent and the tail, and caudal the tail fins. The dorsal and ventral fins appear to balance the fish, and the pectoral to push it forward; while the tail fins are the grand instruments of motion, and enable the creature to dart forward almost as rapidly as the bullet from a gun.
With regard to the senses of fishes, the eye holds the first place; but this is best adapted for seeing under water. Of the organ of hearing there is no outward sign. The organ of taste is thought to be very unsensitive, and the sense of touch but slightly developed. To preserve their own existence, and to transmit it to their posterity, seems to be their only enjoyment; they move forward in pursuit of whatever they can swallow, conquer, or enjoy, and their insatiable appetite impels them to encounter every danger, whilst to their rapacity there seems to be no bound. A single pike has been known to devour a hundred roach in three days. The fecundity of fish is prodigious. The number of eggs in the codfish often amounts to more than three millions; those of flounders are above a million, of the mackarel 500,000, of the sole 100,000, and of the lobster 20,000; but the sturgeon is far more productive than any of these, as it has been known to have more than twenty millions of eggs!
Without saying any more about “Fish in the abstract,” as the angler called his “catch,” when he returned without one, we must go to the art of “catching fish;” and the first thing to be attended to is the necessary fishing apparatus, which may be increased to any extent; but the young angler would be wise to limit his stock as much as possible. We have fished many a hundred miles of water, and killed many a thousand of fish, with no better equipment than this:--One rod of about fourteen feet long, with three tops,--one stiff top, for bottom fishing and trolling, and two for fly-fishing. Two reels or winches, one holding a silk and hair line of thirty-five yards in length for fly-fishing, and the other holding a similar line, of forty yards, but much stronger, for bottom fishing, trolling, &c. One moderate-sized creel or fishing basket. One tin bait-box for worms or gentles; one tin live-bait can for carrying pike baits or minnows; and one strong bag for carrying ground-bait. A landing-net; some shoemaker’s wax in a piece of soft leather; a large clasp-knife; a pair of sharp-pointed scissors; a pocket-book, the centre filled with leaves of flannel to hold flies, and the remainder fitted up with gut, hooks, silk, baiting-needles, a pair of small pliers, split shot, floats, &c.
ABOUT THE ROD.
The rod is a material article in the young angler’s catalogue, and much care should be taken to procure a good one. The fishing-tackle shops keep a great variety, made of bamboo cane, hazel, hickory, and other kinds of wood. Rods are of different lengths, some fitted as walking-canes, and others made to pack in canvass bags; the latter are preferred, because you may have them any length, and they are more true. Those made of bamboo cane are the best for general angling; but the rods made of the white cane much superior for fine fishing, particularly for roach, being very light in weight, but stiff.
CHOOSING THE ROD.
In choosing a rod (not a school rod, for no one likes to choose that), observe that it is perfectly straight, when all the joints are put together and that it gradually tapers from the butt to the top, and is from twelve to sixteen feet long. A bad rod is likely to snap in striking a heavy fish. Rods fitted with several tops are at once the best and most convenient. Some anglers have one rod for trolling, another for barbel, perch, or other heavy fish, as well as one for fly-fishing--which boys may have when they become men--but a thoroughly good rod will suit the juvenile for all purposes. We have now one with which we can fish for anything, from a bleak to a pike, by only changing the top and second joints.
A good trolling rod should be made of the choicest stout and well-seasoned bamboo cane, from fourteen to sixteen feet in length. When trolling with the gorge, or live-bait fishing, a long rod is necessary, to enable the angler to drop in his baited hook over high sedges, rushes, &c. as also when the water is bright, for he should then keep as far away from it as he can, which a long rod enables him to do while dipping, casting, or spinning his bait. If either a jack or pike see him, it is very rare indeed that he will take the bait; and again, with a long rod you will be able to drop your baited hook in some very likely place for jack or pike, such as a small hole, division, or clear place among a bed of weeds, in a river or any other water where there are any weeds.
There is some difference of opinion among anglers about the number of rings necessary for trolling rods: those who have their line on a thumb winder, or on a bank runner, seldom place more than two or three rings on their rod, and others have only one large ring at the top; but if a winch is used, there should be a ring to every joint including the butt; make each ring of double twist wire, fixed so as always to stand out, and nearly large enough to admit the top of your little finger; the top joint should have two rings, the top one nearly three times the size of the others; this prevents any obstruction of the line running, which is of material consequence. When not in use, rods should be kept nicely stowed in a moderately dry place, and they ought to be well scraped and revarnished every three years; should the joints become loose by shrinking, they should be slightly moistened. Should any accident befall a rod while fishing, and you should not have a spare top with you, your only remedy will be to splice your rod. To do this the ends of the broken pieces for about two inches must be laid parallel to each other, and then tightly bound together with waxed silk, or very strong yellow hempen twine.
LINES OR BOTTOMS.
Next to the rod the line is of the utmost importance. Good lines should be well twisted. The twisted lines should be made wholly of silk, or silk hair, but those made of gut are the strongest and best for young anglers; the twisted hair are the cheapest, and the single horsehair the finest. The young angler will find a line of about four yards in length the most useful. A single gut line, with a small porcupine float, is commonly useful for general fishing; the plaited silk lines are the best for trolling, and are less inclined to break or tangle than the twisted.
SHOTTING THE LINE
The line must be shotted, that the float may partially sink in the water; and in putting on the shots, place them all together within three inches of the bottom loop of the line; to which loop fix the loop of the hair or gut to which the hook is tied. When you make a line of silk, gut, or hair, remember it must be always finest at the bottom, where the hook is fastened, very gradually increasing in thickness to the top.
THE FLOAT.
There are various kinds of floats, each adapted for different kinds of fishing. The principal are: 1. Tip-capped floats; 2. Cork floats; 3. Plugged floats. The tip-capped floats are made of several pieces of quills, or of reed for the middle, and ivory or tortoiseshell for the top and bottom, and narrow at each end, gradually increasing in circumference to the middle. They are superior to all others for angling in waters which are not very rapid, particularly in roach fishing, as the least movement or fine bite sinks them below the water. The tip-capped float is also best for pond fishing for carp and tench, as it requires but few shot to sink it, and consequently disturbs the water but little when cast. The young angler should note that the caps which fix the lines to the float are not rough at the edge, as this roughness chafes and weakens a fine line; should this be the case, he should smooth them before use. The best caps are made of gutta-percha.
Cork Floats are generally made of quills at the top, with a piece of cork, which is burned or bored in the middle to admit the quill, and then filed or ground down smooth and painted. The bottom is plugged with wood, and has a ring to let the line pass through. Cork floats are well calculated to fish in heavy or rapid streams, as they require a great many shot to sink them, which weight of shot prevents the baited hook from passing too rapidly over the bottom. Cork floats are made of various sizes and forms; instead of common quills, some introduce the quills of the porcupine, which make an excellent strong float. Except for live-bait fishing a tapering cork float is preferable to a round one.
Plugged Floats.--These kind of floats are the cheapest, and made of indifferent quills, some of them of one goose quill with a wooden plug at the bottom, from which they take their name: they are very apt to loosen by the plug coming out. They are often used by the young angler, because they are cheap; but we may say in the words of the ancient Roman, “Bad is the best.”
REELS OR WINCHES.
A reel or winch is a most necessary addition to the rod and line, as it enables you to vary the length of your line at pleasure, and to play your fish. The best winches are those to fix in a groove on the rod, and are fastened with brass ferrules made for the purpose on the butt, because you can fasten such a winch to any sized joint.
There are three kinds of winches, check, multipliers, and plain: the multiplying winch is apt soon to get out of order, unless carefully and constantly oiled, and is otherwise the least efficient and most expensive of the three. I would recommend young anglers at first, to purchase a plain and strong winch, which will answer every purpose, and be much less expensive. A check winch is, however, the best.
REEL LINES
Are mostly made of silk and horsehair, twisted or plaited together, but some are made entirely of silk. I prefer the latter, as it is less likely to twist, runs more freely, and is less likely to rot. The length of lines vary from fifteen to eighty yards; but for general purposes thirty or five-and-thirty yards is quite long enough. The line should always be unwound after a day’s fishing, as, if it is allowed to remain wet on the reel, it soon rots.
HOOKS.
Hooks are to be bought at the angling shops, of all sizes, and suitable for the kind of fish to be caught. There are great controversies among adept anglers about hooks, which are sometimes as violent as those upon politics or religion. Some anglers prefer what are called the Limerick hooks, some the Kendal; while others again prefer the Kirby or Sneckbend. We are hooked to the Kirby, as we consider those to be by far the best for holding the fish--a most important particular. The hooks found most suitable for the following fish are these:--
BARBEL, 1, 7, 8, 9. BLEAK, 11,12, 13. BREAM, 10. CARP, 7, 8, 9. CHUB, 8, 9. DACE, 10, 11, 12. EELS, 8. FLOUNDERS, 3. GRAYLING, 10, 12. GUDGEON, 9, 10. LOACHES, 13. MILLER’S THUMB, 13. MINNOW, 13. PERCH, 7. ROACH, 10, 11, 12. RUDD, 10. RUFFE, 10. SMELT, 9, 10. TENCH, 9, 10. TROUT, 6, 10.
HOW TO BAIT A HOOK.
To bait a hook with a worm, use the following method: First enter the point of the hook close to the top of the worm’s head, and carry it carefully down to within a quarter of an inch of its tail; to do which you must gently squeeze or work up the worm with your left thumb and finger, while with your right you are gradually working the hook downwards. The small lively piece of the worm at the point of the hook moving about will entice the fish; but, mind, if too much of the worm hangs loose, though it may entice fish to nibble, yet they will seldom take the whole in their mouth, so as to enable the angler to hook them; on the contrary, he is frequently tantalized with a bite, and, when he strikes, finds part of his worm gone, and his fish too. Therefore, to bait a hook well with a worm is necessary to ensure hooking a fish when you strike; and it consists in drawing the worm without injuring it (use him as you would a friend, Walton says) quite over and up the shank of the hook, leaving only a small lively part of the tail below. If you bait with half a worm, prefer the tail end, and enter the point of the hook into the top part, and bring it down nearly to the end of the tail, leaving only a very small piece of it loose. If you bait with two worms on the same hook, draw the first up above the shank, while you put the second on in the same manner as directed with one worm, but enter the hook near the tail of the second worm; then draw the first one down on the second over the shank of the hook, and all will then be well covered, and the bait will be a very bon-bon for perch, chub, carp, barbel, and all large fish; but when angling for gudgeon, and other small fish, half a red worm is sufficient, and the tail end is best. If blood-worms are used, put on two or three, in doing which be tender, or you will burst them.
BAITS.
The principal baits are--
1. THE LOB-WORM. 2. THE BRANDLING. 3. THE MARSH-WORM. 4. THE TAGTAIL. 5. THE ASH-GRUB. 6. COWDUNG BAIT. 7. CATERPILLARS. 8. CABBAGE-WORMS. 9. CRAB-TREE-WORMS. 10. GENTLES. 11. CAD-WORMS. 12. FLAG-WORMS. 13. GRASSHOPPERS. 14. WASP-GRUB. 15. COCKCHAFERS. 16. BREAD PASTE. 17. CHEESE PASTE.
1. Lob-worms are found in gardens or churchyards, late in the evening; they have a red head, a streak down the back, and a broad tail. This is a good worm for salmon, chub, trout, barbel, eels, and large perch.
2. Brandling is found in old dunghills, rotten earth or cow-dung, and the best in tanners’ bark. It is a good bait for any kind of fish.
3. The Marsh-worm is found in marshy grounds, or on the banks of rivers; and is a good bait for trout, perch, gudgeon, grayling, and bream.
4. The Tagtail is found in marly lands or meadows, after a shower; and is a good bait for trout when the water is muddy.
5. The Ash-grub is found in the bark of trees. It is a good bait for grayling, dace, roach, or chub.
6. Cowdung Bait is found under cowdung, from May to Michaelmas; and is good bait for grayling, dace, roach, or chub.
7. Caterpillars can be found on almost every tree or plant. Almost any small caterpillar will answer.
8. The Cabbage caterpillar is found on cabbages.
9. The Crabtree-worm can be taken by beating the branches of the crab-apple.
10. Gentles. These are bred in putrid meat--liver producing the best--or may generally be obtained from the butchers. They are an excellent bait for most kinds of fish.
11. Caddis is found in ditches, or on the sides of brooks. It is an excellent bait for trout, grayling, roach, dace, or chub.
12. Flag-worms are found among flags in old pits or ponds, and are good bait for grayling, tench, bream, carp, roach, and dace.
13. Grasshoppers are found in sun-burnt grass, and are good bait for chub, trout, and grayling.
14. Wasp-grubs are to be obtained from wasps’ nests, and are a good bait for most fish that will take gentles.[2]
[2] Wasp-grubs will keep better, and be easier to fit on the hook, if they are baked for half-an-hour.
15. Cockchafers are found humming round the bushes at about dusk on a summer evening, and everywhere, and sometimes in cowdung; are a capital bait for chub, though not for anything else.
16. White-bread Paste is prepared by dipping white bread in water (soaking and squeezing it in the corner of a pocket-handkerchief is the best way), and then working it a little in the palm of the hand. It is a good bait for carp, tench, chub, or roach. Some add a little honey.
17. Cheese Paste is made with fresh cheese, worked up in the hand. It is a good bait for chub.
18. Ground Bait should be used in the spot about to be fished, and, if possible, the night before, and should be fresh. For carp, chub, roach, or dace, use white bread soaked in water, and mixed with bran, pollard, or meal. For barbel, chandler’s greaves, boiled and worked up into a ball with clay. Gentles may also be used as ground bait for any of the above.
TO BAIT WITH GREAVES.
First select the whitest pieces from those you have soaked, and put two or three of them upon your hook, or as much as will cover it from the bend to and over the point; these pieces should be put on the hook separately, one after the other--not a large piece doubled, as some slovenly boys will do, for then the hook is prevented from entering firmly the fish you may strike. These little particulars of baiting are of considerable advantage to young anglers, who ought to remember also that it is a bad practice to soak greaves in hot water, for it makes them rotten, and they in consequence soon fall off the hook.
TO SCOUR AND PRESERVE WORMS.
To do this, the young angler should provide himself with a quantity of fresh moss. Wash out all the earth and squeeze it, but not too dry; then put it into a jar and squeeze it lightly down: throw in the worms upon it. The jar should be kept in a cool place in summer, and the moss changed once in three or four days. Gentles should be thrown into a mixture of damp sand or bran to scour them, and will be ready in two or three days.
THE PLUMMET.
Plummets are used by anglers for sounding the depth of a stream or hole. They are of two kinds, either the folding plummet, or the common plummet. The folding plummet, which is the better, is made of a slip of sheet lead, folded up; and this the young angler should never be without.
PLUMBING THE DEPTH
Is performed in the following manner: If a folding plummet, unfold about two inches of it, pass the hook over its side, and then fold the plummet up again: your hook is now secured from drawing away from the plummet. As success depends much in angling at a proper depth, the young angler should take due pains, and measure the depth accurately before he begins fishing. When the plumb-lead touches the bottom, and the top of the float is even with the surface of the water, you will have the true depth.
LANDING-HOOK AND LANDING-NET.
The landing-hook or gaff is a large hook, which is sometimes barbed like a fish-hook, and sometimes plain, fastened to one end of a handle; this latter is occasionally composed of several pieces, which run one into another, like the slides of a telescope. A landing-net is a small net mounted on a iron ring, which is fastened, like the landing-hook, to the end of a handle or pole.
CLEARING RING AND LINE.
The clearing-line is made of several yards of strong small cord, to the end of which is fastened a heavy ring of lead or brass. If the hook should get fast in a heavy weed, post, or anything else, this ring is put over the butt of the rod, and suffered to slip down the line to the hook. The rod should be held in the right hand, the top pointing downwards, the clearing-line in the left, the ring falling on the hook, from its weight, generally clears the hook from what it may have struck against. If not, the angler should hold the rod firmly, and draw the line sideways, and break away. In this case, the angler seldom loses more than a hook, if he acts as above directed; but without the assistance of a clearing-line he frequently loses his float as well as his hook and line, and sometimes breaks his top joint. The brass clearing-rings are to be preferred, because they are jointed, and in consequence can be used when the angler has a winch in his rod, in which case the leaden ring could not be passed over the winch.
DRAG-HOOK.
The drag is a piece of iron with three or four stout wire hooks without barbs, placed back to back, fastened to a strong cord line, and which is used to draw away weeds.
BANK RUNNER.
The bank-runner is mostly used in the day-time, when the angler is fishing for roach, barbel, &c. It is stuck in the bank, the bottom being strong turned wood, sharpened for the purpose, with a winder at the top for the line, which should be from forty to sixty yards long, made of silk, thin cord, or plaited Dutch twine. But there should be a cork and bullet to the line, and the bait a dace or gudgeon, which should swim about mid-water.
LIVE-BAIT KETTLE.
This should be of an oblong form, and not round; bright inside, and brown out. In getting out the bait, never put your hand into the water, which frightens the fish, and, by heating the water, makes them sickly and dull; but make use of a small net, which is easily carried in the fish-kettle, by having a piece of the lid cut away in one corner.
DISGORGER.
This is an instrument with a forked top, about six inches long, made of iron, brass, or bone. Its use is to get the hook from a fish when swallowed; and in using it, the forked end is thrust down upon the swallowed hook with one hand, while the line is held tight with the other: pressure disgorges the hook, and it is then easily drawn out. In attempting to get a gorged hook from a fish without this instrument, you run a hazard of breaking the hook and hurting yourself. When the fish is hooked through the lip, the angler has only to hold the fish steadily in one hand, while with the other he carefully disengages the hook.
ANGLING AXIOMS.
1. Never fish any water without leave from the proprietor, unless it be water that is free to all comers.
2. Never use unfair bait, or attempt to take fish in any but a fair and sportsmanlike manner.
3. Never start on a day’s fishing without first considering the wind, weather, and water.
4. Never let your shadow fall on the water.
5. Use the finest tackle of which your fishing will admit.
6. Never begin bottom fishing without first plumbing the depth.
7. Never intrude upon another fisherman’s water.
8. And always remember that nothing is lost by politeness.
ACCOUNTS OF THE VARIOUS FRESH-WATER FISH,
WITH THEIR HABITS, HAUNTS, SEASONS, AND THE METHODS OF TAKING THEM.
THE SALMON.
The Salmon is the king of fresh-water fish. It is handsome in form, its head is small, its nose pointed, its back and sides grey, its belly silvery, and its flesh the well-known salmon colour. The male may generally be distinguished by its having the lower jaw more “hooked,” or turned up at the point, than the female; the head is also generally somewhat longer, in comparison to the rest of the body.
Salmon bite best from six till eleven in the forenoon, and from three in the afternoon until sunset, especially when there is a moderate breeze upon the water. The chief months to angle for them are March, April, May, and June. They are to be fished for with lob-worms, or in spinning with minnows, but a large artificial fly is the most killing bait. The rod, for a boy, should not be less than fifteen feet long, with a good running line, and the reel should contain at least fourscore yards. The hook must be large and long in the shank. Few of our young readers, however, will be able to go salmon fishing till they have reached maturity, and, therefore, to give detailed instructions as to the modes of capturing the fish would be superfluous.
THE TROUT.
This beautiful fish is much prized. Izaak Walton says of it, “It is more sharp-sighted than any hawk, and more watchful and timorous than your high-mettled merlin is bold.” In its habits it is a very solitary and predacious fish.
The trout are found in lakes and rivers and minor streams, and are finest in appearance from the beginning of April to the end of July or middle of August: their principal spawning time is from November to January. The most brilliant and beautiful trout are generally found in streams that flow rapidly over rocky or chalky bottoms. They feed upon worms, minnows, and other small fish, but their favourite food consists of insects, flies, caterpillars, &c. upon which they thrive and fatten prodigiously.
In angling for the trout we must have a stout rod and running tackle. The principal baits for him are natural and artificial flies, minnows, and worms. The minnow is, perhaps, the most taking bait for large trout: it should be cast lightly on the water, and drawn trippingly against the current so as to spin. The angler must strike directly his bait is seized. The favourite haunts of the trout are scours, mill tails, eddies, pools, the roots of overhanging trees, and the “nethers” of bridges and weirs.
THE JACK OR PIKE.
The mighty luce or pike, says Walton, is taken to be the tyrant, as the salmon is the king, of the fresh waters. His aspect is savage but by no means repulsive, and when in fine condition a large pike is altogether a grand-looking fish. His teeth are very sharp and very numerous, being upwards of seven hundred, and his voracious appetite is such that nothing comes amiss to him. He has been known to swallow the plummet, and the clay and bran balls of ground bait of the angler, and he will prey upon “rats and mice and such small deer,” with ducks, geese, and even swans, which he has been known to pull under water. He often grows to an enormous size (no wonder), and has been taken upwards of ninety pounds in weight.
Pike are fond of dull, shady, and unfrequented waters, with a sandy, chalky, or clayey bottom, and are found among or near flags, bulrushes, or water docks. They seldom seek a very rapid stream, although weirs and mill-pools are often their favourite retreat in the early summer months--that is, in June and July, when they have recently spawned. In winter they retire into the depths, eddies, and waters little acted upon by the current.
The pike is in its prime during October and November, but is in season from June to February; the baits used for it are gudgeon, minnows, chub, and bleak, and should be about three or four inches in length. The rod should be strong; the line of dressed silk, at least sixty yards long, wound upon the winch already described. Hooks for trolling, called dead gorges, and other sorts for trolling, snap, &c. and fishing needles, are to be bought at every shop where fishing tackle is sold; in the choice of the first, let them not be too large, nor their temper injured by the lead on the shanks, nor the points stand too proud; and although usually sold on wire, it is recommended to cut off the wire about half an inch from the lead, and with a double silk, well waxed, fasten about a foot of good gimp to the wire, with a noose at the other end of the gimp large enough to admit the bait to pass through to hang it upon the line. The best baits are gudgeon and dace of a middling size; put the baiting needle in at the mouth and out at the middle of the tail, drawing the gimp and hook after it, fixing the point of the hook near the eye of the fish; tie the tail to the gimp, which will not only keep it in a proper position, but prevent the tail from catching against the weeds and roots in the water. Thus baited, the hook is to be fastened to the line and dropped gently in the water near the sides of the river, across the water, or where it is likely pike resort; keep the bait in constant motion, sometimes letting it sink near the bottom and gradually raising it. When the bait is taken, let the pike have what line he chooses. It will be soon known when he has reached his hole, which he generally flies to, by his not drawing more. Allow him ten minutes for gorging the bait, wind up the line gently till you think it is nearly at its stretch, and then strike. Manage him with a gentle hand, keeping him, however, from roots and stumps, which he will try to fasten the line upon, till he is sufficiently tired, and a landing net can be used; but by no means, however apparently exhausted he may be, attempt to lift him out with the rod and line only.
In trolling, the bait hook should never be thrown too far; in small rivers the opposite bank may be fished with ease, though the violence of its falls upon the water in long throws soon spoils the bait by rubbing off its scales. In angling for pike always prefer a rough wind. If a pike goes slowly up a stream, after taking the bait, it is said to be the sign of a good fish.
THE GUDGEON.
Is one of the most delicious fish for eating, although small in size. It bites freely from the latter end of spring until autumn, in gloomy warm days, from an hour after sunrise to within the same space of its setting; and during the rest of the year, in the middle of the day, when it is warmest.
In angling for gudgeon the tackle must be very fine, a single hair or fine gut fine, a hook No. 8 or 9, a short rod and line, and a small tapering cork float. The gudgeon will take the small red-worm greedily, and blood-worms--the first is perhaps the best. A rake or the boat-hook should be kept frequently stirring the bottom. To the spot so stirred gudgeon assemble in shoals, expecting food from the discolouring of the water. They are apt to nibble at the bait; the angler ought not, therefore, to strike till the float goes well down.
Should any young angler desire a good day’s fishing for gudgeon, and a pleasant walk into the bargain, he should seek out some sequestered gravelly stream, and providing himself with a rake with a long handle, he may have sport till he is tired of it. He will find the fish scattered up and down every river in the shallows during the heat of summer, but in winter they get into deeper water. Gudgeon are to be fished for there with your hook always touching the ground.
THE ROACH.
The roach is a handsome fish either in or out of the water. It inhabits many of our deep still rivers, delighting most in quiet waters. It is gregarious, keeping in large shoals. It delights in gravelly, sandy, or a kind of slimy marl bottom, under a deep gentle running stream; in summer it often frequents shallows near the tails of fords, or lies under banks among weeds, under the shades of boughs, and at or opposite the mouth of a rivulet or brook, that empties itself into a large river. In winter the roach like to get into clear, deep, and still waters.
The tackle for roach must be fine and strong, a twelve-foot rod and a five-foot line, a porcupine float, and hooks No. 11 or 12. The bait, gentils, bread-paste, boiled wheat or red worms. The ground bait should be damp meal or bran, mixed with soaked bread or clay (the former best). In fishing for roach in ponds, chew and throw in white bread. The hook should be No. 6, and the bait either touch the bottom or lie within one inch of it. As many gentils should be put on the hook as will cover it, all but the barb. Strike directly the float goes down.
The season for roach fishing in the Thames begins about the latter end of August and continues through the winter. To London Bridge and among the shipping below it, numbers of roach return in June and July, after having been up the river to spawn, and many of them are taken by means of a strong cord, to which is fastened a leaden weight, more or less, according to the strength of the current; a foot above this lead a twine twelve feet long is joined to the cord, and to this twine at convenient distances are tied a dozen hair links, with roach hooks at the ends; these are baited with white snails or periwinkles, the fisherman holds the cord in his hand, and easily feels the biting of the fish, which is a signal to pull up, and frequently five or six are taken at a haul.
THE DACE.
Dace are gregarious--are great breeders--very lively--and during summer fond of playing near the surface. Their haunts are deep water, near the piles of bridges, where the stream is gentle, and has a sandy or clayey bottom. They like deep holes that are shaded by water-lily leaves, and under the foam caused by an eddy; in the warm months they are to be found in shoals on the shallows and gravels.
The baits for dace are red-worms, gentles, and small flies, natural or artificial, used as in fly-fishing for trout. In angling for dace with worms, maggots, &c. the tackle cannot be too fine, the float small, the hook No. 9, the shot a foot from it; by baiting the place with a few maggots before fishing, the diversion will be increased. If you angle in an eddy between two mill streams, and the water is only two or three feet deep, there will be a greater chance of success than where it is deeper; bait and strike as in roach fishing. The ground-bait may also be the same.
Fish for dace within three inches of the ground, especially where the ant fly is the bait under water. In fishing, take advantage if you can of a still, warm, gloomy day, or go in a summer’s evening to a gravelly or sandy shallow, or tail end of a mill-stream, and as long as the light continues the dace will yield diversion.
THE PERCH.
“Perch feed on perch,” is an old maxim; the perch being the only one of all fresh-water fish that feeds on its own kind. His excuse is a prodigious appetite, like that of Saturn, who ate his own offspring. Notwithstanding this wicked propensity, the perch is a beautiful fish, the back and part of the sides being a deep green, marked with broad black bars, pointing downwards; the spaces between are golden, the belly white, and the fins tinged with scarlet. They vary greatly in size. The largest perch we ever caught weighed three pounds twelve ounces, and was taken with a roach bait near Richmond. Their general length is about ten or twelve inches.
Perch are found in ponds and in clear rivers with pebbly, clayey, or sandy bottoms. They are fond of water moderately deep, and frequent holes near to gentle streams where there is an eddy, the hollows under banks, among weeds and roots of trees, piles of bridges, or in ponds which are fed by a brook or rivulet. The perch is a bold biter in the summer, but scarcely ever in the winter. In the middle of a warm sunshiny day, you are sure to have him with a proper bait. In the winter he bites best in large quiet eddies, to which he retreats after the first heavy flood.
The baits for perch are various, as well as the manner of using them. Of worms, the best are brandlings, and red dunghill-worms, well scoured. The hook may be varied from No. 2 to 6, being well whipped to a strong silkworm gut, with a shot or two a foot from it. Put the point of the hook in at the head of the worm, out again a little lower than the middle, pushing it above the shank of the hook upon the gut; then put the point of the hook into the worm again the reverse way, and draw the head part down so as to cover the hook entirely. This is the most enticing method that can be adopted in worm-fishing. Use a small cork float to keep the bait at six or twelve inches from the bottom, or sometimes about mid-water. In angling near the bottom, raise the bait very frequently from thence almost to the surface, letting it gradually fall again. Should a good shoal be met with, they are so greedy that sometimes they may be all caught.
Other baits for perch are cadbait and gentles; but the best and most enticing bait is a live minnow. If you find the fish shy, try not long in one spot. In baiting your hook with the minnow, fix your hook through his upper lip, and use a small reel with your rod. Your hook should be No. 5, fastened to a link of gut.
THE GRAYLING.
The grayling is a fish of elegant form; the back is of a dusky purple, the sides of a fine silvery grey, with the scales in long parallel rows or lines (from which the fish derives its name), marked with black spots, irregularly placed. It is rather a hog-backed fish; and, from the nose and belly touching the ground together, is supposed to feed mostly at the bottom. In length it seldom exceeds sixteen inches, but some have been caught upwards of five pounds in weight.
The haunts of the grayling are in rapid, clear streams, particularly such as flow through mountainous countries. They are usually taken in the same manner as the trout, and with similar baits. They do not bite freely till late in August, or early in September, and may be found at the tails of sharp streams and in deep water. They rise more boldly than the trout, and if missed several times will still pursue the bait. They will bite during the whole of the cold cloudy days; but the preferable time to look after them is between eight and twelve o’clock in the morning, and from four in the afternoon till after sunset. Grasshoppers, wasp-grubs, maggots, and the artificial fly, are the most killing baits.
THE CHUB.
This fish takes its name from the shape of the head, not only in our own, but in other languages. The head and back are of a deep dusky green, the sides silvery. The tail is forked, and very black at the end, and altogether the chub is rather a handsome fish, although its flesh is not much in esteem.
The haunts of the chub are in rivers whose bottoms are of sand or clay, or which flow over a gravelly bottom, in deep holes, under hollow banks; in summer, particularly where shaded by trees, &c. they frequently float on the surface, and are sometimes found in streams and deep waters, where the currents are strong. In ponds fed by a rivulet they grow to a large size.
To fish for chub at the bottom, you should have a stout long rod, a strong line (and if you use a reel, you will be the better able to fish under bushes), with two yards or more of the best silkworm gut at bottom; a hook proportionate to the bait used; a swan-quill float; and the line so shotted, eight or ten inches from the hook, as to sink the float to a quarter of an inch above the surface. The same groundbait is to be used as for carp. The best baits are greaves, cheese paste, or the tail end of a well-scoured lob-worm. The cockchafer is also a very tempting bait, especially towards dusk: no float or shot are required for this.
After baiting your hook with a cockchafer, move it two or three times near the surface, as in the act of flying; then drop it in the water, tapping the rod gently, which will cause the appearance of its struggling to escape. This attracts the chub, who are so fond of this bait, that they will rise two or three at a time to seize it. But mind and be ready with your landing-net.
The chub will take a grub, wasps, maggots, paste of fine new bread worked in the hand, and tinged with vermilion, to make it look like salmon-roe; but the best bait for bottom or float-fishing for the chub is new Cheshire cheese, worked with the crumb of a new roll, or the pith from the backbone of an ox. In baiting with the cheese, put a round lump the size of a cherry on a large hook, so as to cover the bend, and some way up the shank; fish six inches from the bottom, or in cold weather the bait may lie on the ground. When there is a bite, the float will be drawn under water: strike immediately, and give him play, holding a tolerably tight line, to keep the fish clear from weeds and stumps.
The best time for fishing for chub is chiefly before sunrise to nine in the morning, and from four till after sunset in the summer; but, in winter, the middle of the day is best. In hot weather, the chub is to be fished for at or near the top of the water, and not deeper than midwater; and in cold weather, close to or near the bottom; and the main point in taking the fish is for the angler to keep himself out of sight. A very deadly way of killing chub, and certainly the most artistic method, is with the artificial fly, used as in trout fishing. Flies are made expressly for this purpose, and of these the best are red and black palmers, and the Marlow buzz.
THE CARP.
Carp are esteemed among the richest fresh-water fish we have in the kingdom, and are as cunning as foxes. The angler, therefore, must be “wide awake” to catch him, and also as patient as a saint. He may, however, fish for him at any time in the day during warm weather. The bait may be either worms or paste. Of worms, the bluish marsh or meadow is the best; but a red-worm, not too big, will do: of paste, the best is made of bread and honey; and the spot intended should be well baited beforehand. In a large pond, to draw them together, throw in either grains, or soaked bread worked up with meal or bran; follow this with a few of the small baits you intend to angle with.
Whilst you are fishing, chew a little bread, and throw it in about the place where your float swims. In fishing for carp in ponds, the bait and about half a foot of the gut nearest the hook should lie on the bottom; otherwise the carp will continually suck the bait off. When the carp has fairly taken the bait, you will perceive the float move steadily away or under water, then strike, and not till then. In this way, with due patience, you will prove a match for these crafty fish.
THE TENCH.
The tench is one of our most useful fresh-water fishes, for the ease with which it may be preserved, and the goodness of its flesh. It is very usual to breed it in ponds, but naturally, like many others of the carp tribe, it is generally found in lakes and still waters; its favourite haunts are in places well shaded with bushes or rushes. In standing waters, it lies under weeds, near sluices, and at pond-heads.
The best baits for tench are bread paste and red worms, but he usually prefers the latter. He feeds best in the three hot months. The worm should be put on the hook in the method directed for perch, but the hook itself should be of a somewhat smaller size. Use a light float and strong gut line, and let the bait swim within an inch or two of the bottom.
THE POPE, OR RUFF,
Is something like a perch in shape, but more bluff and bulky. He is found principally in slow, deep, quiet rivers, which have a loamy bottom. The spawning time is in April. The best baits for him are red-worms and brandlings. The places where he is to be had are where the water is deep and still; and these places should be baited with some clay-balls, with which worms are mixed. Should the water be muddy, worms will do alone; but if clear, clay must be used to render it opaque before you fish. The fish will bite at any time of a warm summer’s day, when the sky is cloudy. In angling, use a No. 8 or 9 hook, with a quill float; and the moment you see the float disappear, strike.
THE BREAM.
The bream, at full growth, is a large and stately fish, and is oftentimes as fat as a hog. He is principally found in large ponds or in lakes, and in still rivers where the waters are deep and shaded by weeds; and may be taken throughout the latter part of summer and autumn.
The baits are many: paste made of white bread and honey, gentles, wasp-grubs, and brandlings; but much the best general bait is the tail end of a lob-worm. Use lob-worms, cut in pieces, brewers’ grains, or greaves, as groundbaits in the places where you intend to angle. Use a gut line, quill float, and hook the same as for perch. Sound the bottom, which should be eight or ten feet deep, and stand at least two yards from the bank from which you fish; the bait should just touch or trip along the bottom.
THE FLOUNDER.
The flounder is a well-known flat-fish very common about our own coasts; and should any of our young friends be at the seaside, it is well that they should know how to take flounder. They are also found in rivers, at some distance from the sea. They may be taken in May, July, and August,--not in June, as that is their spawning time. The best baits are red-worms and marsh-worms, on a No. 6 hook; and you should fish at the bottom.
EELS.
Eels are denizens of the mud; but they are fond of clean not foul mud, and ought never to be sought after in filthy places. There are many modes of taking them: by rod and line, by dead line, by sniggling, by bobbing, and by spearing. When a rod is used, you should put a brandling or red-worm on a No. 8 hook; the bait should touch the bottom; and, when you have a “bite,” the float should be drawn quite under water before you strike.
The dead line is a line of whipcord, with hooks about two feet asunder, baited with lob-worms or small fish, and having a weight at the end. You should also have a bank-runner--a reel on a pin or stake stuck into the ground on the edge of the bank; the line and baits should be thrown in, and left for the eels to amuse themselves with,--looked to, and drawn up at your leisure.
In sniggling, a lob-worm is put upon a stout worsted needle; the line is on a winder; and the fish will be found near flood-gates, wharfings, bridges, piles, holes in the banks of rivers, ponds, and canals. The bait should be put into the lurking-places of the eel, by means of a stick with a forked head; and when the bait is taken, which will easily be known by the pull of the string, strike.
Bobbing for eels.--In this process long red-worms are strung on threads of worsted, until a bunch as large as the two fists is formed around a piece of lead. The whole is sunk to the bottom, or nearly so, then raised a little, then depressed, so as to induce the eels to bite. When this occurs, heave up without hurry. The number of eels taken in this way is often prodigious.
In spearing eels, the spearer usually goes into the mud in a pair of pants or mud pattens, pieces of square board fastened into the heel to prevent sinking. He takes an eel-spear in his hand, something like Neptune’s trident, and progs the mud all over, and the eels are caught between the forked blades of the spear. Great numbers of eels are taken in this way on the muddy ooze of salt or fresh-water rivers.
THE STICKLEBACK AND MINNOW.
The stickleback is a dark-coloured little fish, found in ditches and ponds. They are best caught with a small hand-net, and are occasionally used as bait for perch. The minnow is very beautiful in appearance, being of a rose colour underneath, and may be taken with a worm and a No. 13 hook at any time of day; but more easily with a small hand-net. They are commonly found in little rivulets, rills, or small sandy streams, and are highly prized by the angler as baits for many kinds of fish.
THE BARBEL.
The barbel is a bold, sturdy, handsome-looking fish, although its flesh is coarse to the eater; but he is a rare fellow for sport, and often affords great amusement as well as chagrin to the angler by his bolting off with the line by a “coup de barbel,” and breaking it with his tail. Izaak Walton says, that barbel “flock together like sheep.”
Barbel are to be found in the strongest runs of water. In summer, they love the shallowest and sharpest streams, and will lurk under weeds, and will root and dig in the sand like pigs. Sometimes he retires to deep and swift bridges, or to flood-gates or weirs, and will rest himself against piles or hollow places. In winter he gets into deep water.
In fishing for barbel in large streams, you should go out in a boat provided with greaves, gentles, and red-worms; and, before you begin fishing, you should throw in plenty of groundbait--such as soaked greaves, bran and clay made into small balls, maggots, or lob-worms. They may be angled for with a stout rod, strong running line, cork float, and No. 7 or 8 hook, baited with marshworms or greaves. The barbel being a sharp biter, strike the moment you feel a nibble. He may be caught from May to October all day, but best in the morning and evening. After he is struck he will frequently make a run, but you must play him gently; keep him clear of weeds, and try to get him into deep water; and when you have him, mind he does not bounce out of your hand and drop down the stream again.
NATURAL FLY-FISHING, OR DIPPING.
Fishing with a fly may be practised either with the natural fly, usually called “dipping,” or with the artificial fly; in which latter case the sport is called “fly-fishing,” or sometimes “whipping.” Dipping requires a moderately long and stiff rod, of about twelve or thirteen feet. The line should not be above a yard in length from the end of the rod, but the reel should contain sufficient to play the fish if necessary. When the river is much overhung with bushes, it is a good plan to wind the line round the end of the top joint, leaving only a few inches dependent; and then, having thrust the rod through some small opening in the bushes, gradually to unwind the line by turning the rod in the hand, so as to drop the fly on the water in the most gentle manner. In this insidious way large fish are often taken with any of the flies which are in season and found at the time on the banks of the river which is fished, especially if they are only just coming out, and the fish are not yet satiated with them. It is quite needless to give a list of the natural flies which are likely to prove serviceable to the fisherman, because he has only to look for those which at the time are tempting the fish, and then to endeavour to find them on the banks, and at once to try their powers. In the case of chub, however, he will find grasshoppers and humble-bees more useful than any of the flies, and yet they are neither of them often seen upon the waters, and may be considered exceptional cases. The fish which will generally take the natural fly are grayling, trout, chub, and dace.
FLY-FISHING AND ARTIFICIAL FLIES.
For this delightful sport, which captivates alike the sexagenarian and the schoolboy, rods and tackle of the finest quality are required. It is true, that a good workman will take fish even with a willow wand, but still he would do far better with a rod turned out by a good maker; and few young hands will be able to do much without a well-finished specimen of the art of rod-making. The rod should be strong, yet fine, and either of dressed silk, or silk and hair mixed. The lower portion, called the foot-length, is of gut, generally occupying about five or six feet of it, to which one, two, or three flies are attached, the one at the end being called a stretcher, and the others droppers.
The fly-fisher should be able to make his own flies, as there is a great advantage in being able to “do for oneself;” and it may sometimes happen that he may be out of a particular fly when far away from “fly shops.”
MATERIALS FOR MAKING FLIES.
Feathers of various kinds; hairs of various kinds; very fine sewing silk; gold and silver twist. Of the first, the young fly-fisher must provide himself with the feathers of the duck, cock, grouse, snipe, bittern, woodcock, partridge, landrail, starling, jay, golden plover, and peacock. Of the second, the fur from Tommy’s tail, from the skins of squirrels, moles, and water rats, camel’s hair, hare’s ear, fur from its neck, the yellow fur from the neck of the martin, mohairs of different shades, camlets, black horsehair, hog’s down dyed various colours. And with these, gimps, silks, and tinsel, a good pair of pliers, and a pair of fine-pointed scissors.
In making your fly, imitate as nearly as possible the natural fly you wish to represent; to do this properly, it will be well to dissect a natural fly, and to imitate its several parts, and then to reconstruct it with a reference to the whole. With a hook of the proper size, and a feather of the right colour, the fly-maker may now commence. His feather must be stripped down on each side, leaving just so much as will do for the wings at the fine end; a piece of fine gut, free from imperfection, and properly tested as to its strength; dubbing or hackle; and a piece of fine silk well waxed with shoemaker’s wax.
Let the essay be now made. Hold your hook in the left hand, wrap the silk round the bare hook two or three times, and put the finest end of the gut on the under side of the hook. If you are working for a tackle fly, begin at the band and work up to the head, after turning three or four times round the hook and gut; fasten on the tackle, and continue the winding of the silk until it reaches the end of the hook, then turn it back two or three times, to form the head. The dubbing must now be twisted round the silk, and wrapped upon the hook for nearly half the proposed length of the body; fasten it there by a single loop, that both hands may be at liberty to manage the tackle.
When sufficient of the feather is wound upon the hook, the remainder should be held under the thumb of the left hand, and the entangled fibres picked out with a needle. The silk and dubbing must now be twisted over the end of the tackle, until the body of the fly is of the length required, and then fastened. If gold or silver twist is used, the twist should be fastened to the lower end of the body before the dubbing is applied to the silk.
To make a winged fly, the same method must be observed in tying on the hook; then take the feather which is to form the wings, and place it even on the upper side of the shank, with the roots pointing towards the bend of the hook; fasten the feathers, by winding the silk over it, and cut the root end close with a pair of scissors, and divide the wings as equally as possible with a needle, passing the silk two or three times between them, to make them stand in a proper position; bring the silk down the shank of the hook the proposed length of the body, and fasten it, then apply the dubbing to the silk, and twist it towards the wings; fasten in the hackle for legs, and wind it neatly under the wings, so as to hide the ends of the cut fibres: the silk must be fastened above the wings--be careful of this.
It would be impossible for us, nor would it be very useful to the young fly-fisher, to give him directions for making every kind of fly. We may, however, throw out a few hints concerning the making of most of the flies in common use, and of the materials employed.
1. The green drake or May fly.--This is one of the most killing trout flies, but it is seldom in the water for a longer period than three weeks. The time of its appearance varies in different rivers, but it generally rises about the last week in May, and continues for about three weeks. The wings are made of the light feathers of a grey drake, dyed a pale yellow-green colour, by being boiled for a minute or two in a decoction of green vitriol. The body is formed of amber-coloured mohair or silk ribbon, with dark green silk; the head of peacock’s harl, and the tail of three long hairs taken from a sable muff.
2. The black gnat.--The body of this fly is made of black ostrich harl, and the wings of a pale starling’s feather; it must be dressed short and thick. It is in use from the end of April till the end of May, and is a good killer when the water is low.
3. Hare’s ear.--The wings are made from the feather of a starling’s wing, the body from the fur of the hare’s ear, the legs of a ginger cock’s hackle.
4. Cock tail.--Wings of the light feather from a snipe’s wing, the body of yellow mohair.
5. Whirling dun.--Wings of a snipe’s feather, body of blue fur wrapped with yellow silk, and a blue cock’s hackle for legs; the tail of two hairs from a coloured muff.
6. Grey drake.--Wings of a dark grey feather of the mallard, the body of white silk, striped with dark silk, the head of a peacock’s harl, and the tail of three hairs from a sable muff.
7. Cowdung fly.--The wings of the feather of a landrail, the body of yellow camlet, mixed with a little brown bear-fur, and a ginger hackle for legs; the wings should be dressed flat.
8. Bee fly.--The body of thread of various colours, arranged in stripes of the following order:--black, white, light yellow, white, black, white; the legs of a black hackle; the wings from the feathers of a blue pigeon’s wing: the body must be dressed thick.
9. Red palmer.--The body of dark-red mohair, ribbed with gold twist, and wrapped with a red cock’s hackle.
10. Peacock palmer.--The body of a peacock’s harl, wrapped with a dusky-red cock’s hackle.
11. Kingdom fly.--Wings of a woodcock’s feather, the body of white silk, striped with green, and the legs of a red cock’s hackle.
12. White gnat.--The wings of a small white feather, the body of white silk, and the legs of a red cock’s hackle.
13. Blue dun.--The wings of a starling’s feather, the body of blue fur from a water rat, mixed with a little lemon-colour mohair; the tail is forked, and should be made of two fibres from the feather used for the wing.
14. Red ant.--The wings of a light starling’s feather, the body of peacock’s harl made thick at the tail, and a ginger hackle for legs.
15. Gold spinner.--Wings of a starling’s feather, body of orange silk, ribbed with gold twist, and the legs of a red hackle.
16. Great white moth.--Wings of a feather from the wing of a white owl, the body of white cotton, and a white cock’s hackle wrapped round the body.
17. Governor.--Wings of a woodcock’s feather, the body of a peacock’s harl, tied with orange silk.
18. March brown.--Wings of the dark mottled feather from the tail of a partridge, the body of fur from a hare’s ear, well mixed with a little yellow worsted, and a grizzled cock’s hackle for legs.
19. Stone fly.--Wings of a dusky-blue cock’s hackle, or a mottled feather from a hen pheasant, the body of dark-brown and yellow camlet mixed, and a grizzled hackle for legs; the wings should be flat.
20. Black silver palmer.--The body of black ostrich harl, ribbed with silver twist, and wrapped with black cock’s hackle.
21. Willow fly.--The wings of dark grizzled cock’s hackle, the body of blue squirrel’s fur, mixed with yellow mohair.
22. Yellow palmer.--The wings of white hackle, dyed yellow, the body of yellow silk.
23. Black palmer.--The body of black ostrich’s harl, wrapped with a black cock’s hackle.
24. Black palmer ribbed with gold.--The body of peacock’s harl, wrapped with a black cock’s hackle, and ribbed with gold twist.
25. Marlow Buzz or Cock-a-Boundhu.--This is one of the most killing flies known, and should never be off the line during the trout season. The body of peacock’s harl, ribbed with gold twist, and a dark-red cock’s hackle over all.
26. The Grouse Hackle.--This is also a very killing fly, especially late in the evening, during June, July, and August. Body of brown fur, ribbed with gold twist, and a grouse hackle over all; hook No. 10.
The foregoing list comprises twenty-six of the most killing flies; and the following are the months in which they will be found to kill best.
February, red cowdung fly, blue dun; March, brown; April, black gnat, stone fly, gravel or spider fly, the green tail, brown, blue dun; May, green drake, grey drake, oak fly, hazel fly, little iron blue and yellow sally; June, hare’s ear, cock tail, whirling dun, marlow buzz, bee fly, kingdom fly, white gnat, blue gnat, blue dun, governor, fern fly; gold spinner; July, red ant, red spinner, yellow dun, coachman, fern fly; August, whirling blue, red spinner, pale yellow dun; September, willow fly, silver twisted blue, whirling blue.
It would of course be impossible, in a work of this description, to give a list of all the artificial flies used by experienced fishermen, but the above are a few of the most killing. For bleak, dace, roach, chub, &c. a piece of a maggot, or a small piece of white leather, should be placed at the end of the hook.
Having thus given the “order of flies,” natural and artificial, we may imagine the young fly-fisher, with rod in hand, proportionate to his strength and the breadth of the stream, ready to throw his fly; but let his rod and running tackle be in good order, and the idea of the coachman’s whip out of his mind. He is not to flog the water, but to tickle it. The novice should teach himself to handle the line, by beginning with it alone, (i. e. without flies or hook,) trying a short length first, and lengthening it gradually. In using the rod, it should be drawn vigorously back, though without a jerk, and thrown forward again when the line has reached its full extent behind. Take care in doing this, that the fly be not whipped off. When tolerably expert, put on one fly, and try awhile with that, adopting two or three when able to use them properly.
In fly-fishing keep as far from the water as possible, especially if fishing for trout. Let only the flies touch the water, and keep moving them gently and slowly on the surface. When a fish rises, let not a moment elapse before you strike, and do it sharply.
When you have two flies on your line, you must try to throw your line so that the bottom fly shall reach the water first; it must be done always as lightly as possible, so that it may resemble a natural fly settling upon the water. You must suffer the line to float gently down the stream, at the same time working it towards you.
The best time for angling with the fly is when there is a gentle breeze upon the water; south and west winds are to be preferred, when the water has been disturbed by heavy rains and is just resuming its natural colour, or when the day is dull and cloudy. The best time, morning and evening. In cold weather the fish bite deeper, and you should then let the fly sink a little. Take care to have the wind in your back, and the sun in your face, if possible.
When you see a rise, throw your fly about half a yard above the fish’s nose, and let it fall down with the stream; watch it narrowly, and strike as the fish rises, giving him an “infinite little moment” to taste. When you have hooked, play your fish carefully, keeping up his head and running him down the stream, at the same time steering him towards you. If you see a fish rise at a natural fly, throw your bait a little before him, so that he may take it as “one of the number.”
To know what flies the fish are most likely to take, observe what natural flies are about the water, or on the grass, trees, or bushes in the vicinity of the river; and take that fly which is the most in abundance, either natural or artificial at your discretion.
Such are a few practical particulars concerning angling and fly-fishing, sufficient to enable any young angler to begin. For more abundant information we refer him to Mr. Stoddart and Mr. Stewart, for fly-fishing, Mr. Cholmondeley Pennell for pike-fishing, “Hewitt Wheatley” for grayling fishing, and Mr. Francis Francis for the various modes of bottom fishing.
ARCHERY.
“And he was clad in coat and pode of grene; A shefe of pecocke arrows bryght and shene Under his belt he bare, ful threftely. Well coude he dresse his tackle yomanly. His arrows drouped not with feathers lowe, And in his hande he bare a myghty bowe.”--CHAUCER.
The skill of the English in archery was always very great. Our ancestors used the bow for a double purpose: in time of war, it was a far more dreadful instrument of destruction than our present soldier’s musket; while in the “piping times of peace,” it became an object of amusement. The victories the English obtained over their enemies in times of war were many, and what the world calls glorious; and they stand upon record in our history, where the young reader may peruse them with interest and advantage.
The Anglo-Saxons and the Danes were certainly well acquainted with the use of the bow, which they used, not so much for war purposes, as in the sports of the field. But it is well known that the Normans used the bow as a military weapon, and under their government the practice of archery was not only much improved, but generally diffused throughout the kingdom. The long-bow was an instrument of Norman introduction, and there seems good reason to believe that the arbalist, or cross-bow, was used by these sturdy invaders.
THE LONG-BOW.
The use of the English long-bow arrived at the highest perfection in the reign of Edward III.; and, notwithstanding the introduction of fire-arms, continued for a long time after to be successfully cultivated. Cressy, Poictiers, Agincourt, and many other victories, were obtained by its use; and Sir John Fortescue writes, “That mighte of the realme of Englande standyth upon her archers,”--as it will now upon our riflemen or sharpshooters, when our army shall get the right kind of gun.
THE CROSS-BOW.
The cross-bow, or arbalist, was a popular weapon with the Etolians, and was introduced into England in the thirteenth century. The arrows shot from it were called “guorrels.” It was fastened upon a stock, and discharged by means of a catch or trigger, which probably gave rise to the lock on the modern musket. One historian informs us, that Richard the First was wounded by an arrow from a bow of this kind; and also, that the English cross-bow was used chiefly at sieges of fortified places, and on ship-board in battles upon the sea. It was, however, used in recreation, and acquired great reputation among the citizens of London, who had “butts” in various places for the practice of this kind of archery; as at Newington Butts, Brentford Butts, and other spots, which still retain the name of Butts: and in the reign of Edward IV. an act passed, which directed that butts should be in every township, where the inhabitants should shoot on every feast-day, under a penalty of a halfpenny when they shall omit the exercise.
FEATS OF THE BOW.
Mr. Grose informs us that an archer could shoot six arrows in the time necessary to charge and discharge a musket; and even in modern days, a practised bowman has been known to shoot twelve arrows in a minute into a circle not larger than the circumference of a man’s hat, at a distance of forty yards. Of the power of the bow, and of the distance it will carry, some remarkable anecdotes are told. Xenophon mentions an Arcadian, whose head was shot through by a Carduchian archer. Stuart mentions a random shot of a Turk, which he found to be 584 yards; and Mr. Strutt saw the Turkish ambassador shoot 480 yards in the old archery-ground in London. An old author speaks of a Turkish bow, the arrow of which was known to pierce a steel target two inches thick. In the journal of King Edward VI., it is mentioned that 100 archers of the king’s guard shot at an inch board, and that some of the arrows passed through this, and into another board behind it, although the wood was extremely solid and firm. William de Brensia relates that a Welshman having directed an arrow at a horse-soldier of his, who was clad in armour, and had his leathern coat under it, the arrow, beside piercing the man through the hip, struck also through the saddle, and mortally wounded the horse on which he sat. Another Welsh soldier having shot an arrow at one of his horsemen, who was covered with strong armour, the shaft penetrated through his thigh, and fixed in the saddle; but what is most remarkable is, that as the horseman drew his bridle aside, in order to turn round, he received another arrow in the opposite thigh, which passing through it, he was firmly fixed to the saddle on both sides. Mr. Barrington, in the “Archæologiæ,” relates a tradition that one Leigh, an attorney (it must have been a barrister), shot an arrow a mile in three flights; and Carew, speaking of the Cornish archers two centuries back, says that the butts for long shooting were placed 480 yards apart. Such, my good friends, are the feats you may emulate with the bow.
LENGTH OF BOWS AND ARROWS, AND HOW USED IN ANCIENT TIMES.
The length of the bow varied, but was usually the height of the bearer, as the Act of Edward IV. commands every man to have a bow his own height. The arrows were of different weights and sizes; the lighter sort, for long ranges, about two feet three inches; while the heavy were a cloth yard in length. The heads had various shapes, among which the broad arrow extended in width to nearly four inches to the extremity of the wings. Of these, 24 in a sheaf were put into a quiver, and, in action, about 12 in the girdle. They were trimmed with three goose-quill feathers each, and when the archers shot in volley, the quantity of arrows in the air was compared by Froissart to a fall of snow. The farthest range of arrows was estimated at eleven score yards. The archers, in order of battle, generally carried, beside the bow, axe, and target, a stake pointed at both ends. They formed in open ranks, in files eight deep. When on the point of engaging, they advanced a few paces beyond the intended line, and fixed their stakes, inclined towards the enemy, in the ground. They then stepped backward, and from behind these chevaux-de-frise dealt forth their destructive arrows; and when the enemy were thrown into confusion, they sallied, and with small battle-axes and swords completed the defeat.
MARKS FOR SHOOTING AT.
The marks usually shot at by the archers for pastime were “butts,” “prickes,” and “rovers.” The “butt” was a level mark, made by placing a target on a slope of a hill or bank of earth, and required a strong arrow. The “pricke” was a “mark of compass,” but always of one distance, and had some emblem on a pole for shooting at; and to this mark strong swift arrows of one flight, with a middling size feather, were best suited. The “rover” was a mark of uncertain length, and often an arrow shot forth from a bow. Other marks were used, as the standard, the target, hazel-wands, rose-garlands, and the popinjay, which was an artificial parrot or peacock, or sometimes the common cock, set upon a post or pole, as seen in the engraving.
EQUIPMENT FOR ARCHERY.
Roger Ascham, who was well versed in the subject of archery, says that it was necessary for the archer to have a bracer, or close sleeve, to lace upon the left arm; and to this was added a shooting-glove for the protection of the fingers. The bow was to be made of elm, ash, or yew; the bow-string to be composed of good hemp, flax, or silk; the arrows were to be made of oak, hornbeam, or birch. The feathers from a goose, and especially of a grey goose, he thought preferable to any for the pluming of an arrow.
ANCIENT DIRECTIONS FOR ARCHERY.
Ascham says: “First take care of a graceful attitude.” The archer should stand fairly and upright with his body, his left foot at a convenient distance from his right, holding the bow by its middle, with his left arm stretched out, and with the first three fingers and the thumb of his right hand on the lower part of the arrow affixed to the string of the bow. The notch of the arrow to rest between the fore-finger and the middle finger of the right hand. The arrow, in drawing the bow, was to be elevated to the right ear. The shaft of the arrow below the feathers to be rested on the knuckle of the fore-finger of the left hand. The arrow was to be drawn to the head, and not held too long in that situation, but neatly and smartly discharged. Among the requisites necessary to constitute a good archer are, a clear sight steadily directed to the mark,--a proper judgment of distances, to determine the length of the ground. He ought also to know how to take advantage of a side-wind, and to be well acquainted with what compass his arrows would take in their flight. “Courage,” he says also, “is an indispensable requisite; as he who shoots with the least trepidation is sure to shoot badly.”
DECLINE OF ARCHERY.
Notwithstanding the great advantages of archery in ancient days, somehow or other it began to decline even at the time of its zenith; so that, from time to time, acts of parliament were made to compel the citizens of London, and other towns, to practise it. Some of our monarchs made sumptuous archery entertainments. In the reign of Queen Elizabeth, a grand shooting-match was held in London of all the archers in the surrounding districts; and these meeting at the appointed time, with their different companies, proceeded in a pompous march from Merchant Tailors’ Hall, numbering 3,000 archers, sumptuously apparelled, every man having a long-bow and four arrows; 940 of them had gold chains about their necks. This splendid company was attended by 4,000 whifflers and bellmen. The queen met them in Smithfield, and presided at their sports. But still the art continued to decline, and, with the increase of other warlike weapons, became at last almost extinct. Within these few years, however, it has again become a somewhat favourite exercise, near London, and in various parts of the country. In Scotland, the “Royal Company of Archers”--the Queen’s body-guard for Scotland--comprises many of the Scottish nobility, and King George IV. recognised it. It now comprises about 500 members, who meet weekly, and at certain seasons contend for several annual prizes.
Convinced as we are that the practice of archery possesses, in point of health, all the advantages of field sports, without their cruelty to animals, and demoralizing oppression to our fellow-creatures, we strongly recommend it to our juvenile friends. It is an exercise adapted to every age and every degree of strength; and especially adapted to young ladies, whose sedentary occupations,--rendered still more injurious by the pestiferous Berlin wool,--disposes them to disease and consumption. I do not wish to sing the praises of the art to their full extent, but I wish to see it universally cultivated, and should hail with pleasure the time when it can be again said, as with Statius, “Pudor est nescere sagittas.”
MODERN ARCHERY.
Proceeding now to the modern practice of the art, we must first begin with
THE BOW.
The Bow may be made of the yew-tree, laburnum, thorn, or acacia, and is generally formed of two pieces of wood joined together, the back piece being of a different wood to the front, and the grain reversed. It is of great importance to secure a good bow. We would not, therefore, advise the young archer to make one, but to buy one at a good archery shop, where they may be had at all prices. Upon making a purchase, he should examine the bow well, to observe whether it be well set in all its parts, of an elegant cut or shape, and free from flaws, knots, or cracks. He should look well at the ends, and to those points on which the bow-string is fixed, which ought to be tipped with horn. The proper length of a bow for a youth is about five feet. The flat or outward part of a bow is called its back, and the inward part its belly; and in stringing it the young archer should be particularly careful to keep the belly inwards, or the bow will break.
THE STRING.
The string of the bow should be made of hemp, and whipped with sewing silk at that part of it which receives the arrow, marked C in the annexed plan. The thickness of the string should depend upon the length of the bow, and should never be too thin for its powers, as the snapping of a string sometimes causes the snapping of the bow. The young archer should never use a string in the least out of order, and should avoid cat-gut strings especially. A bow five feet long, when bent, should have a string about five inches from the centre. This will be a guide in stringing the bow. The young archer should take great pride in the care of his bow, especially of the string, and look carefully, after every day’s shooting, at the “whipping” of the string, and at the wearing points, repairing the least defect. He ought also to place his bow in an oil-skin case, lined with baize; and when put away for the season it should be well rubbed with oil, and polished. He should also have always two or three spare strings in readiness, in case the one in use may fly.
STRINGING THE BOW.
The young archer must be very careful in performing this feat, or he will fail in the attempt; to do so safely, he must take the bow in his right hand by the handle, the flat part towards him; then let his arm rest against his side, then put the lower end of the bow against the inside of the right foot, bring his left foot forward, and place the centre of the left wrist on the upper level of the bow below the loop of the string, the fore-finger knuckle on one edge of the bow, and the top of the thumb upon the other; then up with the bow and loop it. This feat, however, can be best learned by seeing another expert person perform it. In unstringing the bow, the short horn should be placed on the ground against the right foot, the middle of the bow grasped in the right hand, and the left wrist placed on the upper horn, so that the fore-finger may unloop the string when the bow is brought down, as in the manner of stringing it.
THE ARROWS.
Arrows are generally made of some white wood, such as ash, deal, or the wood of the orbele poplar, and are sometimes varnished. They are both blunt and sharp. The sharp ones are for target shooting, the blunt ones principally for roving; they also vary as regards length, some being long, and some short. In purchasing them, the principal thing to be attended to is, that they are perfectly straight, well made, and that the plumes are securely fitted. There should be three on each arrow; one, which is of a darker colour than the rest, is called the cock plume, and in shooting should be placed uppermost. The length and weight of the arrows should be in proportion to the size of the bow. The nicks of arrows should be cased with horn, and they should fit the string exactly.
THE QUIVER.
The quiver is used to contain the arrows, and is usually made of wood, or tin, or leather, those made of the latter material being the most serviceable and convenient to wear. It should be long enough to contain the arrows up to the feather, without bruising or crushing the plumes, which ought always to be kept perfectly straight and unruffled. The quiver in shooting is not carried, but the arrows are placed in a pouch attached to the belt.
THE TASSEL, BRACE, BELT AND POUCH.
The Tassel is usually made of green worsted, and is used by the archer for the purpose of cleansing the arrow from dirt after being taken from the ground. It is usually suspended on the left side of the archer.
The Brace is of leather, and is buckled on the arm to save it from being hurt by the string upon the discharge of the arrow. It ought to be very smooth on its surface, so as to offer no impediment to the bow-string.
The Belt is made of leather, and is buckled round the waist. It has fastened to it a pouch, for the temporary reception of the arrows in shooting.
SHOOTING GLOVE, AND GREASE POT.
The Shooting Glove is made of cow-hide, or horse ball leather. It has places or stalls for three fingers only, with a wrist strap to fasten it on. Its use is to protect the fingers from the action of the string, and in selecting it the young archer should be careful that the finger stalls are neither too long nor too short for the hand.
The Grease Box hangs usually by the side of the tassel, and contains a small portion of grease composed of suet and bees-wax well compounded. This is used for rubbing on the fingers of the shooting glove, and is indispensable to the archer.
THE TARGET.
Targets are made with plaited straw bands, wound round a centre, and sewn together. Over this body is placed a facing of canvass, the ground of which is painted white; upon the white are painted four circles, and a gold centre called the bull’s eye. The first circle close to the eye is red; the next white, called the inner white; the third black; and the fourth white, called the outer white; while the outside verge, called the petticoat of the target, is painted green.
A certain value in shooting is given to each circle of the target, which is thus computed: Outer white 1; Black 3; Inner white 5; Red 7, and the Gold Eye 9.
There are usually two targets in an archery field, placed at certain distances from each other, which shortens the labour of walking; for if one target only be used, a great deal of time is lost in going from the shooting mark to the target to fetch the arrows, and in returning to the spot again.
The prizes usually shot for in archery matches are gold and silver medals, silver cups, silver arrows, silver gilt bugles, prize bows and arrows. There are generally two prizes given; the first for the shots nearest the gold centre, the second for the number of shots put into the target, according to their value.
A person is usually appointed to register the shots at the targets, who has a card similar to the form given below, by which he takes an account of the hits as they are made.
+=======+======+=====+=======+=======+=======+=======+=======++ | NAMES | GOLD | RED | INNER | BLACK | OUTER | TOTAL | VALUE || | | | | WHITE | | WHITE | | || +-------+------+-----+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------++ |Smith| 2 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 11 | 26 | 100 || |Jones| 1 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 27 | 107 || |Brown| 3 | 4 | 9 | 7 | 18 | 41 | 139 || +-------+------+-----+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------++
The markings are usually made by the marker with a pin, holes being less liable to obliteration than pencil marks.
BUTTS.
Are usually made of pieces of turf piled one upon another, and laid one upon the other in the following shape. They are usually about six feet high and four feet broad at the face, upon which a circular piece of thin white pasteboard, about six inches in diameter, is affixed with pegs. Butts are generally placed in the field in sets of four, so as not to stand in the way of each other. And when shot at, the arrows placed in the pasteboard mark are alone reckoned, and those who here place the greatest number of shots are the winners of the prize.
HOW TO DRAW THE BOW.
The ancient directions for drawing the bow, or rather the arrow, have been already given. The archer having placed himself opposite to the target, with his face a little inclined to the right, should swing himself slightly round, so that his eye and the target are in an exact line. He should stand quite upright, his left foot slightly in advance. Holding the bow horizontally in his left hand, he should draw an arrow from his pouch and carry it under the string and over the left side of the bow. The fore-finger of the left hand now holds the arrow secure on the wooden part of the bow at its centre, while the right hand fixes the nick of the arrow on the string, where it is held fast between the first and second fingers, the cock feather being uppermost. The fore-finger of the left hand may now be removed from the arrow, and the centre of the bow grasped tightly. The bow is now raised gradually by the left hand, at the same time that the string is pulled by the right; and when the arrow is drawn about two-thirds of its length, the neck of it should be brought close to the right ear and the aim should be taken. The aim should be taken quickly, and the string loosened freely from the fingers with a peculiar touch, which no books can teach, and which nothing but experience and skill can give. In long shots the right hand must be lowered, and the arrow sent so as to form a greater curve in its flight. The archer should look at his mark, not at his shaft, and when he has shot should retreat to the leftward, and take his position behind the person with whom he is shooting.
FLIGHT SHOOTING.
This is principally engaged in for the purpose of ascertaining the greatest distance to which the arrows can be sent by the respective shooters. It requires no skill in aiming, but much care in drawing the arrow, as nothing is more likely to fracture the bow than flight shooting. The archer who sends his arrows to the greatest distance is the winner.
CLOUT SHOOTING.
In clout shooting the target is only a small piece of white pasteboard attached to a stick about five feet from the ground, and placed at a distance of from 120 to 150 yards. In it seven makes the game, and all arrows that fall within two bows’ length of the foot of the stick are marked in counting.
ROVING.
So called from the shooters roving from place to place, over field, heath, moor, common, finding their marks in trees, posts, bushes, &c. The distances constantly varying, give to young archers a great deal of practice; besides which, the variety of the scenery, and the various incidents that occur in a day’s roving, are often highly interesting and exciting. By roving the eye gets a habit of measuring distances, and the hand and arm strength for the bow. Blunt-headed arrows are the best for roving, of which about a dozen ought to be carried by each archer. Sharp arrows would imbed themselves too deeply in trees to be easily extracted. In a roving party, arrows that reach within five bows’ length of the mark tell, and those which are nearest cut the others out. Each archer measures with his own bow. The number of the game is often nine, but generally twelve.
GENERAL HINTS FOR ARCHERS.
1. In commencing archery never begin with a stiff bow, but select one adapted to your strength, and change this for a stronger from time to time.
2. Never shoot with another person’s bow.
3. Never put an arrow in the string when any one stands between you and the target, or you may shoot out an eye.
4. Never talk, jibe, or jest at the time of shooting.
5. Always study to take a graceful attitude in shooting, or in moving about the field.
6. Never draw a bow near another person; as, should it snap, the danger will be greater to him than yourself.
7. Never let your bow-string get untwisted or ravelled by neglect.
8. Never exhibit impatience at the tardy efforts of your compeers, or chagrin at your own failures.
9. Never shoot alone if you can help it, as it leads to negligence and indifference.
BOXING.
We will first give briefly some of the reasons why we have determined to mention this branch of the manly exercises. Firstly, we do so because we have a great personal esteem for the art, though none can be more sternly opposed to its abuse. Secondly, because it affords one of the finest exercises in the world, employing every limb and every muscle in the body, giving at the same time readiness of hand and quickness of eye, while it tests and improves the patience and endurance. And, thirdly, because every one likes to know how to use the weapons which Nature has given him, and will contrive to acquire the desired knowledge whenever he can find an opportunity. All Englishmen, and therefore all English boys, are proud of their natural weapon, and compare it with the knife, the loaded stick, the knuckleduster, and the pistol of other nations. The principle of fair play and justice is strongly developed in an English breast, and in nothing is the principle so thoroughly carried out as in boxing. No unfair advantage is allowed to either side, no striking upon the vital parts of the body is permitted, and the use of the foot, tooth, or nail is forbidden under the severest penalties. Even in the very prize ring, where men are trained for the express purpose of hitting each other with the utmost force of which human arms are capable, there is little harm done, and in a few days both combatants look as if nothing had happened to them. It is not so even in a wrestling county, or in some few parts of our own land where men fight like brute beasts, and use their best endeavours to maim or blind their adversaries for life. A well-known American writer has expressed, in his own humorous language, the astonishment which he felt at witnessing a short “turn up” at an English cattle-fair. The grave propriety of the affair, and the admirable order in which it was conducted, struck him with profound admiration, as contrasted with the “inglorious and inevitable Yankee clinches, followed by a general mêlée,” which in popular language is termed a “free fight,” and in which every one attacks every one else with any weapons and in any manner.
Before proceeding to our genuine English Boxing, we must just mention the French “savate,” of which we have heard so much of late. We have seen it practised and taught in the salles d’armes, and for it, as a system for boxing, we have the profoundest contempt; as also for that execrable French custom of striking upwards with the knee when at close quarters--an atrocity for which we should like to see a man soundly horsewhipped on the spot.
Now, the savate simply consists in this. You make a feint, as if to strike in the usual manner, and then, instead of striking with the fist, you kick with the foot. Or, when your antagonist is pressing you sharply, you send the point of your toe into his chest, and stop him. Or, you retreat from him, suddenly turn round, and kick at him backwards--of course being quite unable to tell where the blow will alight, and possibly inflicting an injury the effects of which will be felt for life.
Those who are practised in this manœuvre will employ it with wonderful skill. They will hit you on the nose or on the forehead without the least apparent effort, and with the greatest certainty; they will fling you back from your advance with stunning force, and the effect of the lash-out is terrific. Indeed, if the object of boxing be to use all means of offence and defence, the savate is indispensable.
Having many opportunities of visiting several schools of arms, we carefully considered this system, which was then totally unknown to us; and after watching it well for some time, during our residence in Paris, we came to the conclusion that the savate is useful enough in case you are attacked by ruffianly fellows, whom you must needs maim, lest they should maim you; and that by the combined use of the savate and a stick, or even the fist, a man may knock over a couple of assailants simultaneously and effectually.
And if a Frenchman who uses the savate were opposed to an Englishman who never heard of it, the probability is that the former would win, because the latter would lay himself open to a mode of attack which he had always been taught to consider unfair and unmanly. But we do not believe that it would be of the slightest value against any one who knew that his antagonist would employ it, and think that the person attempting to use it would find himself hurled to the ground, and probably discover that his leg was violently sprained. So much for the savate.
It is not easy to teach any branch of the science of arms in a book, and boxing is perhaps as difficult to be learned from books as fencing. Still, something can be done even through the medium of ink and paper; and the reader can, at all events, learn to avoid the errors to which a total novice is subject.
The first and most important point is the position in which the boxer stands.
This is not very dissimilar to that of a left-handed fencer, except that the right arm, instead of being raised, is brought across the body, so that it defends the pit of the stomach (technically called the “mark”), and only leaves a very small portion of the chest open to a blow. The left arm is rather higher than if it held a foil, and the elbow is kept well to the side. This latter point is most important, as it is impossible to hit straight from the shoulder if the elbow should project from the side.
The weight of the body rests mostly on the right leg, so that the boxer can step backwards or forwards, while still keeping his side to the adversary. If you stand opposite a good sparrer in boxing attitude, you will be surprised to find how well guarded he is, and how difficult it is to hit him, even if he neither moves nor attempts to return the blow. His left hand keeps you well away from him, and his right is ready either to stop or throw off your blow.
It will be seen from the foregoing description, as well as by reference to the illustration, that a right-handed boxer stands with his left side towards the opponent, uses his left hand for the chief part of the hitting, and reserves the right for stopping, parrying, or returning blows when at close quarters, or what is technically called a “rally.”
Practise this attitude before a glass. You will soon see if you lay yourself open, and will learn to stand in a correct position. Advance and retreat also before the glass, and so make sure that you do not expose some weak point while so doing. I met a French gentleman who had made himself really a creditable boxer, merely by practising before his mirror; and after a few days of practical work with the gloves he became quite a formidable antagonist.
Another important point is the making up of the fist--not such a simple matter as it seems. The fingers must be clenched tightly, and the thumb doubled down outside them, so that when presented towards your antagonist he can see no part of it projecting over the fingers. This can also be practised at the glass. If the hand be rightly held, it will be seen that the knuckles form a kind of arch, of which the middle knuckle is the keystone. It is with this knuckle that you strike; and be sure to clench the hand with all your power as you deliver the stroke; otherwise you will run a sad risk of dislocating either a finger or a thumb.
The position of the head is of no small importance. On no account bear forwards, as is the way of muffs, but keep it lightly thrown back, and never take your eye off that of your opponent. Greenhorns always lower the head, and rush at their antagonist with their arms flying about like the sails of a windmill; and the natural consequence is, that their opponent quickly steps aside, lets them pass, and knocks them neatly over by a blow on the temple, which they cannot possibly see or guard.
Having got our attitude and doubled our fist, we now learn to strike. Deliver your blow straight and from the shoulder, not merely with the arm. Put all your body into the stroke, and aid it with the spring of the right foot against the ground. Thus you add to the blow the force of a kick, and the stroke comes with such terrific force that I have seen a tall man lifted fairly off the ground and deposited on his back by a straight shoulder-hit, even though the two were merely sparring with the gloves.
Never draw back your hand before you strike, as that tells your opponent what you are contemplating. Your stroke should flash out like the lightning, without warning and straight to the mark. You cannot strike too rapidly, and you cannot recover yourself too quickly. Practise this repeatedly before a glass, and note the length of your reach, for in a knowledge of distance lies half the art of boxing. As a general rule, if you can get your left toe on a level with your antagonist’s heel, you have your proper distance. This rule, however, is necessarily variable, as in the case of the contest to which allusion has just been made, where one party could reach a full foot beyond the other, and had, in consequence, the advantage of twelve inches of space at his disposal.
Now that we have practised the left hand and arm, let us turn to the right. Except when striking, you need not trouble yourself to close the fist very tightly, but may let the hand lie in an easy and unconstrained position across the chest, ready for use in any direction that may be required.
The chief use of the right hand and arm are for parrying and stopping, which are thus achieved:--
If your opponent delivers a blow at the face or upper part of the chest, and you find yourself in a good position, do not retreat from it, but fling your right arm sharply outwards and upwards, catching the opponent’s arm by the wrist, and throwing it out of the direction in which it was aimed. The effect of the parry is very powerful, as it mostly lays open the antagonist’s head, and gives opportunity for a smart return blow with the left hand; it is then near the opponent’s head, and has only a short distance to traverse. This return blow is technically called the “counter,” and is usually very effective, as it takes effect just at the moment when the antagonist is expecting his own blow to strike, and turns the tables on him after a rather discouraging fashion.
Practise this also before the glass, parrying an imaginary blow from the opponent, and simultaneously shooting your own left hand against the spot where your antagonist’s head ought to be. I have often found that a quick double blow when countering is very embarrassing, and gives an opportunity of stepping in and planting your right hand after your left with enormous effect.
Stopping is performed in another manner, and must often be used where the parry is impracticable. For example, if your antagonist strikes at the body the parry cannot be accomplished, and you must either get away, stop, or take the blow in hopes of retaliation. In stopping you receive the blow on your arm, and thereby break its force, while, unless your opponent is possessed of herculean strength, the arm scarcely feels the stroke, yielding before the assault and acting like the cotton bales that have saved many a ship from the enemy’s cannon.
If you are fortunate enough to find a good boxer, get him to give you a few lessons in the practical department of the art, and in all cases be careful to keep your temper. I know that few things are more annoying than when you have made a telling plan of attack, and are just about to begin its execution, to be checked by a short dab on the nose, which makes your eyes water and the lids blink, and forces you to act on the defensive for the next few minutes, while the tears are streaming down your cheeks, and you cannot use a handkerchief by reason of the gloves.
Remember that there are two golden rules for a boxer, namely, hit straight and keep your temper. Fail in either of these requisites, and you will probably come off second best; fail in both, and you will certainly do so. Listen to an account of a battle where strength and weight and anger were overmatched by skill and coolness:--“As the assailant rushed in he ran a prominent feature of his face against a fist which was travelling in another direction, and immediately after struck the knuckles of the young man’s other fist a severe blow with the part of his person known as the epigastrium to one branch of science, and the bread-basket to another. This second round closed the battle.”
So we say again, keep your temper and hit straight. You see a circular blow takes more time to deliver than a straight one, and if your opponent swings his arm round at you, while you dart out your own fist at him, your blow will have taken effect long before his clumsy circumgyratory attempt has completed its journey.
Let me here offer another piece of advice. Do not buy cheap gloves. You may get them at a saving of half-a-crown or so, but you will soon wish that you had expended the money in obtaining a better pair. Gloves require the best horsehair, arranged after a peculiar fashion, in order to give them the mixed softness and elasticity which they require. Inferior gloves soon become hard and knotty, the stuffing gets thin in some places, especially just in those very parts where it is most required. The consequence is, that the gloves become practically useless, and the blows are nearly as severe as if struck with the bare hand.
Remember that, although we strongly approve of boxing, it is not to be understood that we want every one to be fighting. We very much approve of fencing and single-stick, but we certainly have no wish that every one who learns to use the foil or the single-stick in mimic combat should want to try his rapier or his broadsword in deadly fight.
As a mere exercise it stands supreme; but it is even something beyond an exercise. It shows that superior strength and height and weight are powerless before superior skill, and that a small boy who knows how to box will certainly conquer a big one who is ignorant of the art. We say again, we do not recommend fighting; but still it is good to know how to stand up in one’s own defence, and we heartily wish that when we went to school some kind friend had taught us the rudiments of the art.
The brutal bully of a school never holds his own when he meets with an antagonist who is skilful in the use of his hands, and is forced to confess that his brute strength and cruel nature are useless in such a contest. We once saw a school bully get his deserts in a charming manner. He had fallen upon (of course) a much smaller boy, and was chasing him down a passage between a double row of forms. Suddenly his victim turned round, and delivered a right-and-left blow on the chin of his tormentor, astonishing him in no slight degree. The bully pressed on, thinking to annihilate his impertinent antagonist, but could not do so on account of the narrowness of the passage. As he pressed forward the bold little fellow retreated backwards, step by step, popping in his blows sharp and quick, and stepping back just as those of his persecutor were delivered. The bully never guarded a single blow or succeeded in hitting one, and by the time that they had made their way through the defile he was obliged to confess himself beaten, and was deposed for ever from the despotic throne which he had so long disgraced.
CANOES AND CANOEING.
Despite the assertion of even so great an authority as Mr. Macgregor, whose name has now become a household word, canoeing is an amusement that must necessarily involve a considerable amount of danger, and ought to be indulged in by no one who has not, according to the Eton phrase, passed in swimming. Whether or not it is a very comfortable means of locomotion is purely a matter of personal feeling; but in face of the fact that the Canoe Club now numbers upwards of a hundred members, and that the boat-builders have had extensive orders for canoes, it is only fair to suppose that those who venture enjoy the new mode of locomotion. There is one circumstance that will, no doubt, obtain for canoes great favour, especially with young people, and that is, their cheapness. Messrs. Searle at Lambeth, Simmons at Putney, or Wheeler at Richmond, will build a good stout travelling canoe, after the fashion of the Rob Roy, for 15_l._; which price includes mast, sails, apron, paddles, and all necessaries. Any respectable boatbuilder would no doubt do the same, when he is once provided with the necessary instructions, which, I need scarcely add, it is essential should be carried out to the letter, for the slightest deviation from the recognised standard might cause the most disagreeable results. The following points are the most important.
In having a canoe built, it is a matter of considerable moment, that in certain portions of its framework it should be constructed for and peculiarly adapted to the particular person who is going to use it. The length of the foot decides the height the canoe should be from keel to deck; the length of the legs the space required for the “well;” while the weight, of course, decides the displacement that is to be accounted for, and must be taken into consideration at the same time as the amount of luggage that it is proposed to carry. Oak is the best wood that can be used, with the top streak of mahogany and the deck of fine cedar. These were the materials of the Rob Roy, and as her weight with all her fittings was only 71 lbs., it would be unreasonable to want one lighter; indeed, for anything like knocking about flimsy canoes are utterly and entirely useless, and only aggravate the labour of paddling. The length over all should be 14 feet; beam, 26 inches; depth, from top of deck to bottom of keel, 12 inches, though towards the gunwale this is reduced to 8½ inches. The well should be 32 inches long and 20 broad, and protected by a combing of oak half an inch in height. If your canoe is intended for travelling purposes, the beam should be 6 inches abaft midships; so that when stores, provisions, sails, and so on, are stowed away forward, it brings the craft to very nearly an even keel. Otherwise, it should only be 1 foot abaft midships. The boards that compose the floor, and on which you have to sit, resting your back against the backboard, are about two feet long, and are fitted so that the knees just touch the combing, while the heels are against the footboard on the keel, thus obviating the discomfort that would follow on having to keep the legs stretched out straight at full length. As I take it for granted that no one would think of going to the expense of having a canoe built without securing the services of some one who could supply him with the many minor details that it would be impossible to give here, I shall not enter more minutely into any of the less important matters, but would add, that a comfortable backboard, after the following pattern, goes a long way to lightening the labour of paddling. It should be made of two strips of oak, 18 inches long, 2½ inches wide, arched by two crosspieces, one of which should be grooved, so as to rest on the combing, and work after the fashion of a hinge, it being fastened thereon by a stout cord. The result is that the muscles down the back are supported and rested while the spine is left free. The greatest possible care should be taken in selecting the apron, which is too often left to the last moment and chosen in a hurry. Being intended to prevent the water making its way over the deck into the well, and at the same time to avoid being fastened in any way likely to impede the canoeist in case of an upset, it may readily be understood that it requires nice discrimination and handiwork. It should fit close to him--in short, he should be measured for it as for a coat. Mr. Macgregor has invented a new apron, the receipt for which may be easily obtained, as well as any other particulars, at Messrs. Searle’s at Lambeth.
I should recommend the novice in canoeing to rest content with propelling himself by the aid of his paddle for a while--in fact, until he is thoroughly at home in his craft and the way to manœuvre her. Spruce-fir is the best wood of which to have it made, as it combines lightness and durability, two qualities that can be readily appreciated after a day’s locomotion. The action, though it need not be violent, except in currents and so on, is very fatiguing, owing to the motion the body takes from side to side. At the same time, practice will prove to the novice that he requires to move but very little from one side to the other. There can of course be no harm in having a mast fitted to your canoe, and as soon as you feel capable of the risk, set it up, hoist your sail, and be prepared to capsize. This latter alternative is only added by way of warning. With caution nothing of the sort need happen, for the stiffness of canoes under sail in a strong wind and heavy weather has been satisfactorily proved on more than one occasion. Messrs. Silver and Co. of Bishopsgate Street, make the sails according to a regulation pattern that has been supplied them, while the boom, yard, and woven cord can best be obtained at Mr. Farlow’s, the fishing-tackle maker’s, in the Strand. I have thought it advisable to give these names, as they are recommended by Mr. Macgregor himself, who speaks in their favour with that best of all good reasons for doing so, namely, that he has found their wares satisfactory. In conclusion, I am bound to add that I am under much obligation to him for the information he has afforded me concerning this pleasant and novel form of aquatic amusement.
CRICKET.
“Come on, lads! come on: come on, one and all: Now shoulder the bat, and spin up the ball. Take the field like young Trojans; your prowess essay: While the batsman cries, Ready, the bowler says, Play: Then run like wild deer pursued by the hounds, And ground your bat proudly just over the bounds.”--CUNNINGHAM.
The game of cricket is the noblest of English pastimes. It combines athletic power, grace, quickness of eye and of hand, nimbleness of leg, and scientific skill. It is played by high and low, rich and poor, man and boy; and there is no game, either native or foreign, can compete with it for manliness, fairness, and healthfulness. Every one should learn to play it, and all should begin early. How it originated, or who evolved its beautiful laws and regulations, it is now difficult to discover. We have nothing like it among the sports of the Greeks and Romans, and we can only trace it to an old English pastime in the reign of Edward III., called “club-ball.” Strutt, in his “Pastimes of the People of England,” gives the following engravings, representing two specimens of club-ball: the first from a MS. in the Bodleian Library, dated 1344,--and exhibits a female figure in the act of throwing a ball to a man, who elevates his bat to strike it. The next specimen of ball, taken from a drawing more ancient than the former, i. e. a genealogical roll of kings of England to the time of Henry III., in the Royal Library, presents two players only; and he who is possessed of the bat holds the ball also, which he either threw into the air, and struck with his bat as it descended, or cast forcibly upon the ground, and beat it away when it rebounded. But we should be rather inclined to trace the game of cricket to trap-ball, which was, no doubt, an improvement upon the early games played with the bat and ball. This may be traced as far back as the fourteenth century, and a curious specimen of the manner in which it was then played is given in a beautiful MS. in the possession of Francis Douce, Esq. Here are only two players; but the game then consisted of six or eight of a side, and the size of the bat indicates the holder to have possessed no great judgment in striking the ball. There was another game, called “stool-ball,” from which some have supposed cricket to have been derived; but there is no evidence in favour of this position, and it seems rather more reasonable to look upon it as a modification of “trap-ball” than any other game.
THE BAT.
The regulation size of the bat, called by Felix the mighty sceptre of delight, is 38 inches in length, of which 25 inches are taken up by the pod, or, according to the more modern term, the blade, and 13 by the handle.
No bats are made longer than this, although, of course, they are allowed to be of various smaller proportions, in order to suite the height of the player.
We must strongly impress on all young players the great importance of using a bat in proportion to their strength. If they use a very heavy bat, they will not be able to move it quickly enough to play the ball properly, and are apt, in consequence, to get into a sluggish style of play, which is almost sure to stick to them all their lives. A very light bat is equally injurious: the batsman sees an easy ball approach, plays hard at it, when, instead of going right over the head of long-on, it drops an easy catch into mid-wicket’s hands, in consequence of there not being enough driving power in the bat to send it further.
THE BALL.
The present style of ball, with the exception of some very slight modifications, seems to have been in use since cricket assumed anything like its present form. According to the rules of the present day, it must not be more than 9 inches in circumference, and must not weigh more than 5¾ or less than 5¼ ounces. Match balls are always treble-seamed, and are sold at the average price of 7_s._ 6_d._ But for ordinary practice, a double-seamed ball, at about 6_s._, will be found quite good enough, and will answer just as well as the more expensive article.
THE STUMPS.
The stumps have undergone more change during the last hundred and fifty years than any of the accessories to cricket.
At first they were two in number and only 12 inches high. A third stump, 2 feet in length, was laid across them, although, with the exception of being knocked down by the bowler, it was similar in no respect to the bails of the present day, as the wicket-keeper was obliged, in order to stump a person, to place the ball in a large hole dug between the two stumps.
In the year 1780 the width between the two stumps was decreased to 6 inches. It was also at this time that a bail was introduced, for it is almost impossible to dignify the transverse stump, 2 feet long, which was in use till this date, by that appellation. In 1781 a third stump was added, and the height of the wickets increased to 22 inches. The addition of a stump was mainly owing to the fact, that Lumpy, a celebrated bowler of that day, sent the ball almost three times running between the two stumps. This was thought so unfair for the bowler, that it was resolved to increase the number of stumps in order to give him a better chance.
In 1814 we find that the wickets were increased in height to 26 inches, and in width to 8 inches, and in 1817 another inch was added to their length. This, with the exception of dividing the bail into two equal parts, is the last change that has taken place.
PADS OR GUARDS.
Since the introduction of round-hand bowling, pads or guards have come into vogue, and at the present time it is really a dangerous feat to play without them. The first notion of a leg-guard was two thin boards placed anglewise on the right shin. Since that time improvements have been effected in them at various times, until they have arrived at their present state of excellence.
The leg-guard itself is now so well-known as to render any description of it needless; but as there are two or three fastenings in use, it will perhaps be as well to state what they are, and also which is the best. The first consists of three sets of tape, one round the ancle and two round the knee. These naturally take a great deal of time to fasten properly, and if one breaks, the pad is rendered useless for some time. The next is three pieces of elastic, with a catch which fastens almost instantaneously; but in course of time it loses its elasticity, and the pad dangles on one leg in a loose and awkward manner. The third, and in our opinion the best fastening, is two sets of straps, with holes pierced at very slight intervals. The player can then have his pad as tight as he pleases, without the chance of the fastenings breaking or becoming loose, as in the case of the other two. There are several other guards, such as elbow and private-guards; but they are scarcely ever used.
BATTING GLOVES.
These are now made with the palm cut clear away, thus enabling the batsman to hold the bat in a much firmer manner than he could were the palm of his hand covered by the glove. As will be seen by referring to the accompanying cut, the india-rubber is placed differently on the two hands. This difference will be more particularly noticed on the two thumbs. The left one, as it is always behind the handle of the bat, requires no guard; but the back of the left hand being in front of the bowler, is covered with a semicircle of india-rubber, while the strips of the india-rubber on the fingers are much longer than those on the right hand. It may be urged by those who object to the use of batting gloves, that the ball is likely to fly off them and give a catch. This, although true, very rarely happens, and besides, if the ball came with enough force to fly into the air off the glove, is it not very probable that, without a glove to shield them, the fingers would be broken by the same collision?
WICKET-KEEPING GLOVES.
These might be more appropriately termed gauntlets, for they are much longer than the ordinary gloves, and entirely cover the wrist. Thanks to the suggestions of the best wicket-keepers of the day, they have now been greatly improved, and have padding only in those parts where it can possibly be required. It is absurd to try to keep wicket well without wearing these gauntlets; therefore let no young cricketer be fool-hardy enough to attempt the feat. As the right and left hand gloves are precisely the same, the artist has drawn one glove in two positions, in order to show the front and back of it.
THE LAWS OF CRICKET.
The following are the laws which govern the game everywhere. They have been recently revised by the Marylebone Club, usually considered the highest authority in the game.
1. The Ball must weigh not less than 5½ ounces, nor more than 5¾ ounces. It must measure not less than 9 inches, nor more than 9¼ inches, in circumference. At the beginning of each innings either party may call for a new ball.
[It is, however, not customary to have a new ball at the beginning of each innings. One a match is usually considered sufficient.]
2. The Bat must not exceed 4¼ inches in the widest part; it must not be more than 38 inches in length.
3. The Stumps must be 3 in number, 27 inches out of the ground; the bails 8 inches in length; the stumps of equal and of sufficient thickness to prevent the ball from passing through.
4. The Bowling Crease must be in a line with the stumps; 6 feet 8 inches in length; the stumps in the centre; with a return crease at each end towards the bowler, at right angles.
5. The Popping Crease must be 4 feet from the wicket, and parallel to it, unlimited in length, but not shorter than the bowling crease; unlimited in length, so that the batsman may keep out of the way of the ball when it is thrown in.
6. The wickets must be pitched opposite to each other by the umpires, at the distance of 22 yards.
7. It shall not be lawful for either party during a match, without the consent of the other, to alter the ground by rolling, watering, covering, mowing, or beating, except at the commencement of each innings, when the ground shall be swept and rolled, unless the side next going in object to it. This rule is not meant to prevent the striker from beating the ground with his bat near to the spot where he stands during the innings, nor to prevent the bowler from filling up holes with sawdust, &c. when the ground is wet.
8. After rain the wickets may be changed with the consent of both parties.
9. The Bowler shall deliver the ball with one foot on the ground behind the bowling crease, and within the return crease, and shall bowl four balls before he change wickets, which he shall be permitted to do only once in the same innings.
[In a one day’s match six balls are usually allowed as an over.]
10. The ball must be bowled; if thrown or jerked, the umpire shall call “no ball.”
11. He may require the striker at the wicket from which he is bowling to stand on that side of it which he may direct.
12. If the bowler shall toss the ball over the striker’s head, or bowl it so wide that in the opinion of the umpire it shall not be fairly within the reach of the batsman, he shall adjudge one run to the party receiving the innings without an appeal, which shall be put down to the score of wide balls; such balls shall not be reckoned as one of the four or six balls: but if the batsman shall by any means bring himself within reach of the ball, the run shall not be scored.
13. If the bowler deliver a “no ball” or a “wide ball,” the striker shall be allowed as many runs as he can get, and he shall not be put out except by running out. In the event of no run being obtained by any other means, then one run shall be added to the score of “no balls” or “wide balls,” as the case may be. All runs obtained for “wide balls” to be scored to “wide balls.” If the ball shall first touch any part of the striker’s dress or person (except his hands), the umpire shall call “leg bye.”
[If, however, the batsman runs two byes from a wide or a no ball, they are scored as two wides only. Many young players are in the habit of running a single bye off a wide ball, without ever thinking that they endanger their wicket without the slightest possible chance of advantage to themselves.]
14. At the beginning of each innings the umpire shall call “play;” from that time to the end of each innings no trial ball shall be allowed to any bowler.
[This rule is very seldom enforced, as a new bowler is almost invariably allowed a trial ball, though not on the wicket.]
15. The Striker is Out if either of the bails be struck off, or if a stump be bowled out of the ground;
16. Or, if the ball, from a stroke of the bat or hand, but not the wrist, be held before it touches the ground, although it be hugged to the body of the catcher;
17. Or, if in striking, or at any other time while the ball shall be in play, both his feet shall be over the popping-crease, and his wicket put down, except his bat be grounded within it;
18. Or, if in striking at the ball, he hit down his wicket;
19. Or, if under pretence of running or otherwise, either of the strikers prevent a ball from being caught, the striker of the ball is out;
20. Or, if the ball be struck, and he wilfully strike it again;
[This does not prevent the batsman from hitting the ball off his wicket when it glides in from not being blocked with sufficient force.]
21. Or, if in running the wicket be struck down by a throw, or by the hand or arm (with ball in hand), before his bat (in hand) or some part of his person be grounded over the popping-crease. But if both the bails be off, a stump must be struck out of the ground;
22. Or, if any part of the striker’s dress knock down the wicket;
23. Or, if the striker touch or take up the ball while at play, unless at the request of the opposite party;
24. Or, if with any part of his person he stop the ball, which in the opinion of the umpire at the bowler’s wicket shall have been pitched in a straight line from it to the striker’s wicket, and would have hit it.
[On the 15th of April, 1863, the M. C. C. altered this rule as follows:--“Or, if the ball hit any part of his person which in the opinion of the umpire at the bowler’s wicket shall have been placed in a straight line from it to the striker’s wicket.” But at their next meeting, discovering that their former proceedings were informal, they cancelled their new rule; so that the law remains as before.
It is almost impossible for a round-arm bowler, unless he bowl over the wicket, to pitch the ball in a straight line.]
25. If the players have crossed each other, he that runs for the wicket which is put down is out.
26. A ball being caught, no runs shall be reckoned.
27. A striker being run out, that run which he and his partner were attempting shall not be reckoned.
28. If a lost ball be called, the striker shall be allowed six runs; but if more than six shall have been run before “lost ball” shall have been called, then the striker shall have all which have been run.
29. After the ball shall have been finally settled in the wicket-keeper’s or bowler’s hand, it shall be considered dead; but when the bowler is about to deliver the ball, if the striker at his wicket go outside the popping-crease before such actual delivery, the said bowler may put him out, unless (with reference to the 21st law) his bat in hand, or some part of his person, be within the popping-crease.
30. The striker shall not retire from his wicket and return to it to complete his innings after another has been in, without the consent of the opposite party.
31. No substitute shall in any case be allowed to stand out, or run between wickets for another person, without the consent of the opposite party; and in case any person shall be allowed to run for another, the striker shall be out, if either he or his substitute be off the ground in manner mentioned in laws 17 and 21, while the ball is in play.
32. In all cases where a substitute shall be allowed, the consent of the opposite party shall also be obtained as to the person to act as substitute, and the place in the field which he shall take.
33. If any fieldsman stop the ball with his bat, the ball shall be considered dead, and the opposite party shall add five runs to their score; if any be run, they shall have five in all.
34. The ball having been hit, the striker may guard his wicket with his bat, or with any part of his body except his hands; that the 23rd law may not be infringed.
35. The wicket-keeper shall not take the ball for the purpose of stumping until it has passed the wicket; he shall not move until the ball be out of the bowler’s hand; he shall not by any noise incommode the striker; and if any part of his person be over or before the wicket, although the ball hit it, the striker shall not be out.
36. The umpires are the sole judges of fair or unfair play; and all disputes shall be determined by them, each at his own wicket; but in case of a catch, which the umpire at the wicket bowled from cannot see sufficiently to decide upon, he may apply to the other umpire, whose opinion shall be conclusive.
37. The umpires in all matches shall pitch fair wickets; and the parties shall toss up for choice of innings. The umpires shall change wickets after each party has had one innings.
38. They shall allow two minutes for each striker to come in, and ten minutes between each innings. When the umpire shall call “play,” the party refusing to play shall lose the match.
39. They are not to order a striker out unless appealed to by the adversaries;
40. But if one of the bowler’s feet be not on the ground behind the bowling-crease, and within the return-crease, when he shall deliver the ball, the umpire at his wicket, unasked, must call “no ball.”
41. If either the strikers run a short run, the umpire must call “one short.”
[The run is of course not scored.]
42. No umpire shall be allowed to bet.
43. No umpire is to be changed during a match, without the consent of both parties, except in case of violation of the 42nd law; then either party may dismiss the transgressor.
44. After the delivery of four or six balls the umpire must call “over,” but not until the ball shall be finally settled in the wicket-keeper’s or bowler’s hand; the ball shall then be considered dead; nevertheless, if an idea be entertained that either of the strikers is out, a question may be put previously to, but not after, the delivery of the next ball.
45. The umpire must take especial care to call “no ball” instantly upon delivery; “wide ball” as soon as it shall pass the striker.
46. The players who go in second shall follow their innings, if they have obtained eighty runs less than their antagonists, except in all matches limited to only one day’s play, when the number shall be limited to sixty instead of eighty.
47. When one of the strikers shall have been put out, the use of the bat shall not be allowed to any person until the next striker shall come in.
NOTE.--The Committee of the Marylebone Club think it desirable that, previously to the commencement of a match, one of each side should be declared the manager of it; and that the new laws with respect to substitutes may be carried out in a spirit of fairness and mutual concession, it is their wish that such substitutes be allowed in all reasonable cases, and that the umpire should inquire if it is done with the consent of the manager of the opposite side.
Complaints having been made that it is the practice of some players when at the wicket to make holes in the ground for a footing, the Committee are of opinion that the umpires should be empowered to prevent it.
THE LAWS OF SINGLE WICKET.
1. When there shall be less than five players on a side, bounds shall be placed 22 yards each in a line from the off and leg-stump.
2. The ball must be hit before the bounds to entitle the striker to a run, which run cannot be obtained unless he touch the bowling-stump or crease in a line with his bat, or some part of his person, or go beyond them, returning to the popping-crease, as at double wicket, according to the 21st law.
3. When the striker shall hit the ball, one of his feet must be on the ground, and behind the popping-crease, otherwise the umpire shall call “no hit.”
4. When there shall be less than five players on a side, neither byes nor overthrows shall be allowed, nor shall the striker be caught out behind the wicket, nor stumped out.
5. The fieldsman must return the ball so that it shall cross the play between the wicket and the bowling-stump, or between the bowling-stump and the bounds; the striker may run till the ball be so returned.
6. After the striker shall have made one run, if he starts again he must touch the bowling-stump, and turn before the ball cross the play, to entitle him to another.
7. The striker shall be entitled to three runs for lost ball, and the same number for ball stopped with bat, with reference to the 28th and 33rd laws of double wicket.
8. When there shall be more than four players on a side, there shall be no bounds. All hits, byes, and overthrows shall then be allowed.
9. The bowler is subject to the same laws as at double wicket.
10. Not more than one minute shall be allowed between each ball.
THE BATSMAN.--HINTS TO YOUNG PLAYERS.
The first point to be considered in batting is the sort of bat to be used. Many young cricketers cramp their play by using a bat much too heavy for them. Now, it stands to reason that one should be able to have a complete mastery over the weapon one wields. A bat weighing about two pounds will be found quite heavy enough for most schoolboys. It may, however, be urged that the heaviest bats drive the farthest, and that many of the old-fashioned players made some of their famous hits with them; but it must also be borne in mind that those were the days of underhand bowling, and that at the present time cutting and leg-hitting, in consequence of the swift round-arm bowling, are infinitely more prevalent than forward drives, and that in many cases the position of field-on is done away with altogether. Therefore let us beg young players to use a light bat, one that feels almost as a whip in their hands, and one with which they can play back as quickly as is necessitated by the speed of the bowling.
And now a few words with regard to guard. Of course, in many instances, the distance from the wickets depends considerably upon the pace and pitch of the bowling, but as a rule the safest guard is about four inches from the popping-crease. This block not only gives you a better chance of stopping shooters, but also enables you to play forward better, since you can cover more ground than if your block were nearer the wicket. A leg hit can also be made sooner, and consequently squarer, and with a good long block there is less chance of hitting your wicket in playing back, and more chance of stopping a full-pitched ball before it touches the ground.
The left foot should be at right angle to the wickets, and the other parallel with them. Free hitters keep their hands at the upper part of the handle of the bat, whilst some players, who have a reputation for steadiness, hold it with the hands three or four inches apart. The former position enables a player to hit much sooner, and also to have a much longer reach. The advantages of the position are readily discovered when there is a chance of a cut or a leg-hit.
The batsman should stand quite erect, endeavouring to make the most of his height. Before the ball is delivered, the bat should be raised, with the full face presented to the bowler, and covering as much of the wicket as possible.
The moment the bowler is about to deliver the ball, raise your bat slightly from the block, keeping it almost straight to him. If you hold it, as some players do, still on the block-hole until the ball approaches, you are almost sure to be too late for the ball; and although, if it be straight, you may keep it off your wicket, yet it is a hundred chances to one that you will miss all the leg balls, or those which come to the off-side.
Play, too, as low as possible. It is much better to hit a ball well along the ground for two, than to send one high into the air, although you get four or five for it. Sooner or later you will lose your wicket, for the ball is sure at some time to be caught by long-on or long-off.
Assuming that the player has taken up his position at the wicket, we must now fully impress upon him the importance of not being in a hurry to score. In fact, nothing is so injurious as making runs in the first over. The best maxim to be observed is, play steadily until you can understand the bowling. It is astonishing how much confidence you gain after you have played a dozen balls or so. Then, when you have, as it were, taken the measure of your opponent, lunge out, as soon as you get a chance, and show the field your favourite drive, and prepare to make a score.
In writing the last sentence, we are reminded of the many mishaps and even serious accidents that have occurred on the cricket-field in consequence of the careless manner in which some players run. They rush between the wickets, watching the course of the ball rather than the wicket towards which they are going; occasionally they run too far and lose time, or else do not run far enough and lose runs; or, what is even worse, a collision takes place between the two batsmen, and one is run out, if not seriously injured by the bat or body of his comrade. The simplest plan, therefore, is always to run on the right side, to keep the bat in the right hand, and to watch the wicket towards which you are running.
It has often been remarked that the most difficult balls to play are shooters, and those that are well pitched up and just take the bail off. Indeed, some shooters are almost sure to take a wicket; the moment, therefore, that a ball shoots, drop the bat back close to the stumps, and chop down upon the ball. Stopping a shooter is always a sign of good play, and often at Lord’s produces more applause than a hit which scores two or three runs. Some players, like Parr and Carpenter, can stop shooters so well, that although they only chop down upon them, yet the force of the stroke often drives the ball far enough to obtain a run.
How happens it that so many players miss the cut, although they attempt this stroke at almost every ball that rises to the off? As a rule, young players hit too soon, and if they touch the ball, in most cases they give either point or cover-point an easy catch; others hit in time, but play with a horizontal bat, the face of which is presented to the bowler. The ball then rises in many instances either to slip or long-slip, with the usual result. In cutting, the batsman should wait until the ball has almost passed the wicket, and then drop down upon it, with the face of the bat almost towards the ground. This keeps the ball down and drives it in the direction required. In cutting, the left foot acts as a pivot, and the right foot is drawn back. The advantage of taking a long block is here shown, as occasionally this leg knocks down the wicket; and if the block is near the stumps, they are easily struck by the bat itself.
In leg-hitting, on the contrary, the right acts as a pivot, and the left is thrown forwards. The sooner the hit is made the squarer the ball goes, and, as a rule, the greater distance also. Since then, in swift bowling, long-on is generally done away with, a leg ball that is hit in front of long leg is safe to obtain more runs than if hit much behind the wicket.
A very common habit among young players is to strike at wide balls. Many and many a time have we seen a batsman rush out to a wide off-ball, and send it into point’s or cover’s hands, thus depriving himself of his innings and his side of a run. Before we conclude this somewhat desultory chapter, we must urge upon everybody the importance of wearing both gloves and leg-guards when playing against swift bowling. The many dangerous accidents that have happened in consequence of the legs and hands having no protection, should induce every person to guard himself as much as possible. One can stand up to the wicket much better, and have far more confidence, when one knows that a blow from the ball upon the legs is likely to produce no ill effect. The absence of pads causes many players to run away from the ball, and if the ball turns, the off-stump in most cases will soon be prostrate.
Be careful, too, in running, that you ground your bat on the popping-crease. Nothing is so tantalizing to a player as to lose a run through the carelessness of his companion, who in his excitement runs an inch or so short of the proper distance.
The moment the ball has left the bowler at your wicket, walk a yard or two; you may by this means steal many a run that it would be impossible to obtain if you were at your own wicket when the ball was hit.
Never, if you can possibly avoid it, hit a ball on the wrong side. How disgusting it is to see a big awkward player swipe a ball right round to the off-side which he should have drawn or played to mid-wicket on!
Do not run away from the ball. If you do, you can never get a good leg hit; besides, you naturally expose your wicket, and if the ball turns in (as it often will do), you will find it almost impossible to be back in time to save your off-stump.
As a rule, play forward whenever you can; but be sure you don’t run out of your ground to hit unless you feel perfectly confident of your success.
Waiting for the ball is always a dangerous experiment, and will often result in your playing back so far that you upset your own wickets when in the act of achieving a most scientific cut.
Be careful to keep one foot steadily planted within the popping-crease; it is sometimes impossible to help being bowled or caught, but the worst player in the world can always prevent the wicket-keeper stumping him.
Mind, too, that the bat ought to strike the ball, and not the ball the bat.
Be always cautious of straight balls, however tempting they may appear. Remember that if you miss them, you are safe to lose your wicket; therefore always treat them with the respect that they deserve.
Balls, too, that come about five inches above the bails should generally be allowed to pass, for unless you are well skilled in the art of hitting down, you are sure to give a catch.
And now a word or two with regard to the three leg hits--the draw, the forward, and the backward leg hit.
When a ball seems pitched at the leg stump, hold your bat straight, as it were, for a block; but the moment the bat meets the ball, turn the face of it a trifle round towards you, and the ball will then slip off between your legs and the stumps. This is called the draw.
This play, however, requires a great deal of practice, and should very rarely be attempted by inexperienced players.
The forward leg hit is made in the following manner:--When a ball is pitched rather wide on the near side, advance the left foot in front of the wicket, turn half round, and hit down upon the ball as hard as you can.
When the ball is pitched inside the near stump, step back with the right foot, and with an upright bat play it off the wicket. The ball will fly rapidly along the ground, and usually between leg and long-stop.
Recollect, the sooner you hit at a leg ball the squarer it goes.
The cut is the most difficult of all, and can only be accomplished when the ball rises a little wide of the off-bail. Even then you are very likely to play either too soon or too late at it, and it is very rare indeed that a player makes a really good legitimate cut.
When you see the ball about to rise a foot away from off-bail, draw the right leg backwards, and, with a horizontal bat, give the ball something between a pat and a push, between point and short-slip.
This is very far from being a scientific definition of this delightful stroke; but I think, from the plain manner in which I have stated it, that it will be more likely to be understood.
The technical names for the various balls the batsman is likely to receive are--the full pitch, the tice, the hop, the half volley, the ground ball, and the shooter.
Leg balls and balls to cut we have already explained.
At first sight, a full pitch would seem one of the easiest balls to play; but in reality it is not; and many a good batsman, who could play any number of well-pitched balls, has lost his wicket by playing rashly or across a toss. Again, if hit carelessly, it is almost sure to be caught by one of the long-fields; and often, when the batsman tries to play it down, it hits the top of his bat, and goes into long-stop’s hands. The best plan (if you are not very tall), when you think it is too high to take your wicket, is to leave it alone altogether; but when you feel persuaded that if you miss the ball it will take the stumps, either play it down, or else hit it where there is no field.
The tice is almost a full pitch. If you have a long reach, go in and play it forward; if not, however, keep your bat down and block it. Running in is generally a bad habit, as it is sure to engender a loose style of play.
The long hop, if straight, should be played very carefully, and with an upright bat. Those batsmen who have, as it is called, “got their eye in,” can usually strike at one with impunity; but as the ball is liable to twist every time it reaches the ground, the young player should be very careful in striking at it.
A half volley is a ball which rises well from the pitch. Catches are, however, often the result of hitting right at a half volley.
A ground ball is perhaps better known among our young friends as a sneak. If played at with a high bat, the wicket is almost sure to fall. The best plan is to keep the bat well down, and play forward at it. If the bat is kept in a straight line with the ball, you cannot miss it, and often by playing it forward you can send it past the bowler.
A shooter is the most difficult ball to play, and if not treated with proper respect, is sure to take the wicket. The moment the ball shoots, play back, dropping the bat down on it within an inch of the stumps. You are by this means very likely to keep it off your wicket, but do not try to hit it. Left-hand bowling generally turns in from the off; therefore play forward at it.
FIELDING.
Although not of so interesting a character as batting and bowling, yet fielding is in itself of too much importance to be overlooked, or even carelessly practised, by anybody who desires to become a cricketer. Many a match has been lost by loose fielding, and instances without number have occurred of a man who, after being missed before he has made a run, has sent his score up to fifty before receiving his dismissal. It is astonishing how many runs may be saved by careful fielding. Hits which at first seem good for four, only obtain one through good fielding, and that even a sharp run.
Quick fielding should be practised by the tyro, before either of the other two departments of the game. As soon as a boy gets a ball in his hand, he tries to catch it, or to get a companion to throw it to him; and thus before he even knows how to handle a bat, many a boy has in him the elements of a good field. As, however, the fascination of batting grows upon him, he cares less for the other parts of the game; and thus it happens that although we have many gentlemen cricketers who bat just as well as professionals, yet the latter obtain the mastery through their superior bowling and fielding, which they are obliged to practise as often as batting, in order to obtain the reputation of good players. I have, however, heard it stated that no finer fielding can be seen than that shown in the University match. This is generally admitted; but it must be borne in mind that the University match is played by young men whose ages vary from twenty to five-and-twenty, whereas most of the players are over thirty, and some rapidly approaching to forty, an age at which the bones are not so lissom as those that have just arrived at man’s estate.
As a proof of this I may cite the Gentlemen and Players’ match at Lord’s, a contest (if such it can be called) which is only worth seeing on account of the excellent bowling and fielding of the professional players. It is satisfactory to know that it is the opinion of most judges of the game, that as long as the gentlemen persist in practising batting only, they will scarcely have a chance against the players.
No advice, however, will produce the same good upon a young player in the matter of fielding as watching a match in which some of the best players take part. In this he should bear well in mind the manner in which the ball is stopped and thrown to the wicket-keeper.
Supposing that our cricketer can stop and catch a ball pretty well, the next point for him to study is to throw it in carefully. How many men that should have been run out save their wickets through the bad throwing of a field, who, either through hurry or nervousness, pitches the ball over the wicket-keeper’s head, or sends it in so much along the ground as to render the picking up of it sharply by the wicket-keeper a matter of impossibility! The best plan is to throw in a catch to the top of the bails. A long hop occasionally meets with success; but if the ground is bumpy, and the ball is thrown in from a distance, it is very possible that it will go over the man’s head.
One of the most prominent failings of a young eleven is the careless manner in which they back up. Overthrows in a professional eleven are almost a matter of impossibility, for if the ball passes one field there is almost sure to be another behind him to stay its progress; whereas, in some clubs, if there is one man to back up the wicket-keeper, the ball is considered safe, and as he generally stands within a few yards of the wicket, he usually misses the ball if it passes the amateur Lockyer. If, however, it is expedient to throw the ball to the bowler, and he does not wish to hurt his fingers, an overthrow is sure to follow, for long-on or long-off scarcely ever thinks it his duty to stand behind the bowler’s wicket when the ball is thrown in. Overthrows in themselves are not only annoying, because they are obtained through no merit of the batsman, but because they always produce a merciless laugh from the spectators, and occasionally epithets of a not very complimentary character. It is therefore the captain’s bounden duty to make his eleven back up well, and not to consider the ball safe unless two or three people are behind the wicket at which it is thrown.
One naturally imagines that the wicket-keeper’s hands get occasionally damaged from the sharp throwing to which he is subjected. Whatever he would do without his thick gauntlets, it is unpleasant to imagine. Care should on all occasions, therefore, be taken to save his hands, and when the batsmen are not running, there is no need to throw the ball as hard as possible at him. The long-stop, who returns the ball to the wicket-keeper oftener than any other field, should send it in gently when there is no run, and the wicket-keeper ought, in throwing it to the bowler, to toss it as quietly as he can, in order not to deaden the fingers of that important functionary.
Whilst writing about bowler and wicket-keeper, we cannot allow the opportunity to pass of requesting all players to obey with the utmost fidelity any order given to them in the field. The wicket-keeper can, by raising his hand, change the positions of the field unknown to the batsman, who, hitting a ball to a place which he thinks is not covered, and finding it suddenly stopped, sees that he must play more carefully in future.
Two of the most important positions in the field are the mid-wickets and cover-point, and no player, unless he is a safe catch, and can return the ball sharply, should ever be placed there. It has been computed that mid-wicket runs more out than any other field. Anybody who has seen R. Daft in this place will be surprised at the rapidity with which he picks up the ball and sends it in. The space that a good cover-point can command is really astonishing. Players seeing that the ball has passed point feel sure that it is safe for one, whereas, if cover runs in and sends it in well to the wicket-keeper, one of the batsmen will probably have “run out” to his name.
Long-stop should on no account be too close to the wicket. If he takes a position where he feels sure he can stop one run, he will do much more service than nearer the stumps. Not only will he be able to stop some balls which might have gone over his head, but he may stay the progress of many leg-hits and slipped balls, besides standing a better chance of a catch.
Catching comes so naturally that we need say little about it. The chief point to be remembered is to keep the hands well together. Occasionally one sees--in catching--the ball slip through a man’s hands altogether. At other times the ball lodges in the hands for an instant, and then drops to the ground, because the arms were not drawn back with the ball, but held out to meet it. In catching, the arms should always be drawn back as the ball comes, as this lessens the force with which the ball strikes the hands. A good plan, but one which, however, requires much practice, is to pat the ball up as it comes, and then to catch it. It is evident that when the ball has thus been sent up, it descends much more slowly than when it comes direct from the bat.
Even, however, if, in spite of advice and practice, one of the field is unfortunate enough to miss a catch, the captain should not allow any unfeeling remarks to be made. The anguish of the unfortunate player is quite deep enough without being aggravated by growls and sneers from comrades who may perhaps do the same thing in a few minutes.
The captain should also do all he can to prevent talking in the field. It is time to do that when a wicket falls, but very unlike a true cricketer to endeavour to attract the field’s attention just as the bowler is about to deliver the ball.
BOWLING.
We have read in a manual of Cricket that there are four styles of bowling, and Felix, we believe, in his excellent work on the Bat, states that there are five modes, all of which are in general use. For the present purpose, however, we think it will be sufficient if we confine our remarks to two styles,--
1. Round-arm Bowling.
2. Underhand Bowling.
The former is an innovation upon the latter, and, like all improvements, met with a great deal of opposition at first, since it was more difficult to play, and made the innings shorter. Now, however, the batting seems to have obtained as much mastery over the round-arm bowling as before it had over the underhand, and it is even probable that in a few years a new style will be introduced, in order to decrease the inordinate length which innings assume now-a-days.
The following hints apply to the round-arm bowling:--
The ball should be held with the fingers across the seams, as this occasionally makes the ball twist, and renders the defence of the batsman a matter of more difficulty. Many bowlers, however, can never get what is technically called “a twist on,” whereas others, after an hour’s practice, can manage to make the ball twist in any direction they please.
It is also important to take a run of a few yards, increasing the distance in proportion to the pace. This allows the bowler to get his arm into swing, and increases the impetus with which the ball is delivered.
The bowler should always stand with his body well towards the other wicket. We have seen a man run almost round the wicket and deliver the ball without looking at the stumps he is supposed to aim at. Long practice had enabled him to bowl pretty well, but the absurdity of his position was so apparent that it provoked a laugh from all who saw it.
It must not be imagined, however, that a bowler should always deliver the same style of ball. Many a wicket (paradoxical as it may seem) falls from a ball that is not straight. A batsman who has had a hit to leg for four, becomes at once anxious to get another. Very often, if a bowler pitches the ball in a different manner, the batsman endeavours to give another specimen of his favourite hit, and equally often loses his wicket. Practise, therefore, change of pace and pitch, as catches are almost sure at some time to be the result.
Nyren, one of the earliest writers on Cricket, speaks of this plan in the following manner:--
“When it is difficult to part two batsmen, and either of them has a favourite hit, I have often succeeded in getting him out by opening the field where his hit is placed, at the same time hinting to the bowler to give him a different style of ball. This, with the opening of the field, has tempted him to plant his favourite hit, and in his anxiety to do so he has not unfrequently committed an error fatal to him.”
In writing of round-arm bowling let us recommend young bowlers to practise bowling over the wicket in preference to what is usually termed round or outside it. The former plan is the only mode that necessitates straight bowling, since, from the position of the arm, the ball may be straight all the way, whereas, in the latter, the ball must come in from the leg side. Again, it will be recollected that in the late discussion about leg before wicket, many of the best judges gave it as their opinion that the batsman could not be given out l. b. w. unless the ball was delivered over the wicket. To these advantages may be added the fact that a much better view of the opponent’s stumps can be obtained, and that the distance is also shorter than from the outside of the wicket.
Among the most common faults of young players may be cited a habit of not pitching the ball far enough. This is mainly owing to a want of power in the arms, but still a little careful practice will considerably assist the player. Those nice specimens of bowling known as bailers, when the bail is knocked off, can only be obtained by a ball that is well pitched up. Shooters, also, are the result of balls that touch the ground near the wicket. We may also add that a ball that is pitched short is easy to play, since it can be seen well, and its coming in contact with the ground deadens its force and checks its speed.
Another practice which is often condemned is a habit of bowling fast. Now, it is a great mistake to imagine that fast bowling is the most difficult to play, as may be ascertained by the fact that our fastest bowlers by no means take the most wickets, excepting Jackson, whose bowling, however, is not so successful now as it was at one time. Fast bowling does not so readily allow accuracy of pitch as a slower style; besides, a fast bowler soon gets tired, then bowls loosely, and then gets taken off. Those tips (for they are nothing else) to the slips for four or five, are more the result of the bowler than the batsman. Let us, therefore, earnestly recommend young bowlers to begin bowling slowly, and to increase their pace as they grow older and stronger. Many a promising bowler has been irretrievably spoilt by beginning to bowl too fast for his strength, and finding in a short time that he has no style at all, and that the fruit of his labour is principally found in the number of byes scored off him.
Particular care must also be taken to avoid bowling over the shoulder. It is a pity that there is not some more stringent rule than at present exists with regard to law 10, although in such a case the most successful bowlers would find their occupation gone; besides, as the no-balling of a bowler by an umpire usually causes the greatest unpleasantness in a match, spoiling the amicable feeling which almost invariably exists in the cricket-field, it is much better to avoid the head and front of the offending, by practising the best means to prevent the arm getting over the shoulder. We recollect at school a big sturdy fellow, who, not content with bowling over his shoulder, delivered the ball always as fast as he could. His bowling, however, (as might be expected) was so loose that his services were never called into requisition at a match; but at practice he occasionally handled the ball, much to the dread of the batsman he opposed. One day he was bowling against the present writer in his usual headstrong style, and actually sent a ball over the wicket-keeper’s head into long-stop’s hands. This naturally frightened us, as we thought it just possible that the next might hit us on the chest. A narrow escape we had, for the very next was pitched so high, that, had we not quickly dropped on the ground, it would have hit us on the head with such force as probably to stop cricket with us for ever.
Our remarks on underhand bowling, or slows, must necessarily be brief. That good slows are effective, particularly against county twenty-twos, is proved by the analysis of R. C. Tinley’s bowling, and the destructive power of Mr. V. E. Walker’s slows is well known to most of those who have played against him.
It is often a good plan to begin with a fast bowler at one end and slows at the other. The change of pace and delivery is very puzzling to the batsman, who is compelled to play the two styles on a different plan. If, however, a slow bowler is hit about much, he should be changed at once, as the hits from slows generally add up quicker than those from round-arm.
If change of pitch is advantageous in the swift bowling, it is the very soul of slows. Full pitches, leg balls, off balls, shooters, all styles and forms, should be allowed full play. The bowler, too, must dodge about, and make himself an extra field, going wherever he imagines the ball will be hit. In writing about slows we cannot pass unmentioned the great advantage derived from making a ball twist in from the leg. It is always understood that the leg stump is the hardest to defend, and consequently the best to attack.
A slow ball is pitched a little wide of the leg, the batsman runs away from his guard, and, in his imagination, sees the ball hit to square leg for four. In reality, however, he finds his off-stump knocked down by this same leg ball at which, in his ignorance, he struck too soon, and therefore saw it hit his stump before he could be back to stop it.
The positions of the field may be varied according to the opinion of the bowler.
THE WICKET-KEEPER.
The duties of the wicket-keeper are to stop the balls when missed by the striker, to stump him when off his ground, and to catch the ball, and knock the wickets down before the striker, when running, can ground his bat over the popping-crease. Since the introduction of fast bowling this position has become the most dangerous in the field, and a wicket-keeper seldom gets through a match without receiving some bruises. He should always wear pads and gloves. Some people recommend a guard for the abdomen, but this is scarcely ever used.
The wicket-keeper should, if possible, be captain of his eleven. As he is behind the striker, he can by a motion of his hand move any of the field closer or further, unknown to the batsman. This naturally requires great tact, and is often the means of saving many a run, or of getting a wicket.
He should stand in a somewhat stooping position, his left leg well forward and his hands close together, while his eyes should watch every movement of the ball. He should be very cautious about taking leg balls, as, if he gets too near, he is likely to receive a blow from the batsman.
As soon as the ball is thrown to him from the long-stop, he ought to advance two or three yards (provided, in the meantime, the batsmen are not running), and send it gently into the bowler’s hands.
The moment a hit is made, he should stand on that side of the wicket farthest from the ball, and wait quietly till it is thrown in. The ball should be thrown in by one pitch, and not in long hops, as is often the case among bad players. Above all, he should knock the wicket down as seldom as possible, but content himself with striking a bail off when he thinks the batsman is out of his ground.
LONG-STOP.
Stands behind the wicket-keeper, in order to prevent byes.
He must be careful not to be too far away from the wicket, or else clever players are apt to steal a bye before the ball has reached him. The moment he gets the ball, he should return it sharply into the wicket-keeper’s hands, and scarcely ever throw it over to the bowler. He should assist in backing up short slip, and also endeavour to save runs on the leg side. When slows are put on in a match, the long-stop is usually changed to a position about twelve yards behind the bowler’s head.
POINT.
Stands in a direct line with the popping-crease, at a distance of about twelve yards on the off-side, for fast bowling. The faster the bowling, the sharper he should stand. He should commence at first at the distance we have just mentioned, and approach when he sees the player about to strike. A sharp point may often stop a hard hit to cover-point. This position is, however, rather dangerous in fast bowling, and, at the same time, one of the most important. For slow bowling, he should come in to about five yards, and stand at a more acute angle than when the delivery is very swift.
SHORT-SLIP.
Stands a few yards behind the wicket on the off-side. As this position does not entail much running, it is usually allotted to the bowlers. The balls come in very sharply when the bowling is swift, and the person occupying this position has to watch the ball very attentively, or he stands a very good chance of receiving it in his face. It is also his duty to back up the wicket-keeper, and to take his place at the wicket when that functionary runs after the ball.
COVER-POINT.
Stands some distance behind point, to prevent a second run. The sharper the bowling is, the squarer he should stand. He must also be particular in backing up, as he can prevent many an overthrow.
LONG-SLIP.
Performs the same duties, and occupies the same position, with regard to slip as the last-mentioned field does to point. He should, when he can, back up long-stop and save a second run.
LONG-ON.
Stands deep on the on-side. When the bowling is very swift, he can take the place of mid-wicket on, as a ball in such a case is seldom hit fair, either on the on or off side. He must be a good catch, a good thrower, and very swift on his legs.
LONG-OFF.
Occupies the same position as long-on at the other side of the wicket.
LEG.
Stands about the same distance behind the wicket on the on-side as long-on does before it. He must possess a quick eye and great agility. Leg-hits, after touching the ground, usually turn off in quite a different direction from what one would expect. Leg should therefore try to get them before they pitch, or else be careful in running to meet them.
MID-WICKET ON AND OFF.
Stand halfway between the long-fields and the striker’s wicket. As many catches come to these parts of the field, they should be very sharp and active, and try to prevent the ball going past them.
THIRD MAN UP.
In very swift bowling the long-on often takes this position. He stands between point and short-slip, in a direct line with the bowling-crease, at a distance of about twelve yards.
* * * * *
And now, having given the functions of the fieldsmen, we propose to show, by diagrams, their positions with regard to fast and slow bowling.
DIAGRAM I.--FAST ROUND-ARM BOWLING.
DIAGRAM II.--MEDIUM PACE ROUND-ARM BOWLING.
DIAGRAM III.--SLOW UNDERHAND BOWLING.
* * * * *
As in very swift bowling the ball is often hit to the off, it will be seen that in Diagram I. we have placed no less than six out of the eleven on that side. Mid-wicket on and long-off should be a little nearer the bowler, and long-slip nearer the long-stop, than represented in the illustration.
In Diagram II. third man up is made mid-wicket on, while cover-point comes in nearer than when the bowling was very fast.
In Diagram III., as the bowling is slow, no long-stop is required; he is therefore sent as an additional field behind the bowler. Short-slip stands in very close to the wickets.
CROQUET.
MATERIALS OF THE GAME.
THE MALLETS.
The mallet, of which in a Croquet set there are eight, varies in length from 32 to 39 inches. The handle is thin and round, and is fastened into the head somewhat in the manner of an ordinary mallet used for knocking in tent pegs. The head slightly resembles in shape a dice-box, inasmuch as it is narrower in the centre than at the ends. The mallet is the active agent in the game, just as the bat is at cricket; and as the mallet is always in the hands of the striker, care should be taken that it is well planed. Towards the top of the handle a few circular lines may be cut with advantage, as they give a firmer hold to the hand. At the bottom of the handle is usually painted a colour, or a number of lines, corresponding to the marks on one of the balls. Such an arrangement, although not absolutely necessary--since a player can use any mallet without interfering with the game--is of advantage in according to each player the same coloured mallet as his ball; and were the mallets uncoloured, disputes would probably arise about one which was a greater favourite than the others. Some people prefer to have the colour of all the balls painted on their mallets. This is a very good plan if one is in the habit of playing with inattentive people, who will not recollect when it is their turn to play. As the hard surface of the end of the mallet-head coming sharply in contact with a ball often cracks, chips, or breaks it in two pieces, it has been suggested that a piece of wash-leather should be let in at each end of the head, in order to deaden the force of the stroke. We do not, however, recommend the adoption of this plan, as it is very expensive, and the wash-leather is not only likely to be soon torn, but in the course of the game may come out altogether; besides, a Croquet-ball can always be replaced for a trifling sum, and, if played with carefully, ought to last twelve months at least.
THE BALLS.
The balls are eight in number, and are generally painted different colours--blue, pink, black, yellow, brown, orange, red, green. The size varies from 3 inches to 3⅝ inches in diameter. The balls of some of the better Croquet games are not entirely covered with paint, but adorned simply by a band of paint, about half an inch in width, or with lines of blue and red, varying from one to four in number, as in the illustration. Balls coloured thus are, however, not so easily distinguishable as those which are painted all over.
THE HOOPS.
The hoops, ten in number, are made of iron. They are about 16 inches high, and 12 inches wide; although these dimensions are not of much importance. In some games the hoops are of bronze, or else are painted a golden colour. Usually, however, they are of a black, iron tint. The set with which we generally play is painted white. This plan is in many respects advantageous, for as the shades of evening close round the players the contrast between the grass and the hoops becomes less vivid, and consequently in the excitement of the game a player occasionally tumbles over a hoop, and probably hurts his legs; when, however, the hoops are painted white, the play can be continued to a late hour without the chance of such a casualty as the breaking of one’s shins against the iron hoops.
THE POSTS.
The posts, two in number, should be from 24 to 36 inches high. One end must be sharpened into a point, in order to allow it to stick well in the ground. One is called the starting, the other the turning post. The top half is, in the cheaper sets, divided into eight divisions, each of which is painted according to the colours of the ball. Thus, beginning from the top, we trace the divisions into the following order:--
1. Blue. 2. Pink. 3. Black. 4. Yellow. 5. Brown. 6. Orange. 7. Green. 8. Red.
The order of the colours acts as a guide to the players; and since those on each side play alternately, it follows that in a game of eight, the dark balls--blue, black, brown, and green--are matched against the light balls--pink, yellow, orange, and red. The advantage of this arrangement is plainly manifest, since, during the game, the players, without referring to the peg, will know that the light colours play alternately with the dark. We admit, however, that opinion may be divided about the lightness of red as a colour; and we therefore hope that the Croquet-makers will change it into white, which is not likely to be confounded with the yellow, for the latter, in consequence of being in more frequent use, is sure to become dark in much shorter time than the former. Some, however, as in the illustration, have red and blue divisions, marked from one to four, to correspond with the number of rings painted on the balls.
CLIPS.
A set of Croquet-clips--little pieces of tin, coloured according to the colours of the balls, in order to slip over the hoops, and thus show the hoop through which the player has next to pass--has been lately introduced. We do not, however, recommend the use of them, as they are liable to cause much confusion, and certainly give a great deal of trouble to those players who adopt them.
MARKING BOARD.
A gentleman has invented a marking-board, on which is placed the position of each player after his stroke is made; but as this requires an umpire to mark the positions of the balls, we do not think the plan worth adoption.
TUNNEL.
In some games a very narrow hoop--scarcely wide enough for the ball to pass through--has been introduced under the name of tunnel. It certainly adds to the complication of the game.
THE CAGE
Is another novelty, formed by placing two hoops across each other, and fastening a bell at the point of intersection, which has to be struck by the ball passing through.
A CROQUET STAND
Is one of the best of the recent inventions in Croquet, and is to be recommended as a great improvement over the unwieldy box, which contains usually a Croquet set, and which is generally so badly arranged that a quarter of an hour is occupied in taking out the Croquet implements, and about double that time in replacing them after the game is over.
HOW THE GAME IS PLAYED.
Sides are chosen in the usual manner, the captain of one side taking the first ball and the captain of the other the second; while the remaining balls are given to the other players in the order in which they are chosen. Eight persons can play at this game, but any smaller number will do equally well. If only six or four play, the same number of balls must be used; but if two play, the game is improved by each player taking two balls and playing them alternately as usual. If there be an odd number of players--either three, five, or seven--the players play against each other, or else one person takes two balls and plays for each side. It has been suggested that to amuse a large party two games should go on at once, through the same hoops, one side to begin at the starting-post and the other at the turning-post. The confusion, however, caused by the balls getting in each other’s way would quite spoil all chance of good play.
Assuming that each player has a ball and a mallet, that the hoops are arranged in either of the three positions given on pages 177, 178, 179, 180, we now come to the mode of playing the game. The object is to drive the balls through all the hoops, in the direction indicated by the dotted lines on the diagrams, and to strike the two posts. The side all of whose members succeed in performing this feat first wins the game.
Now, although this is the chief object of the game, yet the act from which it derives its title, to wit “Croquet,” is of much greater importance than would at first be imagined. If a player hit with his ball any of the others, he is allowed to place his own against the ball he has struck, and setting his foot upon his own ball, he hits it with the mallet, and the force of the blow drives the opponent’s ball a considerable distance in the direction towards which the mallet is directed. As the player is allowed to croquet either friend or foe, it is evident that he can do a great deal of damage or service, according to his inclination, since he is at liberty to drive the ball in any direction he pleases. (See Rules of the Croquet, page 182.) It must, however, be borne in mind that no player can croquet or be croqued until he has been through the first hoop.
The holder of the first ball, placing his ball a mallet’s length in any direction from the starting-post, endeavours by striking it with the end of his mallet to drive it through the first hoop. If he succeeds, he continues his turn, and attempts to send the ball through the second hoop, and then through the third; for driving the ball through a hoop or croquing another ball imparts the privilege of an additional stroke. When he has finished, the second goes on, and the other players follow in the order in which the balls are marked upon the post. Till a player has gone through the first hoop he is not allowed to have an extra turn, if his ball hit that of another. In a short time is palpably shown the great advantage of the croquet. Often when a player has his ball in a good position in front of a hoop, another will hit it and drive it to the other end of the croquet-ground, compelling the croqued ball to take two or three turns before it can regain its former position. Occasionally two or three balls lie close to each other, and one is struck by a ball which was some distance off. The striker is now allowed to place his ball by the side of the one he has struck, and then, after croquing it, is almost sure of hitting the two others, since his last stroke has brought him very near to them.
The player who reaches the turning-post first has great advantages for a time, for as soon as he touches it he commences his return journey, and meeting the other players on their road to the farthest point of their voyage, he is able to croquet them and considerably impede their progress. While writing about the turning-post, we cannot refrain from calling attention to a strange rule which appears in a recently-issued manual of Croquet. In this work it is stated that on touching the post the striker discontinues playing, and is not allowed for the act the same privilege that he obtains for passing through a hoop. This regulation is, we think, so unfair that we cannot allow this work to go to press without taking the opportunity of recording our protest against the adoption of the rule in question. It must be evident to anybody who knows anything about the game that it is a more difficult task to strike the post than to pass through a hoop. Now, touching the post is a point in the game, for it is one of the stations that everybody must pass on the journey; and as for each other point, such as passing a hoop or croquing, the player is allowed an additional turn, surely it stands to reason that the same advantage should be accorded to a player who performs the feat of striking the turning-post. Captain Mayne Reid and all the other writers on Croquet (with one exception) agree with us in the view we have taken on this subject, to which we have at some length drawn attention, in the hope that the author of the obnoxious rule will think fit to make the necessary alteration.
When a player has passed through all the hoops, he becomes what is called in the technical language of Croquet a Rover, and is privileged to rove about over the ground croquing his friends and foes (see page 185). It is therefore obvious that a good player can prove, when thus situated, of immense advantage to his side, and should on no account hit the starting or winning post till all on his side have passed through the last hoop (see page 191). Good players, however, generally content themselves with passing through all the hoops but two, as it often happens that if a Rover is tiresome his adversaries unite in their efforts to drive his ball against the starting-post, and thus kill him. This, of course, they cannot do until he has passed through all the hoops. The excitement towards the end of the game is almost inconceivable; each stroke is watched with the keenest interest. Gradually one by one the players hit the post, until perhaps only two remain, and now occurs an opportunity for skilful play. If the two opponents are good players, they afford a rare treat to the bystanders. The object of each is first to hit the post, and, failing in that, to keep as far off his adversary as he can. Both endeavour, at the same time drawing nearer to the great object in view, to keep the post between their own and the other ball. At length one plays at the post, misses it, and sends his ball near his adversary, who first hits it, next croquets it away, and then strikes the post, while all his side wave their mallets aloft, and loudly shout “Victory!”
The reader is now requested to give his attention to the following Rules, which we believe will be found to meet all the requisites of the game.
RULES.
STRIKING.
1. At the commencement of the game the ball is to be placed a mallet’s length from the starting-post in any direction, and the player endeavours to drive it through the first hoop.
[As the distance between the first post and the first hoop depends so much upon the size of the Croquet-ground, the first rule may be altered to suit the convenience of the players; but if the length is less than a mallet, the player will probably strike the post with his own mallet.]
2. In striking the ball, the player must stand on one side of the ball, and not behind it.
3. In striking, the mallet must be about an inch from the ground, and must not be pushed along it when the stroke is made, except when the distance between the ball and some other object is too small to admit the mallet lengthwise.
[Some players wish only one hand to be used in striking. Most of the large sets, however, are too heavy to allow this rule to be generally carried out.]
4. The ball must be struck with an end of the mallet, and not by the side.
ORDER OF PLAYING.
5. The balls are to be played in the order in which they are marked upon the post.
6. If any player play out of his turn, he finishes the stroke; but for the violation of the last rule he is deprived of the next turn.
[It may perhaps be suggested that a player, seeing a good opportunity for some effective stroke, would purposely play out of his turn. This we doubt; for not only would the deprivation of his next turn do him a great deal of damage, but the chances are that one of the other players would stop him before he had commenced the stroke.]
7. If a player play with a wrong ball, he has to replace the ball and lose his next turn.
[This penalty is not enforced against a player if the error be not discovered before the arrival of his second turn.]
8. If a player by a stroke of his mallet drives his ball through the next hoop in the order of his course, he is allowed to continue his stroke.
9. A player may in one stroke drive his ball through more than one hoop.
10. If a ball, in going through a hoop, strike another ball, the player can either continue his stroke at the next hoop, or else croquet the ball that is struck; but he is not allowed two turns for passing through a hoop, and then hitting a ball.
11. If a ball strike another ball, and then pass through a hoop, the player can either croquet or continue his stroke, and has not to pass through the same hoop again.
[From this rule the reader may infer, that if a ball go through its hoop either by striking another ball or by hitting the sides of the hoop, it is considered to have passed the hoop.
It has been suggested that a ball is dead directly it croquets another, and that therefore any stroke it makes after that is of no avail; but as this not only does away with Rule 11, but prevents any player croquing two balls in one stroke, we cannot adopt it.]
12. If a ball, instead of playing at its hoop, play at a ball on the other side of the hoop, and consequently have to be moved by the hand through its own hoop in order to croquet, it is not considered to have gone through the hoop, but must return to the proper side of the hoop in the ordinary manner.
13. A ball is not through a hoop if the handle of the mallet when laid across the two sides of the hoop from whence the ball came touches the ball without moving the hoop.
14. If a player strike a ball which he cannot croquet, and by that stroke go through a hoop, the last stroke holds good, and he has another turn.
15. If a ball, when croqued through its hoop in a wrong direction, roll back through the hoop, it has not to pass through the same hoop in the same direction again.
THE CROQUET.
[When the game of Croquet first came into fashion, there was only one mode of the croquet, which was that usually known as the tight croquet. Since then other forms, known as the loose and slipping croquet, have come into fashion, and have met with so much favour that it is impossible to deny their claims to our attention. In the tight croquet the player must keep his foot upon his own ball, and is not allowed to move it while he makes the stroke; but in the loose croquet he need not even put his foot on his own ball at all, and is able consequently to drive not only his adversary’s ball, but also his own, in any direction he pleases. The adoption of this plan, even although it lengthens and complicates the game, affords so much pleasure to the players themselves, that it is becoming universally adopted. Some writers, however, insist that to rovers only should the privilege of the loose croquet be accorded; whilst others, on the other hand, would allow the privilege only to those who are not rovers. In fact, so much is to be said on each side, that the better plan is to allow the players to choose which of these courses they think fit to adopt. In some places, in addition to the loose croquet, a practice prevails which is usually known by the term “taking two off.” Thus if a player croquet a ball, he is allowed to drive his own ball in any direction he pleases, without touching the croqued ball. After this he has another stroke, so that he is enabled to get close to any ball on the ground. This plan seems to us so highly objectionable, and so thoroughly subversive of all good play, that we must decline to recommend it. It should also be known that many of our correspondents object to loose croquet altogether, on the ground that it tends greatly to prolong the turns, and thus spoils the game, as people, grown tired of waiting, lose all interest in it, and forget when their turn comes to play. What expressions more common on the ground than “Whose turn is it now?”]
16. A player is allowed the privilege of croquing whenever his ball strikes another, except when by doing so he makes the ball that is struck hit the winning-post, if it have passed through the hoops.
17. In the tight croquet the player must keep his foot firmly upon his own ball, and if the stroke move it the ball must afterwards be brought back to the position it occupied before it was struck.
[Some writers insist that if the croqueur’s ball slip, he loses his turn. This arrangement is too absurd to be tolerated for an instant.]
18. No ball can croquet, or be croqued, until it has passed through the first hoop.
[It has been the custom to allow a player to take up his ball, and play, when his turn comes, from the starting-post again, if he misses the first hoop. This plan, however, has nothing to recommend it. It would enable a player who wished to play last to do so at ease by intentionally missing the hoop, and is obviously so unfair that we have no wish to adopt it.]
19. No ball (except a rover) can croquet the same ball twice, until it (the croqueur) has passed through a hoop or touched the post since its first croquet.
[If, however, the croqueur be a rover, he cannot croquet the same ball twice in one turn. In either case, however, he is at liberty to strike the same ball twice, but this act does not allow him the privilege of a fresh stroke.]
20. A croquet need not necessarily be a distinct stroke. If the striking ball in its passage hit either a post or a hoop, and then cannon upon a ball, the privilege holds good; and if, also, one ball strike two or more others, each of these is croqued in the order in which they were struck; but the striker has only one additional stroke when he has croqued the lot, and not one for each ball he has struck.
21. As the moving of the croquing ball in the tight croquet is of itself illegal, it stands to reason that if this ball during the stroke slip and touch another ball, the player has not the right to claim the privilege of the croquet.
[In the loose croquet a player may by his croquing stroke drive his own ball through a hoop.]
22. A player, after striking a ball, is not necessarily compelled to croquet it, but is allowed to play in any direction he pleases.
[It must, however, be understood that he must play from the place where his ball is, and not, since he abnegates the privilege of it, as after a croquet, from a position touching the ball he has struck.]
23. If a player hit a rover, and by the blow force the other ball against the winning-post, he cannot croquet the ball, as it is plainly dead; he however retains the privilege of another turn. As the ball is dead, it must be moved at once.
24. If a player in the act of croquing do not move the croqued ball at least 6 inches, he is at liberty to take the stroke over again.
[Of course the croqued ball must be placed in the position it occupied before it was struck.]
25. If a ball go through a hoop and then croquet a ball, both strokes count.
26. If a player croquet a ball illegally, both balls must be restored to their former positions.
27. If a ball hit two or more balls by one stroke, and croquet one, it is forced to croquet all it has struck, and is not allowed to croquet one and leave the others alone.
THE POSTS.
Some writers give certain privileges for passing two hoops at a time, and for striking the posts--such as placing the ball a mallet’s length in any direction from its original position. This plan, however, is very irregular, and affords too great an advantage to one player to be adopted.
28. Striking the posts enables the player to have a fresh turn, and is in all respects equivalent to passing a hoop.
29. A player who, having gone through all the hoops, strikes the winning-post, is dead; and being out of the game, is not allowed to have a fresh turn.
30. If either of the posts be struck by a ball that is driven thither by a croquing or croqued ball, or in passing through the next hoop to it in the right direction, the stroke holds good.
31. If a ball be moved by a player when it should not have been touched, it must be restored to its former position, even if the stroke have sent it against a post or through a hoop.
32. If any ball (or balls) be struck by the ball moved, as in the last rule, it must be at once replaced in its former position.
33. If a ball, in the tight croquet, slip from under the feet and strike the turning-post, the stroke does not count.
[By the same rule, if a player in croquing strike the winning-post, the stroke does not count.]
34. If a ball be hit off the ground on a gravel-walk or a flower-bed, it is to be placed at once 12 inches at right-angles from the limit of the boundary.
THE ROVER.
35. As a rover has passed through all the hoops, he is not allowed to croquet the same ball twice in one turn.
36. A rover has only the right to play a second time when he croquets another ball.
37. A ball is dead as soon as it has passed through all the hoops and struck the two posts.
38. A rover who hits another ball, and then the post, is dead, and cannot take another turn.
[A rover who croquets another ball against the post is according to Rule 23 allowed another turn; but if a rover, in croquing a ball, lets his ball slip against the post, he is dead according to the principles of loose croquet.]
39. The game is finished when all the players on one side have gone through all the hoops and struck the two posts.
40. A match is the best of three games.
41. A tournament is the best of three matches.
HINTS TO YOUNG PLAYERS.
It is almost impossible (as the reader will already have perceived) to overestimate the great importance that “the croquet” bears upon the game. A player who devotes all his efforts to pass through the hoops will find himself soon left behind by those who look upon that department of the game as merely subservient to the more fascinating task of driving away a foe, or of helping a friend; and this fact becomes more and more patent when the number of players is six or eight. True, when only two play, if one gets a good start, it is a somewhat difficult matter for the other player to stay his progress; and as this inevitably takes away half the interest of the game, we recommend a pair of players to use a couple of balls, since by so doing one can assist the other, and develop the croquet to great advantage; but then, again, it is not expedient to devote the whole of one’s energies to produce a collision between two balls. The player’s first rule should be to pass through a hoop; if, however, he sees an equal chance of passing through it after he has gone out of his route to drive an adverse player away, he should at all times make use of the croquet; for it must be remembered that keeping an enemy back is almost equivalent to making progress, and that the game cannot be lost as long as a foe’s ball is behind one’s own. The art of the tight croquet consists in placing the striking ball in juxtaposition to that ball which has been croqued, and then, setting the left foot upon his own ball, the striker hits it sharply with his mallet, and consequently the other ball is driven by the power of the stroke to a distance in proportion to the force with which the ball was struck. In the loose croquet, however, the player need not place his foot upon the ball at all, but by adopting the following stroke can drive the two balls forward in the same direction, or by hitting his own ball with a slanting mallet can drive the balls away at an angle to each other. The purpose of this feat is either to aid a friend or to do damage to an enemy. A friend can by croquing send a partner through the hoop he wishes to pass, or else drive an enemy--who has obtained a good position, and who feels certain of going through a hoop at his next turn--exactly in the opposite direction to that in which he wishes to travel. In order, however, to make this stroke very effective, great care must be taken with regard to the way in which the ball is driven. Many thoughtless players think nothing of driving a foe close to a friend, or, in the hopes of assisting their side, send a friend in the immediate neighbourhood of a foe--thus improving the position of the adverse side, and damaging that of their own. The difference that a few thoughtful players make to a side is wonderful. Whilst others hit their balls about without ever thinking that at his next turn a foe will probably croquet them, the careful players, anticipating the positions of the other bails, place themselves in a position from which, when their next turn comes, they can either go through a hoop, or croquet the ball of a more careless player. Thus, if foe B is behind a hoop through which A has to pass, but requires two turns for the passage, it would be very absurd if A were to place himself close to B, in the hope of passing through next time, since B would be sure to croquet him, and place him in even a worse position than he occupies in the illustration. A should content himself by playing to C, for B would not go so far out of his way to croquet him, and then A could go through the ring the next time he plays.
If A is at the side of a hoop through which he cannot possibly pass in one turn, he should play behind the ring to the spot marked B, and not in a line marked A C, or else he would probably go either too far or not far enough, and be forced to accomplish in three turns what, if he had gone to B, he could probably have done in two.
Suppose B to be placed in front of the fourth hoop (see Positions of Hoops, Diagram No. 2), and A, whose turn it is, to be behind No. 2;--many players would just go through No. 2, and then quietly drop down to No. 3, in the hope of passing through at the next turn. A thoughtful player, however, would, by driving his ball sharply through hoop No. 2, obtain a position close to B, and next, taking a second turn for going through the hoop, would be able to croquet B, and drive him a long way off his hoop, and then return to a good position behind No. 3.
The following position will show one of the advantages of the loose croquet. It is the turn of the ball C to play, and he has to go through the hoop e in the direction e A. In his present position it is impossible for him to go through the hoop at one turn. If, however, he croquets D, and then indulges in the loose croquet, he can drive his own ball to B, and send the other to A. He can then pass through the hoop, and can croquet D again at the spot A.
We have mentioned this problem more as an example for young players than because it is a recognised rule. Many such plans, equally advantageous to follow, will readily present themselves to players in the course of the game, and in no more forcible manner can they show their good play than by disregarding the passage of a hoop in order to croquet a foe and thus spoil his position. It can be easily understood that a player who, by passing through all the hoops, obtains the title of “Rover,” and may therefore rove wherever he pleases, has far more power than one whose flight is fettered by being compelled to pass through the little iron hoops that dot the Croquet-ground. He can either keep close to a laggard friend, and aid him by the croquet, or he can take up a position a little in advance of a forward foe, and delay his progress in a very unpleasant manner. Suppose that A has just passed through the last hoop but two, and that B, a rover, has taken up a position close to the hoop, in such a manner that a portion of it intervenes between him and A. If, then, the latter play near the hoop, B is sure to croquet him and drive him away. He is therefore compelled to keep some distance off the hoop until a friend comes to aid him, unless a change in his position allows him to croquet B, which, if the latter is a good player, is not likely to occur. Now, having shown how a rover can worry a foe, let us demonstrate how he can aid a friend. A is close to the hoop through which he has to pass, and B, a rover of his own side, is in a line with him. If B hit A, he will probably drive him off his hoop and spoil his turn; but if B play to C, a spot halfway between the two hoops, A can go through his hoop, croquet B at C, drive him to D, and then go through the next hoop, croquet B at D (for he has been through a hoop since he last croqued him), drive him to the other side of the next hoop, and so on. A rover playing with another ball can be of more help to him than hindrance to a foe; and as it is more important to get the balls of one’s own side forward than to delay those of a foe, the former plan should, when feasible, be adopted. Thus it will be seen that a good rover is of the greatest service to the side, and that the sooner he is placed hors de combat the better for the opposite side. The rovers on the other side should therefore do all they can to make the rover’s ball hit the post by croquing it against it, if possible; for although if all on his side hit the post before those on the other side the game is won, yet when the best player, being dead, is able to render no further assistance, the game often goes against that side. This plan, however, must be adopted with the greatest precaution and care, and on no account whatever should a bad player be thus disposed of, since the mere fact of keeping him in the game is of the highest importance, as his services are of little avail to his own side, who cannot win as long as one of their party remains in the game. With these few desultory hints we conclude this article, which all beginners should study carefully, and (we hope) with advantage.
DRIVING.
“The rash boy Phaeton his proud chariot drove Till he was smitten by almighty Jove: Take heed, young driver, while you like him boast, You are not ‘spilled’ against an ugly post.”--Swift.