Three Hundred Things a Bright Boy Can Do
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Title: Three Hundred Things a Bright Boy Can Do
Editor: Harold Armitage
Release date: December 26, 2014 [eBook #47760]
Most recently updated: October 24, 2024
Language: English
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THREE HUNDRED THINGS A BRIGHT BOY CAN DO ***
THREE HUNDRED THINGS
A
BRIGHT BOY CAN DO
BY
MANY HANDS
FULLY ILLUSTRATED
LONDON
SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON & CO., LTD.
1914
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. IN TRAINING 1
II. HOW TO BECOME A GYMNAST 7
III. WALKING, RUNNING, AND JUMPING 22
IV. HOCKEY AND INDIAN CLUBS 26
V. SWIMMING, ROWING, AND WATER POLO 42
VI. PAPERCHASING, FOOTBALL, GOLF, AND BOXING 48
VII. ON THE ICE 57
VIII. ANGLING 67
IX. CANOES AND YACHTS 84
X. COOKING IN CAMP 112
XI. BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS 117
XII. HINTS ON AQUARIUMS 131
XIII. IN THE PLAYING FIELDS 138
XIV. THE GARDEN 150
XV. THE BOY AS ARTIST 157
XVI. VENTRILOQUISM AND POLYPHONY 191
XVII. THE BOY AS MAGICIAN 208
XVIII. PETS 228
XIX. THINGS BOYS CAN MAKE 255
XX. FIRESIDE AMUSEMENTS 273
XXI. WORK AND PLAY AT THE BENCH 350
XXII. SCIENCE FOR THE PLAY-HOUR 365
XXIII. HOME-MADE TOYS 389
XXIV. CONCERNING MANY THINGS 416
PREFACE
The Editor hopes that this volume will be the means of inspiring boys
to adopt some hobby and to follow it diligently. At any rate he has
arranged that they shall be able to have a wide choice of occupations,
and shall begin with expert assistance. Too many youths fall into mere
aimless dawdling, and waste the golden years of their life loafing
about smoking cigarettes, watching others play, chattering endlessly
about games, but never engaging in them. Though this book is written
for the boy's play hour, it will not be without value in aiding him
upon the sterner side of his career, if it shows him how to train hand
and eye, how to strengthen his will and muscles, and if it inculcates
patience, exactitude, and perseverance.
THREE HUNDRED THINGS A BRIGHT BOY CAN DO
CHAPTER I
IN TRAINING
There are few things about which so many mistaken notions exist as
about training. There are several reasons for this, but most of the
erroneous ideas may be traced back to the days when professional
pugilists and runners were the only men who ever entered on any
athletic exercise with any sort of organised preparation. For them
a severe course of training was possibly a necessity. They were for
the most part men well advanced in years and naturally fleshy; and
to achieve the feats which they accomplished they no doubt found it
necessary to reduce their weight, and for this purpose to take a great
deal of exercise and to avoid all food tending to the formation of
flesh; but for the average school-boy who plays football or fives,
or goes paper-chasing, or, in fact, takes the ordinary amount of
boy's exercise, training, as it is generally misunderstood, is quite
unnecessary, even if not harmful. He has no superfluous fat of which
to rid himself, so any sweating which he may do only weakens him and
renders him liable to cold. His lungs are in proper order and therefore
his wind is good, and so there is no need for him to deprive himself
of vegetables or his favourite pies or puddings. All he wants is to
lead a healthy active life, and to do a fair amount of practice in the
particular branch of athletics in which he hopes to excel.
If a boy be accustomed to walk to and from school, or even a part of
the way, or to take his place regularly in the school games, he will
already be in proper condition of wind and limb. He will now only
require to develop the muscles which, in his contests, he will find it
most necessary to use. These vary in nearly every branch of athletics;
so his practice must be specially directed to the races or events in
which he intends to take part. Now this practice is often as much
overdone as in the old days the dieting and sweating used to be. I
remember that when I was at school and training for a mile race, I was
seldom content unless I had run two or three miles each day. Since then
I have found out the error of my ways. The result of my long practice
run was that when the day came for the sports I was much over-trained,
and in the state usually described as "stale." I could have pounded
along for miles, but I was as slow as the proverbial cart-horse, and
when it came to hard racing I was beaten by boys who had practised less
persistently than I had, and whose limbs and muscles were therefore
lissom and pliant.
The exact amount of practice required depends a good deal on the
stamina and build of each particular boy. Big, muscular boys can
undergo far more work than lightly-strung ones of less robust
constitution; but it may be taken for granted as a general rule that
it is better to do too little than too much. Practice should never be
continued after one begins to feel tired; and if one is still feeling
the effects of the previous day's practice, it is always a good thing
to rest for a day from active work, and instead to take a good sharp
walk of four or five miles. When your muscles are stiff, as they are
bound to be at the beginning, never force them. Get them gradually
into working order, and never hesitate to rest entirely if you feel
disinclined for exercise.
Rest, in moderation, is always good, and for this reason I advise boys
of all ages who may be training, to make a point of going to bed early.
To get up early is another aid to leading a healthy life, but I would
especially warn my readers against taking any violent exercise before
breakfast. Have your bath, followed by a brisk rub down with a rough
towel; dress quickly, and then, if you like and can manage it, go out
into the open air for a quarter of an hour or twenty minutes. Put on
plenty of clothes, and eat either a biscuit or a piece of bread and
walk quietly about, breathing freely. In the same way never do any
practising immediately after a heavy meal. An interval of at least two
hours should elapse to allow of the digestion of food.
Remember that your one object in training is not to force your powers,
but to so increase and nurse them, that when the day for the sports
comes you will be able to do your very best without fear of hurting or
over-straining yourself.
Before entering for his school sports a boy must realise the important
fact that it is given only to a few to excel at everything. The
majority must be content to discover the branch of sport for which, by
their natural abilities, they are most suited, and then to practise
quietly and persistently so as to gain the best possible results.
School games and odd trials of skill will probably give the aspiring
athlete some idea of the direction in which he is better than, or as
good as, his fellows. In running races it is generally found that the
heavily and powerfully-built boy is best suited by short-distance
races, that is from a hundred yards to a quarter of a mile; but a long,
loosely-knit lad usually excels at distances from half a mile to a
mile. A short, sturdy boy, as a rule, develops into a long-distance
runner, but as events above a mile are generally excluded, and very
wisely too from the programmes of school sports, he has very little
chance of distinguishing himself until later years, when his frame is
set, and his heart and lungs are in a fit condition to withstand the
strain caused by prolonged contests.
The prime object of the boy who desires to train for short-distance
running should be to improve his speed. With this purpose in view, he
should practise running from thirty to fifty yards at a time--running
hard from the very beginning, and going at his fastest possible pace
the whole of the way. He should do this three or four times each day,
occasionally--that is, once or twice a week--running the full hundred
yards. Races of two hundred yards and a quarter of a mile in length
may be prepared for in just the same way, except that for the latter,
a practice-run should seldom exceed three hundred and fifty yards. A
quarter of a mile is a very fatiguing distance, and although it may be
run in practice at a moderate speed, it should not be taken at racing
pace, except in an actual race. In the intervals of training it is a
good plan to obtain the assistance of a friend, and practise starting.
In a short race so much depends on the start, that one who is able to
go right away directly the signal is given possesses a great advantage.
[Illustration: "HE SHOULD JUMP CLEANLY."]
The boy who intends to take part in the half-mile and mile races must
pursue a somewhat different method, but he also must make a point
of practising for speed. Most of his work must consist of running
a quarter of a mile, or six hundred yards, with an occasional spin
of half or three-quarters of a mile. The former distances must be
accomplished at almost top speed, but without quite exhausting oneself;
the latter must be taken at a regular, steady gait, bringing the legs
out well to the front, but not carrying the knees too high. One run a
day is quite sufficient, and perhaps once before the sports the full
mile may be run, but this should not be done within a week of the
eventful day.
Walking races are sometimes included in the sports' programme, the
distance usually being one mile. The best training for this is to walk
half a mile, or sometimes three-quarters, at one's best pace, taking
great care to be perfectly fair, to keep the head erect, and to avoid
all semblance of wriggle or shuffle.
For the hurdle race and steeplechase the beginner should practise
persistently over obstacles similar to the ones which are to be used on
the day, but never going the full distance, and occasionally running
fifty yards or so on the level with a view to an improvement in speed.
Of jumping competitions there are usually two kinds--the high jump and
the long jump, and much the same kind of advice applies to both. In
each instance practice should be daily, with an occasional rest for a
day, and taking great care to leave off always at the first symptom
of fatigue, coupled with the feeling that what has already been done
cannot be improved upon. In the high jump a beginning should be made at
a height well within reach, the jumper going gently and lightly over so
as to gradually extend the muscles. Then as he approaches the summit
of his powers, he should pull himself together so as to put full force
into each effort. He should jump cleanly, and start facing the bar. He
should avoid all contortions and straining of the body, and above all
things, refrain from the somewhat enticing-looking practice of jumping
from one side--a practice which I once heard described as "putting one
leg over the bar, and then going round and fetching the other." It
may pay up to a certain point, but after that point is reached it is
absolutely useless.
The best and most successful jumpers have been those who have depended
entirely on the spring from the hips. It is thence that all the power
is obtained. Byrd Page, the famous American jumper, who often cleared
6 ft., and once reached 6 ft. 4-1/4 ins., was a thorough believer in
the straightforward method. To show what persistent practice will do,
I may mention that when he was very young, his legs were so weak that
he was compelled to wear irons to support them. One day the doctor told
him to attend a gymnasium and practise jumping in order to strengthen
his limbs. He did so, with the result that his weakness was entirely
cured, and that he became, as well as an expert bicyclist, the most
famous jumper the world has ever seen.
To long jumping many of my previous remarks apply. In preparing for the
jump, too long a run should not be taken, and in making the spring, the
feet should be placed firmly together. The whole of one's force should
be put into each effort, and care should be taken to avoid making false
attempts. When once he has started, the jumper should make up his mind
to go right through. Both the jumper and the short-distance runner
will find that a few minutes' daily practice with a skipping rope will
greatly strengthen the legs and the fore part of the feet, on which
much of the strain is placed.
To all aspiring young athletes I would say: Be moderate, and take
care not to overdo it; lead healthy, active lives; and avoid stuffing
yourselves between meals with pastry and sweets.
CHAPTER II
HOW TO BECOME A GYMNAST
Much benefit can be derived from gymnastic appliances if they are
used understandingly. No advantage is to be gained by exercise that
is carried on in a careless manner. Neither too much nor too violent
exercise is beneficial, though constant and regular work is necessary.
It is better to work for a certain length of time every other day than
to devote all of one week to exercise, and not go near the gymnasium
the next.
To use any apparatus carelessly is to use it dangerously. The writer
has had many of his worst falls in doing some of the simplest tricks,
because he was careless, and did not put his entire mind upon what he
was doing. There is something besides and beyond the mere pleasure of
being able to perform tricks in a gymnasium; there is a lasting benefit
to be obtained in careful gymnastic exercise.
In beginning your exercises there are two points that you must bear in
mind always. Stand erect, and before beginning any work draw a long
deep breath. Breathe from the abdomen, so that the lower parts of the
lungs are expanded. You will find by following this simple advice
that anything you attempt will be much easier for you than if you go
about your exercises in a careless or slouchy way. There should be no
round-shouldered gymnasts. There is no one who has achieved distinction
as a gymnast who is not as straight as an arrow, and across whose
shoulder-blades a yardstick could not be placed without touching his
back.
In your exercises avoid devoting too much time to one kind of work.
Do not spend all your time, for instance, on the horizontal bar, or
on the parallel bars. What all would-be gymnasts should strive for is
a symmetrical development of their muscles. You do not want to have
legs like a piano, hard and knotted with muscles, and arms like pipe
stems. Nor do you want to have the arms and chest of a blacksmith, and
legs like those of a crane. You want to have all your muscles developed
alike, not one at the expense of another. To avoid this lop-sided
kind of growth is the reason that gymnasiums have such a variety of
appliances.
Now for the apparatus, and how it should be used. What boy, especially
if he has lived in the country, has not tried to climb a rope, or go
up a ladder hand over hand, and then, for the first time in his life,
realised how heavy he is? Perhaps no form of exercise develops so
quickly the upper arm and the chest as work on the rope and ladder in a
gymnasium. In practising on the ladder, first try to pull yourself up
until your chin is even with the rung. Keep at this exercise until you
can repeat it three or four times without tiring yourself; then try to
reach the rung above. Do not go up too far at first, for you may find
yourself many feet from the floor without strength enough to come back
as you went up. That, it is almost needless for me to remind you, means
a fall--and a hard one too it may be. The same advice applies to the
rope.
Almost as quick results may be obtained by practice with the
dumb-bells, with which it is possible to exercise almost every muscle
in the body. The dumb-bells should be light. Too heavy dumb-bells are
apt to make a boy slow and sluggish in his movements. The proper weight
for a beginner is half a pound, and under no circumstances should a boy
use for regular exercise bells that weigh more than two pounds. Indian
clubs are valuable, chiefly in strengthening the muscles of the arms
and wrists.
Exercises on the rings are divided into two classes--stationary and
swinging. In the former the rings are not swung. In the latter the
tricks are performed while swinging. There are two ways of grasping the
rings with the hands. In "single grip," the rings are clasped as a boy
grips his base-ball bat when he is ready to strike. It is used chiefly
in swinging tricks. In the "double-grip," the thumbs are kept close to
the palms, and the hands rest on and over the rings.
The first trick on the rings, and the one that must be mastered before
anything else is attempted, is the "breast-up." This consists in taking
a double-grip, and raising the body so that the chin is even with the
hands. The hands and wrists should be over the rings, and the elbows
straight out from the shoulder. Now, by leaning forward you necessarily
bring your hands under your armpits, and you find yourself in such a
position that you can push down on the rings and raise your body erect
by simply straightening your arms. You must not expect to be able
to do this the first time. It will take many efforts before you can
accomplish it. The best way to learn it is to hold your weight with one
hand, after you have raised your chin even with the rings, while you
practise pulling the other in and under your armpit. When a boy can do
this trick easily he will find that he has strength and skill enough to
learn the other feats, of which this is the foundation.
In horizontal bar exercises the "breast-up" is executed in the same
way, but it is seldom used in getting up on the bar. A much prettier
way is the trick called the "circle." This is done by clasping the bar
with the double-grip--which, by-the-way, is the only one used on the
bar--and raising your body as high as you can. If you can raise your
chin above the bar, all the better. Now raise your legs in front of
you as high as possible, and lift them over the bar, letting your head
drop back. This will bring your legs and body down on the other side.
If a boy can do this with a fortnight's hard practice, he is doing
remarkably well. In learning this trick lower the bar to the height
of the shoulder and start the "circle" with a jump, which materially
assists your progress during the revolution.
All boys who practise on the horizontal bar probably have in mind the
"giant swing," the hardest and most daring feat on the bar; but that is
a long way in the future, and many other tricks must be mastered before
it should even be attempted. Perhaps the best of these intermediate
exercises is the "hook swing." This is a very neat trick. You sit on
the bar, apparently fall backward, catching the bar in the knee joints,
and swing around, until you come up in your original position without
touching your hands to the bar. It is not so hard as it looks if you
go about it in the right way, and this is the proper way:
First practise by hanging head downward from the bar by the knees.
Any boy can do this; but to learn the rest of the trick you need two
assistants, who take hold of your hands and swing you gently at first,
gradually increasing the swing as you gain confidence. When you can
swing easily and safely without losing your grip and falling to the
mattress as you swing backward, straighten your knees, and you will
leave the bar and alight upon your feet. Your assistants will save you
from falling on your head should you happen to let go with your knees
too soon, which you would certainly do more times than once should you
attempt the trick alone. Practise this until you can do it without help.
The next step is to sit on the bar, which should be lowered to within
four feet of the ground, and fall backward. When you come to the end of
the swing, let go with your knees and alight on your feet. At first you
will need help in this, as in the early part of the practice.
When this is learned you can go half-way around. The object now is to
come back to the position you originally had on the top of the bar. The
mistake that nine boys out of ten make at this point is in thinking
that all that is needed to complete the revolution is to give the body
a harder swing. When you dropped from the bar in the way I have just
described it was because you straightened your knees. If you bent your
knees more at this point in the swing, and at the same time threw your
head back, you would have found yourself on the bar instead of on the
mattress. To prevent accident at first, you should have an assistant
stand in front of you, so that in case you should pitch forward the
moment you reach the top of the bar, you will fall into his arms. In
case you should swing so hard that you cannot stop when your body
becomes erect, you will simply make another half-revolution backward,
when you can straighten your legs and come down on your feet in the way
described already.
The most important exercises on the parallel bars are called the "dip"
and the "grasshopper." To do a "dip," stand between the bars, placing
your hands upon them, and raise your body to arm's length. Then lower
the body and raise it again by bending and straightening the arms.
To do a "grasshopper," begin in the same manner, but as the arms are
almost straight make a little forward jump, lifting your hands from the
bars, and bringing them down a few inches in advance of their original
position. In this way you can travel from one end of the bar to the
other, as this trick can be done equally well forward and backward. The
jump may be combined with a swing in an exercise called the "pump."
These tricks are easily learned; they are very safe and make muscle
fast. The chief danger in their use lies in their over-indulgence. In
this, as in all other gymnastic exercises, enough is as good as a feast.
The flying trapeze is the most difficult of all the apparatus, and
feats on the double trapeze are dangerous even to the trained gymnast.
After you have mastered the exercises already described, it will be
time enough for you to think about the trapeze.
Do not practise just before your meal hour, nor directly after it. The
best time is from an hour and a half to two hours after eating. Do not
practise for over an hour a day at first; that is sufficient for any
boy provided he does not waste his time. It should be remembered that
gymnastic feats are not necessary for health. It is quite possible to
exercise all the muscles without an indulgence in dangerous displays;
but many boys have the courage, the desire, and the skill to pass from
exercises to gymnastics.
We may supplement our remarks by adding some observations upon how he
became a gymnast by a writer who chooses to be known as "An Ex-Little
Fellow." He says: I have no doubt at least one of the readers of this
book is a little fellow. He has just as much pluck as his bigger
brother, his eye is as true and his mind as quick, but he does not
weigh enough to be a success at athletics. His arms are too weak to
knock out home-runs; his legs are not strong enough to carry a football
through a rush line; and as for his back, the muscles are not hard
enough, and the other fellow always turns him over when they are
wrestling on the grass.
This little fellow doubtless thinks he is made that way, and cannot
help himself. No matter how much he dislikes it, he feels that he will
have to go through life watching bigger and stronger fellows playing
all the games and having most of the fun. Now this is all a mistake,
that is, if the little fellow has as much pluck and perseverance as
little fellows generally have.
The writer of this sketch was a little fellow himself not many years
ago. He remembers how he used to look with complete and absolute
disgust on his bony little arms and thin pipe-stem legs. He used to
look at the big muscles of one or two companions with hopeless envy. In
fact, it got so bad that this particular little fellow determined to
get strong, if it took years to do it.
The first thing was to get a bar. I selected a nice spot in the garden,
planted deep in the ground two heavy timber uprights, and fastened
firmly across the top, with mortised ends, a long heavy pitchfork
handle, which was purchased at a village store, at a cost, I believe,
of tenpence. When the turning-pole was finished, the next thing was to
learn to do something. The first thing I learned was to hang on the
pole. This may not seem like a very exciting trick, but the fact is my
muscles were so weak that it took all my strength to hang there.
After hanging awhile I learned to swing a little back and forth,
working up higher and higher, and it was a proud day when I was able
to swing my body up over the bar, and rest my stomach on the top of
it. Then I had to learn to "chin myself." This came more slowly; but
daily practice at dumb-bells and constant tugging at the bar gradually
hardened the biceps and back, until on one happy day my arms bent to
the strain, my head went up, and my chin projected triumphantly over
the bar.
By this time the other boys became interested. They began to put bars
in their own yards, and the little fellow had to superintend the
operation and give instructions. The uprights should be about three by
three, and planted with side braces. The post-holes should be at least
three feet deep, and after the posts are set, filled in with stones
and earth firmly stamped down. The bar must be just a couple of inches
out of one's reach standing under it flat footed. Half a dozen private
bars resulted in a gymnasium in an empty stable loft, equipped with a
bar, a ladder, and two trapezes. The little fellow watched his arms and
legs with great concern, and could not for the life of him see that
they were getting any bigger.
[Illustration: "OTHER BOYS BECAME INTERESTED."]
It did not take many months for the breeze to blow over with the other
boys, but the little fellow kept on. When the weather got too cold
for the out-door bar, he read Blaikie's _How to get Strong_, and went
through the prescribed dumb-bell exercises every night before going
to bed. Then two pairs of cleats were put in the door-frame, as Mr
Blaikie directs, and a short bar cut to fit them. It did not improve
the looks of the bedroom door, but the little fellow was determined
to have muscle at any cost, and swung on the high bar, and pushed on
the low one every night for the whole winter. The next spring he was
happy. His chest was beginning to stand out in front of his shoulders,
and his biceps were swelling a little. He and his chum purchased a boat
that summer, and rowed on the river every day, until they were brown as
Indians, and could beat most of the light craft on the river.
The following year the little fellow went to the city, and joined a
Y.M.C.A. gymnasium. There was plenty of good apparatus here, and he
watched the other fellows and tried their tricks. A year or two in this
gymnasium, with daily rowing in the summer, began to tell. The little
fellow stripped at 123 pounds now; his arms were brown and sinewy; he
could hold a good steady stroke for ten or fifteen miles in a working
boat; could run several miles at a dog-trot; and had learned to "handle
his body" on the bar.
Then he went to college, and in the gymnasium his arms, brown to the
shoulders from rowing in the sun, won him among his classmates the
sobriquet of "Athlete." This was very agreeable to the little fellow.
Four years of work and practice in a college gymnasium could have only
one result. At the end of that time the little fellow was no longer a
little fellow. He weighed in his clothes 150 pounds, and every muscle
in his body was hard and well trained. The friends who came down to
college to see him get his diploma were greatly surprised to see him
on the programme as Captain of the Gymnastic Team, and still more
astonished to see him no longer a little fellow, but a stout gymnast
circling the bar, swinging gaily on the trapezes, and building pyramids
with his nimble _confreres_. That is not very long ago, and now the
little fellow is surprised to find himself spoken of as about the best
gymnast in one of the largest amateur athletic clubs in the country.
So much for our "Ex-Little Fellow"; and now we may recount how Mr. E.
Lawrence Levy became the amateur champion weight lifter of the world.
Although when a boy at school he was proficient in nearly every branch
of athletics, and an adept at all games, it was not until later years
that he turned his attention to gymnastics. It came about in this way.
When twenty-five years old, Mr. Levy, having passed from school-boy
to tutor, started a school of his own, and with a genuine love of
athletics and a knowledge of the benefit which boys may gain from them
by following them within reason, he had fitted up in his school-room a
trapeze on which he was wont to practise with his pupils. Finding that
it was scarcely safe to do this without skilled tuition, he sent for
Professor Hubbard, the instructor of the Birmingham Athletic Club. The
result was that the trapeze was removed from the school-room to the
playground, where other appliances such as horizontal and parallel bars
were also fixed. Here Mr. Levy again joined his pupils, and then, after
three or four lessons, he, to the instructor's surprise, accomplished
several feats which are, as a rule, only achieved by practised
gymnasts. Finding that he was outstripping his boys, he determined to
join the Birmingham Athletic Club. Here he was able to measure himself
against men of his own age and strength.
It was at the club gymnasium that he one night saw the heavy dumb-bells
belonging to two professional "strong men." He tried to lift the bells,
but failed. This seems to have shaped his future course. Instead of
being discouraged by failure, he determined to overcome all obstacles
and go in for heavy dumb-bell exercise. He began with comparatively
light bells, and with these he practised in the solitude of his
school-room for hours at a time. Then he bought two new bells weighing
28 lbs. each, using them assiduously until he could do almost anything
with them--holding them out at arms' length, bringing them down to the
sides of his legs and up again.
When he had thoroughly mastered the "twenty-eights," he tried two
"fifty-sixes." These he retained for months, being determined not to
attempt the heavier bells until he was quite perfect with the lighter
ones. At length Mr. Levy was able to put up the 112 lb. dumb-bell.
This was more than any member of the Birmingham Gymnasium had ever
done, and it then became necessary to add two 84 lb. dumb-bells to the
collection. With these Mr. Levy began quietly practising, one at a
time. Then he took to using them together, and gradually overcoming the
difficulties of the harder work, succeeded one evening in putting them
up simultaneously.
From that point he never went back. Having done as much with the
dumb-bells as at the time seemed possible, he decided to add the
lifting of bar-bells to his exercises. He bought three, weighing 140
lbs., 165 lbs. and 180 lbs. He practised assiduously with these, but
all the time he was yearning to do still bigger feats with dumb-bells.
At last his opportunity came. One Friday evening, on visiting the
Gymnasium, he found a dumb-bell weighing 150 lbs. It had been sent
there for exhibition by some professionals who were visiting the city.
He tried to put it up, and failed; but the dogged perseverance which
marked his whole career came once again to his aid. Finding that the
huge plaything was to be left at the gymnasium till the following
Tuesday, he began practising indefatigably, and on the Tuesday evening,
in the presence of his club fellows, he achieved his self-imposed task.
The next week a dumb-bell of the same weight (150 lbs.) was added
to his private collection, and he used it regularly. This private
collection now consisted of two 28 lbs., two 56 lbs., two 84 lbs.,
two 100 lbs., one 112 lbs., and one 150 lbs. in dumb-bells, the three
bar-bells already mentioned, and two iron bars, one 70 lbs. and one
120 lbs.--all these, together with two ring weights of 56 lbs. each,
representing a total weight of nearly sixteen hundred pounds.
Mr. Levy appeared constantly in public. In 1891 he won the contest,
held then for the first time, for the amateur weight-lifting
championship, and afterwards he succeeded, at Northampton, in
establishing a new record by putting up above his head no fewer than
ten times a bar-bell weighing in all 170 lbs.
Of the recognised records for weight-lifting he held as many as nine;
but Mr. Levy did not confine himself to one branch of gymnastics, nor
made gymnastics his only athletic exercise. Each year at the grand
"display" of the Birmingham Athletic Club he figured as a leader in
exercises on the horizontal and parallel bars and on the rings. He
was also an enthusiastic and expert cyclist, and took an intelligent
interest in nearly every form of manly sport. He was, too, a busy brain
worker.
His height was 5 feet 3-1/2 inches; his chest measurement 41 inches; he
weighed 11 st. 4 lbs., and had biceps measuring 16 inches and a forearm
of 12-1/4 inches. At twenty-five years of age, before he took to
gymnastics, his chest measurement was 34 inches, and the circumference
of his biceps was twelve inches.
[Illustration: "ACHIEVED HIS SELF-IMPOSED TASK."]
To my readers I commend Mr. Levy as an example of what pluck and
perseverance will do when used to a rational end. For the benefit of
those who may wish to follow in his footsteps, I will quote some advice
from his own pen:--
"In gymnastics it is never too late to begin. There may be some who may
want, like I did, to emulate the deeds of the strong men whom every
age supplies; to them I would say, give yourself up to your favourite
exercise as you would to music if you would excel in it. Athleticism is
as jealous an accomplishment as any art you would acquire. Excel in it
and you will find your reward in that rough physical vigour which the
world has not ceased to admire. In order to gain it you will go through
a course of training which will lay the impress of health on all you
do. Instead of defying nature you will learn more readily to obey her,
and your obedience will be gratefully, cheerfully accorded, for you
will realise how magnificent it is to be strong yourself, and by your
example and your deeds inspire others to dignify their physical powers."
It would be difficult to say which ranks the higher in the estimation
of modern boys--brain or muscle. Certain it is that in these days boys
of "grit" feel a contemptuous pity for the youth who is "all head and
no muscle." Possibly most readers will admit that muscular and mental
development should go together, and that modern athletics are the
necessary adjunct of school life for the building up of a "sound mind
in a sound body" (_Mens sana in corpore sano_).
Of the ancients it may be said that their faith was in "muscle." Even
old Homer, philosopher and poet, goes so far as to say, "There is
no greater honour for a man during his life than that he should be
accomplished in the use of his hands and feet." It was the "man of
muscle" who in ancient Greece received the highest honours and rewards;
it was for him that breaches were made in the city walls that he might
pass through in his triumphal march. It was he who was relieved from
the payment of taxes, whose statue was erected at the public cost, and
whose praise was sung by the poets.
In ancient days leaders and rulers were selected simply on account of
their development of "muscle." Hence we read of Caius Maximinus, who
from the lowly position of herdsman, was raised to the dignity of a
Roman Emperor on account of his physical strength. This Maximinus, it
is said, could squeeze to powder the hardest stone with his fingers,
and history tells us that on one occasion he "knocked down six men
without drawing breath!" Those fingers of his must surely have been
moved by muscles of iron, and his "biceps" must have appeared a
veritable mountain! A consideration of the fact that Maximinus was
upwards of eight feet in height renders these feats less surprising,
but to most beef-eating British boys it will perhaps be a "staggerer"
to learn that the mighty deeds of Maximinus were performed on a
vegetable diet.
[Illustration: MILO OF CROTONA.]
The history of another muscular leader, Milo of Crotona, may possibly
have some elements of truth in it, and we can quite imagine his
marching with his countrymen against an army of Sybarites, clothed in
a lion's skin and brandishing a tremendous club; but it will take more
than the proverbial "grain of salt" to enable us to swallow the story
of his running a mile with a four-year-old ox on his shoulders, killing
the animal, and _eating the carcase, every inch, in one day_!
It is not the way of modern athletes to show their strength by killing
four-year-old oxen, or knocking men down like ninepins. They let us see
their development of muscle at the wrestling match, at the oar and the
wicket, at swimming and cycling, at their walking, running, and leaping
performances, and one great advantage of this is that the ladies, who
were excluded from the ancient "gymnasia" on pain of death, can in
these days, by their presence, not only secure enjoyment to themselves,
but give pleasure and encouragement to many an aspirant for athletic
fame, who, if for no other reason, would endure the hardest training to
"win the plaudits of the fair."
In the matter of training and developing the muscles, the old Italian
proverb will, as in so many other cases, apply, "_Chi va piano va
sano e lontano_," or, as we should say, "He that goes gently and
steadily goes safely and far." There must be moderation in the
commencement, or there will be a "breakdown" in the end. No youth who
doubts the soundness of his heart and lungs should go in for muscular
training--for heavy work with the dumb-bells, for instance--without
medical advice. To weakly constitutions training may be injurious--even
fatal. In developing the voluntary muscles, as of the arm and leg, the
growth of which we can measure, we must be careful of the involuntary
muscles--those regulating the heart and lungs, and which are naturally
and unconsciously brought into use. Of course, those muscles most
brought into play by special exercise will be most developed--of the
legs and thighs, for instance, in _walking_, and those of the arms,
legs, and loins in _rowing_. For the general development of muscle,
it is, of course, well to "take on" those sets of muscles not used in
one's ordinary occupation. Thus a youth who is sitting the greater part
of his time at study or work should walk, swim, and row; one who has a
walking occupation would do well to take both to rowing and swimming;
whilst a "waterman" would do best to go in for hard walking.
Every one knows that diet has a great deal to do with the development
or deterioration of "muscle," and that meat, vegetables, and drink
should be very judiciously combined. Weston--whose great walk, in 1884,
of 5,000 miles in 100 days, was spoken of by Dr. Andrew Blyth as "the
greatest recorded labour, if its continuity be considered, that a human
being has ever taken without injury"--dieted himself as follows:--
BREAKFAST (6.30 a.m.).--Porridge, eggs or fish, bread and butter, toast
or mutton, and coffee.
LUNCH (11 a.m.).--Bread and butter, and coffee.
DINNER (2 p.m.).--Mutton broth, meat, potatoes, cabbage, bread pudding,
and soda water or ginger ale.
TEA (7 p.m.).--A little toast, and tea or coffee.
SUPPER (10.30 p.m.).--Toast, figs, sponge cake, pudding, and milk or
soda water.
It will be thus seen that alcohol formed no part of Weston's diet, and
that his principal drinks were _tea_, _coffee_, and _milk_.
This says much for the advantage of the practice of total abstinence,
especially in view of the fact of the _continuity_ of muscular
exertion. The number of steps taken in Weston's great walk has been
calculated at about 11,000,000, and the _daily_ work of the muscles
equivalent to that of raising 793 tons one foot.
Another testimony to the advantage of abstinence from stimulants in the
development of "muscle" is given by Louis Cyr, the Canadian athlete,
who secured the title of, "Strongest Man in the World" at a Paris
Exhibition. He weighed 315 lbs., and mentioned, among his feats, that
he could break with his bare fist a stone two inches thick, four inches
wide, and six inches long. He took his wife (who weighed 110 lbs.) and
balanced her on the top of a 12-ft. ladder, resting on his chin. Cyr
said that the great secret of his strength was his total abstinence
from all alcoholic drinks, and this bears out Dr. B. W. Richardson's
statement that "the idea of alcohol giving force and activity to the
muscles is entirely false."
CHAPTER III
WALKING, RUNNING, AND JUMPING
$Walking.$--As a rule, the walking of long distances in a short time
is a sad mistake. There is little or no pleasure in it, and the injury
it may do you quite counter-balances the satisfaction you may feel
in having accomplished it. I wouldn't give a pin to be able to do my
three miles in 21 min. 28 secs. like Webster, because I know perfectly
well that my mind would gain nothing, or my body either from such an
achievement. Every day of the year, unless specially hindered, I walk
between eight and ten miles, and I am always discontented if anything
stands in the way of my walk. From my own experience, I feel sure that
boys, whether training for football, or school examinations, cannot
do better for themselves than walk whenever they have the chance. You
never know what call may suddenly be put upon the muscles of your
legs. A life may depend upon your ability to sprint seven or eight
miles in the hour. And if you can walk as many miles straight off and
enjoy every yard of it, you may rely on being able to walk and run the
distance in the time.
A few words may be said on style in walking. It is simply wonderful
how people differ in this respect. Hardly two persons walk alike. They
either carry their heads, or bodies, or arms differently, or there is
a distinct difference in the way they use their legs or feet. However,
there is nothing very sad about this. Variety is charming, even in
pedestrianism, though in professional walkers this variety is apt
to show itself in a walk that is almost twin brother to a trot. The
following words of the once celebrated Westhall are valuable for boys
and men who walk for health and pleasure, as well as professionals who
walk for pots or purses:--"To be a good and fair walker the attitude
should be upright, or nearly so, with the shoulders well back, though
not stiffly so, and the arms, when in motion, held well up in a bent
position, and at every stride swinging with the movement of the legs
well across the chest, which should be well thrown out. The loins
should be slack, to give plenty of freedom to the hips, and the leg
_perfectly straight_, thrown out from the hip bodily and directly
in front of the body, and allowed to reach the ground with the heel
being decidedly the first portion of the foot to meet it." Some people
insist on the toes being turned out in a most unmistakable way when
walking. It is not at all a pretty sight, and much more suggestive
of a duck waddling out of a pond than a well-trained human being.
Besides, it throws an undesirable and harmful amount of strain upon the
smaller toes. Better to point the toes downwards and forwards, _never_
outwards; spring sharply towards the tiptoe, straightening the knee.
Learn also to hold the ground with the great toe at the beginning and
at the end of each step. We cannot grasp the ground; good foothold is
only to be obtained by pressure of the toes against it. This may, at
first reading, seem rather strange counsel; but if we have any physical
relationship with monkeys, the strangeness of it is at once removed.
Mark how the monkey holds with his feet. Perhaps a million years ago we
also (or rather our prototypes) held the ground with our feet in like
manner.
One thing is certain, that bad walkers (bad in style, I mean) are very
ugly to see, whereas there is something majestic about the carriage of
a good walker.
$Sprinting.$--Not many athletes can excel in all kinds of running, and
the champion sprinter is not generally a winner of long-distance races.
Moreover, it is necessary for each runner to decide which he will be,
for the training for each is different. Train gradually. At first
take sharp walks of three or four miles. This will make the muscles
begin to harden. Then run steadily for a quarter of a mile at a time,
not troubling much about the speed. Cultivate the use of the toes and
stride straight forward. Towards the end of the run the speed may be
increased, for the muscles will then be in working order. Even now,
however, the young sprinter should not tire himself. A week should be
employed in this way before the more severe training is undertaken.
Never begin to run violently at first, and this rule should be observed
particularly in cold weather, for until the muscles have warmed to
their work they are liable to strain, or even to suffer more severe
injury. Practise starting. If you have a friend ask him to act as
starter, and start over and over again, going to the mark and putting
yourself in position time after time. In a short race like this a good
start often makes all the difference, for it means sometimes a gain of
a yard.
$Middle Distance Races.$--Speed wins short-distance races; endurance
wins long-distance races, but a combination of each is needed in the
medium distance contests.
$Long Distances.$--The training for long-distance races needs patience
and endurance, for the tax upon the runner is great. Boys should not
compete in long distances. No one under eighteen years of age should
run a mile. The method of training is to run a quarter, or half a mile,
according to the strength of the runner, and then each day to increase
the distance or to run the same distance at a greater speed. Gradually
by this process the lungs, the heart, and the muscles are strengthened
until feats hitherto impossible become easy. In a long-distance race
judgment must be exercised whether to go the distance rapidly and trust
to endurance or to run warily and win by a spurt at the end, when it
may be that your opponent is exhausted.
$The Long Jump.$--Speed is an important element in this feat, more
important indeed than the spring. Experts take a run of from a hundred
to two hundred feet as though they were running a sprint race and are
going at their highest speed when they rise from the ground. When they
are coming to the ground again they thrust their legs forward as far
as they can, and so gain a foot or even more. This needs practice,
however, for if the leaper loses his balance and falls backward his
jump does not count. To start from the mark also needs practice, and
one of the methods of mastering this feat is to run slowly to a point
about nine paces short of the starting place. In training this point
may be marked by a piece of paper. Then sprint from the paper to the
starting place. Experts are able to jump twenty-four feet, and a leap
of twenty-two is excellent, but not many can hope to reach these
lengths.
$The High Jump.$--Here the athlete begins his run to the centre of
the bar slowly, then he increases his speed a little, finishing with
a quick run and a bound. The spring is taken in something like a
crouching position with the head drawn in, but in the air the shoulders
are lifted and the arms and legs jerked upwards. As the jumper crosses
the bar he shoots out his legs, raises his shoulders still higher,
and twists his body until he faces downwards. In fact he is then
nearly horizontal, and an amateur champion of the world has likened
his position at this stage to that of an arrow crossing a bow. When
he comes to the ground he faces the bar. Some jumpers rise from the
right foot, some from the left. The young athlete should find for
himself which method suits him best. It is usual to take the leap as
far in front of the bar as the bar is from the ground. Thus, if the
bar is four feet high the leap would begin four feet from a point on
the ground directly under the bar. The run usually begins twelve good
paces from the bar, and consists of one bound after another, concluding
with three short energetic ones. Then comes the spring from a crouching
position. If the start is from the right foot, this foot should be
almost parallel to the bar, and the heel of this foot should be the
last to leave the ground. A run would carry you far, but in this feat
it is the vigorous spring which carries you high. There are those who
can jump more than six-feet high in this way, but they are among the
champions.
CHAPTER IV
HOCKEY AND INDIAN CLUBS
$Hockey.$--Hockey is a game which has become very popular in England
during the past few years. It is generally believed to be a southern
form of the Highland game of shinty, the great game of the clansmen
in years gone past, and still played in many of the northern glens,
notably on the Dumbartonshire side of Loch Lomond. The hockey of the
North is not played according to any scale of points, the winning
team being that which secures most goals; in the South, where it is
frequently played on ice as well as on _terra firma_, certain marks of
merit are awarded, after the style of Rugby Union football.
The modern hockey stick is to some extent an artificial contrivance
after the style of the driver or play club of golf. Indeed, to golf
it bears some little semblance, and strangers frequently confound
the two pastimes. The Scottish school-boy, when hockey comes on in
its turn with other recreations of the playground, sets out for the
woodlands with a strong, sharp pocket-knife. He examines carefully all
the hedge-rows to see if there is any young plant which has a natural
turn at the end. If he can find such with a three feet shaft and a
four-inch crook at the end he sets to work there and then, and in due
time his "shinty" or hockey stick is pruned and ready for the game. The
full-grown Highland player will possibly provide himself with a very
heavy oak sapling, and with this he will strike powerful strokes, with
his right hand, or both hands if required, when in a close contested
maul or fray in front of the goal. These naturally-grown clubs have
more spring in them than those of artificial make, but unless they are
carefully bound with cord the head is apt to give after a little hard
play.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
A good deal of the art of the game consists in passing or nursing, as
in Association football. A novice would strike the knag or knob away
from him as soon as he had obtained his opportunity. Not so the adept,
who would "dribble" it forward, to use a football phrase, a few yards
at a time, work it on to his partner, back up, and keep following it,
then, with one swinging blow, make a shot for goal. In hockey on the
ice the dribbling game is seen to most advantage, as the skilful skater
can take the knag a hundred yards or more by adroit nursing or passing;
were he to strike it away with the first blow the chances are that it
would be immediately returned with interest, and a goal scored to the
opposite side.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
In the Highlands it is a grand sight to see two opposing bodies of
clansmen--met as of old they met with targe and claymore--to fight
out a friendly game. Everything is cast aside but shirt and kilt,
and bare-headed and bare-legged the contestants seem to have walked
out of the picture of some ancient Highland foray. Striking off in
mid-ground the welkin soon rings with their shouts in Gaelic, their
cheers and expostulations. Blows that were meant for the knag sometimes
fall heavy upon an opponent's knees, and soon legs are to be seen
streaming with blood. In the heat of the play they feel it not, though
next day they will possibly not have a part of their under limbs
without bruises between ankles and knees. With terrific swing Donald
or Duncan, who stands six-feet two in his socks, will drive it like
a cannon ball through the air; and arrested by Malcolm's head in its
flight the latter drops like a stone, only to recover his senses in
a minute again and go off in wild pursuit. When the sun sinks, the
game is proclaimed over, and both sides shake hands, dress, and depart
homeward, well pleased with their sport, no matter whether they may
have won or lost.
[Illustration]
$Indian Clubs.$--Club swinging, if carried out in the correct style,
brings almost every muscle into play, develops the chest and arms,
imparts an easy carriage to the figure, and, if persevered in, under
proper conditions to be hereafter mentioned, will ultimately enable
the most round-shouldered individual to assume that lissom and
perpendicular attitude which is the characteristic of the finished
athlete.
First let me impress upon you the importance of avoiding heavy clubs
when you commence the exercise, or even after becoming moderately
proficient. Difficult feats are not easy to accomplish with very heavy
clubs, besides the latter, instead of strengthening the muscles, are
more likely to produce the opposite effect. Directly the club is heavy
enough to sway you about on your feet, the exercise is doing you harm,
and your attitude will appear ungraceful. Should you be ambitious to
swing very heavy clubs, be advised to proceed cautiously, and gradually
increase the weight at long intervals. Clubs recommended for ordinary
use should weigh between 1-1/2 and 2 lbs. each, as that weight affords
plenty of muscular exertion to strong and comparatively weak men alike,
especially in difficult exercises. After becoming fairly proficient
with the lighter weights, heavier clubs might be used with advantage,
say three or four pounds each, but a practised athlete of great
muscular power may safely swing clubs of twenty pounds or more. A club,
say twenty-two inches in length, made of willow which should weigh
about 1-1/2 lbs., is the most suitable for young boys or ladies. The
club should be well tapered towards the top and artistically shaped:
an ill-shaped club is a very awkward and unsatisfactory instrument.
In nearly all exercises the feet should be some distance apart in
proportion to your height: for a man of five feet nine inches, about
the proper distance between heels would be seventeen inches. For many
exercises the shoulders should be kept square to the front, while in
others it is necessary to turn more or less to the right or left. If
the shoulders are turned through half a right angle, reckoning from
the position with the shoulders square, the shoulders are said to be
half-right or half-left; if the shoulders are turned through a complete
right angle, the shoulders are considered full right or full left as
the case may be. Style is a most important item to be considered,
not only for the sake of appearance, but also in order that the
utmost physical benefit may be derived from the exercise. An eminent
authority, in speaking of style, remarks: "If you swing clubs without
regard to style, you will naturally contrive to cast almost all the
labour upon your strongest muscles, so that the exercise, instead of
searching out and strengthening your weak points, will merely tend to
increase the muscles which are already disproportionately developed;
whereas, if you attend carefully to style, you will be compelled to
bring a great variety into play, so that your weakest muscles will be
at first most severely taxed, and will gradually become developed in
proportion to those which are naturally strong."
It is necessary that the knees be kept straight and the muscles of the
legs well braced, as there is a tendency at first, especially with
heavy clubs, to let the knees bend in the course of certain movements;
the head should be carried erect, and should turn with the shoulders,
so that you always look in a direction at right angles to the line of
the shoulders. The best way to keep the head steady and in its proper
position is to fix the eyes on some point a trifle above their own
level, in a direction at right angles to the line of the shoulders for
the time being. Should you allow your eyes to wander, you will find
it impossible to keep the head steady. In summing up the chief points
relating to style, the following should be kept in view, viz.:--
(1) All unnecessary movement of the body should be avoided, the head
should be carried erect, and the feet firmly placed at a distance apart
in proportion to your height.
(2) In swings, keep the arm as nearly straight as possible; in twists,
the hand should be kept almost in the same place throughout the
movement.
(3) The movement of the club should be kept even, and avoid all abrupt
or sudden changes of pace.
(4) The clubs should be kept in accurate turn with each other.
In order to correct your own style, a good plan is to practise before a
looking-glass.
The proper position for holding the club before beginning an exercise
is called "the carry." Stand erect and grasp the club with the right
hand, lift the club and hold it up vertically, with the hand just in a
line, and not raised higher than the shoulder.
Club exercises are divided into four series. The first, called Outward,
are those in which the right club moves in the same direction as the
hands of a clock facing you, whilst the left club moves against the
hands of the clock.
[Illustration: FIG. 1.]
[Illustration: FIG. 2.]
Inward exercises are those in which these conditions are entirely
reversed, and parallel exercises are those in which both clubs swing
with or against the clock. Windmill exercises are explained at Fig.
2, the subject is made clear in Fig. 1, where, for the sake of
simplicity, both hands are holding the same club; the right hand, which
is travelling in the same direction as a clock facing the athlete,
is making an outward circle, as the left hand is working against the
clock, the left hand is making an inward circle, and as both hands are
swinging with the clock, a parallel exercise would be in progress, if
there were two clubs instead of one as shown in the illustration.
The outward front swing follows "the carry" as a natural consequence.
Straighten the arm completely till the hand is above and about three
inches in front of the shoulder; the point of the club should then
be allowed to move slightly forward, with the wrist turned in, then
let the hand and club move to the right, the arm being kept straight,
and the club being kept in a straight line with the arm throughout
the movement. A circle can then be described and a return made to the
initial position.
To make this description more easily understood, I have a capital
illustration in front of me, and I cannot do better than quote it.
"If you were to stand with a wall about ten inches in front of you,
the point of the club, would, in the preparatory position, just touch
the wall at the highest point you could reach with the club; and as
you did the swing, the point of the club would always touch the wall,
and, if it were chalked, would draw a circle on the wall, of which the
radius would be as nearly as possible equal to the length of your arm
and the club together."
This is one of those simple-looking movements which are by no means
easy of accomplishment. The arm should be kept straight with the arm
and the club in a line, and avoid stooping as the club passes in front
of the legs. Beginners should practise front swings, and follow them up
until they are done with before attempting anything else.
CIRCLES, SWINGS, AND TWISTS.--It should be noted that circles are
divided into "swings" and "twists". The club and forearm acting in
a straight line during the movement would come under the heading of
"swings," whilst circles swung from the wrist with the hand as a centre
point are reckoned as "twists." Some of the very advanced movements,
however, unite the characteristics of both swings and twists, and it is
difficult to say under which heading they should be classed.
Fig. 2 illustrates the outward front swing with both clubs. The
exercise shown is a cross windmill, the performer with both clubs
straight above the shoulder swings the left club outwards; so soon as
the left club points downwards he will swing the right club outwards,
and it will arrive at the lowest point just as the left club has
completed its circle.
THE OUTWARD BACK TWIST.--From "the carry," raise the hand a little
above the shoulder, passing it slightly to the rear, so that the
forefinger is level with and within two inches of the lobe of the ear,
the elbow being raised to the right till it is nearly as high as the
shoulder, allowing the club to slope a little backwards from the hand.
From this preparatory position, let the point of the club move to the
right, and, keeping the hand close to the ear throughout the movement,
a circle can be described by the point of the club.
In this twist get the point of the club sufficiently to the right
and to the rear as the club descends, in order to avoid letting the
point of the club pass too far to the rear as it ascends. Care should
be taken to keep the hand in the same place throughout the twist,
and don't duck the head forward during the ascent of the club. This
tendency is produced by the fear of a blow on the head while the club
is travelling in its upward course.
WINDMILL EXERCISES.--The exercises known as windmill are very
interesting. As in parallel exercises, the one club does outward
circles and the other inward circles, keeping exact pace with each
other, the one being always half a circle ahead of the other;
therefore, when one club points straight up, the other points straight
down, so that when viewed from the front, the clubs appear always to
point in exactly opposite directions. A windmill exercise is difficult
to learn, but when grasped, you should at once tackle the corresponding
form on the other side.
[Illustration: FIG. 3.]
Fig. 3 shows the inward back twist being cross windmilled.
THE OUTWARD CROSS FRONT TWIST.--In this twist the hand should be kept
close to the left breast throughout the movement, and as the club
descends, turn the wrist out and bend it over, the while turning the
wrist out as the club ascends till it is horizontal on the left, again
turning it sharply as the club finishes its ascent. Twists similar to
the cross front twist may be performed with the hand above or below the
height of the shoulder, also a cross front twist may be done with the
hand at the height of and in front of either the right or left hip.
Avoid letting the clubs go too far forward while they are below the
horizontal, and too far back during the higher part of the movement.
Each front swing should be done in good style, and endeavour not to
stoop as the clubs pass each other when they begin to ascend.
[Illustration: FIG. 4.]
[Illustration: FIG. 4A.]
Fig. 4 shows the outward cross front twist with the right hand at
arm's length, whilst the left club is simultaneously making an outward
back twist at arm's length, it must be noted, that although the right
club is moving towards the performer, yet as it is moving in the same
direction as the hand of a clock, parallel, and in front of the twist
made, it is called an outward twist.
[Illustration: FIG. 5.]
Fig. 5 shows an outward back twist at arm's length with the right club,
the left club is making an outward front twist, the only difference
being, that the circle is made with the left club entirely in front of
the left arm, instead of in the rear of it.
[Illustration: FIG. 6.]
Fig. 6 shows an inward swing with the right club done simultaneously
with an inward swing with the left club. This exercise can be made into
a cross inside windmill in the same way that Fig. 2 can be made into a
regular outside exercise, instead of being a cross outside windmill.
[Illustration: FIG. 7.]
Fig. 7 shows an inside back twist at arm's length above the head and
an inward cross front twist at arm's length downwards, the connecting
inward front swings being also shown. This is very difficult.
PARALLEL EXERCISES.--These consist of an outward circle with one
club and an inward circle with the other, in which the two circles
are begun together, and in which the two clubs keep exact pace with
each other throughout, consequently both clubs appear to be always
parallel to each other. This is called a "parallel" combination. When
the various parallel combinations have become familiar to the learner,
he may continue such combinations in succession to each other and
profit thereby. Parallel exercises are considered the greatest test of
proficiency with clubs, as the slightest error will cause a divergence
of the clubs and be at once detected.
Endeavour to master a parallel combination thoroughly, and then the
combination on the other side will come easy enough.
[Illustration: FIG. 8.]
Fig. 8 shows a parallel exercise, an inward front swing with R. being
done simultaneously with an outward front swing with L.
[Illustration: FIG. 9.]
Fig. 9 shows an outward back twist with R. and an inward cross twist
with L.
[Illustration: FIG. 10.]
Fig. 10 shows an inward back twist with R. and an outward back twist
with L., followed by an inward front swing with R. and an outward front
swing with L.
[Illustration: FIG. 11.]
Fig. 11 shows an inward back twist with R. and an outward front swing
with L.
[Illustration: FIG. 11A.]
Fig. 11A shows an outward front swing with R. and an inward back twist
with L.
[Illustration: FIG. 12.]
[Illustration: FIG. 13.]
[Illustration: FIG. 14.]
Figs. 12, 13, 14 show some of the movements of clubs as generally
practised on the Continent, but we consider dumb-bells more suitable
for lunging movements.
[Illustration: FIG. 15.]
[Illustration: FIG. 16.]
Figs. 15, 16 show some wrist exercises, which are sufficiently plain to
need no explanation.
Fig. 14 shows the outward cross front twist with the R. hand near left
breast, while the left club is making an outward front swing; the
corresponding movement would be an outward cross front with the L.
whilst the R. made the outward front swing.
MISCELLANEOUS CIRCLES.--Circles which may be done with the arm passed
behind the neck, and the hand brought forward over the left shoulder,
require extraordinary length of arm and elasticity. Circles are
sometimes done in which the centre of gravity of the club is caused to
remain stationary while the hand moves in a circle, which conveys the
impression that the club is revolving about an axle through its centre
of gravity. These are difficult movements, and very attractive.
THROWING THE CLUBS.--These exercises require great dexterity before
satisfactory results can be obtained. To let go the club and cause it
to turn twice or more in the air and catch it again, is a feat that
entails endless practice. Dealing only with the right club, a few brief
notes regarding some of the simpler movements must suffice. (1) Perform
an outward front swing, and as the club approaches the horizontal in
its ascent let it go, and after it has made one revolution in the air
catch it again; this is the outward throw. (2) The inward throw is an
exact counterpart of the outward throw, but done by an inward swing.
(3) "The double outward throw" and "the double inward throw" are done
by allowing the club to turn twice before catching it. There are
endless varieties of other throws, all of which allow unlimited action,
as the shoulder cannot be kept strictly in position, because the clubs
have to be carefully watched while they are in the air.
Without doubt, Indian club exercise is an attractive pastime, and
entails no strain on the system, unless by the foolish practice of
using too heavy clubs.
CHAPTER V
SWIMMING, ROWING, AND WATER POLO
$Swimming.$--A glance at some books of instruction conveys the
impression that swimming is difficult and complicated; but many boys
learn in three or four days, and we know a timid boy who had much to
overcome in fear of the water who learnt in fourteen without more aid
than he obtained from reading directions in books. It is easier to
learn in a tepid indoor bath, because the novice is not worried by
having to keep himself warm, and he has the rail, a sure bottom, and
the side of the bath to help him. A friendly companion who will support
his chest with one hand at first, especially if he can instruct him
too, will shorten the period of learning. There is no need to go into
deep water, nor to run any risks in learning to swim.
The action of the arms may be practised in or out of the water. Draw
the arms to the chest with the elbows touching the sides. Close the
fingers and thumb of each hand, and make the hands slightly hollow.
The hands will be under the chin and the hollowed palms downwards.
Push them out in front of your nose, not vigorously, but quietly and
steadily, for so far the action is one that retards the swimmer rather
than advances him. Once at their full extent, however, the hands should
be turned almost back to back, and then each should be swept away from
the other in a semi-circle, something like the action of the oars when
a boat is being rowed. When the elbows touch the body the stroke ends,
and the hands should go back to their position under the chin ready for
another stroke.
More important than the arms in swimming are the legs, but their
movements are very simple and easy to learn. Grasp the rail that runs
round the bath with one hand and place the other hand flat upon the
side of the bath about a foot below. Draw the legs up to the body,
with the heels touching each other, toes of each foot turned outwards,
the toes of the right foot to the right, the toes of the left foot to
the left. Keep the knees wide apart and turned outwards. When the legs
have been drawn up as far as possible the soles of the feet should be
only just under the water. Now shoot both legs out vigorously, not
only as far as they will go, but as widely asunder as you can spread
them. Then bring the heels smartly together so that the legs return in
a line with the body again. This last movement is very important, for
it is in displacing the wedge of water between the widely opened legs
that the body receives its forward impulse. Writers upon swimming have
likened this action to the flight of the slippery orange pip when it is
squeezed in the fingers of the school-boy.
When the use of arms and legs is practised together the legs are drawn
up and the hands are placed under the chin at the same time, and the
hands and legs are sent out from the body together. The head should be
thrown back well, and it will help the learner to do this if he looks
at the sky or at the ceiling of the bath when he is learning.
It is easier to swim upon the back than upon the chest. The movement of
the legs is the same, and the movement of the hands not very different.
Lie backwards upon the water and with the hands together stretch the
arms behind the head, palms upwards, thumbs touching. Then sweep the
hands away from each other, using them like oars, and so bringing them
back with a wide curve to the hips. Upon the back it is possible to
swim without the use of the arms at all.
Learning to swim makes one sadly out of breath, but with practice the
art becomes easy, and we swim with almost as much ease as we walk.
Having learned plain swimming it is not difficult to add gradually the
numerous other methods of propelling the body through the water.
$Rowing.$--To watch and imitate a good rower is the best way to acquire
a good style, but a few hints will help. Sit squarely upon the seat
and stretch your legs straight before you, but with your toes turned
out slightly. Rowers are not agreed about the knees. Some keep them
together; others have them apart, and they will tell you that this
arrangement permits the body to come further forward over the knees.
Your feet should be placed firmly against the stretcher, and this must
be let out or shortened, to suit the length of the rower. One foot may
be placed in the strap which is often attached to the stretcher. The
outside hand is placed upon the handle of the oar, with the thumb as
well as the fingers above it, while the other hand grasps it firmly
lower down, keeping the nut towards you. The arms are now quickly
thrust forward till they are quite straight at the elbows, after which
the back follows the arms by bending forward at the hips. Be careful,
however, to avoid round shoulders. When your hands have reached their
full stretch raise them, and the blade will drop quietly into the
water. Then with the water just covering the blade, the body is brought
back with a strong but not clumsy movement, till it reaches a little
beyond the perpendicular of the back of the seat, when the hands are
brought back to the ribs, the elbows gliding near the hips; and at the
last moment, as the hand touches the ribs, the wrist of the inside hand
is lowered, the knuckles being at the same time brought against the
chest, and the oar is made to revolve in the rowlock. This is called
"feathering" the oar, a process by which it is brought neatly out of
the water. Now push the oar rapidly forward again, first, however,
restoring it to its original position in the rowlock. This is done by
raising the wrist, and then darting the arms forward till the elbows
are quite straight. Now the rower is at his starting point. To "back
water" these actions are reversed. The oar is first reversed in the
rowlock, and then it is pushed through the water with as much power as
is needed, and pulled through the air. When the oars on one side are
pulled, and those on the other are backed, the boat is made to turn
round completely in a small space. Expert rowers have arrived at the
following maxims: Straighten the arms before bending the body forward;
drop the oar neatly into the water; draw the oar straight through at
the same depth; feather the oar cleanly, and without bringing the oar
out before doing so; use the back and shoulders freely, keeping the
arms as straight as possible; keep your eyes fixed on the rower before
you. By this means the body is almost sure to swing backwards and
forwards regularly in a straight line. If you look out of the boat you
will probably lose this rhythmic motion.
$Sculling.$--This process is different from that of rowing in that the
sculler has a scull for each hand, whereas the rower uses both hands
for one oar. The rower sits near the side of the boat, the sculler in
the centre of the seat. The sculls are lighter than oars, the action
quicker. There are from thirty to forty strokes a minute in sculling,
but the average is about thirty-two. The boy who goes out sculling
alone is often his own steerer, and so needs to keep a sharp look-out
over his shoulder. Having taken a seat in the centre, stretch out
your legs to their fullest extent and adjust the stretcher. Grasp the
sculls, one in each hand, by the handles, and bend your body forward
until your head is well over your knees. Throw your arms well forward,
and straight, so that the sculls will be thrown well backwards. Then
dip the sculls, try to keep the dip uniform, and pull hard.
The stroke comes to an end when the elbows are brought to the top of
the hips, and the hands to the chest, with the body well back as a
result of the strong pull. The sculls are "feathered" as they leave the
water by the depressing of the elbows and the bending upwards of the
wrists, as the back of the hands are turned towards the forearms, an
operation which offers the least resistance to the water when releasing
the sculls to obtain the position known as the return, that is, the
position to begin again. To turn a boat in the water the sculler must
back water with one scull and pull with the other. To do this one scull
is reversed, its rounded face being towards the rear as the sculler
pushes it from him. At the same time pull sharply with the other scull
until the boat's head has been turned round completely. Boats without
rudders are managed in the water, either by pulling both sides alike,
in which case the boat moves in a straight line, or by reversing the
action of the oars, equally on both sides, pushing them through the
water instead of pulling them, and called backing water. In this case
the boat recedes. By pulling one side only, the boat describes a part
of a circle, which is made smaller by pulling one oar, and backing the
other. By means of a rudder the boat may be made to take almost any
direction without reference to the rowers.
A few experiments with a rudder will soon demonstrate what its powers
are.
[Illustration: WATER POLO.]
$Water Polo.$--Boys who can swim will find this excellent sport. Each
player should provide himself with a sound cask. Place it upon its side
and weight it with lead or other material, making this ballast fast so
that it cannot move about. Now make the cask quite water-tight. Upon
one end fix a horse's head made of wood, upon the other a tail. These
features may be made as extravagant and comic as the owner pleases.
Get a paddle like a canoe paddle, and astride of this horse take to the
water. Choose sides as at football and have for goals stakes driven
into the bed of the river or floating objects moored into position.
The ball should be a light hollow india-rubber one, or a bladder from
the butcher. Some players use the inner part of a football. The paddle
both strikes the ball and propels the steed. This game should never be
played unless the players are accompanied by a capable person in a boat
who can go to the assistance of those who may be in difficulties.
CHAPTER VI
PAPERCHASING, FOOTBALL, GOLF, AND BOXING
$Paperchasing.$--This may be practised with more or less success all
the year round, but it is in the winter time that it can best be
enjoyed. It is then that the air is cool and invigorating, and that
the fields, being unoccupied by crops, may be run over without any
very great damage being done. For boys it is a grand game; it affords
a welcome change from the scrimmages and knocks of football and fives;
and if the distance run be not too far, nor the pace too fast, there
are few who cannot take part in it with pleasure.
An important point in its favour is that the expenses connected with it
are small. The paperchaser wears jersey, knickerbockers and stockings
as at football, with the addition, in very cold weather, of woollen
mittens to keep the wrists warm, and the substitution of light leather
or rubber and canvas shoes, for heavy boots. For each of the "hares"
there must be provided a bag in which to carry the "scent." These bags
should be of stout linen or canvas and shaped like a life-buoy, so
that they go round the runner--under the left shoulder and over the
right--with a hole in the under-side, by means of which they are filled
and emptied. Time was when the "scent" consisted of paper torn up very
small, the preparation of which afforded almost as much fun as the
chase itself; but nowadays we have grown luxurious, and fill the bags
with the paper shavings which may be purchased for a very small sum
from any bookbinder or printer.
Much of the success of a paperchase depends on the choosing of the
hares. Of these there are generally two or three--more often the
former--and it is necessary that one of them should have a good
knowledge of the surrounding country. The time of their departure
having been noted, they start off and lay a trail as they go. Sometimes
one will lay for a while, and then the other will take a turn;
occasionally one will lead and lay his trail, and the other following
some little distance in the rear, will look out for gaps and fill them
in. It is not necessary to lay a continuous trail, but care should be
taken that it is quite easy to see from one patch of scent to the next.
When the wind is high, it is always well in crossing from one field to
another, to sprinkle some scent on the hedge itself.
The laying of an occasional "false" scent adds to the troubles of
the hounds, and gives the hares a chance of regaining some of the
advantage which they naturally lose in choosing their course. A "false"
is usually managed by the hares separating, and each laying a trail
in different directions; then one ceases laying, and makes his way
straight across country to join his companion, and they go on again
together as before. In laying a false trail, much ingenuity may be
shown. One way is to make the wrong one much the more distinct of
the two; but this must not always be done, or naturally it will soon
cease to have any effect. In selecting a course, it is well to choose
a circular one, so that in case of accidents, the distance from home
is not very far; and it is a very good plan, and one which is likely
to be of advantage to all, to start out against the wind and to return
with it. The reason for this is that it is easier to face the wind when
starting out fresh than when returning home fatigued at the end of a
run.
The hounds, or pack, must be provided with a captain and a
"whipper-in"--the former to set the pace and generally take command,
and the latter to look after the stragglers and see that none are left
behind. Both should be good runners, and if possible should have had
some experience of the game. After an interval--the length of which is
arranged with the hares before they start, and depends chiefly on the
distance it is proposed to travel--the pack set out on their journey.
The pace should be a steady jog-trot, especially at the beginning;
afterwards, if all goes well, it may be increased. It is a rule that so
long as the hares are not in sight, all must follow the trail; but if
once they are seen, it becomes a case of "catch who can," the scent is
ignored, and all go off straightway in pursuit. If the hares are not
seen and there appears to be no likelihood of their being caught, it is
usual for the captain on getting within a mile or so of home, to give
the word for a race and for the hounds to set off then to compete among
themselves for the honour of being the first to reach the goal.
Carried out on these lines, paperchasing provides plenty of fun, and
is as healthy a pastime as can be found. Now and again there will be
a ducking caused by a failure to clear a brook, or a stumble at a
fence; but if the victims of these mishaps keep moving, and immediately
they reach home, change their clothes, little harm will be done. Two
warnings may be given: Do not go too far; and when feeling tired, do
not strain yourself by trying to race. A six or seven miles spin is
quite long enough for any one; and it is better to go all through at
a jog-trot, and even to walk occasionally, than to sow the seeds of
future ills by striving to outdo fleeter rivals.
$Hints on Football.$--Football is one of the games which cannot
be learned from books. Its best lessons are those taught by hard
experience, and as much may be learned in an afternoon's play and in
watching a match between two good teams, as by a diligent study of
all the books on the game that have ever been written; but at the
same time there are a number of unwritten rules which, although they
often take years to learn, are of service to every player; and I have
therefore deemed it wise to collect them and put them down here in
black and white in the hope that they may be of use to many who, with
some experience of the game, and eager to improve their play, have no
opportunity for seeing big matches, and no one whom they can ask for
advice. These rules are fourteen in number, and should be learned by
heart by every player. They apply specially to the Rugby game, but some
of them are of use also to those who favour the Association pastime:--
1. Never play immediately after a meal. It is best to have dinner two
hours before the game begins.
2. In passing a ball to a comrade send it smartly and quickly straight
into his hands.
3. Never pass the ball when you are near your own goal line, and never
pass straight back except when opposite your opponents' goal, and the
player to whom you pass is well placed for dropping a goal.
4. Never be too eager to pick up the ball and run with it. A neat
dribble with the feet is often most effective, and it is generally very
difficult to stop.
5. In collaring an opponent always keep your eyes open, and always go
hard and low.
6. Never "speculate" or take flying kicks at the ball.
7. When fairly held by an opponent, do not waste your strength by
useless struggling, but at once cry "held," and put down the ball.
8. When you have the ball in your possession, and find it impossible to
pass it to advantage or to proceed, always punt into touch.
9. In handing off an opponent, turn your thumb inside your hand and
turn the palm outwards with the fingers held together.
10. When one of your own side is running with the ball, always follow
up close behind, but a little on one side of him. When passed by an
opponent who has it, try to get round again to meet him before he
reaches your goal line.
11. In your spare time practise punting, drop-kicking, and
place-kicking, with both feet. An otherwise good player is often left
out of a team in order to make room for one who is not quite so good,
but is able to kick.
12. Study the laws of the game whenever you have an opportunity.
13. Always keep your temper and do not talk. Obey your captain at once,
and unhesitatingly accept the decision of the referee.
14. Change your clothes as soon as possible after playing, and in going
home be careful to wrap up well.
In conclusion, I would point out that if properly played Rugby Football
is not dangerous. The great majority of accidents which occur are due
to the neglect of one of the simple rules here laid down--through
useless struggling, loose collaring, wild kicking, or blind rushing.
The rules for the Association and the Rugby game may be obtained for
one penny each, so we have refrained from reproducing them here.
[Illustration: DRIVING]
$Golf.$--This is another of those games well learned on the field, by
observation of the best players, and by hints from friends. We have,
however, compiled a series of injunctions based upon long experience.
DRIVING.--Lower your left shoulder. Stand still and do not see-saw with
your body. Plant your feet squarely. Grasp your club lightly yet firmly
in the hollow of your fingers. Slowly swing well back and complete your
stroke well through, pushing to the very end with your right hand. It
is a disadvantage to try to get under the ball.
[Illustration]
THE BRASSY.--In using this club swing as far back as you can, slowly.
THE MASHIE AND IRON.--Swing back very slowly and have the forefinger of
your right hand well down the club, which should be held lightly. Go
well through with the stroke and rise slightly off your left heel.
PUTTING.--Grasp the club firmly, swing back very slowly, and go well
through with the stroke.
[Illustration: OUT OF THE FURZE]
[Illustration: OUT OF A BUNKER]
[Illustration: PUTTING]
GENERAL ADVICE.--In all kinds of strokes swing back slowly with your
left shoulder down and the forefinger of your right hand well down the
club. Ever have your eye upon the ball, and finish every stroke to the
very end. In all your strokes let your arms go well out from your body.
Your hands should be close together on your club and the right hand
well round to the left but not under the club. Press the ground with
your feet and stand well back upon your heels.
$Hints on Boxing.$--It is true that boxing has become associated
with all manner of ruffianism, but it is true also that it is one of
the most effective forms of physical exercise, and that low life and
brutality need no more enter into this pastime than into cricket. All
the muscles are exercised, and dexterity, nimbleness, prompt decision,
quickness of sight and many other admirable qualities are promoted.
The right arm is held across the body so as to protect the pit of
the stomach. The elbow of the left arm is held to the side. This
position enables the boxer to hit from the shoulder, an important
matter in boxing. The right leg bears most of the weight of the body,
an arrangement which permits rapid movement backwards and forwards
as occasion demands with a minimum of exposure. The left side should
be towards your antagonist, the left hand has the principal part of
hitting allotted to it, the right stops, parries, and at close quarters
hits too.
Study all these things carefully before a mirror, noting what parts are
exposed and the manner in which the exposure may be remedied.
Throw your head well back, and watch your opponent's eyes, for there
you get the earliest indication of his intentions, and therefore you
are able to make your arrangements for circumventing his plans. When
you strike let it be from the shoulder and with all the weight of your
body pressing the right foot upon the ground and making a kind of
spring. Do not draw back your hand to make a stroke, because that gives
your adversary warning. Come upon him unawares and then recover your
position immediately. Generally the time to strike is when your left
toe is level with his heel, but if his reach is longer or shorter than
yours this rule may need modification. Remember that a curved blow is
longer on its way than a straight one.
If your adversary strikes at your face or the upper part of the chest,
do not retreat from the blow, but fling your right arm sharply outwards
and upwards, catching your opponent's arm by the wrist, and throwing it
out of the direction in which it was aimed. This generally lays open
your opponent's head, and gives opportunity for a smart return blow
with the left hand; it is then near his head, and has only a short
distance to go. This return blow is called the "counter," and is very
effective, as it arrives when your opponent is expecting to give rather
than receive a blow. This plan of campaign may be practised before a
mirror.
"Stopping" comes in where this parry is impracticable. If your
adversary strikes at your body you must either get away, stop, or
suffer the blow in hopes of being able to hit him in return. In
stopping you receive the blow on your arm, and break its force.
CHAPTER VII
ON THE ICE
$Figure Skating.$--As soon as the skater has gained confidence and can
skate in the ordinary way, he should begin to master the art of skating
upon the outside edge. Put upon the ice a small stone, piece of wood,
or any other object to serve for a centre. From this stand three yards
with your right side towards it. Leaning a little in the direction of
this centre and pressing your weight upon the outer edge of the blade
of the skate, push yourself round and round the centre with your left
foot. Then practise going round on the outside edge of your left skate
in a similar way. Difficult as these movements will be at first, they
become easy like other hard tasks by practice, and they open the way to
graceful figure skating.
When the two circles have been mastered it is quite easy to cut a
figure $3$ upon the ice. Begin on the outside edge of the right skate
as though you meant to go in a circle, but allow your left foot to
hang behind your right foot. There it will act as a kind of weight,
your body will tend to swing round and you will cut the second part of
the $3$ travelling backwards, and upon the inner edge of the skate.
The impetus gained in cutting the first part of the figure will carry
you to the end. Going in the other direction cut another $[|3]$ with
your left foot, and when you can do these you are on the high road to
complete success as a skater.
[Illustration: FIG. 1.]
[Illustration: FIG. 2.]
[Illustration: FIG. 3.]
[Illustration: FIG. 4.]
[Illustration: FIG. 5.]
$Sailing on Skates.$--Boys who are so fortunate as to live where there
is a large sheet of ice will find much fun in sailing. If you have the
money the draper will supply you with calico, or sheeting, or other
similar material, two yards wide, and a journey to the joiner will be
necessary, as we shall see. A B in Figure 1 is the yard made of wood,
one and a half inches thick in the middle, tapering to each end to
five-eighths of an inch. At C and D holes are bored for the lashings of
the sail. E F is the sprit, and we get its length by measuring the boy
who is going to use the sail from his neck to his ankles. This gives
the length of the sprit, and the yard should be made twice as long. We
have given the longest that the sprit should be. It may be shorter,
and then, of course, the yard would be shortened in proportion. The
sprit is tapered towards F and a hole is bored at G for lashings. The
sprit is connected with the yard by what sailors call a crotch. We have
given a representation of it in Fig. 2. The cord is used to lash the
sprit to the yard. C D G in Fig. 1 shows the sail. It is cut to allow
a broad hem, and may be sewn rapidly with a sewing machine. A strong
loop of tape or cord should be sewed at each corner of the sail C D G,
and at the head of the sail, that is from C to D, eyelets should be
made six inches apart. At each of these the sail is tied to the yard
and also at G. A reference to Figures 3, 4 and 5 will show how the sail
is used, but practice will be needed and much studying of the effect
of wind upon the sail before the art of sailing on skates has been
mastered. A wooden rod may be attached to F, Fig. 1. This will aid in
the management of the sail, as is shown in Figures 4 and 5.
$Curling.$--Like most other pastimes, curling is best learned when you
are young. Your good golfer, who "swipes" clean and clever from the
tee, picked up that draw and swing which the able golfer so much prides
himself upon, in youth. It is quite true that laddies in Scotland first
learn to skate; yet many of the best hands at "the roaring game" have
learned to throw a "stane" ere fifteen. You cannot learn young enough
at anything, a true sportsman will tell you. That little, bare-legged
herd laddie, who sits on the banks of the Ettrick or Yarrow, will laugh
at the middle-aged tyro who vainly tries to fling a fly where there is
no fish lying. The young yachtsman gets his tiller hand in his first
matches in an open boat; the trigger finger of the crack shot is made
over his early successes at rooks or rabbits; and the good seat in the
saddle on the back of the Shetland pony; but our boys are ready for
their _bonspeil_, which means _a good spell_ or game. Before giving
a description of an actual game, the writer will endeavour to give
some idea of what curling is like. In Germany it has been successfully
introduced by Sir Edward Malet, the English ambassador, and there is
every reason to believe that in a few years it will take as strong a
hold of the English people, as already golf has done.
Pennant, in his Tour of the North (1792), writes of it as follows:--"Of
all the sports of these parts, that of curling is the favourite, and
one unknown in England. It is an amusement of the winter, and played on
the ice, by sliding from one mark to another great stones of from forty
to seventy pounds weight, of a hemispherical form, with an iron or
wooden handle at the top. The object of the player is to lay his stone
as near the mark as possible, to guard that of his partner, which had
been well laid before, or to strike his antagonist's."
[Illustration: THE ROARING GAME]
"The game is played on a carefully-chosen piece of ice called the rink,
which should be forty-two yards long, unless special circumstances,
such as thaw, and consequently dull ice, require it to be shortened.
This piece of ice should be as level, smooth, and free from cracks
as possible. There is usually a trifling bias, which however to the
skilled curler rather adds interest to the game, as it calls forth
additional science in the play."
[Illustration: BRINGING DOWN THE STONES]
"When the rink is chosen, a little mark is made at each end. This is
called the 'tee,' and near that point stands, in his turn, each player,
whose object is to hurl or slide his stones to the opposite end by a
swinging motion of the arm. Each opponent also endeavours to place his
stones nearer the tee than those of his opponents."
So far for Pennant's description of curling in the olden time. The old
style, thanks to the Edinburgh men, who play on Duddingston Loch, has
long gone out. Seventy pound stones would no longer be tolerated by
any body of sportsmen affiliated under the Royal Caledonian Curling
Club. In the olden times it seems, in some parts of Scotland, notably
in the south-west, to have been a game of strength rather than of
skill, and the man who threw his huge block the farthest, and struck
his opponent's stone from the tee, or "cock," was considered to be
the superior player. The stones are not now much more than half this
weight, and so highly are the soles polished that they slip along keen
ice so much faster with slight exertion on the part of the player,
that they pass the tee or mark altogether, and go clean off the rink.
The rinks or sides have been chosen--four players, one of whom acts
as skip or director. He is generally the ablest and most experienced
curler, and equal to the responsible duty of guarding the winning shot,
if in his favour, or securing it if against him, with his last stone.
The rink, which is also the name of the diagram of the game, is drawn
off according to the rules of the Royal Caledonian Curling Club, and
carefully swept clear of all snow or hoar frost. The skip takes up
his station at the tee, which is the innermost of a set of circles,
known as the "hoose," no stone outside of the outer one counting in
the actual score. Sweeping scores are drawn for the guidance of the
players; one down the centre, which practically is a sort of hockey
arrangement, as you must stick to your own side of the rink.
[Illustration: PREPARING FOR THE GAME]
Sweeping commences half-down, that is, at the centre of the forty-two
yards between tee and tee, and can be carried on by the players' side
up to the tee, when, if it still has a little impetus, the opposing
skip will sweep it out of the house altogether. When this happens after
a stone has been brought on when apparently lagging, it is generally
greeted with what in Parliamentary phrase would be called "Opposition
cheers and laughter." In this a skip may show very superior judgment,
and order his men to desist from sweeping. At his words "up hands,"
brooms must be raised immediately. In front of the house or counting
circle is the hog score. If stones are not thrown with sufficient force
to be taken over this with the assistance of the sweepers they are
shoved off the ice as dead. This is sometimes galling to a young player
who, when it happens, as it does repeatedly happen on soft ice, is
practically put out of the game. But the "crampits" have been adjusted.
These are foot-boards, grated so that they hold firmly to the ice. On
these both feet must be placed when the stone is delivered. The skip
gives his directions to his first player to place him a stone on the
near edge of the outer ring. Why not exactly at the tee? Because if
there it would form a rest for the stone of his opponent and be forced
out. Our young player, who is wielding a beautifully polished pair
of Ailsa Craigs, with a sweep or two of the ice does exactly what is
wanted. His opponent is asked to play to the face of this stone. This
he does, hurling it out and laying his own almost in its place. The
next stone of the leading player fails to catch it, and goes away to
the rear, dead. The fourth stone played effectually covers or guards
the winner. The next pair of players give up their brooms to the
leaders, and take up their position at the crampits. A gentle draw
past guard and winning stone is counselled; and this is well executed,
the brooms taking the stone to the very edge of the tee or centre
circle. The next player fails to remove this, and being slow guards his
opponent's stone.
[Illustration: Soop her up]
This is a piece of good fortune for the other side, who now have a
second shot drawn by a very skilful player. The third pair of players
cannot well get home and try to wick, and _curl in_ (from the latter
expression we have _curling_). This is done by putting with a turn
of the wrist a certain bias or screw, by means of the handle when the
stone is being delivered. The position of the game is not changed when
the skips lay aside their brooms. There is a little more than half of
the winning shot visible through a port or channel. Through this the
skip, against whom the shot counts, threads his stone gently and easily
and rubs the winner out. His opponent has no chance now, unless he
rattles out the nearest guards. This he tries to do, but his opponent
guards again, this time just across the hog score. A gentle draw,
with an inner twist, might succeed. It is bravely attempted, but it
is short a foot, and the leading skip claims one shot--victory for a
well contested end. And so the game will last for twenty more heads,
the winning rink being that which has the majority of shots. It is a
happy, healthy game, not so well-known in England as it ought to be. In
Germany some enthusiasts have introduced it, and from the military-like
character in which it is carried out, guarding and storming and
knocking out occupants of the fortress, it is likely there to come
greatly into favour. It is to be hoped that we may oft see the pond
where, in the language of an old Scottish curling poet--
"Drawn are the rinks where lines and curves combine,
The tee, the house, hog score and central line;
The cramps are laid, the champions ready stand,
With eye intent and trusty broom in hand."
Those who decide to include this game in their activities should put
themselves into touch with the Royal Caledonian Curling Club through
its honorary Secretary, A. Davidson Smith, Esq., at the headquarters of
the club, York Place, Edinburgh. They will then be able to obtain the
rules for the proper playing of this delightful game.
CHAPTER VIII
ANGLING
$Hints by an Old Hand.$--When fishing in ponds, lakes, meres, canals,
or in waters where there is no stream, the depth should be carefully
taken the night before, or when ground-baiting, and marked on the rod,
or by measuring the distance from the plummet to the cap of the float
with a piece of cotton or string. If the angler prefers the bait to be
within touch of the bottom, the better plan is to use a self-cocking
float, and always use the finest possible tackle in clear water; but if
an ordinary float be employed, and the novice wishes the bait to lie
six or eight inches on the bottom (a good plan), the lowest shot should
be from 15 in. to 20 in. from the hook. This will neither interfere
with the proper cocking of the float nor with the angler striking, for,
from the moment the fish seizes the bait to the indication of a bite,
the resistance of (at most) two or three small shots is infinitesimal.
If the bottom be at all muddy, then the plummet should be as light as
possible, or into the ooze it will sink, and when this is known to
be the case, the depth may be obtained by the aid of a small pellet
of bread and bran. Should it drop off the hook before the depth is
obtained, the pellet should be made a little stiffer. A piece of "tea
lead" from a tea-chest, or lead wire, similar to that used on the gut
in Lea fishing (some use nothing else), may be carefully tied round the
bottom of the float, to make it cock without using any shots on the
tackle, and painted the same colour as the float, or, failing this, the
usual self-cocking float sold at the tackle-shops may be used.
Gentles should be kept in plenty of damp sand for a few days in an
earthenware pan, biscuit-tin, or tin pail, in a cellar, or any dark,
cool place, when they will be ready for use. The sides of the pan
or tin should not be allowed to get wet, or many of the gentles will
make their escape. They should be kept in what is termed golden sand.
This sand, which should be damp, is almost as fine to the touch as
barley-meal, of a deep rich golden colour, and they will live in it
for days without turning into the chrysalis state, which they do in a
comparatively short time if exposed to the sun--a practice to which
many anglers are addicted, and then wonder the gentles change colour.
It is a great mistake to use silver sand, as it over-scours and makes
them attenuated and hard. I have repeatedly seen them in this state.
So much for sand. The finest gentles I ever saw were obtained from the
best rump steak and a sheep's head, and kept in coarse bran; but for
taking out the black steck or "saddle-back" near the head, and scouring
them until perfectly white, give me the sand mentioned above and plenty
of it.
The weight floats required may be arranged and tested before they are
wound on the winder for final use. This saves the beginner considerable
time and trouble at the water-side. If he has a four-line winder, with
lines already weighted or shotted for roach, perch, bream, tench,
so much the better. A piece of cork about the size and shape of a
Tonquin bean attached to the line may sometimes be used with success
for fishing-swims, within easy distance from the side, in smooth clear
water, near patches of weeds, flags, or candocks, the angler taking
great care to keep out of sight, and to be as still as possible. When
the bean-like piece of cork goes under or runs, strike gently.
Never use long-shanked hooks (the well-known crystal roach hooks, for
instance) for such baits as gentles, cockspur, or small worms, small
pellets of paste, wheat and malt. A considerable portion of the shank
is certain to become bare in a short time, and so prevent the fish from
biting. I have repeatedly seen nearly the whole shank of a crystal hook
bare, and the small worm, gentles, and more especially a grain of creed
wheat, dangling from the bend as a kidney might from a butcher's hook;
and I have an idea that no fish properly constituted would be stupid
enough to be caught under such absurd conditions. I may just mention
in passing, that when fishing with gentles, the last one put on the
hook should have the point to come through the skin of the thick or
tail end, and the twirling thin or head end to hang clear of the hook.
One gentle on a No. 12 or 13 hook will often do the trick, when they
won't look at a bunch of gentles.
Use as small hooks as possible. They will hook a fish, or for the
matter of that, get fast into almost anything, much quicker than large
hooks: they penetrate sooner, hold very fast, and pierce the lips of
such fish as trout, perch, chub, barbel, carp, when a large hook would
not. For instance, the other day I hooked a 3 lb. barbel in the centre
of the upper lip with a No. 10 sneck-bend, and it was quite a job to
extract it. I once saw four splendid chub, all caught with similar
hooks; and on several occasions I have caught good perch with roach
hooks. If the novice will only remember not to allow slack line when
playing a good fish on a small hook, provided the tackle is good and
strong, a fish should seldom escape. Beginners often use hooks three
times too big for the fish they are after, and it goes without saying,
that the smaller the hook the finer the gut should be; for a small
hook on thick, coarse gut is not to be thought of. On the other hand,
never use a too small hook for too large a pellet of paste, with the
hook embedded in the centre, instead of the point just protruding. I
have seen an angler fishing under these conditions for chub with cheese
paste miss five fish out of six, the damson-like pellet being pulled
clean out of the mouth of the chub, without the slightest chance of
hooking the fish.
We will now supplement what our "Old Hand" has told us by other hints.
$Bait and Other Matters.$--We shall not occupy space discussing rods,
and such things. Each boy settles these questions for himself, in
accordance with the money he can spare, after a talk with the dealer
and a contemplation of his wares. Such accessories as landing nets he
leaves generally until he is grown up, and manages very well without
them. He may, however, provide himself with a clearing ring and line,
because he is likely to feel the need for these often. This useful
clearing tackle consists of a number of yards of strong cord, to the
end of which is fastened a heavy ring of lead or brass. If the hook
should get fast in a weed or anything else, this ring is put over the
butt of the rod, and allowed 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 usually clears the hook. If not, the angler should grasp the rod
firmly, and draw the line sideways, and break away. In this case, he
seldom loses more than a hook; but without the use of a clearing-line
he frequently loses his float as well as his hook and line, and
sometimes breaks his rod. The brass clearing-rings are best, because
they are jointed, and can be used when the angler has a reel on his rod.
An old angler advises that after the young fisherman has made choice
of a place to fish, he should first plumb the depth truly, and with as
little disturbance to the water as may be. If the water be still throw
in small pieces of ground bait; if there is a strong current large
pieces. Keep as far from the water as you can, and go slily to work,
for even the shaking of the bank will frighten some of these fish. The
bait should be dropped into the water quietly. Stand as far from the
edge of the water as possible, and never let your shadow fall upon the
water. When it is possible hide behind a bush or a tree.
In baiting a hook insert the point of the hook near to the top of the
worm's head, and carry it down to within a quarter of an inch of its
tail. To do this you must work up the worm with your left thumb and
finger, while with your right you are gradually pressing the hook
downwards. If too much of the worm hangs loose the fish will seldom
take the whole in their mouth, and will not be hooked. To bait a hook
well with a worm is necessary to ensure catching a fish when you
strike; and it consists in drawing the worm without injuring it 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, choose the tail end,
and insert 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
free. If you bait with two worms on the same hook, draw the first up
above the shank, and put the second on in the same manner as directed
with one worm, but insert the hook near the tail of the second worm;
then draw the first one down on the second over the shank of the hook.
RED WORM.--Found with the brandling but not so common. At their best in
tan heaps, but are found also in the banks of ditches and sewers.
MARSH WORMS.--Known also as blue heads. Found in marshes at night,
especially after rain. A good bait for gudgeon, trout, perch, bream,
and grayling.
TAG TAIL.--Tail has a yellow tint. Found in fields in moist spring
weather. Often preferred when the water is muddy, especially for trout.
WATER WORMS.--Found in sedges and at the bottom of dock roots. Turn
up the long slimy moss on weirs for them. They are of a clear bluish
white, occasionally very light purple, becoming red at the head. Fish
eat them voraciously.
ASH GRUB.--Look for these in the bark of trees. They are good for
grayling, dace, roach, or chub.
COW DUNG BAIT.--From May to the end of September these may be found
under cow dung. They are eaten by roach, chub, grayling, and dace.
GENTLES.--The usual term, used in angling, for maggots. Putrid meat,
especially liver, will produce them. They may be obtained from butchers
or fell-mongers. Good for most fish.
LOB WORM.--Sometimes called the dew worm, or the wachel. It is the
ordinary large garden worm. Dig for them if they are needed at once.
If wet straw is strewed upon the ground for a couple of days they will
come to the surface. In the evenings they come out, and a quiet search
with a lantern in gardens, or church-yards, or on lawns will discover
them. They are useful for trout, eels, large perch, barbel, chub, and
salmon.
BRANDLING.--Search for these in chaff pits, old heaps of compost,
rotten tan, sweepings, manure of all kinds and tanners' bark. Good for
trout, grayling, carp, bream, and indeed for almost every fish.
MISCELLANEOUS BAITS.--Cockchafer, black or evening beetle,
grasshoppers, moths, May-flies, caddis worms, bees, caterpillars,
wasp-grubs, baked for half an hour, paste made of bread or cheese.
GROUND BAIT.--In addition to the bait upon the hook the angler usually
strews what is known as ground bait, and so attracts the fish to where
he is angling. It is chiefly by the judicious use of ground baits, and
by fishing at a proper depth, that one angler is more successful than
another, although fishing with the same baits and within a few yards of
each other. If a place can be ground baited frequently fish begin to
come there regularly for food. Care must be taken not to glut the fish,
and the bait upon the hook ought to be more attractive than the bait
flung into the stream. The ground bait most in use includes bran mixed
with clay, and made into balls of about the size of a pigeon's egg. If
the current is strong a stone in the ball may be needed. Another ground
bait is made by cutting the crust from a loaf. Then cut the loaf into
slices each about two inches thick. Put these slices into a deep vessel
of water, and when the bread has been well soaked squeeze it until it
is nearly dry. Add bran and knead the whole until the mixture is as
stiff as clay. This is well adapted for still waters. Another ground
bait is made of barley-meal one part, mashed potatoes three parts,
stiff clay two parts, worked thoroughly well together, but better even
than this is one composed of stiff clay with as much bran as it will
hold without destroying its stickiness. At the water side separate
pieces about the size of the egg of a goose, into which stick a few
worms and gentles. As these drop from the dissolving clay they are
seized on by the fish, who continue to wait in the expectation of more,
and are thus ready to take the angler's bait, especially if it is more
tempting than the ground bait. Boiled malt, barley, wheat, and such
things, mixed with coarse sand to sink them also answer the purpose.
$Trout-fishing.$--In the Easter holidays boys are apt to find it
difficult to decide just what to do. Football is nearly over, cricket
is hardly in. It is still somewhat early for bird-nesting, except for
rooks, and perhaps blackbirds and thrushes.
Just at this juncture the obliging trout come into season, and best of
all, are ravenously hungry. Now is the time for the beginner to try
his hand with the deceitful fly. Do not be discouraged, even if you
have made a dismal failure of it last August. In the summer holidays
it requires a practised hand to take trout with fly; but in April on a
moorland stream a boy may go out and actually have some success on his
first attempt. It will be wiser, certainly, to practise a little first,
in your own garden, with all the tackle except the fly.
By "tackle" I don't mean necessarily a glittering rod, fresh from the
shop, with a brilliant winch and gaudy fittings. It is well to get all
these things if you can afford them, though they should be toned down
before using; but want of money need not prevent a boy from trying his
hand at trout-fishing. A long willow wand, or even a hazel stick will
throw a fly if properly managed; and running tackle is not an absolute
necessity, though in every respect advantageous.
The only things that must be bought are the hooks, and these are very
cheap, as most boys know.
For this time of year your flies should be March browns and blue
uprights, and need not be tied on very fine gut. The outfit that is
required then need cost but a few shillings, but if you can spare more
get a small fishing-basket, and a fly-book, with a stock of flies. Thus
equipped and with good boots you may fish for weeks without needing to
visit a shop.
In order to learn how to throw a fly you should persuade a friend to
show you the way he does it. This need not be at the river, nor need
you tax your friend's time to any great extent. After you have once
learnt the knack practice only is required to enable you to throw a fly
fairly, though it may be years before you can do so well.
This preliminary trial (during which you will have wound the line round
your neck a few times) being over, you can go with some confidence to
the stream. Arrived at the bank, don't peer over to see whether there
are any trout, because if you do there won't be any--at least, not
after you have shown yourself.
If convenient, make for a point some distance down-stream, and work
upwards. By this plan you will have a chance of circumventing the
trout, even if the water be clear, and not rough. In rough or coloured
water these tactics are not necessary, and, in fact, it is as well,
because much easier, to fish down-stream under such circumstances.
Let us take first the case of clear water, not very rough. Keep back
from the edge and stoop a little, taking advantage of any cover, even
the stump of a thistle. Watch for a rise, and, if possible, throw your
fly lightly a little above it, and let it float down over the fish.
Should the fish be extra silly he may take your fly, and then you must
strike, as in bait-fishing, but with less force.
If you are fishing a northern stream, or a Devon or Cornwall brook, you
will find it worth while to go on casting even if you see no rises;
but on Hampshire, or other slow running rivers, the usual plan is to
wait for a rise. But this style of fishing, though practised with some
success by the lucky fellows who are in Winchester School, is not
altogether suited for the restless nature of a boy.
To return to the fish which has taken your fly. Being a little one (for
nothing large would be so silly), he will give you little trouble to
land. Take care, though, to guide him down-stream; which, being below
him, you can easily do. Lift him out as quietly as you can, and lose no
time in getting your flies on the water once more. I say flies, because
you will find it best to use two in ordinary fly-fishing.
The upper fly, or "bob," as it is called, should be two feet or more
from the tail, and should only have about three inches of gut attached
to it, so that it may stick out nearly at right angles with the line.
It should be fastened to a knot in the gut, so that it may not slip up
and down.
There are several ways of fastening it on, but they cannot be fully
explained without diagrams, and a boy of any ingenuity can easily find
out for himself.
The plan most commonly adopted, that of looping it on, though it is
not so neat as a knot, has the advantage of permitting the fly to be
changed easily--a great point when the trout are fickle.
[Illustration]
Having landed your first trout, do not try again in the same place,
but work gradually upwards, trying every likely pool and eddy; but not
casting more than two or three times in one place. If you succeed in
getting two or three little trout on your first attempt in clear water
you may think yourself lucky.
In April 'tis likely enough you may find the water coloured and high.
If it is in flood, or approaching to it, of course the worm or minnow
should be used; but of these anon.
We will suppose the stream to be but little above its usual level,
and of that rich brownish colour so dear to the heart of the angler.
Doubtless a worm or a minnow might still succeed; but a fly will give
abundant sport, and that without requiring a high degree of skill.
Your mode of procedure need not now be so cautious as before described;
and, in fact, you will find down-stream fishing often best in a
coloured water. Throw, then, a long line right across the stream, near
the edge of which you can safely show yourself, and work your flies
across and towards you, striking smartly at any rise. You will often
miss, for in down-stream fishing a strike tends to pull the fly out of
the fish's mouth, besides which the trout, on touching the surface,
having his head towards you, is apt to get a sight of your rod, and to
rise "short."
If the weather and water are both favourable for down-stream fishing,
you will have lots of rises, and some of the fish at least will fasten,
so that you have a chance of getting a dozen or so on a good day, even
before you have acquired any great skill.
The best fly for thick water I have found to be the soldier palmer,
a red fly with gold twist, but it will not always succeed. A March
brown, or a blue upright, or blue palmer with silver twist, may also be
useful. Remember that the thicker the water the larger and more gaudy
the fly may be.
We have to consider the chance of the water being too thick for fly.
Then either minnow or worm will answer, the former in moderately thick
water, and the latter in an absolute flood, unless the water is like
pea soup. The minnow is used on a short line, with a longish rod. It
requires considerable skill, and cannot be practised with safety in
strange water by the beginner, or the minnow will constantly be getting
lost by fouling snags. As minnows are expensive, this is a bad sort of
sport for a boy with limited pocket-money.
It is a favourite, however, with the professional angler in the north,
and _he_ doesn't lose his minnows. It is a treat to see one of these
gentry spin a rough run with his minnow, and take two or three good
trout where an amateur would do nothing but lose tackle.
The best way to learn to spin a minnow is to watch an old hand do it;
but if the stream you fish is free from snags you might find it worth
while to try to learn without such teaching. If so, be careful to keep
the tip of the rod near the water, and, using a short line, to spin
your minnow near the surface. If you get a run don't snatch your minnow
away, but keep it steadily on. Very likely the trout may bite short,
but there is always a good chance that one of the revolving hooks may
catch his jaw. If you do hook a fish get him out quickly, for your
tackle being stout (as it must be for minnow-fishing) will bear the
strain of anything short of a snatch.
To turn to worm-fishing. It is, of course, comparatively easy to
get a few fish with a worm, but it takes a practised hand to take a
basketful, even from thick water. A couple of shot will generally be
enough, and they should be about a foot from the hook, which should
be large, unless you use the Stewart tackle, which consists of two
or three small hooks. A small marsh worm is considered best, but a
brandling or a red worm will answer; or in a flood the tail half
of a lob worm. The worm should be kept rolling along the bottom of
fairly swift water, where the soil is gravelly; and a little time
should be given when you feel a bite. In this way not only are large
trout often taken in a flood, but sea trout, grilse, and sometimes
salmon. A delicate hand is the chief requisite; but much judgment is
also required in deciding which pools to fish, and when to shift your
ground, according to the rising or falling of the water.
There is a sort of worm-fishing which is very different from the
kind just described. The tackle used is much finer, and the method
altogether different. For as it is practised in the clearest water and
in the hottest weather, it is necessary to take great care not to be
seen, and to avoid the slightest possible disturbance of the water. A
very small red worm is used on one or two tiny hooks, and the boy who
can take good trout in this way is as much a skilled angler as any
fly-fisher can claim to be.
$Fishing for Roach.$--Most boys know what a roach is like, so it will
be enough by way of description to say that it is a fish of the carp
tribe, of a silvery colour, and covered with scales. Its fins are of a
pale, pinkish grey, and its mouth is small and soft, suited best for
vegetable food.
The roach grows sometimes to two pounds in weight, but in most rivers
one pound is considered large, whilst in ponds the fish seems to
deteriorate, and swarms of little roach are generally to be seen, but
very few fish of over a quarter of a pound.
In rivers roach should not be killed unless they are seven or eight
inches long; but in ponds, where they are very numerous, it is best to
keep all that are caught. More food is thus left for the remainder.
The roach spawns in May, and is, therefore, out of condition from the
end of April till June or July. It is fattest and most healthy in
autumn and winter, and when caught from a clear river will be found
fairly good eating. Pond roach taste muddy; but before we bring our
fish to table we must learn how to catch it.
The rod should be long, light, and stiff. White cane is best, but is
very dear; and the rods now to be had at many tackle-makers for three
or four shillings will answer nearly as well. They are of Japanese
make, and have no metal on them, which makes them light and cheap,
though less durable than the expensive English rods.
For the line, if roach only are expected, nothing is better than good
single horse-hair. If there are large carp about, fine gut will be
better; but carp do not feed after October. In any case, it will be
found convenient to have a few inches of fine plaited silk for that
part of the line which is next the rod. The float should be as small as
can conveniently be used, and if the fish are very shy, a little rough
bit of stick is sometimes preferable. A porcupine quill is generally
best, and just enough shot to sink it within a quarter of an inch, or
less, of the surface should be put on the line. One of the shot should
be placed within six inches of the hook, and the rest about a foot
higher. The hook should be of fine wire and about No. 12.
It is important to see that the hair or gut on which this is tied is
perfectly round and clear.
With regard to baits, the very best are wasp-grubs; but these are often
unobtainable, and gentles (the maggots of the friendly bluebottle)
answer fairly well. A cleaner and pleasanter bait to use is paste,
made from bread one day old. This should be dipped in water, and
then quickly squeezed dry with clean hands, or in a cloth. In some
rivers--the Ouse for instance--boiled wheat is a very good bait.
In order to find the depth, use a little roll of lead, called a
plummet. This should be attached to the line, close to the hook, by
being partly unrolled, to admit the hook, and then fastened again; and
the depth should be plumbed as soon as the tackle is ready, and before
bait is prepared. The operation necessarily disturbs the fish, and time
must elapse before they will feed. It is desirable to keep well away
from the water while putting your rod together, and, if possible, even
while fishing.
Many roach fishers carry a light square box, or basket, which serves
for a seat. These anglers will sit still for hours, patiently waiting
for the roach to come on; they are often very successful. When a roach
is hooked, the angler retains his seat, and in order to bring the fish
to the net, will remove the butt and second joint of the rod. This is
also done when rebaiting. It is the great length of the rod and the
shortness of the line that makes this necessary. But to return to the
method of fishing: the depth being ascertained, the float should be so
placed that the bait will just touch the bottom at the shallowest part
of the swim, and only a foot of line should be used between the float
and the top of the rod.
Calm weather is best for roach-fishing, as it is easier to see the
bites; but if there is a gentle wind from south or west, sport is often
good.
In summer, evening is much the best, but at this time of year roach
will often feed all day. Let us suppose that you start fishing on a
calm afternoon in February or March, and on reaching the river, which
is free for fishing, wonder where to begin. It is lined with rushes,
but here and there are gaps, and on the banks at some of these points
you notice scraps of ground-bait on the ground, and you also see that
the grass is trampled and worn. This shows that anglers have found the
spot a good one. Seat yourself, or stand quietly near one of these
points, and put your rod together. Then attach your line and plummet as
described, and when all the rest is ready put in a little ground-bait,
some yards above your swim. Chewed bread will do if you have no bran to
mix with it.
If your tackle is in order, and the roach are there, you will have
a nibble before many minutes; but at this stage of your education
it is useless to strike at nibbles. Keep on the alert, and you will
find that if you can manage to strike as the float is sinking, when a
bite occurs, you will hook your fish; not otherwise. A gentle jerk is
enough, as your little hook is sharp, and the roach's mouth soft.
Violence risks breaking the line, and in any case disturbs the fish
unduly.
If the roach is of good size, remember that your tackle is weak, and
play your fish carefully; and don't attempt to get it out, whether with
net or otherwise, till quite exhausted. Even if you have only a small
fish it is well to land him gently, or you will scare others.
When placing the line do not flop it in, but let it sink bait first,
and be prepared for a bite the moment the float cocks, for the first
few seconds are the best. There is also a good chance at the end of
the swim. If there is a stream the top of your rod must follow the
course of the float. The rule, as to only a foot of line above the
float, may be relaxed if the swim is long, for to walk along is most
undesirable; it scares the fish by shaking the banks. You should stand
still, or better sit still while roach-fishing. Even this rule has many
exceptions. If, for instance, the stream is very rapid, the saving in
time effected by following your float may more than compensate for the
disturbance caused by your footsteps.
In swift or flooded streams fish are less easily scared than when the
water is quiet. Under these circumstances a worm is often better bait
than paste, or even than gentles.
Again, in clear water which is swift and not deep it may be desirable
to let out line by using running tackle. In this way you may reach fish
which are too shy to let you get within casting distance of them.
The Nottingham anglers are particularly expert at this sort of fishing,
and use rods and reels which are specially adapted for it. They are
very successful on their own river, the Trent, and have introduced
their style on the Thames, and even the Lea, and have sometimes
taken fish when ordinary fishing was useless. They are very skilful
in casting from the reel without unwinding any line first; but many
different circumstances must be studied before the sort of fishing most
effective can be chosen.
Rules are very necessary; but the young angler will soon find that the
most important thing is to find out when the exceptions, which are so
numerous and important, come in. This can best be learnt by careful
study of the habits of the fish, carried on patiently, day after day,
at the water-side.
$The Fishing Season.$--On June 16th the "close" time comes to an end,
and boys may fish in free water for any kind of fish, from bleak to
barbel.
If we have had a very genial spring, many fish will have finished
spawning and be getting into condition, so that there will be no harm
in taking advantage of legal permission, and beginning to fish as soon
as opportunity occurs.
It will be found that many fish, especially chub and dace, can
be caught much better at this season by flies, either natural or
artificial, than by the usual float and shot system.
A common house fly, used either on the top of the water or sunk by a
single shot, will be found very effective, both for these fish and for
roach, rudd, and bleak. Chub will take any large insect readily, if it
is presented to them in an artistic manner--that is, in such a way that
they can see little of either tackle or angler.
On some parts of the Lea the wooded banks and deep holes afford capital
chances for dapping for chub--a kind of fishing in which a boy with
some patience and ingenuity should be very successful.
No cumbrous tackle is required, only a long, light, and stiff rod, and
two or three yards of medium gut, ending in a foot or two of finer
stuff, with a largish hook, about No. 6 or 7. Running tackle would
seldom be of use, as the awkward places, overgrown by bushes, in which
the best chub are usually hooked, make it very desirable to keep your
line short. If the chub run large (two pounds or more), you will have
to use stout tackle, or even carry a landing net.
If you have a bamboo rod, which is hollow throughout (through the
knots), it is a good plan to pass the line through the middle, instead
of the rings. In this way one disadvantage of using running tackle is
avoided--the rod can be pushed through bushes, etc., without entangling
the line.
Another and more lively plan for chub catching is to whip for them with
the artificial fly; and in this case running tackle is, of course,
necessary.
In the shallower parts of the rivers you will get more dace and bleak
than chub in this way, and very pretty sport it is, only second to
trout-fishing.
When you are trying for roach only, it is best to use a sunk fly, and
to move it up and down very gently. You can feel the roach bite if you
have a delicate hand, but if you find this difficult put on a small
gentle with the fly. This can be seen at a considerable depth, and will
disappear, of course, when the roach takes the fly.
It also forms an additional attraction, and at a pinch will do alone;
but I have found the house fly generally more effective. Single hair is
best for your line, unless you see large chub cruising about, which is
often the case.
In this sort of fishing you can generally watch your quarry, and you
have to be very careful that they do not see too much of you.
It will be found far more interesting than regular bottom-fishing, and
requires more thought and more resource for its successful prosecution.
Among the insects most useful for bait, the grasshopper stands (or
jumps) pre-eminent, but is not often obtainable much before July. The
cow-dung fly has a brilliant yellow colour, which is very fascinating
to roach; and the green caterpillar (to be obtained by tapping the
boughs of oaks) is almost irresistible, especially to trout. The
oak-fly, called also "the up and down fly," from the position it
always assumes on the oak trunk, is equally attractive, and no doubt
would be appreciated also by other fish.
The hottest and calmest weather is best for this sort of fishing, as it
is usually worst for the other sorts.
In case the day should be windy or otherwise unsuitable for dapping,
and yet the season too early to fish the deeps, a good plan is to put
on a very small quill float, and one shot; and, using a No. 10 or 11
hook and a single gentle, to fish the shallow gravelly runs from as
great a distance as you can manage.
The "Nottingham" method is very useful for this purpose. This consists
in using a free running wooden reel, and a light line, and throwing
from the reel. It is difficult, but very useful on open rivers, where
fishing fine and far off is essential.
Of course, you have to fish down-stream by this method, and will
often miss your fish when striking; but that is better than getting
no bites--the usual result of fishing under your nose at this time of
year. Occasionally you may get hold of a barbel in this way, when using
gentles for bait; and, if so, it will not be easy to land him, though
he is not so strong now as he would be later on.
Bream-fishing will be coming on before long, and the early boy will get
the bream. Before sunrise is the best time, and for this fish-tackle of
a different sort is required. A strong rod with rings is useful, and
the gut and reel line may be stout.
If the water is deep, use a long float and fairly heavy lead, and fish
on the bottom with a worm (a small lob by preference) on a large hook.
Put in ground-bait, over-night if possible, and lose no time when
fishing. A three-pound bream can be got out in two minutes, and twenty
or thirty may thus be had in an hour or two of early morning, and,
perhaps, not another all day, though in the Norfolk broads I've known
the bites continue till mid-day.
Roach-fishing proper is not in season till August, and has been
described in these pages.
Jack should be let alone for a month or two yet, and perch are scarcely
in order.
In conclusion, let me suggest that all fish found to be out of
condition should be gently returned to the water.
CHAPTER IX
CANOES AND YACHTS
To speak of canoes is to recall the name of John Macgregor, M.A., the
author of those delightful books _A Thousand Miles in the Rob Roy Canoe
on Rivers and Lakes of Europe_; _The Rob Roy on the Baltic_; _The
Voyage Alone in the Yawl Rob Roy_, and other interesting works. When
the first of these was issued other people built canoes, the Canoe Club
was formed with the then Prince of Wales, afterwards King Edward the
Seventh, as Commodore. Macgregor was enthusiastic about canoes. When
he contemplated his voyage of a thousand miles he concluded that "no
row-boat would serve on a land-water voyage of this sort, for in the
wildest parts of the best rivers the channel is too narrow for oars,
or, if wide enough, it is often too shallow; and the tortuous passages,
the rocks and banks, the weeds and snags, the milldams, barriers,
fallen trees, rapids, whirlpools, and waterfalls that constantly occur
on a river winding among hills, make those very parts where the scenery
is wildest and best to be quite unapproachable in such a boat, for it
would be swamped by the sharp waves, or upset over the sunken rocks,
which cannot be seen by a steersman.
"Now these very things which bother the 'pair oar,' become cheery
excitements to the voyager in a canoe. For now, as he sits in his
little bark, he looks forward, and not backward. He sees all his
course, and the scenery besides. With one sweep of his paddle he can
turn aside when only a foot from destruction. He can steer within an
inch in a narrow place, and can easily pass through reeds and weeds
or branches and grass; can work his sail without changing his seat;
can shove with his paddle when aground, and can jump out in good time
to prevent a bad smash. He can wade and haul his craft over shallows,
or drag it on dry ground, through fields and hedges, over dykes,
barriers, and walls; can carry it by hand up ladders and stairs, and
can transport his canoe over high mountains and broad plains in a cart
drawn by a man, a horse, or a cow.
"Besides all this, the covered canoe is far stronger than an open boat,
and may be fearlessly dropped into a deep pool, a lock, or a millrace,
and when the breakers are high in the open sea or in river rapids, they
can only wash over the deck of a canoe, while it is always dry within.
"The canoe is also safer than a rowing-boat, because you sit so low in
it, and never require to shift your place or lose hold of the paddle;
while for comfort during long hours, for days and weeks of hard work,
the canoe is evidently the best, because you lean all the time against
a swinging backboard, and when the paddle rests on your lap you are at
ease as in an arm-chair; so that, while drifting along with the current
or the wind, you can gaze around, and eat or read, or sketch, or chat
with the starers on the bank, and yet, in a moment of sudden alarm, the
hands are at once on the faithful paddle ready for action.
"Finally, you can lie at full length in the canoe, with a sail as an
awning for the sun, or a shelter for rain, and you can sleep at night
under its cover, or inside it when made for that purpose, with at least
as much room for turning in your bed as sufficed for the great Duke
of Wellington; or, if you are tired of the water for a time, you can
leave your boat at an inn--where it will not be 'eating its head off,'
like a horse; or you can send it home, or sell it, and take to the road
yourself, or sink back again into the lazy cushions of a first-class
carriage, and dream you are seeing the world.
"But it may well be asked from one who thus praises the paddle, 'Has he
travelled in other ways, so as to know their several pleasures? Has he
climbed glaciers and volcanoes, dived into caves and catacombs, trotted
in the Norway carriole, ambled on an Arab, and galloped on the Russian
steppes? Does he know the charms of a Nile boat, or a Trinity Eight,
or a Yankee steamer, or a sail in the Ægean, or a mule in Spain? Has
he swung upon a camel, or glided in a sleigh, or sailed a yacht, or
trundled in a Rantoone?'
"Yes, he has thoroughly enjoyed these and other modes of locomotion,
fast and slow. And now having used the canoe in Europe, Asia, Africa,
and America, he finds the pleasure of the paddle is the best of them
all.
"The Rob Roy Canoe was built of oak, with a deck of cedar. She was
made just short enough to go into the German railway waggons; that is
to say, fifteen feet in length, twenty-eight inches broad, nine inches
wide, and weighed eighty pounds. My baggage for three months was in
a black bag one foot square and six inches deep. A paddle seven feet
long, with a blade at each end, and a lug-sail and jib, were the means
of propulsion; and a pretty blue silk Union Jack was the only ornament."
After the cruise the author had a better canoe constructed, shorter,
and narrower (but with the same name), and in her he voyaged through
Sweden, Norway and Denmark, Holstein, and some German waters. The
account of this voyage is given in _The Rob Roy on the Baltic_, 5th
Edition (Low and Marston). The later improvements of the canoe are
described in that book, with woodcuts. The full description of a third
canoe for sleeping in during a six months' voyage is given in _The
Rob Roy on the Jordan, Nile, Red Sea, and Gennesareth, a canoe cruise
in Palestine and Egypt and the waters of Damascus_, 6th Edition, with
eighty illustrations and maps (Murray). A fourth canoe was used in the
Zuyder Zee and among the isles of Holland and the Friesland coast; and
the latest Rob Roy (Number 7) ran through the Shetland Isles and the
Orkneys, and Scotch lakes.
$The Building Of the Rob Roy.$--John Macgregor has told us that among
the many who are building canoes, there may be some persons who have
undue expectations as to what such boats can do. Now, the three kinds
of canoes, for racing, for sailing, and for travelling, are quite
distinct in their forms and capabilities.
A long, narrow, light racing-canoe, with a long, spooned paddle, will
attain great speed.
A sailing-canoe with flat bearing, and some keel, will sail off the
wind admirably.
The "travelling-canoe" has to sail, to paddle, and to bear portage and
rough handling.
The endeavour to combine these three qualities in suitable proportions,
without sacrificing more of any of them than can be well dispensed
with, has led to the building of the canoe now to be described; and the
new Rob Roy has been a great success.
The old Rob Roy canoe, which made a voyage through France, Germany,
&c., was specially built for the purpose; and it is described in
the book which gives an account of that journey. A more detailed
description was given in the Transactions of the Institute of Naval
Architects, but the numerous improvements suggested during that voyage,
and in careful experiments afterwards, were embodied in the new Rob
Roy, so that this novel, inexpensive, and healthful mode of travelling
might be facilitated.
The Rob Roy was designed to sail steadily, to paddle easily, to float
lightly, to turn readily, and to bear rough usage on stones and banks,
and in carts, railways, and steamers; to be durable and dry, as well
as comfortable and safe. To secure these objects every plank and
timber was carefully considered beforehand, as to its size, shape, and
material, and the result has been most successful.
In the efforts to obtain a suitable canoe for this purpose ready
made, it was soon found that boat-builders might be proficient at
the cabinet-makers' work of their calling, without any knowledge of
the principles required for a new design, especially when sailing,
paddling, and carrying had to be provided for at once, and the
requirements for each were not understood, except by those who had
personally observed them, and had known how to work the paddle as well
as the saw and the plane.
A canoe ought to fit a man like a coat; and to secure this the measure
of the man should be taken for his canoe. The first regulating standard
is the length of the man's foot, which will determine the height of the
canoe from keel to deck; next, the length of his leg, which governs
the size of the "well;" and then the weight of the crew and luggage,
which regulates the displacement to be provided for. The following
description is for a canoe to be used by a man 6 feet high, 12 stone
weight, and with boots 1 foot long in the sole.
The Rob Roy is built of the best oak, except the top streak of
mahogany, and the deck of fine cedar. The weight, without fittings,
is 60 lb., and with all complete, 71 lb. Lightness is not of so much
consequence in this case as good line, for a light boat if crank, will
tire the canoeist far more in a week's cruise than would a heavier but
stiff craft, which does not strain his body at every moment to keep her
poised under the alternate strokes of the paddle or the sudden pressure
of a squall on the sail.
[Illustration: Fig. 1, Fig. 2, Fig. 6, Fig. 5, Fig. 10, Fig. 11 _Scale
of Figs 1 & 2. 1/4 of an inch to the foot._]
The illustration on page 89 represents, on a scale a quarter of an
inch to the foot, Fig. 1, a section, with masts and sails; Fig. 2 a
bird's-eye view of the deck. The woodcuts at pages 91, 93 represent,
on a scale of an inch to the foot, Figs. 3 and 4, cross sections at
the beam and at the stretcher; Figs 9, 10, and 11, the backboard and
the apron; the rest of the drawings showing particular portions more
minutely. The principal dimensions are:--Length over all, A S, 14
feet; from stem to beam, B, 7 feet 6 inches; beam, outside (6 inches
abaft midships), 26 inches; depth from top of deck at C, fore end of
the well, to upper surface of keel, 11 inches; keel, depth, outside,
1 inch, with an iron band along its whole length, 3/8 inch wide;
camber, 1 inch; depth at gunwale, 8-1/2 inches. The upper streak is of
mahogany, and quite vertical at the beam, where its depth is 3 inches.
The garboard streaks, and the next on each side are strong, while the
next two on each side are light, as it is found that they are less
exposed than the others, particularly in a canoe where all these lower
streaks are of oak. The stem and stern posts project over deck, the
canoe, if turned over, will rest on the upper edge of the combing,
round the well, 1/8 inch deep, projecting 1/2 inch, of steamed oak,
curved at the corners, and adding, by its angular position, very much
to the strength of the deck about the well. The well is 32 inches from
C to D, and 20 inches from E to F, so placed that D M is 2 feet, and
thus the beam of the boat being aft of the midships the weight of the
luggage G, and of the masts and sails stowed forward, brings the boat
to nearly an even keel. The additional basket of cooking-things at I
(Fig. 2) brings her a little by the stern. For a boat without luggage
the beam should be 1 foot abaft midships to secure an even keel.
[Illustration: FIG. 3, FIG. 5, FIG. 4, FIG. 6]
The deck is supported on four carlines forward and three aft, the
latter portion being thus more strengthened, because, in some cases, it
is required to support the weight of the canoeist sitting on the deck
with his legs in the water. Each carline has a piece cut out of its end
(see Fig. 6), so that the water inside may run along to the beam when
the canoe is canted to sponge it out. The after edge of the carline at
C is bevelled off (Fig. 5 in section), so as not to catch the shins of
your legs. All the carlines are narrow and deep, to economize strength,
and the deck is screwed to them with brass screws, so that it might be
removed for internal repairs. A flat piece is inserted under the deck
at the mast-hole H, which is also furnished with a flanged brass ring.
The deck is so arched as to enable the feet to rest comfortably on the
broad stretcher J (Fig. 4), the centre of it being cut down in a curve
in order that the mast and sails, rolled together, may rest there when
there is no luggage, and be kept under the deck, but above any wet on
the floor. When there is luggage (as in this voyage) I usually put the
mast and sails under the after deck. The cedar deck round the well at E
F is firmly secured by knee-pieces, and the boat may thus be lifted up
_by any part_, and may be sat upon _in any position_, without injury.
The luggage for three months, weighing 9-1/2 lbs., is carried in a
black leather-cloth bag, 1 foot by 1 foot by 5 inches deep (G, Figs. 1
and 2).
A water-tight compartment may be made by an after bulkhead, with a lid
to open, so as to allow the air to circulate when on shore.
The floor-boards, about 2 feet long, rest on the timbers until, at
the part below C (Fig. 2), they end at P P (Fig. 7), in notched
grooves, which fit into short oak pieces M N, 1/4 inch thick, sloping
forwards on each side of the keel O. Their ends rest on the garboard
streaks, and so lower the heels nearly 1 inch below the level of
the floor-board on the top of the timbers. The canoeist sits on the
floor-boards, I prefer this to any cushion or mat whatever; but if
a mat or cushion be used, it should be firmly fixed, especially in
rough water. The canoeist's knees touch the combing and the apron
boards, while his heels touch the keel. Thus the dotted lines in
Fig. 1, from the stretcher to the deck, show how the shin-bones are
supported in comfort, enabling the paddler to sit for hours together
without straining. But comfort is additionally secured by my new
kind of backboard, shown in Figs. 8 and 9, in section and elevation.
This consists of two strips of oak, 18 inches long, 2-1/2 inches
wide, and united by a cross piece at Y, and another at X, the latter
being grooved (Fig. 8) so as to rest on the top of the combing, and
to oscillate with the movement of the canoeist's back, which is thus
supported on both sides along the muscles, while the spine is untouched
between the strips. The dotted line U (Fig. 8) is a strong cord passed
round all (through a hole in the deck or two eyes), and this serves to
keep the backboard in general upright, while it is free to vibrate,
or, when on shore, to be closed down flat on deck or to be removed
entirely in a moment by unloosing the cord. The use of this backboard
is a leading feature of the canoe, and adds very much indeed to the
canoeist's comfort, and, therefore, to his efficiency. The length
and width of the oaken strips, and the width of the interval between
them, ought to be carefully adjusted to the size and "build" of the
canoeist, just as a saddle ought to fit a horse and its rider too.
The paddle is 7 feet long, flat-bladed, with a breadth of 6 inches in
each palm, which is copper-banded, and made of the best spruce fir, the
weight being little over 2 lbs. The spoon-shaped blade is better for
speed, and a longer paddle is suitable for a racing-boat, but for a
travelling canoe, where long paddling, occasional sailing, and frequent
"shoving," require the instrument to combine lightness, straight edge,
handiness, and strength, it is found that a short paddle is best for
the varied work of a protracted voyage. Leather cups have been usually
employed on the wrists of the paddle to catch the dripping water, but
round india-rubber rings look much better and answer every purpose, if
placed just above the points where the paddle dips into the water in
an ordinary stroke. These rings may be had for twopence, and can be
slipped on over the broad blade. If necessary, two are used on each
side, and they bear rough usage well, while if they strike the cedar
deck, no injury is done to it.
[Illustration: FIG. 14, FIG. 9, FIG. 8, FIG. 7, FIG. 11, FIG. 10]
After numerous experiments, the following very simple plan has been
devised for a waterproof apron, and its application at once removes
one of the chief objections to canoes in rough water, as heretofore
constructed. It is necessary to have a covering for the well which
shall effectually exclude the water, and yet be so attached as not to
hamper the canoeist in case of an upset, or when he desires to get
out of the boat in a more legitimate manner. These desiderata are
completely secured by the new apron, which is not permanently attached
in any manner to the boat, but is formed as follows:-A piece of light
wood, of the form in Fig. 10, 2 feet long and 3 inches deep at the
deepest part, is placed along each side of the deck vertically, so as
just to rest against the outside of each knee of the canoeist, and then
a piece of macintosh cloth (drab colour is best) is tightly nailed
along and over these, so as to form an apron, supported at each side
on Z (Fig. 11), and sloping from the highest part forwards down to the
deck in front of the combing, over which its edge projects 1 inch, and
then lies flat. The other or after end is so cut and formed as to fit
the body neatly, and the ends may be tucked in behind, or, when the
waves are very rough, they should be secured _outside_ the backboard
by a string with a knot. When this apron is so applied, and the knees
are in position, their pressure keeps the whole apron steady, and the
splash of small waves is not enough to move it. In rough water I place
a string across the end and round two screw nails on the deck; or an
india-rubber cord run through the hemmed end, but best of all is a
strip of wood bent across the deck with its ends under two screws or
chocks.
A button-hole at the highest point of the apron allows it to be
supported on the waistcoat. When you have to get out on shore, or when
sailing, it is usually best to stow the apron away, so that the legs
may be turned into any desired position of ease. The apron I used in
this tour had been perfectly fitted by myself to me and the boat.
Several others, a little like it (very little!), roughly made for other
canoes, have, as might be expected, failed to give satisfaction.
One important advantage of a canoe is the capacity for sailing without
altering the canoeist's seat; and we shall now describe the mast and
sails found by experience to be most convenient, after three masts had
been broken and eight sets of sails had more or less failed. The mast
is 1-3/4 inches thick (tapering), and 5 feet 6 inches long, of which
the part above deck is 4 feet 9 inches. The lug-sail K (Fig. 1), has
a yard and a boom, each 4 feet 9 inches long, so that when furled the
end of the boom and mast come together. The fore-leach is 2 feet long,
and the after-leach 6 feet 6 inches, giving an area of about 15 square
feet. The yard and boom are of bamboo, and the yard passes into a broad
hem on the sail-head, while the halyard is rove aloft through a small
boxwood block 3/4 inch long, and with a brass sheave, and through
another (a brass blind pulley) well fastened on the side of the mast
near the deck, so that the sail can be lowered and hoisted readily. The
lower joint of a fishing-rod, 4 feet 9 inches long, is a spare boom.
The tack end of the boom is made fast to the mast by a flat piece of
leather, lashed to its upper part and to the mast, and so as to be free
to swing in every direction; after many other plans had failed this was
quite successful, and lasted through the whole voyage. No hole is made
in the mast, and no nail or screw driven into it, for these are causes
of weakness. Two cord loops, about 6 inches apart, near the mast-head,
support the flagstaff, of bamboo-cane 2 feet long, and with a silk
flag 7 inches by 9 inches. When the mast is not used this flagstaff
is detached and placed in the mast-hole, which it fits by a button 2
inches wide, permanently fixed on the staff, the lower end of which
rests in the mast-step. The halyard and sheet should be of woven cord,
which does not untwist, and is soft to handle in the wet. The sheet
when not in hand may be belayed round a cleat on deck on either side
of the apron, where it is highest, and thus these cleats are protected
from the paddle.
For the sake of convenience the mast is stepped so far forward as to
allow the boom to swing past the canoeist's breast when the sail is
jibbed or brought over. This also allows the luggage-bag to be between
the stretcher and the mast. Thus the mast-hole H is at 3 feet 6 inches
distance from the stem. The mast-step is a simple wedge-like piece
of oak (see R, Fig. 14), made fast to the keel, and abutting on the
garboard streak on each side, with a square hole in it for the foot
of the mast. It may be thought that the mast is thus stepped too far
forward, but the importance of having the sail free to swing, without
lying against the canoeist's body, or getting entangled with his
paddle, which is used in steering, is so great, that some sacrifice
must be made to secure this point. However, it is found that the boat
sails very well on a wind with this sail, if the breeze is strong;
and in light breezes it is only expedient to sail with the wind well
aft, when the jib can also be used. A canoe must have a strong, light,
flexible painter, suitable for constant use, because a great deal has
to be done by its means in towing on dull water, guiding the boat while
wading down shallows or beside falls, lowering into lochs, hauling
her over hedges, walls, locks, banks, and even houses; and raising or
lowering her (with luggage in) to and from steamboats. The "Alpine
Club" rope, used in the new Rob Roy, was found to be hard and "kinky"
when wet, and the softer rope used in the old Rob Roy was far better.
Another kind of brown-tanned rope has been recommended. The painter
should not be longer than twice the length of the boat. Each end is
whipped with wax-end, which sort of fine twine is also invaluable for
all the other fastenings, as it never slips. The painter passes through
a hole in the stem, and another in the stern-post, and is drawn tight
to lie on deck in the lines AY and SY, Fig. 2; the slack of about four
feet is belayed round the windward cleat and coiled outside, so that
it may be seized instantly when you go ashore, or have to jump out to
save a smash or an overset in a dangerous place. This mode of fixing
and belaying the painter I adopted after numerous trials of other
plans, and it is found to be far the best.
The jib is a triangle of 3 feet hoist and 3 feet foot, the fore-leach
fast by a loop, passing under the painter and over the stem; the head
is fixed by a loop over the mast-head, and under the flagstaff button.
Thus the jib can be struck while the canoeist remains in the boat,
by pushing off these two loops with his paddle. To set the jib, it
is best to land. This is much more generally convenient than to have
jib-tackle on the mast. (I have now discarded the jib entirely.) The
sails are of calico, without any seam. This lasts quite well enough,
dries speedily, and sets well, too, provided that care is taken to have
it cut out with the selvage along the after-leach, and not along any of
the other sides. Inattention to this last direction simply ruins sails;
and it cannot be too often repeated that the success of the six Rob Roy
voyages could not be expected if great care had not been devoted to all
these details.
A good travelling canoe costing £15 ought to last a long time, for it
is not racked and pulled in pieces at every stroke, as a rowing-boat is.
THE PADDLE.--It has been said that the use of a canoe paddle must
contract the chest, but this is certainly a mistake. If indeed, you
merely dapple each blade of the paddle in the water without taking the
full length of the stroke the shoulders are not thrown back, and the
effect will be injurious; but exactly the same is true if you scull
or row with a short jerky stroke. In a proper use of the paddle the
arms ought to be in turn fully extended, and then brought well back,
so that the elbow grazes the side, and the chest is then well plied in
both directions. In very shallow water the paddle should be clasped
lightly (turning the thumbs upwards then), so that if it strikes the
bottom or a rock the hand will yield and not the blade be broken. The
distance between the hands should be that of the breadth of the chest.
One can tell a _tyro_ in a moment by seeing him with his hands two feet
apart, and therefore with a shortened stroke or too long a paddle.
Great caution should be used when placing the blade in advance to meet
a rock, or even a gravel bank, otherwise it gets jammed in the rock or
gravel, or the boat overrides it. It is better in such a case to retard
the speed rather by dragging the paddle (tenderly), and always with its
flat side downwards, so that the edge does not get nipped.
For long cruises lightness is the first necessity. An ounce more
or less makes a great difference when you have to carry it with
outstretched arms all day. My paddle weighs two pounds. A swivel crutch
on deck on the quarter is used sometimes. In my Shetland cruise I used
a single paddle blade and steered by my feet acting on a light rudder
by two cords. This plan has many advantages for a sailing cruise and
general work, but it is not good for rapids.
RUDDER.--For long sailing this is useful, and foot-lines should be
used, or a rod to the yoke. I used the rod for sailing in the Dutch
cruise always.
LEEBOARDS.--These may be made of wooden triangles one foot each way,
hung at each side by two corners. The lee one is thus pressed against
the gunwale, and acts well.
CENTRE-BOARD.--When the "Rothion" sailed across the English Channel,
the late Hon. James Gordon used a centre-board at my suggestion, and
his Rob Roy thus furnished held her wind admirably. The centre-board
might come up through a slit one foot long in the garboard streak (not
through the keel) into a closed mackintosh bag, so that when raised it
would turn to one side, and lie flat on the bilge within.
THE APRON.--The canoeist soon finds that this is the most difficult
part of the boat to arrange with perfect satisfaction. I have had more
experiments and trouble and thought about the apron than upon any other
part of the canoe's arrangements.
A full wooden hatch does well for common work, but not for rough
cruising. Now and then the legs need "play," and if the hatch is rigid
at the height thus needed, it is much too high in ordinary times; and
it curbs the freedom for the arms near the deck, being also unwieldy
for instant debarking in rapids, and for stowing away.
The detached apron of the Baltic pattern is wet in use. Side pieces on
deck to clutch the wooden cheeks kept out by a cane across the knees,
and a permanent flap on deck, covering the fore end of the mackintosh,
are great improvements. The Jordan Rob Roy had a sheet mackintosh
apron, with only a cane fixed in the combing to keep the apron off the
knees. For her cruise she had under this apron six inches of the after
part of wood. The loose breast flap and side flaps rolled up (usually)
form a curved edging near the body. By lifting this hatch, and laying
it forward, the whole apron is folded forward of the knees, and in one
foot of space fore and aft. This plan is a complete success; and at
last my apron is all right. When a single bladed paddle is used the
apron is needed only in rough water, that is, one day in four.
STRETCHER.--The form described with a cut in the "Rob Roy on the
Jordan," is a very great improvement. Each foot has a light board
abutting on the carline above and the timber below, so that ample
room is given for the luggage bag, and much strength is combined with
extreme lightness.
SAIL.--Many forms have been tried, but the Club sailing matches have
often been won by a lug sail. This rig is also the safest of all, and
the boom can be detached from a hook on the mast to stow away.
PORTABLE CANOES.--A wooden canoe in four pieces is easily made,
although somewhat heavy. The additional expense is soon saved, if
the canoe is taken often by railway as a box. Colonel Bradford's
india-rubber canoe packs up into a parcel five feet long, and one
foot across. In the Eastern trip a canoe in two pieces might have
been readily carried on a horse, but the Rob Roy, undivided, was thus
carried easily. Berthon's Collapsible Boat Company presented to me a
charming collapsible canoe, nine feet long, and which is very cheap,
safe, light, and can easily be carried in one hand. The shortest canoe
in the Club was the Wharbe, 8 feet 6 inches long. But I have paddled
the little "dingy" only eight feet long, which was carried aboard the
Rob Roy yawl. I think 12 feet the best length for a cruising canoe.
I have designed a cork canoe in three pieces, five feet, four feet, and
three feet long; the last to pack in the next, and both in the large
middle one; weight about 30 lbs.
SUN.--When there is a brilliant glare of the sun, and it is low, and
directly in front, and the eyes are dazzled by its reflection on the
water, a good plan is to direct the bow to some point you are to steer
for, and then observe the reflection of the sun on the cedar deck of
the boat. Having done this you may lower the peak of your hat so as
to cut off the direct rays of the sun, and its reflected rays on the
water, while you steer simply by the light on the deck.
CAUTION.--When a great current moves across a river to a point where
it seems very unlikely to have an exit, you may be certain that some
unusual conformation of the banks or of the river bed will be found
there, and caution should be used in approaching the place. This,
however, is less necessary when the river is deep.
WEEDS.--The ripple and bubbles among weeds are so totally different
from those on free water that their appearance at a distance as a
criterion of the depth, current, and direction of the channel must be
learned separately. In general, where weeds are under water, and can
sway or wave about, there will be water enough to pass--the requisite
three inches. Backing up stream against long weeds is so troublesome,
and so sure to sway the stern round athwart stream, that it is best to
force the boat forward instead, even if you have to get out and pull
her through. Paddling through rushes, or flags, or other plants, so as
to cut off a corner, is a mistake. Much more "way" is lost then by the
friction than might be supposed.
STORES ON THE ROB ROY.--Paddle, painter (31 feet at first, but cut down
to 20 feet), sponge, waterproof cover, 5 feet by 2 feet 3 inches, silk
blue union jack, 10 inches by 8 inches, on a staff two feet long. Mast,
boom, and yard. Lug sail, jib, and spare jib (used as a sun shawl).
Stretcher, two back boards, floor-boards, basket holding a mackintosh
coat. For repairs--iron and brass screws, sheet copper and copper
nails, putty and whitelead, a gimlet, cord, string, and thread, one
spare button, needle, pins, canvas wading shoes (wooden clogs would be
better); all the above should be left with the boat. Black bag for 3
months' luggage, size, 12 inches by 12 inches, by 5 inches deep (just
right), closed by three buttons, and with shoulder-strap. Flannel
Norfolk jacket (flaps not too long, else they dip in the water, or the
pockets are inverted in getting out and in); wide flannel trousers,
gathered by a broad back buckle belt, second trousers for shore should
have braces, but in the boat the back buttons are in the way. Flannel
shirt on, and another for shore. Before me while writing this there
are 21 various head covers used in different tours, but for boating
the straw hat is best of all. Thin alpaca black Sunday coat, thick
waistcoat, black leather light-soled shoes (should be strong for rocks
and village pavements), cloth cap (only used as a bag), 2 collars, 3
pocket handkerchiefs, ribbon tie, 2 pairs of cotton socks (easily got
off for sudden wading, and drying quickly on deck). Brush, comb, and
tooth-brush. Testament, passport (scarcely needed now), leather purse,
large (and _full_), circular notes, small change in silver and copper
for frequent use, blue spectacles in strong case, book for journal and
sketches, black, blue, and red chalk, and steel pen. Maps, cutting
off a six inch square at a time for pocket reference. Guide-books and
pleasant evening reading book. Cut off covers and useless pages, and
every page as read; no needless weight should be carried hundreds of
miles; even a fly settling on the boat must be refused a free passage.
Medicine (rhubarb and court plaster), small knife, and pencil.
$Rocks and Currents.$--Even if a set of rules could be laid down for
the management of a boat in the difficult parts of a river, it would
not be made easier until practice has given the boatman that quick
judgment as to their application which has to be patiently acquired in
all athletic exercises.
But the canoeist, who passes many hours daily in the consideration of
the river problems always set before him, will feel some interest in
this attempt to classify those that occur most frequently.
Steering a boat in a current among rocks is like walking on a crowded
pavement, where the other passengers are going in various directions,
and at various speeds. A great deal of practice, and lessons enforced
by collisions, are needed to make a pedestrian _au fait_ in a crowd.
But years of walking produce a certain power, which insensibly directs
a man in his course and his speed.
After this capacity becomes, as it were, instinctive, a man can walk
briskly along Fleet-street at four P.M., and, without any distinct
thought about other people, or about his own progress, he can get safe
to the end. Indeed, if he does begin to think of rules or how to apply
them, he is almost sure to knock up against somebody. Nay, if two men
meet as they walk through a crowd, and each of them "catches the eye"
of the other, they will probably cease to move instinctively, and, with
uncertain data to reason from, a collision is often the result.
The importance of this subject of "boating instinct" will be considered
sufficient to justify these remarks when the canoeist has by much
practice at last attained to that desirable proficiency which enables
him to steer without thinking about it, and therefore to enjoy the
conversation of other people on the bank, or the scenery, while he is
rapidly speeding through rocks, eddies, and currents.
As the descent of a current among rocks resembles a walk along the
pavement through a crowd, so the passage _across_ a rapid is even
more strictly in resemblance with the course of a man who has to
cross a street where vehicles are passing at uncertain intervals and
at various speeds, though all in the same direction. For it is plain
that the thing to be done is nearly the same, whether the obstacles
(as breakers) are fixed and the current carries you towards them, or
the obstacles (as cabs and carts) are moving, while you have to walk
through them on _terra firma_. To cross Park-lane in the afternoon
requires the very same sort of calculation as the passage across the
stream in a rapid on the Rhine.
We may divide the rocks thus encountered in fast water into two
classes--(1) Those that are _sunk_, so that the boat may possibly
float over them, and which do not deflect the direction of the surface
current. (2) Those that are _breakers_, and so deflect the current,
and do not allow the boat to float over them. The currents may be
divided into--(1) Those that are equable in force, and in the same
direction through the course to be steered. (2) Those that alter their
direction in a part of that course.
In the problems before the canoeist will be found the combinations
of every degree and variety of these rocks and currents, but the
actual circumstances he has to deal with at any specified moment may
be generally ranged under one or other of the six cases depicted in
the accompanying woodcut. In each of the figures in the diagram the
current is supposed to run towards the top of the page, and the general
course of the canoe is supposed to be with the current. The particular
direction of the current is indicated by the dotted lines. The rocks
when shaded are supposed to be _sunk_, and when not shaded they are
_breakers_. Thus the current is uniform in Figs. 1, 2, 3; and it is
otherwise in Figs. 4, 5, 6. The rocks are all sunk in Figs. 1, 2, 3,
and 5; whereas in Figs. 4 and 6 there are breakers. The black line in
all the figures shows the proper course of the centre of the boat, and
it is well to habituate oneself to make the course such as that this
line shall never be nearer to the rock than one-half of the boat's
length.
The simplest case that can occur is when the canoe is merely floating
without "way" through a current, and the current bears it near a rock.
If this be a breaker, the current, being deflected, will generally
carry the boat to one side. The steering in such cases is so easy, and
its frequent occurrence gives so much practice, that no more need be
said about it. But if the rock be a sunk rock, and if it be not quite
plain from the appearance of the water that there is depth enough over
the rock to float the boat, then it is necessary to pass either above
the rock, as in Fig. 1, or below it, as in Fig. 2.
A few days' practice is not thrown away if the canoeist seizes every
opportunity of performing under easy circumstances feats which may at
other times have to be done under necessity, and which would not be so
well done then if attempted for the first time. Let him, therefore, as
soon as possible, become adept in crossing above or below a single
sunk rock with his _boat's bow pointed to any angle of the semi-circle
before him_.
[Illustration]
Next we have to consider the cases in which more than one rock will
have to be avoided. Now, however great the number of the rocks may be,
they can be divided into sets of three, and in each of the figures 3,
4, 5, 6 it is supposed that (for reasons which may be different in each
case, but always sufficient) the canoe has to pass between rocks A and
B, and then between B and C, but must not pass otherwise between A and
C.
In Fig. 3 the course is below B, and above C, being a combination of
the instance in Fig. 2 with that in Fig. 1. The precise angle to the
line of the course which the boat's longer axis ought to have will
depend upon what is to be done next after passing between B and C, and
hence the importance of being able to effect the passages in Fig. 1 and
Fig. 2, with the axis at any required angle.
We may next suppose that one of the three rocks, say B, as in Fig. 4,
is a breaker which will deflect the current (as indicated by the dotted
stream lines), and it will then be necessary to modify the angle of the
boat's axis, though the boat's centre has to be kept in the same course
as before. It will be seen at once that if A were a breaker the angle
would be influenced in another manner, and that if C were a breaker the
angle at which the boat should emerge from the group of rocks would
be influenced by the stream from C also; but it is only necessary
to remind the reader that all the combinations and permutations of
breakers and sunk rocks need not be separately discussed,--they
may be met by the experience obtained in one case of each class of
circumstances.
Fig. 5 represents a _circular current_ over the group of three rocks.
This is a very deceptive case, for it looks so easy that at first it
is likely to be treated carelessly. If the boat were supposed to be a
substance floating, but without weight, it would have its direction
of motion instantly altered by that of the current. But the boat has
weight, and as it has velocity (that of the current even if the boat is
not urged also by the paddle so as to have "way" through the water),
therefore it will have _momentum_, and the tendency will be to continue
the motion in a straight line, instead of a curve guided solely by the
current. In all these cases, therefore, it will be found that the boat
_insists_ upon passing between A and C, where it must not be allowed
to go (on the hypothesis we have started with), and if it effects a
compromise by running upon C, that will be by no means satisfactory.
This class of cases includes all those in which the river makes a
quick turn round a rock or a tongue B, where the boundary formed by the
rock A on the outer bend of the stream is a solid bank, or a fringe of
growing trees, or of faggots artificially built as a protection against
the erosion of the water. This case occurs, therefore, very frequently
in some fast rivers, say, at least, a hundred times in a day's work,
and perhaps no test of a man's experience and capacity as a canoeist
is more decisive than his manner of steering round a fast, sharp bend.
The tendency of the canoeist in such cases is always to bring the boat
round by paddling _forward_ with the outer hand, thereby adding to
the "way," and making the force of the current in its circular turn
less powerful relatively. Whereas, the proper plan is to _back_ with
the inner hand, and so to stop all way in the direction of the boat's
length, and to give the current its full force on the boat. Repeated
lessons are needed before this is learned thoroughly.
The case we have last remarked upon is made easier if either A or C is
a breaker, but it is very much increased in difficulty if the rock B is
a breaker or is a strong tongue of bank, and so deflects the current
outwards at this critical point. The difficulty is often increased by
the fact that the water inside of the curve of the stream may be shoal,
and so the paddle on that side strikes the bottom or grinds along it in
backing.
When the curve is all in deep water, and there is a pool after B, the
boat ought not to be turned too quickly in endeavouring to avoid the
rock C, else it will sometimes then enter the eddy below B, which runs
up stream sometimes for fifty yards. In such a case the absurd position
you are thereby thrown into naturally causes you to struggle to resist
or stem this current; but I have found, after repeated trials of every
plan I could think of, that if once the back current has taken the
canoe it is best to let the boat swing with the eddy so as to make an
entire circuit, until the bow can come back towards B (and below it),
when the nose of the boat may be again thrust into the main stream,
which will now turn the boat round again to its proper course. Much
time and labour may be spent uselessly in a wrong and obstinate contest
with an eddy.
In Fig. 6, where the three rocks are in a straight line, and the
middle one is a breaker, an instance is given when the proper course
must be kept by _backing_ during the first part of it. We must suppose
that the canoeist has attained the power of backing with perfect
ease, for this will be quite necessary if he intends to take his
boat safely through several hundred combinations of sunk rocks and
breakers. Presuming this, the case in Fig. 6 will be easy enough,
though a little reflection will show that it might be very difficult,
or almost impossible, if the canoeist could give only a forward motion
to the boat. To pass most artistically, then, through the group of
rocks in Fig. 6 the stern should be turned towards A, as shown in the
diagram, and the passage across the current, between A and B, is to
be effected solely by backing (and chiefly in this case with the left
hand) until the furthest point of the right of the curve is reached,
with the boat's length still as before in the position represented in
the figure. Then the forward action of both hands will take the canoe
speedily through the passage between B and C.
Cases of this sort are rendered more difficult by the distance of
C from the point above A, where you are situated when the instant
decision has to be made as to what to do, and it would usually be
imprudent to rise in the boat in such a place to survey the rock C. If
it is evident that the plan described above will not be applicable,
because other and future circumstances will require the boat's bow to
emerge in the opposite direction (pointing to the right), then you must
enter forwards, and must back between B and C, so as to be ready, after
passing C, to drive forward, and to the right. It is plain that this is
very much more difficult than the former case, for your backing now has
to be done against the full stream from the breaker B.
In all these instances the action of the wind has been entirely
omitted from consideration, but it must not be forgotten that a strong
breeze materially complicates the problem before the canoeist. This is
especially so when the wind is aft; when it is ahead you are not likely
to forget its presence. A strong fair wind (that has scarcely been felt
with your back to it) and the swift stream and the boat's speed from
paddling being all in one direction, the breeze will suddenly become a
new element in the case when you try to cross above a rock as in Fig.
1, and find that the wind carries you broadside on against all your
calculations.
As for sailing among rocks in a current, if the rapid is long the canoe
must be directed solely by the paddle, and in short groups of rocks
the course to be steered by a boat sailing is the same as if it were
paddled, though the action of the wind has to be carefully taken into
consideration.
In all these things free boldness and skill come best after lessons of
experience, and the canoeist will find himself ready and able, at the
end of his voyage, to sail down a rapid which he would have approached
very timidly, at the beginning, even with the paddle.
But perhaps enough has been said for the experienced paddler, while
surely more than enough has been said to show the tyro aspirant what
varied work he has to do, and how interesting are the circumstances
that will occupy his attention on a delightful river cruise.
$The Boy as Yacht Owner.$--Boys who live near a sheet of water may like
to know how to make--or to have made for them by a carpenter--a homely
rough-hewn yacht. They may not be able to win the American cup with it,
but they may have much fun on board, and it will be difficult to wreck.
Indeed, it is said to be impossible to upset a yacht of this pattern.
The natives of South America use yachts of this build, and even go to
sea in this kind of craft. We do not advise our readers to round Cape
Horn or to cross the Bay of Biscay in a yacht like this, but on a lake
or river they are not likely to come to grief. All the same, skill in
swimming should precede boating of all kinds.
A, B, C, D represent six pine logs, each one fourteen feet long and
eight inches in diameter. The six joined together make a deck four
feet wide. Both ends of each log are roughly trimmed with an adze and
underneath each log is bevelled along three feet of its length at each
end. The middle eight feet of each log is thus left in its natural
state, round and still bearing its bark; but three feet at each end of
each log is trimmed to slope and taper towards its termination. E is
four feet seven inches from the bow and represents a hole down to the
water two inches wide and eighteen inches long. It is formed by cutting
an inch away from each of the two centre logs to make two inches, and
making the length of the indentation eighteen inches on each of these
two logs. The purpose of the hole is to hold a centre-board, which is
passed through it to act instead of a keel. It is a piece of two-inch
plank eighteen inches wide. Next the bow ends of the logs are fastened
together by what joiners call rabbeting and bolting. Fig. 2 represents
a rabbet, and gives the dimensions. One of these rabbets is cut upon
the upper side of each log, one foot six inches from the bow, so that
when all the logs have been served exactly alike, and they have been
placed in position side by side, these indentations form an unbroken
channel across the boat. Now a piece of the toughest dry wood--the
bolt--shaped like Fig. 3, should be made to fit this groove, and should
then be placed therein. At H, I, in Fig. 1 bore with an auger holes
three-quarters of an inch in diameter through the bolt, and right on
through the log. Into these holes fit pegs of hard, very dry wood.
[Illustration: FIG. 1.]
If these pegs and the bolt fit tightly when they are quite dry they
will swell and fit very much tighter when they become wet. Two and
a half feet further back at J, K, the logs are rabbeted again in
precisely the same way, and again at L M, N O, and P Q. The mast
should be as long as the boat, and at its base four and a half inches
in diameter. Generally it consists of a small tree, a spruce fir, or
something of that kind. The boom, seen in the completed picture, is
almost as long as the mast, though more slender, and it must have a
fork at its thickest end. A lighter bough, with a fork, three feet
six-inches long, is needed as a rest for the boom.
[Illustration]
The mast is fixed at R in Fig. 1, and is secured as in Fig. 4. It
stands in a hole four inches in diameter and four inches deep. A and
B in Fig. 4 stand a foot away from the mast in holes three inches in
diameter and three inches deep. A and B are each eighteen inches long,
and C is a piece of two-inch plank eighteen inches wide, and it has a
hole bored in it four inches in diameter to admit the mast. At S, T, U,
V, in Fig. 1 holes are bored three inches in diameter exactly upon the
middle of the next to the outermost log on each side of the boat. These
are fitted with forked uprights, those at S and T are eight inches
long; those at U and V are twelve inches long. At W, X, Y and Z in
Fig. 1 bore holes three inches in diameter and three inches deep, W and
X being one foot away from N, O. Two feet from W and X should be Y Z.
a and b are holes of the same size over the middle logs of the boat.
In W, X, Y and Z should be forked uprights fourteen inches long. In a
and b are uprights sixteen inches long with a cross piece upon which
to rest the oar of the steersman. Fig. 5 shows what the arrangements
are with regard to these uprights. A little before the mast, on each
side of the boat, a pole runs through the forks of the uprights. The
ends of these poles are joined aft by a piece of one-inch plank, upon
which sits the man at the helm. A shelter may be made with a piece of
sailcloth or other material as shown in Fig. 6.
[Illustration]
The helm consists of a pole four feet long, which is fixed at an angle
of forty-five degrees to a piece of inch plank two feet long and eight
inches wide, as shown in Fig. 7. It will be found that the vessel
easily answers this helm, which is used like an oar. Along the mast
the sail is nine feet long. It does not run on rings, but is nailed
to the mast. The corner is tied securely to the end of the boom,
whose length is ten feet. The boom rests with its fork upon the mast
and is prevented from slipping away by a forked, upright support. It
is an easy matter to unfurl the sail. Take the fork of the boom from
the mast, and the sail collapses instantaneously. Much navigation can
be learned in a vessel of this kind, and it may be that some future
admiral will have his small beginnings in a craft of this homely
character.
CHAPTER X
COOKING IN CAMP
In the last chapter we had much to say of the famous canoe traveller,
the late John Macgregor, and our readers will welcome an account of
his portable cooking apparatus, because even if they do not go voyages
in a boat they will find it useful for picnics and camping out. This
apparatus, the voyager tells us, "has been designed after numerous
experiments with various portable cooking-machines which I could
procure for trial, and, as it succeeds better than any of them, and has
been approved by trial in five of my own voyages, and in another to
Iceland, besides shorter trips, and in the Abyssinian campaign, it may
be of some use to describe the contrivance here."
The object proposed was to provide a light but strong apparatus which
could speedily boil water and heat or fry other materials even in wet
and windy weather, and with fuel enough carried in itself for several
days' use.
Fig. 1 is a section of the Rob Roy cuisine as it is made up for
carrying. There is first a strong waterproof bag about one foot high,
and closed at the top by a running cord. At the bottom is the cuisine
itself, _a_, which occupies a space of only six inches by three inches
(when of smaller size), and has the various parts packed inside, except
the drinking cup _b_.
Provisions, such as bread and cold meat or eggs, may be stowed in the
bag above the cuisine, and if the string of it be then attached to a
nail fixed in the boat, the whole will be kept steady.
For use, when it is desired to boil water, the cuisine being opened,
the lower part is a copper pan, _c_, Fig. 2, with a handle, _e_, which
can be fixed either into a socket in the side of the pan, or another
socket in the side of the lid, as represented in Figs. 2 and 6.
Three iron legs also fix into sockets and support the pan over the
spirit-lamp, _f_, by which the pan, two-thirds full of liquid, will be
boiled in five minutes.
[Illustration: Fig. 1.]
[Illustration: Fig. 2.]
[Illustration: Fig. 3.]
[Illustration: Fig. 6.]
[Illustration: Fig. 4.]
[Illustration: Fig. 5.]
The lamp is the main feature of the apparatus, and it is represented in
section in Fig. 3. It consists of two cylinders, one within the other.
The space between these (shaded dark) is closed at top and bottom, and
a tube _b_, fixed through the bottom, rises with one open end inside,
and another (a small nozzle) curved upwards in the open internal
cylinder. Another tube, _h_, opens into the annular chamber between the
cylinders, and it has a funnel-shaped mouth at the outer end, through
which the chamber may be filled, while a screw in the inside allows a
handle, Fig. 4 (in section), to have its end, _j_, screwed in. A small
hole in the upper surface is closed by a little cork, which will be
expelled if the pressure within is so high as to require escape by this
safety-valve. The hole may be in any part of the annular cover (but is
not shown in the sketch), and in such case the hole shown in the handle
is omitted.
The outer cylinder of the lamp, being larger than the inner one, has a
bottom, _k_, Fig. 3, which forms a circular tray of about two inches
wide and half an inch deep.
The original form of the lamp, which was first brought to notice by the
cook of the Royal Canoe Club, had a detached tray for the bottom, but
now, instead of this plan for the admission of air into the lamp, two
saw cuts are made, each about an inch long. One of them is shown below
_f_, Fig. 2, and thus the lamp and tray are united in one compact piece
while there still is access for air.
The late Professor J. D. Forbes, who used this lamp, says it was
introduced into this country from Russia by Dr. Samuel Brown, and that
"the jet of burning spirit has such force as to resist the blast of a
hurricane."
To put the lamp in operation, unscrew its handle from the position
in Fig. 2, so that it will be as in Figs. 3 and 4. Then from a tin
flask (which has been packed with the rest of the things in the pan)
pour spirits of wine--or, if the odour is not objected to, methylated
spirit, into the measure _m_, Fig. 5, and from that into the interior
of the lamp through the opening at _h_. Next screw in the handle, and
place the lamp level under the pan, and pour nearly another measure
full into the interior tray. Set fire to this, and shelter it for a few
seconds if there be much wind. I used this always with complete success
on the Jordan, Nile, Danube, and many other rivers.
In a short time the flame heats the spirits in the closed chamber, and
the spirituous steam is forced by pressure down the tube, and inflames
at the nozzle, from which it issues with much force and some noise in a
lighted column, which is about one foot in height when unimpeded.
This powerful flame operates on the whole of the bottom and lower edge
of the pan, and it cannot be blown out by wind nor by a blast from the
mouth, but may be instantly extinguished by sharply placing the flat
bottom of the measure upon it.
The cover may be put on so as to rest with the flat bottom downwards,
and with or without the handle. If tea is to be made with the water
when it boils, the requisite quantity is to be placed in the tea
vessel, _n_, Fig. 5, which has perforated sides, and, its lid being
closed, this is placed in the water, where it will rest on the curved
side, and can be agitated now and then for a minute, after which insert
the handle in the socket of the pan and remove the lamp, allowing the
tea to infuse for four minutes, when the tea vessel may be removed
and the made tea may be poured out into the cup. The dry tea can be
conveniently carried in a paper inside the tea vessel. Salt is carried
in the box _o_, and the matches are in the box _p_. Coffee may be
best carried in the state of essence in a bottle. An egg-spoon and a
soup-spoon are supplied. A flat clasp knife and fork may be had extra.
If bacon is to be fried, or eggs to be poached or cooked _sur le plat_,
they may be put into the lid and held by hand over the lamp-flame, so
as to warm all parts equally, or the slower heat of a simple flame may
be employed by lighting the measure full of spirits and then placing
it on the bottom of the upturned pan as shown at Fig. 6, where it will
be observed that the three legs are placed in their sockets with the
convex curve of each turned outward, so that the lid, as a frying-pan,
can rest upon their three points.
The spirit-flask contains enough for six separate charges of the lamp,
and the cost of using methylated spirits at 4s. 6d. a gallon is not one
penny a meal. The lamp-flame lasts from ten to fifteen minutes, and the
weight of the _cuisine_, exclusive of the bag and cup, is about two
pounds.
These cuisines, improved by the suggestions obtained in their use,
should be carefully made with the best materials and workmanship, and
the cost would be about two and a half guineas; or if with tin boiler
instead of copper, and brass lamp, £1 12s. 6d. Many of much larger size
(to cook for twenty men) have been used in Australia.
The lamp above described was used daily in my yawl but the other
fittings were on a more enlarged scale, as extreme lightness was not
then required.
The Norwegian Cooking Apparatus of another kind entirely will be a
valuable adjunct to the yachtsman's stores. By means of this, meat or
pudding after being heated for only _five minutes_, and then enclosed
in a box which retains the heat, will be found to be perfectly cooked
after three hours, though no more heat has been applied to it.
[Illustration]
Since John Macgegor used this stove there have been other wickless
stoves invented, and sold at more moderate prices. For instance there
are the Primus and the Optimus and the Wickless oil stove of the Wilson
Engineering Company. Several such stoves, of which two are illustrated
here, are included in the lists of Messrs. A. W. Gamage, Ltd., and they
are useful indoors and in the open.
CHAPTER XI
BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS
For those boys who have the good fortune to live in Britain, few
hobbies are better or more enticing than collecting butterflies and
moths.
The following apparatus will be enough to start with: (1) a butterfly
net; (2) a few dozens of one ounce and two ounce deep willow
pill-boxes, which may be strengthened by a little liquid shellac glue
run round the inside edges; (3) a handbag which excludes the light; (4)
a two-pound biscuit-tin with tightly-fitting lid; (5) a zinc pinning
box, cork lined; (6) some entomological pins in three sizes; (7) some
setting boards or blocks; and (8) a store box for keeping the specimens
when dry enough to remove from the setting boards. We will now consider
these items in detail.
The butterfly net can quite easily be home-made, though, where money
is plentiful, it is best bought with the other things above named. To
make the net-frame, obtain from a dealer what is called a Y-piece, in
brass tube. Then obtain a piece of short walking-stick, not more than
two feet long, which will fit into the lower section of the Y, which
has a broader tube than the two upper sections. A short stick is always
best, because more handy and sure in manipulation when catching the
butterflies. Into the upper sections of the Y place the ends of a piece
of cane about three or four feet long, being careful that each end of
the cane fits tightly into the brass sockets. Then get a lady friend to
make for you a green or white leno-muslin bag net, with a brown calico
hem attached, into which the cane runs. This net should be made just
deep enough to reach with the hand to the bottom, or an inch or so
deeper only. Mind the bottom is made round, and not jelly-bag shaped
with a point, which will ruin nearly all your captures before they are
secured. Before using the net, have the muslin steeped in water for a
whole night, so as to take all the stiffness out of the muslin. It will
require several rinsings before the size is all removed, and it becomes
quite soft. Never mind the loss of colour if green--it will only look
the more workman-like. In using the net to catch the specimens, like so
many other things, it requires practice to make perfect; but when once
the knack is obtained, it should be a rare thing to miss a specimen.
Don't race after them, but wait until the butterfly hovers over a
flower, or flies steadily past, then, with a bold, steady stroke, catch
it in the centre of the net opening, at the same mom
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