Part 149

_Aim of Exercise._--The aim of exercise is not solely to _work_ the organism which is thrown into activity, though that is a very important part of the object in view, because as the living body works it feeds, and as it feeds it is replenished; but there is another purpose, and that is to call into action and stimulate the _faculty of recuperation_. Those who believe in the existence of a special system, or series, of trophic nerves, will not object to this designation of the recuperative function as a separate “faculty,” and those who believe nutrition to be effected in and by the ordinary innervation will recognise the sense in which we employ the terms in italics. It is through defect or deficiency in the vigour of this faculty that unaccustomed feats of strength, whether of mind or muscle, are exhausting. The task is performed, but the underlying faculty of restorative energy, or power of recuperative nutrition, located in the particular part exceptionally exercised, is not in a condition to respond to the unusual call made upon it. When a man goes into training, or, which is practically the same thing, when he habituates himself to the performance of a special class of work, he so develops this recuperative power or function that the repair or replenishing necessary to restore the integrity, and replace the strength of the tissue “used up” in the exercise, is instantly performed. The difference between being accustomed to exercise and able to work “without feeling it,” and being barely able to accomplish a special task, and having it “taken out” of one by the exploit, whether mental or physical, is the difference between possessing the power of rapid repair by nutrition, and not having that power in working order--so that some time must elapse before recovery takes place, and during the interval there will be “fatigue” and more or less exhaustion. The practical value of a recognition of this commonplace fact in physiology will be found in the guidance it affords as to the best and most direct way of developing the power or faculty of recuperation by exercise. Many persons make the mistake of doing too much. Exercise with a view to recuperation should never so much exceed the capacity of the recuperative faculty as to prostrate the nervous energy. The work done ought not to produce any great sense of fatigue. If “exhaustion” be experienced, the exercise has been excessive in amount. The best plan to pursue is to begin with a very moderate amount of work, continued during a brief period, and to make the length of the interval between the cessation of the exercise and the recovery of a feeling of “freshness” the guide as to the increase of exercise. We do not mean that false sense of revival which is sometimes derived from the recourse to stimulants, but genuine recovery after a brief period of rest and the use of plain nutritious food. If this very simple rule were carried into practice by those who desire “to grow strong,” there would be less disappointment, and a generally better result, than often attends the endeavour to profit by exercise unintelligently employed. (_Lancet._)

_Training._--There are few subjects on which it is more difficult to lay down exact laws than that of training, and yet, notwithstanding this, there is no lack of books by writers who profess to be thoroughly acquainted with every detail of the course an athlete must go through in order to be at his best. Nearly every writer agrees as to the end to be obtained by training. As to how this end is to be obtained, however, these doctors sadly disagree. For instance, one author says, very properly, that the harder a man works physically the more food he requires. “Amator,” on the other hand, lays down this law, “the less food, the more work.” In books a regular dietary is laid down for the man in training, in which some kinds of food are recommended and others condemned. These vary so much, that were the unfortunate athlete to avoid everything that he is warned against, he would be more likely to die of starvation than to win a race. It is quite impossible to lay down exact rules for everybody. No two men are of the same physique or temperament, and no one but an experienced trainer who has his eye continually on his man, can tell him what to eat and drink, or what exercise to take. A book of the kind cannot be perfect; but the best we have yet come across is that published at the _Sportsman_ office. We can recommend it to those who cannot secure a really good trainer. Such men are rare; but a month or two under the care of a man who really understands his business will do more for a beginner than all the books ever published. Experienced trainers like Bob Rogers, Nat. Perry, or Jack White, can tell at a glance whether a man wants hard or light exercise, or whether he ought to put on flesh, or the contrary. These are subjects that books are powerless upon, and with which no athlete can be familiar till he has had considerable experience. (_Field._)

_Regulation of Exercise._--Dr. Cathcart gives the following rules for the regulation of physical exercise. (1) It should be conducted in an abundance of fresh air, and in costumes allowing free play to the lungs, and of a material which will absorb the moisture, and which, therefore, should be afterwards changed--flannel. (2) There should always be a pleasant variety in the exercise, and an active mental stimulus, to give interest at the same time. (3) The exercises should, as far as possible, involve all parts of the body and both sides equally. (4) When severe in character, the exercises should be begun gradually and pursued systematically, leaving off at first as soon as fatigue is felt; and when any real delicacy of constitution exists, the exercise should be regulated under medical advice. (5) For young people the times of physical and mental work should alternate, and for the former the best part of the day should be selected. (6) Active exertion should be neither immediately before nor immediately after a full meal.

A fact of paramount importance is to bear in mind that exercise demands an _abundance of fresh air_, without which it is injurious. The same man who when naked is capable of inspiring (taking in) 196 cub. in. of air at a breath, can only inspire 130 cub. in. when dressed. Dr. Parkes points out that during exercise, whether directly involving the use of the shoulders or not, the lungs should have the freest possible play; therefore there should be no tightly contracting garments round the chest which would interfere with its expansion, and thus tend to neutralise the very benefit it is destined to bestow; and it follows further from this, that where exercise has to be taken in such ill-designed garments, the amount of work done must be in proportion diminished. Hence the miscalled “constitutional” walk is about the worst form of exercise (next to dancing), and deserving of actual condemnation, except in the case of people whose age precludes their enjoying any outdoor game; it is very apt to become monotonous, can never be really enlivening, often is reduced to a crawl, is liable to be interrupted by meeting friends (when chills are easily caught), and always entails wearing the least suitable garments. Running, on the other hand, when dressed in athletic costume, is one of the best forms of exercise and an essential accompaniment of our most popular outdoor games. Among the means which nature has bestowed on animals in general for the preservation and enjoyment of life, running is the most important. Since, then, it is pointed out to us by nature, it must be in a high degree innocent.

Negroes and Indians in a state of nature run daily in pursuit of game for food with a facility at which we are astonished, but they are not more liable to consumption on this account than those beasts that are so famed for swiftness. The body of no animal seems better adapted to running than man’s. The nobler parts, which might be injured by an immoderate reflux of blood, are uppermost, and the laws of gravitation assist in propelling the runner forward. He has little to do but to strengthen his limbs by practice and concentrate his mind on the effort, and there is nothing severe in this, as experience has shown. Indeed, running may be made very beneficial to the lungs, and perhaps there is nothing better calculated to strengthen these organs, in those who are shortwinded, than gradual, careful training in running. It should only be practised in cool weather. The clothing should be light, the head bare, and the neck uncovered. As soon as the exercise is finished, warm clothing should be put on and gentle exercise continued for some time. It is not necessary to have a race-course. The teacher of a school may take his pupils into the fields and find suitable ground for them. Care must be taken not to overdo, and thus, perhaps for life, weaken or injure the heart. The race, at first, should be short and frequently repeated, rather than long, and full speed should not be attempted for some time. Running is well adapted to young and middle-aged persons, but not to those who are fat. Sedentary persons may find great benefit in it after the day’s work. If they live in cities, a quiet spot may be selected, and short trials adapted to the strength entered into. Invalids may do the same thing, only they must be more careful than the robust never to over-exert themselves. Girls may run as well as boys, from 10 to 12 years of age. After puberty, the change in the formation of the bones of the pelvis in girls renders running less easy and graceful. The modern style of dress for girls after puberty is also entirely unsuited to running.

=Games.=--It would be impossible here to enter into a description of all our outdoor games, nor is it necessary to do so. The following remarks embody information which cannot readily be found elsewhere, and which is therefore more useful than would be a repetition of the already well-known rules of the chief games.

_Badminton._--A level bit of turf is the most pleasant ground, though any level surface will do. The dimensions may be varied according to the number playing on each side, and to whether a shuttlecock or a ball is used, the latter not requiring so small a ground as the former. The sizes recommended vary from 40 ft. long by 20 ft. broad, to 30 ft. long by 15 ft. broad. The ground is divided into courts, as in Fig. 157, which represents the full-size.

The boundaries should be clearly defined by a white line; chalk or whiting and water, laid on with a straight-edge and brush, makes the best line. At the spots marked “pole,” which are just half-way from the boundaries taken lengthways, and 2½ ft. within the boundary measured across, poles should be erected, about 7 ft. high, to hang the net to. This, of course, is for the outdoor game; indoors, the net may be suspended from nails, or hung to any convenient projection. The net should be tightly stretched across from pole to pole, at a height of 5 ft. from the ground. The depth of the net varies from 9 in. to 3 ft., but the best is a medium depth, 12-15 in. The poles should be supported with guy ropes. When the net and poles are fixed, they present the appearance shown in Fig 158. If shuttlecocks are used, the ordinary toy ones do very well for indoors; but for outdoors a loaded shuttlecock is not so much disturbed by the wind, and can be made to fly farther. Common battledores will answer indoors; for outdoor games small racquet bats are preferred, about 2 ft. long, with a widish face, and rather more elliptical in the handle than the full-sized bat. Balls for the outdoor game should be made of hollow indiarubber, about the size of a tennis ball.

The outdoor game by 4 persons, played with a ball, is with slight modifications the same as lawn tennis. The courts being marked out, the players take their stand one in each court, and toss for first “service.” The player winning the toss has choice of courts, and places himself in the right-hand court of his side and serves first. Serving is done by holding the ball in the left hand, the bat in the right, and then, when in the act of dropping the ball from the hand, but without allowing it to touch the ground, driving it with the bat diagonally clean over the net into the opposite right-hand court. When serving, the player may stand in any part of his court he pleases, but he must have both feet within the boundary line. The “servee” (i.e. the player served), who stands in the opposite right-hand court, has to “take the service,” i.e. he has to hit the ball back clean over the net, either before it touches the ground or on its first bound. If he succeeds in doing either, his adversaries have to return the ball again, clean over the net, and so on alternately forwards and backwards until one side fails to comply with the necessary conditions, when that round is over, and certain scores accrue, as will be explained. After the first service in each round, no distinction is made between right and left courts, nor as to the player who may take the ball. On the first return the ball may be sent into either court of the opposite side, and taken by either player of that side, and so on in all subsequent returns of that round.

If the ball touches the boundary line, it is out of the court. If the conditions are complied with, it is a “good” service, and if the servee fails to return the ball clean over the net, the server’s side scores one point, called an “ace.” If the conditions are not complied with, and the servee takes or attempts to take the serve, it counts as a good service. But if the server does not comply with the conditions, and the servee does not attempt to take the serve, the server’s “hand is out.” There is, however, one exception to this, viz. if the ball falls on the neutral ground short of the court, in which case it is a “let”--that is, the server is let or allowed to have another serve. Two consecutive lets put the server’s hand out. Some players consider it a let if the ball is served into the wrong court. This is perhaps the best rule for beginners, but for more experienced performers serving into the wrong court should put the server’s hand out. The server’s hand is also out if after the first return either he or his partner fails to return the ball again clean over the net by hitting it once only, or returns it so that it does not fall into one of the opposite courts. If, however, the opponents attempt to return the ball, notwithstanding that it falls out of the court, the return is “good,” and it counts just the same as though the ball had fallen within the court.

When the server’s hand is out, the opponents commence serving from their right-hand court. This rule only applies to the first service in every game, and for this reason: It is a considerable advantage to serve first, as skilful players serve in such a manner as to render it difficult for the opponent to take the service. Also the side serving cannot lose an ace until their hand is out, and the opponents have the serve. If, as before remarked, the servee’s side fail to take a good service, or to return the ball clean over the net at any subsequent stroke by hitting it once only, they lose an ace. The original server then serves again, but this time from the left-hand court, and so on alternately, and his side scores an ace each time the opponents fail to return a good service clean over the net, and so that it falls into one of the opposite courts. After the first service in each game, the side which serves has “two hands in,” i.e. as soon as the server’s hand is out, his partner serves as before. He commences to serve from the right or left hand court as the case may be, following the rule of changing courts after every service. Thus, A served last from the right court; A’s hand is now out; B (A’s partner) now serves from the left court into the opposite left court, and so on alternately until B’s hand is out, when both hands being out, the right of serving goes to the opponents, who commence serving from the right-hand court of their side; the player who originally stood in that court serving first to the player who originally stood in the diagonally opposite court. Once in the game the players may change courts for the purpose of taking serves; thus A (right court) serves to C (opposite right court). A’s hand is put out, and presently A’s side are hand in again. When this happens A must commence the round of his side by serving from his right court to C in the opposite right court, but once in the game C and D (partners) may change courts to take the service, when A would serve to D instead of to C. The game proceeds thus until one side gains 15 aces, when the game is won by that side. If the game arrives at 13-all it may be “set” to 5-all, or at 14-all it may be set to 3-all. After a set, the game continues until one side scores 5 or 3, as the case may be. After a game, the sides change courts. A match or rubber is the best of 3 games.

_Cricket._ Forming a Ground.--The field should be as near level as possible; a fall of 1 in. to the yd. is not an insurmountable objection; 240 yd. each way is a nice size. In the centre of this there must be at least 42 yd. square of drained or naturally dry land, laid nearly level, and, if possible, of poor, tough, and wiry grass and sod. This piece should be highest in the centre, and with a fall of ½ in. in the yd. all round, that the ground may dry quicker after rain. With a dry subsoil, you can at once make a cricket ground, without the expense of any drainage. If an open loose subsoil, sand, gravel, peat, and wet, it must be made dry; in subsoils of this kind one deep and large drain will frequently effectually cure a large field. Until the subsoil is dry you cannot put soil and sod on it that will be good and safe to play cricket upon. As to clay subsoil, there is no other way to dry this kind of ground except by drainage. Drains must be near together, and deep enough to take away the water sufficiently low down to prevent the earth from sucking it up to the surface: 3 ft. 6 in. to 4 ft. deep, and 4-5 yd. apart, 3 in. tiles, and a fall of not less than ½ in. to the yd., will make this subsoil dry enough to put on a cricket surface. These drains should be filled with broken stone, coarse gravel, or rough cinders to within 12-18 in. of the surface of the ground. The tiles of main drain should be larger than the 3 in. pipes of which branch drains are made, and larger in proportion to the number of branches it has to receive. The opposite ends of branch drains to the main drain should be connected by an air drain, one end of which should be open to the air; for in dry weather, when drains are making no water, a draught of air through and under the ground may cause the seams in the ground to open and crack, and so prepare it for more effectual and quick drainage when wet weather comes. The first thing to be done is to take up the sod: 1½ in. is about the thickness. Wheel them to one side of the piece you intend to take up, and stack them 5 or 6 cartloads together; this presses them, and causes the old rough coarse grass to rot off. When the sods are off is the best time to drain. If chalk is handy, it is the best possible foundation. Not more than 1½-2 in. of mould is required between the turf and the chalk; or dig out some 6-7 in. of the soil, and replace with cinder-ashes procured from a furnace, if chalk cannot be obtained. Pass the ashes through a coarse riddle, and put the rough at the bottom, the fine at the top, ramming it well down; return the sod, and make firm by rolling with the heaviest roller at command--daily rolling for an hour or two; mow when necessary, and that by a machine.

Renovating a Ground.--Before applying any stimulant to encourage growth, first of all get the bare patches filled up with plants of the finest kinds of grass. For 70 yd. by 40, 1 bush. fine lawn grass mixture, obtained from some trustworthy seed establishment, should be sown at once and covered with finely sifted soil of a gritty character, such as road scrapings; when dry enough, run a light roller over it, and repeat the rolling frequently. As soon as the young seedling grasses appear, a dressing of soot and lime should be given to keep slugs in check, and also to act as a stimulant. When the young grass gets any way long, it should be cut with a scythe; the mowing machine should not be used until it has become well established, and sheep be kept off during periods of drought. After many years’ wear and tear it would be advisable to relay the ground with fresh turf, for when once it begins to get patchy and worn, any other remedial measures are seldom entirely satisfactory. Guano sown during showery weather, about 2 lb. mixed with wood ashes, and sprinkled evenly over the surface, will impart verdure to the grass and otherwise help it, for where it is kept closely mown, the soil soon gets exhausted.

Playing on Coconut Matting.--The matting must be well stretched and pegged down lightly; spikes will be found to damage the matting and trip up the wearer. The thing to see to is that the ground (whatever it be) below the matting is quite smooth, as, if there are any inequalities in it, the ball will bump off the matting just as it would off an ordinary pitch. In India they remove what grass there is, so as to have a perfectly smooth surface; this is watered and rolled and kept hard, and on it the mat is pegged down. The result is a very good and fast pitch.

_Football._ Association.--The following memoranda have been drawn up by the committee of the Football Association for guidance.

(1) Calling attention to two points in Law 2 of the game--First, that the kick-off must be in the direction of the opposite goal line, and, therefore, all back kicking is illegal; and, secondly, that the other side shall not approach within 10 yd. of the ball until it is kicked off.

(2) Law 4 enacts that “a goal shall be won when the ball has passed between the goal posts.” A goal, therefore, cannot be scored until the whole ball has passed over the goal line. The ball is also in play until the whole ball has passed over the touch line.

(3) Law 6 commences thus:--“When a player kicks the ball, or it is thrown out of touch, any one of the same side who at such moment of kicking or throwing is nearer to the opponents’ goal line is out of play.” This is plain enough. All players of the same side as the player kicking the ball are off-side if they are in front of but not if they are behind the ball. If players would always remember that when they are behind the ball, at the moment of kicking or throwing, they cannot be off-side, but when they are in front of the ball they are always liable to be off-side, it would simplify the reading of this Rule very much.

Briefly then, (1) A player is always off-side if he is in front of the ball at the time of kicking unless there are 3 or more of his opponents nearer the goal line than himself. (2) A player is never off-side if there are 3 or more of his opponents nearer their goal line than himself at the moment the ball was last played. (3) A player cannot be off-side if the ball was last played (i.e. touched, kicked, or thrown) by one of his opponents or by one of his own side who at the time of kicking is nearer his opponents’ goal than himself.

Law 6 further enacts that a player being off-side shall not in any way whatever interfere with any other player.

(4) By Law 8 a goal-keeper “is allowed to use his hands in defence of his goal.” The committee do not consider a goal-keeper to be in defence of his own goal when he is in his opponents’ half of the ground.