TUNNIES AND THEIR RELATIONS 



as that which he could make on land, even if he did 

 not go very fast. 



But the adoption of this position has its advantages. 

 We can modify the movements of our limbs and 

 co-ordinate them in such a way as to select the most 

 useful and make the best of them. There are many 

 methods of swimming, and we can take our pick of 

 them according to our strength and physique. Here, 

 as elsewhere, personal qualities come into play. This 

 we can observe at any swimming competition attended 

 by the best swimmers, and there are many of these 

 in our northern lands. I have seen swimming races 

 in which many of the competitors showed great prowess ; 

 they all used the same methods, but they all differed 

 both in manner and in results. If we except fencing, 

 there is no other form of exercise so diverse or so well 

 adapted to individual idiosyncrasies. 



There are many ways of swimming. In the breast- 

 stroke, both pairs of limbs act as propellers simul- 

 taneously; the body moves forward with a certain 

 amount of difficulty, since the solid mass of chest and 

 shoulders must overcome the resistance of the water, 

 and this to some extent holds up progress. In the 

 trudgeon stroke, on the other hand, the swimmer 

 tries to drive himself along by reducing the resistance 

 his body offers to the water. He lies slightly on one 

 side so as to present only one shoulder to the water, 

 thus avoiding the flat position; the two arms reach 

 rhythmically beyond the head, either together or one 

 after the other; they cut the water and so facilitate 

 progress. The legs, as in the breast-stroke, are the 

 main propellers; the swimmer pulls them in, then 

 thrusts them out vigorously to their full extent, com- 

 pleting the stroke by drawing the feet together. In 

 this way, pushing his body forward from behind, he 

 presents only lines of least resistance, and so gains the 

 highest degree of advantage from the effort he makes. 



This method, swifter than the other, only reproduces 

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