they are said to be when the ends bend outward; for these jar the hand. Their price varies 

 from 253. to 3 guineas. The string for a man's bow should be from 6 in. to 6f in. from the 

 back of the bow when strung, for a lady's from 55 in. to 6 in., according to the length of the 

 bow. The nock of arrows it is never called the "notch" should not be "cut square" 

 but rounded. The feathers must be wing and not body feathers, which are quite useless. 

 They should be from the same wing, i. e. right or left, about 15 in. long and tapering to the 

 front from a depth of 5 in. at the nock. If balloon-shaped, their greatest depth should be 

 at one third of their length from the nock-end. 



With regard to target scoring and handicapping it should be noted that a St. George's 

 Round has never been shot at a public meeting, or, indeed, at any meeting held within the 

 last 60 years. Handicapping by the loss of rings has been obsolete for more than 35 years, 

 nor is there any system which can rightly be called handicapping by points. Handicapping 

 is now carried out either by dividing the archers into classes according to their powers, or by 

 deducting percentages from their scores for previous successes. 



As regards the history of archery, some corrections may also be made. The bow was 

 used in war at a later date than 1860, viz. by the Japanese against the English at Surni 

 Nosake, September 5, 1864. Nor did the Armada year see the last appearance of the English 

 archer. A company of archers was raised for thv, expedition to the island of Rhe in 1627. 

 There were archers among the Russian troops in the Crimea. Again, the relation of Fins- 

 bury Archers, the Hon. Artillery Company and the Royal Toxophilite Society requires 

 restatement. In July 1676, William Wood, Marshal of the Finsbury Archers, was sent 

 round with a paper, signed by Sir E. Hungerford and others, setting forth that the "officers 

 and others of the Society of Archers, within the cities of London and Westminster" have 

 determined "that the bearer shall have a silver badge and bear the same as Marshall to the 

 Queen's Majesty's Regiment of Archers." The natties of the subscribers were appended 

 (Guildhall MSS. 193). Consequently this badge or shield had no connection with Oxford. 

 The Finsbury Archers became extinct about 1761, but the Royal Toxophilite Society was not 

 founded until 1781, when Mr. P. Constable, the last captain of the Finsbury Archers, joined 

 it and handed to it the shield and other valuables. There was, therefore, no combination of 

 the two clubs in 18-41. It is incorrect to assert that the Finsbury Archers were not connected 

 with the Hon. Artillery Company. They were connected, and under their powers shot over 

 the Finsbury Fields up to 1657. The Archers' Division of the Hon. Artillery Company was 

 formed by members of the Royal Toxophilite Society in 1784. 



It may also be mentioned that "the Championship" is not recognised as a term belonging 

 par excellence to any of the public meetings; and that the list of public meetings should include 

 the Southern Counties Meeting. The Crystal Palace meeting became extinct in 1902. 



Athletics. 1 



It was to be expected that under the impulse of the Olympic Games prodigies of nat- 

 ural speed and strength would be forthcoming from several nations. On the other 

 hand, while general improvement and an increase in the number of prominent athletes 

 might be counted upon, the actual displacement of records, being apparently a matter 

 of increasing difficulty, was considered improbable. In the course of the Olympic 

 Games at Stockholm, and of the trial contests held in the United States, a number of 

 feats were accomplished surpassing the best performances of exceptional and reputedly 

 unapproachable athletes of former years. For example, if any record could be consid- 

 ered unassailable it was the high jump of 6 ft. sf in. of M. Sweeney of New York, and in 

 another category, the long distance times of A. Shrubb and W. G. George seemed scarce- 

 ly likely to be equalled. It was, however, precisely these records, together with the 

 wonderful half-mile running of Lunghi, that were eclipsed either at Stockholm or in 

 preliminary contests among American aspirants to Olympic medals. Systematic study 

 and training in the United States, together with the large resources of athletic ability 

 made available by the popularity of inter-club, inter-school, and inter-university con- 

 tests, have considerably enlarged the athletic horizon. At Stockholm the United 

 States team, admirably organised and disciplined, carried off a considerable majority 

 of the athletic medals. In many cases the struggle for the first two or three places was 

 confined to the members of this team, and in several instances the failure of the expected 

 winner did not impair the American chances of victory. On the other hand Finland, 

 besides doing well in feats of strength, produced the most remarkable long-distance 

 runner of modern times in H. Kolehmainen; and yet even he, in the most memorable 

 race of the meeting over a course of 5,000 metres, was barely able to beat the French 



1 See also under "United States" below. 



