CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE. 



rivers, notably on the Thames and on the Tyne ; 

 but the universities of Oxford and Cambridge 

 are now the places in Great Britain at which 

 rowing is most enthusiastically cultivated. The 

 boating contests between the colleges in either 

 university are among the great events of the uni- 

 versity year ; and the yearly inter-university race, 

 rowed on the Thames, affords more interest to the 

 public, perhaps, than any other sporting incident 

 of the year, except the Derby. Though no longer 

 a popular amusement, in the sense of being an 

 amusement for the people, rowing is every year 

 growing in favour with those who have the means 

 of practising it, and is attracting a greater number 

 of votaries. It is scarcely, however, within the 

 scope of this paper to go into details about a 

 sport which is not an amusement of the many. 

 Moreover, though, in boating, theory is useful, it 

 is practice only which makes an oarsman, and 

 practice soon shews both what must be avoided 

 and what must be done. Details will be found in 

 Yachting and Rowing one of Chambers's Useful 

 Hand-Books. 



SWIMMING. 



Of the utility of swimming, it is scarcely neces- 

 sary to speak. Accidents on the water are far 

 from unfrequent ; and the power of swimming, even 

 when possessed in a small degree, may enable a 

 person, on such an accident happening, to save 

 his own life or that of others. Swimming is also 

 a bracing and healthful summer exercise, highly 

 beneficial to the nervous system, and produc- 

 tive of muscular strength ; and the power of 

 indulging in it adds immensely to the pleasure and 

 health-giving influence of a residence at the sea- 

 side. 



The possibility of swimming depends upon the 

 fact, that the human body, when the chest is 

 inflated with air, is lighter than the water which 

 it displaces. Salt water being of greater specific 

 gravity than fresh water, supports the body better, 

 and therefore is to be preferred, especially for 

 beginners. To get into the mind the fact, that the 

 human body, if properly placed so as to leave the 

 mouth free for breathing, will float in water to 

 get confidence in the power of the water to sup- 

 port him, is the first, and, indeed, the main thing 

 a person who would learn swimming has to do. 

 Dr Franklin, who was himself a master of the art 

 of swimming, has suggested an excellent plan for 

 acquiring the necessary confidence. ' Choosing a 

 place,' he says, ' where the water deepens gradu- 

 ally, walk coolly into it till it is up to your breast ; 

 then turn round your face to the shore, and throw 

 an egg into the water between you and the shore ; 

 it will sink to the bottom, and be easily seen there 

 if the water be clean. It must lie in the water so 

 deep that you cannot reach to take it up but by 

 diving for it To encourage yourself, in order to 

 do this, reflect that your progress will be from 

 deep to shallow water, and that at any time you 

 may, by bringing your legs under you, and stand- 

 ing on the bottom, raise your head far above the 

 water ; then plunge under it with your eyes open, 

 throwing yourself toward the egg, and endeavour- 

 ing, by the action of your hands and feet against 

 the water, to get forward, till^within reach of it. 

 In this attempt you will find that the water buoys 

 you up against your inclination ; that it is not so 

 easy to sink as you imagine, and that you cannot, 



664 



but by active force, get down to the egg. Thus you 

 feel the power of water to support you, and learn 

 to confide in that power, while your endeavours 

 to overcome it, and reach the egg, teach you the 

 manner of acting .on the water with your feet and 

 hands, which action is afterward used in swim- 

 ming to support your head higher above the water, 

 or to go forward through it.' As to the supporting 

 power of water, it may be well to say that a per- 

 son throwing himself on his back in salt water, 

 and extending his arms, may easily lie so as to 

 keep his mouth and nostrils free for breathing ; 

 and, by a small motion of his hand, may prevent 

 turning, if he should perceive any tendency to it 



In fresh water, however, if a man thus throw 

 himself on his back, he cannot long continue 

 in that position without proper action of his 

 hands on the water. Struggling, or elevating the 

 hands out of the water, will, either in fresh water 

 or salt, instantly cause total immersion. The 

 chest, moreover, must be kept as full of air as 

 possible, for this has nearly the same effect as 

 tying a bladder full of air around the neck would 

 have. 



Making way in the water that is, swimming 

 depends upon the mechanical law, that every 

 action is followed by a reaction in an opposite 

 direction ; the swimmer is driven forward by the 

 resistance of the water to backward strokes which 

 he gives it with his arms and legs. In swimming, 

 the head and neck should be thrown back as far 

 as possible, the breast held forward, and the back 

 hollowed. At the beginning of a stroke, the hands 

 are held horizontal, close to the breast, the palms 

 downward, and so as to be slightly concave, the 

 fingers close together ; they are carried forward 

 (care being taken to keep them in the water) as 

 far as possible, and then swept to the side at a 

 distance from, but as low as the hips ; in bringing 

 them back to the original position, the arms are 

 drawn towards the sides, with the elbows upwards, 

 and the wrists and hands hanging down. The 

 legs, which should be moved simultaneously with 

 the hands, are drawn up with the knees inwards, 

 and the soles of the feet inclined outwards, and 

 then thrown backward as widely apart from each 

 other as possible. 



Before breakfast and before noon are the best 

 times for bathing, but delicate persons should not 

 venture into the water before breakfast. To bathe 

 when the stomach is full, or when one is exhausted, 

 is bad, and may be dangerous. The bather, too, 

 should be moderately warm, and he had better be 

 hot than cold though extremes are to be avoided. 

 Bathing when one is very warm in very cold water 

 has not rarely caused speedy death. 



As cramp is one of the greatest dangers of the 

 swimmer, it may be well to state that to give the 

 part affected a sudden and violent shock, is the 

 most likely means of getting rid of it ; should this 

 not succeed, a good swimmer, if he only keep his 

 head, should be able to make the shore, or, at 

 least, to keep afloat till help comes, without the 

 help of the part affected, as by swimming or 

 paddling on his back. 



When a swimmer finds himself fatigued, there 

 is relief, or, at anyrate, change to be obtained by 

 swimming on the side, with which also great rapid- 

 ity may be obtained. It is done in the following 

 manner : Raise the left shoulder ; thrust forward 

 the right arm along the surface ; hollow the palm, 



