OUT-OF-DOOR RECREATIONS. 



the tee, of one-sixth of the length of the rink 

 they are dragged aside, and are not counted. A 

 more than usually extensive match is called a 

 bonspiel, which is usually contested by two neigh- 

 bouring parishes or clubs. 



The following are the chief technical terms used 

 in curling : 



Bonspiel another name for a match, usually 

 played by two parishes, or clubs. 



Rink the piece of ice used by two sets of 

 players ; a good-sized lake may contain many 

 rinks. 



Hog a score made across the ice one-sixth 

 part of the rink from the tee. 



Tee the point at each end of the rink to be 

 played for. 



Brough several concentric circles, varying 

 from one to fourteen feet in diameter, drawn 

 round each tee. 



Howe ice. When it is desirable that a stone 

 should be driven straight up the centre, the skip 

 requests the player to keep ' howe ice.' 



Inwick another name for an angle or cannon 

 taken inwards to the tee, by one stone against 

 another. 



Guard. A stone is said to guard when it lies 

 in a line between the player and the tee, with 

 another stone within it ; a guard may also lie on 

 any other part of the ice beyond the hog score, on 

 a similar principle. 



Soled. When a stone is neatly and levelly 

 delivered from the hand along the ice, it is said 

 to be well ' soled.' 



Crampets or cramps an apparatus shod with 

 steel spikes, worn on the feet, or attached to the 

 ice at each end, to prevent slipping. 



Skip the title given to the director of the play 

 on each side. 



The Grand Caledonian Curling Club, formed in 

 1838, is a sort of centre for the 'brotherhood of 

 the rink' throughout Scotland. A grand match 

 is competed for between players of the North and 

 South of the Forth, on a large sheet of water, 

 usually in the county of Stirling, and the scene 

 on the loch on such an occasion is probably 

 unrivalled for enthusiasm and picturesque effect. 

 The following are the principal rules of the 

 game: 



The length of the rink to be forty-two yards ; unless 

 otherwise settled by agreement. [It is advisable that 

 rinks have double tees at each end, the one at least two 

 yards behind the other, the whole four to be as nearly 

 as possible in the same line. The stones are to be 

 delivered from the outer tee, and played towards the 

 inner ; this saves the ice from being injured around the 

 tee played up to.] The rink to be changed in all cases 

 when, from the springing of water, the majority of players 

 cannot make up. The number of shots in a game, if 

 not otherwise mutually fixed upon, to be twenty-one. 

 [A game more frequently consists of thirteen shots, or 

 even of seven, than of any others, when an hour or two's 

 practice only is intended ; but this is a matter of private 

 arrangement.] Every rink to be composed of four 

 players a side, each with two stones, unless otherwise 

 mutually agreed upon. Every player to deliver both his 

 stones alternately with an opponent, before any other of 

 the same side or party play one. Parties to draw cuts 

 which shall fill the ice at the first end ; after which the 

 winning party at the last end or game of that day's play 

 shall do so. No stone to be counted which does not lie 

 within the outer circle from the tee, unless it be previ- 

 ously otherwise mutually agreed upon. Measurements 



to be taken from the centre of the tee to that part of the 

 stone which is nearest it. 



All curling-stones to be of a circular shape. No stone 

 must be changed throughout the game, unless it happen 

 to be broken, and then the largest fragment to count, 

 without any necessity of playing with it more. If a stone 

 rolls and stops upon its side or top, it shall not be counted, 

 but put off the ice. Should the handle quit the stone in 

 the delivery, the player must keep hold of it, otherwise 

 he will not be entitled to replay the shot. In double- 

 soled stones, the side commenced with shall not, under 

 forfeit of the match, be changed, unless by mutual 

 agreement, during the progress of the game. [Double- 

 soled stones are those in which the handle can be shifted 

 from one side to another ; one side being slightly con- 

 cave for keen ice, and the other convex for dull ice.] 



Parties, before beginning to play, to take different 

 sides of the rink, which they are to keep throughout 

 the game. The skips alone to stand about the tee. 

 No measuring of shots allowable previous to the ter- 

 mination of the end. Disputed shots to be determined 

 by the skips ; or, if they disagree, by some neutral 

 person chosen by them. 



The skips have the exclusive regulation and direc- 

 tion of the game ; they are the last to play on each side. 

 The players may give their advice, but cannot control 

 their director ; nor are they upon any pretext to address 

 themselves to the person about to play. Each skip, 

 when his own play comes, shall name one of his party 

 to take charge for him. Every player to follow 

 implicitly the direction given him. 



GOLF. 



The game of golf is believed to be peculiar to 

 Scotland, though most likely derived from Ger- 

 many ; the term golf being from the German word 

 kolbe, or the Dutch kolf, a club. The popular 

 pronunciation of the Scotch word is goff, or gowf. 

 Strutt, in his Sports and Pastimes of the People of 

 England, observes of golf, that it is probably the 

 most ancient of games played with the ball that 

 require the assistance of a club or bat. ' In the 

 northern part of the kingdom,' he says, 'golf is 

 much practised. It answers to a rustic pastime 

 of the Romans which they played with a ball of 

 leather stuffed with feathers [of which materials 

 the golf-ball was composed till within a recent 

 period]. During the reign of Edward III., the 

 Latin name cambuca was applied to this pastime, 

 and it derived the denomination, no doubt, from 

 the crooked club or bat with which it was played.' 

 Golf-balls are now made of gutta-percha : they 

 are first cast in a mould, then hammered to give 

 them consistency, and finally painted with several 

 coats of white paint. 



It seems to be quite uncertain at what period 

 the game of golf was introduced into Scotland ; 

 but it may be fairly presumed that this amuse- 

 ment (as well as football and archery) was 

 practised to a considerable extent in the reign of 

 King James I. Charles I. was much attached to 

 the amusement of golfing, and on his visit to 

 Scotland in 1641, was engaged in it on Leith 

 Links when intimation was brought to him of 

 the rebellion in Ireland. The Duke of York, 

 afterwards James II., also delighted in the game. 



Golf is one of the principal national Scottish 

 pastimes. It is a favourite amusement with all 

 classes who are fortunate enough to reside near 

 links. Links, or, as they are termed south of the 

 Tweed, downs, are indispensable for the pursuit 

 of this recreation, and it may be stated, as a rule, 



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