434 



SWIMMING. 



iuor.il respect. 1 dev.. losing, invigorat- 



ing and giving health to tin- Inxly arc so great, and 

 it i> so easily learned, th:it it is of tin- highest con- 

 sequence, particularly in climates where the heat 

 of the summer prevents active exercise on the land. 

 To all the advantages of cold bathing, it adds many 

 others ; it enables the bather to remain much longer 

 in the water, on account of the exercise which it 

 affords, and thus in salt water at least gives 

 more opportunity to invigorate the skin one of 

 the greatest benefits of frequent suit-water bathing, 

 as a large number of diseases spring from a debilitated 

 state of the skin, which is very frequent in change- 

 able climates, producing colds, inflammation, rheu- 

 matism, &c. The exercise greatly strengthens the 

 lower extremities, the abdominal muscles, the 

 muscles of the chest, and the organs of respiration, 

 the spine, neck and arms. It increases courage, 

 and furnishes an agreeable excitement the usual 

 attendant of manly and brisk exercise, but pecu- 

 liarly so of swimming on account of the mastery 

 which it gives us over an element for which the 

 human structure is but partially fitted. The means 

 which it affords of preserving our lives, or those of 

 others, in situations of peculiar peril, is also a great 

 recommendation of this exercise, which may be 

 easily learned wherever there is water of five feet 

 depth. No danger whatever is connected with it. 

 Of the many methods of teaching swimming, we 

 shall give that introduced, originally, by general 

 Pfuel, into the Prussian swimming schools, having 

 found it, by experience, much superior to other 

 systems. By this method, a person may become a 

 perfect swimmer (able, we mean, to swim at least 

 half an hour in succession) in a very short time. 

 We have known many individuals, who could not 

 swim a single stroke, enabled, by taking daily one, 

 and sometimes two lessons, for three weeks, to 

 swim half an hour : some have even acquired this 

 proficiency within a fortnight. The apparatus for 

 teaching consists of a hempen girdle of a hand's 

 breadth, of a rope from five to six fathoms in length, 

 of a pole eight feet long, and a horizontal rail fixed 

 about three and a half feet above the platform on 

 which the teacher stands, to rest the pole on. The 

 depth of the water, in the place chosen for swim- 

 ming, should, if possible, be not less than eight feet, 

 and the clearest and calmest water possible should 

 be selected. The pupil wears drawers 5 fastened by 

 a string above the hips, and covering about half the 

 thighs. They must be made loose, so as to allow 

 the freest action of the legs. The pupil is now 

 placed near the horizontal rail, his hands resting 

 upon it, whilst the teacher shows him the motion 

 which he will have to make with his legs in the 

 water. This he does by guiding the motion of one 

 leg, while the pupil rests on the other. This mo- 

 tion will be explained immediately. The swim- 

 ming girdle, about five inches wide, is placed round 

 the pupil's breast, so that its upper edge touches 

 the paps, without sitting tight. The teacher takes 

 the rope, which is fastened to a ring of the girdle, 

 in his hand, and directs the pupil to leap into the 

 water, keeping the legs straight and close together, 

 and the arms close to the body ; and what is very 

 important to breathe out through the nose, as 

 soon as his head rises above the water, instead of 

 breathing in first, which every man naturally does 

 after a suspension of breath. The object of this is 

 to prevent the water from getting into the throat, 

 which produces an unpleasant feeling of choking 

 and head-ache. The expiration soon becomes per- 



i. c ilv natural to a swimmer. 1 lie pui>il is then in- 

 \iu'<i to leap never pushed, lie is drawn imme- 

 diately by the rope, pulled to the ladder, and al- 

 lowed to gain confidence gradually The rope is 

 now fastened by a noose to the end of the pole, ihe 

 end of it being kept in the hand of the teacher; 

 the pole is rested on the horizontal rail, and the 

 pupil stretches himself horizontally in the water. 

 where he remains supported by the pole. The arms 

 are extended stiffly forward, the hands Hasped; tin- 

 chin touches the water; the legs are also stifllj 

 stretched out, the heels being together, the feet 

 turned out, the toes drawn up. This horizontal 

 position is important, and must be executed cor- 

 rectly. No limb is permitted to be relaxed. The 

 motion of the legs is taught first : it is divided into 

 three parts. The teacher first says, loudly and 

 slowly, "One;" when the legs are slowly drawn 

 under the body, and, at the same, time, the knees 

 are separated to the greatest possible distance; the 

 spine is bent downwards, and the toe kept out- 

 wards. The teacher then says, briskly, " Two ;" 

 upon which the legs are stiffly stretched out with a 

 moderate degree of quickness, whilc^the heels are 

 separated, and the legs describe the widest possible 

 angle, the toes being contracted and kept outwards. 

 The teacher then says, quickly, " Three ;" upon 

 which the legs, with the knees held stiffly, are 

 quickly brought together ; and thus the original 

 position is again obtained. The point at which 

 the motions two and three join, is the most impor- 

 tant, because it is the object to receive as large and 

 compact a wedge of water between the legs as pos- 

 sible, so that, when the legs are brought together, 

 their action upon this wedge may urge the body for- 

 ward. In ordinary easy swimming, the hands are 

 not used to propel, but merely to assist in keeping 

 on the surface. By degrees, therefore, two and 

 three are counted in quick succession, and the pupil 

 is taught to extend the legs as widely as possible. 

 After some time, what was done under the heads 

 two and three, is done when two is called out. 

 When the teacher sees that the pupil is able to pro- 

 pel himself considerably, which he frequently ac- 

 quires the power of doing in the first lesson, and 

 that he performs the motions already mentioned 

 with regularity, he teaches the motion of the 

 hands, which must not be allowed to sink, as they 

 are much disposed to do, while the motion of the 

 legs is practised. The motion of the hands con- 

 sists of two parts : when the teacher says " One," 

 the hands, which were held with the palms together, 

 are opened, laid horizontally an inch or two under 

 the water, and the arms are extended, until they 

 form an angle of 90; then the elbow is bent, and 

 the hands are brought up to the chin, having de- 

 scribed an arch downward and upward; the lower 

 part of the thumb touches the chin, the palms being 

 together. When the teacher says " Two," the 

 arms are quickly stretched forward, and thus the 

 original horizontal position is regained. The legs 

 remain stiffly extended during the motion of the 

 hands. If the motion of the hands is correctly per- 

 formed, the legs and arms are moved together; so 

 that, while the teacher says " One," the pupil per- 

 forms the first motion of the hands and legs ; when 

 he says " Two," the second and third motions 

 of the feet, and the second of the hands. As 

 soon as the teacher perceives that the pupil be- 

 gins to support himself, he slackens the rope a little, 

 and instantly straightens it, if the pupil is about to 

 sink. When the pupil can swim about ten strokes 



