BOWER-BIRD 



870 



BOWLING 



the editor and proprietor of the Intelligencer, 

 which he made one of the most influential 

 newspapers in Ontario. 



With the or- 

 ganization of the 

 Dominion in 1S67, 

 Sir Mackenzie 

 elected to 



was 



the House of 

 Commons, where 

 he served with- 

 out interruption 

 for twenty -five 

 years. During 

 this period he 

 became one of 

 the leaders of SIR MACKENZIE BOWELL 

 the Conservative 



party. He was Sir John Macdonald's Minister 

 of Customs from 1878 to 1891, and held the 

 same post for a year in the Cabinet of Sir 

 John J. C. Abbott. He was then in turn 

 Minister of Militia and Minister of Trade 

 and Commerce, and on December 21, 1894, 

 himself became Premier. Meanwhile, in 

 1892, after a service of twenty-five years in 

 the House of Commons, he accepted an ap- 

 pointment to the Senate, of which he is still 

 a member. His brief ministry was overthrown 

 chiefly because of his attitude towards the 

 Manitoba schools (see MANITOBA, subhead 

 History) ; though an Orangeman, he favored 

 support of separate schools for Roman Cath- 

 olics. He resigned as Premier when his policy 

 failed, but from 1896 to 1906 remained the 

 Senate leader of the Conservatives. He was 

 created Knight Commander of the Order of 

 Saint Michael and Saint George in 1895. 



THE BOWER-BIRD 



BOWER-BJRD, a name given to several dif- 

 ferent birds about the size of the jay, living 

 in Australia or the Pacific islands. They are 



so called because in the nesting season the 

 male birds build remarkable bowers in which 

 to woo their mates. The female bird is of a 

 grayish-green, while the male is dark brown or 

 purplish-black, with buff spots on the upper 

 and gray and yellow on the under side. The 

 only touch of bright color which he has is a 

 band of rose-pink feathers around his neck. 

 So, when other birds are wooing with beauti- 

 ful song or display of brilliant plumage, the 

 bower-bird, lacking these attractions, invites 

 his chosen mate to his bower. In some 

 secluded part of the forest, under the over- 

 hanging branches, he has built a wonderful 

 little room with twigs and leaves, decorated 

 with shells, or feathers, or orchids. And there 

 he dances and bows, like a cavalier in a minuet, 

 until his mate is won. 



BOWLING, bole' ing, sometimes called TEN- 

 PINS, is a modern improvement upon the old 

 Dutch game of skittles, which Rip Van Winkle 

 encountered in his wanderings in the moun- 

 tains. It is an indoor game, in which the 



POSITION OF PINS IN BOWLING 



player tries to roll a large wooden ball down 

 a long, narrow alley in such a way that it will 

 upset ten wooden pins placed in position at 

 the other end. It is also played with a less 

 number of pins. The game is an excellent 

 winter sport, requiring the use of practically 

 every muscle in the body, yet it does not put 

 too severe a strain on any one part. 



The Alley. The long wooden platform down 

 which the ball is rolled is called the alley. It 

 is made of hardwood strips, usually set on 

 edge. The surface is very smooth and highly 

 polished, and slopes slightly from the center. 

 A regulation alley must not be less than forty- 

 one inches or more than forty-two inches wide. 

 At one end a line is marked across the alley; 



