8 THE WRIST, THE ELBOW, AND THE THUMB 



duty and prevent a most fatal error that is, the rod 

 going too far back over your shoulder (see Plates III. 

 and IV.). Now steadily raise your forearm and rod 

 to an angle of about 40 degrees (see Diagram 1), and 

 when the rod has reached this angle, without stopping 

 this upward movement of the arm and rod, convert it 

 into a smart backward switch, the rod passing in a 

 vertical plane over the shoulder, and stopping suddenly 



F 



DIAGRAM 1. SHOWING POSITIONS OF ROD IN BACK CAST. 



F A, position of rod (Plate II.). 

 F B, position of rod (Plate I.). 



B F C, angle of back cast. 



F C, position of rod as in Plates III. and IV. 



F, the point of the elbow, the pivot of the stroke. 



at an angle of 40 degrees over the right shoulder 

 (see Diagram 1). If the elbow is kept down, with the 

 hand tightly clasped and the thumb pressed firmly 

 against the rod, the wrist cannot be bent, and the rod 

 cannot go back beyond this angle ; but when the wrist, 

 the elbow, and the thumb have learnt to do their duty, 

 the elbow can be raised at pleasure. Plates III., IV., 

 and V. show clearly the correct position of the rod 

 and arm at the end of the back overhead cast. 



