77 



CHAPTER III. 



POLO APPLIANCES. 



Polo grounds — Goal posts — Sticks — Polo dress. 



POLO GROUNDS. 



A FULL-SIZED ground is 300 yards by 200 yards, but 

 as a matter of fact, there are few full-sized grounds 

 in England. A width of 150 yards on a boarded 

 ground is big enough for any game, but a short 

 ground spoils the game, and consequently no ground 

 should be shorter than 275 yards. Boards, which 

 generally vary from 9 to 11 inches in height, 

 are a great advantage in making a game fast, 

 by preventing a ball from going out of play. They 

 save many hard hits, and many strokes which would 

 cause the ball to just trickle over the line. Hitting 

 round too much, because of the presence of the 

 boards, is not advisable, and hitting for the rebound 

 off the boards is nearly always bad play. The 

 annoyance often experienced in an unboarded ground 

 of having a good, hard, straight hit down the edge of 

 the oTound from the side roll a few inches out of 

 play, owing, very possibly, to some inequality on 

 the surface, is saved by the boards. 



A good plan to prevent the ball hanging under the 

 boards, is to raise the turf close to them two or three 



