STICKS. 83 



taking the greatest care that he obtains an exactly 

 similar article. He need not think that a stick made 

 by Salter, Holbrow, or Buchanan can be success- 

 fully copied by the village carpenter. A tape loop on 

 the handle, to put round the wrist, will often save 

 a player from dropping a stick, which accident might 

 cause the loss of a match. The loop should readily 

 yield (which a strong leather one might not do) to a 

 severe pull, so that there may be no risk of hurting 

 the wrist, if, for instance, the head of the stick is 

 caught in a pony's bridle, and the stick is thus 

 violently pulled out of the hand. 



The Back as a rule requires a longer stick than a 

 forward player ; because he has often to hit a back- 

 hander at some distance from his pony. He also 

 needs a stick with a light head, in order to be able to 

 play close, and to put in a lot of wrist work when 

 being hustled by an opponent. 



The shape of the head of the various sticks in 

 ordinary use is shown in Fig. 2^1- The cigar-shaped 

 head has somewhat gone out of fashion of late years, 

 though a few of the best players still use it. It is, 

 however, generally believed that a ball can be hit 

 better with a square-headed stick out of heavy ground 

 than with a round one. Cigar-shaped heads are 

 greatly used in India, where the ground is hard and 

 level. The handle of the stick should be oval, not 

 round, so that it may not be liable to turn in the 

 hand or slip, and in size it must fit the hand of the 

 player. To still further prevent such an accident 

 occurring, Mr. Salter has invented his *' India-rubber 

 grip." Besides, a stick with an oval-shaped handle 

 can always be held in the right position for the head 



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