303 



KNOWLEDGE ♦ 



Oct. G, 18Sa. 



far greater clearness, for now thry were all alone in the 

 field, save the ultra thin Solar iiiok.-l line between them 

 and one or two others, e<]ually thin and Solar on their Mue 

 side. The stages of perceptil>le sliade of water-vapour 

 lines which had thus l>een swept away, between their this 

 day's invisibility, and their tremendous stn'ugth no longf^r 

 before than the previous Friday, might have been expressed 

 by a scale not divided into three parts only, but into 30 ; 

 and implied such a very unusual amount of absence of 

 water-vapour, that I not only felt sure of no rain falling 

 either next day, or perhaps for several days after, but that 

 the weather must also be coming on colder as well. There- 

 fore it was that I took the step of instantly writing as I 

 did to a lociil paper, promising the perplexed farmers dry 

 weather at last, though probably sharp and cold, to get in 

 their crops. 



And how was that expectation fulfilled 1 Various me- 

 teorologists in dilVerent parts of the country have already 

 declared themselves wi-ll satisfied with it But I would 

 now l>eg further attention to the little daily register already 

 quoted, showing that from and including that day, ^Monday, 

 September 4, up to and including the next Saturday, nipt a 

 drop of rain fril at the Observatory, lietwcen the follow- 

 ing Sunday aiid Monday, a drizzle, but only amounting to 

 0-04 inch, occurred, and after that there were three more 

 days equally dry with the preceding ones. I?ut on Thurs- 

 day, the I4th, the rain-band reappeared in both spectro- 

 scopes in all its force ; rain began to fall the same day, and 

 next day's measure at the Observatory amounted to more 

 than half-an inch. Wherefore it is to be hoped that the 

 farmers had busied themselves etlectively while the dry 

 weather lasted, fo» the return of these spectral lines of 

 watery vapour showed that their autumn opportunity was 

 then gone by. 



LEARNING TO SWLM. 



By Nat.vtor. 



(Cond'n'.wJ/rom paje 21.3.) 



]X my former papers I considered chiefly the beginner, 

 . showing how one who knew absolutely nothing about 

 swimming might make his first attempts with safety, and 

 learn rea<lily the all important art of keeping his balance, 

 whether on his back, which is very easy, or with his back 

 uppermost in the more usual po.sition, which is more 

 difficult To swim properly requires somewhat more study 

 and practice. 



The great general principle in swimming is that the arms 

 and le;.'-^, in all methods of swimming, are to be brought 

 forward with the least, and to be carried, or rather driven, 

 back, with the grtjate.st possible effect This not only dis- 

 tinguishes good swimming from bad, in any given style, 

 >>ut alfo distinguishes the different styles from each other. 

 Thus the " breast-stroke " is b<ftter than the style called 

 "swimming like a dog," because in the former the whole 

 arm is n8<d in propulsion, while in the latter little more 

 than the hand is us<d ; and again, because in the " breast-- 

 stroke" the legs are driven ba' k in a much more effective 

 manner, a.s will be presently explained. So also, the 

 "side stroke" is more effective than the "breast-stroke," 

 at least for short distances, because the arm, or rather 

 one arm, i« carried forward clear out of the water, or 

 without encountering any water resi.stance at all. 



But before our learner I>cgin8 to learn any stroke, let him 

 carefully not* the following point, the neglect of which has 

 ruined the »*yle of many promising swimmers : — The hod;/ 

 ihoidd remain, at/arai posnbU, at the name level duriruj llie 



vhoh offai-h stroke. ^lany swimmers act as though at each 

 stroke they were striving to save themselves from a watery 

 grave. They d'ive the hands downwards as forcibly as 

 they drive thera backwards, the result being that the 

 shoulders rise out of the water at each stroke, instead o£ 

 keeping as much under as possible. A good swimmer will 

 scarcely be seen to rise perceptibly in the water, even as 

 be draws in his breath, for he always inllates his lunga 

 when the body would otherwise be slightly sinking. There 

 are, indeed, some who adopt a slightly diti'erent plan : they 

 swim with the mouth under water, except when thoy want 

 to breathe, when they turn the head round as if to lie witb 

 the cheek on the water as on a pillow — a movement which 

 brings the mouth just enough above the water to enable 

 the swimmer to breathe. This is theoretically the proper 

 way to breathe so as to minimise work, for in this way a 

 maximum amount of the body's volume remains all the 

 time under water ; but it is better to learn this n)ethod of 

 breathing later. It is sufficient at first to bear in mind 

 the general principle that, in swimming, not a particle of 

 strength is to bo wasted in up-and-down movements. 

 The strokes should be taken so that they shall drive the 

 body steadily forward without either lifting the body or 

 causing it to sink .<;o as to require raising. 



So much premised, let us consider how the " breast- 

 stroke " is to be taken. 



The swimmer is supposed to bo simply balancing himself 

 in the water when he prepares to try the movements now 

 to be described. Placing the hands together close to the 

 breast, with the wrists touching the collar-bones, or nearly 

 so, the palms downwards, and in horizontal piano with the 

 closed fingers, the swimmer launches his arms forward to 

 their full reach in front of him, still keeping his hands 

 together. While he is doing thi.s, he kicks his legs out- 

 backwards to their full extent, and so as to throw the feei 

 as far apart as possible. Of these movements only th& 

 latter is propulsive. The former merely brings the arms to 

 the right po.sition for their backward propulsive stroke. 

 But though the legs and feet in being kicked out back- 

 wards produce a propulsive effect, especially if the feet 

 are well ]ilanted, as it were, against the water during 

 their backward sweep, yet it is not in this motion that 

 the legs do the most effective part of thiir propelling 

 work. The arms arc now to bo carried backwards with a. 

 powerful sweep, the hands being held in the slightly cup- 

 shaped form already described, and the stroke being taken 

 with just so much downward movement, and no more, as is 

 necessary to counteract the tendency of the head to sink 

 when the support of the hands is removed. While the hand.<> 

 are thus brought towards the hips, the legs are to be 

 brought forcibly together, like the legs of a pair of shears 

 when we close it It is in this mov(rment that the legs 

 produce their greatest propulsive effect, an effect which 

 many who think they know how to swim, entirely lose, 

 simply kii-king their legs straight out backwards, and then 

 drawing them up under them for the next strok(\ This 

 drawing up of the legs under the abdomen must only be 

 begun when the legs have been forcibly brought together, 

 both perfectly rigid till they are in contact. The closing 

 movement of the legs is complet«:d while the arms are 

 doing their Viackward stroke. The legs are then drawn up 

 under the stomach, the feet being bent back as when we 

 stand on tiptoe, while the hands are Ijrought to their first 

 position by passing from the hips to the chest, the palm 

 and fingers as it were gliding over the body. Then the 

 movements described are repeated. The arms are thrust 

 forward as before; the legs are kicked out; then, while 

 the legs are brought fonilily together, and afterwards 

 carried forward, the arms take their propulsive stroke back- 



