AND AMERICAN RURAL SPORTS. 



used alike — when a movement is performed by the one, it 

 should be tried by the other. Too much Skating on the 

 inside of the Skate prevents the acquirement of the more 

 beautiful part of the art, resulting from the frequent and 

 alternate use of the outer edge of each iron. Skating on the 

 outer edge, being the most graceful action, is the most diffi- 

 cult to perform, and requires much practice and great skill. 

 The beautiful attitudes in which the body may be placed 

 where the Skater has a perfect command of his balance, 

 will amply repay him for any care he may have bestowed 

 on the acquirement of this most fascinating part of the ex- 

 ercise. It is scarcely possible, however, to reduce the art 

 to any thing like a system. The best way to acquire a 

 knowledge of it, is to begin when young, and select some 

 good Skater as a pattern. 



Although it is asserted, by some modern writers, that 

 the metropolis of Scotland has produced more instances of 

 elegant Skaters, than any other city whatever, the opinion 

 seems to be, that Philadelphia, in this particular, stands un- 

 rivalled. The frequent facilities offered by the freezing of 

 her noble rivers, must be borne in mind. There is scarcely 

 a winter, in which Skating is not practised by a large por- 

 tion of her population for weeks together, and the climate 

 is of so fluctuating a character, as to prevent any very long 

 interruption of the amusement during the cold season. 

 Many gentlemen, well known to the community, have dis- 

 played considerable skill, and uncommon grace in the art, 

 and caused this interesting pastime to be generally noticed. 

 It is recommended by its excellent effects upon the body 

 and mind, and perhaps of all the amusements resorted to, 

 is productive of the least inconvenience, and may be en- 

 joyed at trifling risk. Accidents upon the ice are rare; 

 they are generally the result of great carelessness, and in 

 Skating, are not more to be dreaded than those met with in 

 the common amusements of youth. 



An entire abandonment of the old fashioned Skates, com- 

 monly known by the name of gutters, dumps, rockers, &c. 

 is strongly recommended. A proper Skate iron, is in shape 

 very much like the runner of a sleigh, the curvature in it 

 being very slight. The American Skates, after an im- 

 proved plan, are now manufactured by Mr. Thomas W. 

 Newton, No. 60 Dock street, and will, in the course of 

 time, come into general use, and entirely supersede the 

 foreign article. They are formed altogether of iron, the 

 foot piece being a thin plate of that metal, and the runner 

 fastened to it, by having several projecting points passing 

 through holes drilled in the foot piece, and rivetted, form- 

 ing a strong and immovable union, a point in which the 

 common kind is very deficient. 



The principal advantages consist in the breadth of the 

 foot plate, and the foot being brought much nearer the ice. 

 R 



The plate being made right and left, gives the entire 

 breadth of the sole of the boot. It is also a little hollowed 

 and turned upwards in front, fitting the shape of the sole 

 exactly, and so pleasantly, that a slight strapping suffices to 

 hold it firm. Instead of being strapped from toe to heel, 

 as in the common way, the strap forms a bracing across 

 the foot, with four attachments on each side. The pressure 

 is thus so equalized as to make it very comfortable; upon 

 taking off these Skates, after hours of use, no cramping of 

 the foot is felt; the great advantage in having so many 

 bearings of the straps is, that the pressure of the large and 

 continually moving tendons of the instep is avoided. 



The runners are brought up in front till they turn over 

 and touch the top of the foot, and being rounded on the 

 edges and highly burnished, the appearance is light and 

 handsome; this form is not given merely to please the eye, 

 for if every Skater used this shape, those accidents which 

 sometimes happen by two persons hooking the points of 

 their Skates together, would never occur. The best im- 

 provement, lately discovered, consists in making the run- 

 ner the entire length of the foot, letting it come back to the 

 extremity of the heel. 



That great desideratum, the firm fixture of the Skate to 

 the heel, has, by a very simple plan, been perfected in the 

 new kind; it is a small ketch at the extreme end of the 

 heel, which is with great facility attached to a screw head 

 that is fixed and remains in the boot heel. 



The iron soled Skate is not a new invention; it was used 

 in the family of the late Mr. Peale more than thirty years 

 back. 



In the compilation of this article, we are indebted to one 

 or two friends, adepts in the art of Skating, for their ideas 

 upon the subject, and have also derived some assistance 

 from a piece under that head, to be found in Nicholson's 

 Encyclopedia. Should what we have written tend to 

 bring this delightful pastime into general practice in the 

 winter season, we shall be more than repaid for any little 

 trouble its preparation may have occasioned. P. 



STRICTURE ON I. T. S. 



Messrs. Editors, 



In the second number of your interesting work, a cor- 

 respondent has presented your readers with an entertain- 

 ing and lengthy account ot "Chesapeake Duck Shooting." 

 I read it with considerable pleasure, as well from the faith- 

 fulness of his description, as from a natural fondness I have 

 for sporting, or for any thing that has a tendency to keep 

 alive its spirit; in giving his ideas, however, of shooting, so 

 far as relates to directing the gun in advance of the duck 



