FOREST AND STREAM 
Bits 
over the Somerville Range. That other archers have suf¬ 
fered from the evil of a bad range appears to me to be 
evident from the, lists of "highest scores” made at the 
four great annual meetings of the archers of Great 
Britain. 
At the Leamington and Midland Counties’ meetings 
held at .Leamington, scores of over 1,000 points have six 
times been made, and twice 1,100 has been passed, while 
at the Crystal Palace Meetings, no score of 1,000 points 
has over been reached, although Ford and Fisher and 
I tram hall and Spottiswoode and Moore, shot there iu the 
days of their glory. At the Grand National Meeting, al¬ 
though held at a clifferent plaoe each year, scores of over 
1,000 points have four tunes berm passed, once by Fisher, 
and three times by Ford; and at oue meeting the splendid 
score of 1251 points was achieved by Mr. Ford. The 
Grand Western Mooting which is annually changed to a 
different locality, has several times witnessed scores of 
over 1,000 points, and the only possible reason why no 
such score is recorded in the annals of the Crystal Palace 
meetings is, that the beautiful grounds there are not fa¬ 
vorable for good scoring. 
Iu choosing grounds for a great public meeting, it should 
be the care of the committee to get such a range as gives 
prospect of fine scoring, for nothing adds more to the en¬ 
joyment of a meeting, than the fact of every archer scor¬ 
ing well up to his standard. 
All grounds in proximity to large buildings as are the 
Crystal Palace grounds, and the Base-ball Park, at Chi¬ 
cago, are bad, as the huge walls dwarf the appearance of 
the targets, and give an uncertain look to the distances. 
Grounds in the vicinity of green trees are very favorable, 
as the back ground is soft to the eye, the targets are in 
flue relief, and the wind is usually less severe than in 
open fields. From experience I have found that it mat¬ 
ters very little whether the ground he level or not, pro¬ 
vided one target he not greatly elevated above another, 
It would not seem possible that the variance of grounds 
should materially effect the scoring, hut that such is the 
fact few archers will doubt, and it is to be hoped that the 
gentlemen who shall choose the grounds for the next 
National meeting will look to this fact in making their 
selection. Will H. Thompson. 
ARCHERY IN THE WINTER. 
S INCE the fine weather of October is past, and inmost 
parts of the country it is becoming so cold that shoot¬ 
ing out-doors is exceedingly uncomfortable, especially for 
ladies, we must try our ingenuity in devising means to 
prosecute an indoor campaign against the target. In 
most of our cities a hall can be obtained where ranges of 
from thirty to sixty yards may he laid out, and much fine 
sport had, while the muscles can be kept in training 
throughout the winter, and the usual “ let down ” in the 
spring avoided. Where a hall is obtainable, the target 
should be? well raised, say four feet from thefloor, so that 
the shooting at even thirty yards will be with the left 
hand, so much raised as to somewhat resemble the greater 
, elevation of sixty yards. The wall behind tho target 
should be well padded to preserve the arrows, and the tar¬ 
get, instead of being placed upon an easel or tripod, should 
be suspended by f our ropes, two running, one to the right, 
one to the left from the target „o the ceiling, and two run¬ 
ning, the one to the right, the other to the left, from the 
target to the floor. If these ropes are stiffly drawn, the 
target will be suspended in good form, and the breaking 
of arrows upon t he legs of target stands avoided. For the 
ladies the short ranges indoors will be found ample for 
winter practice, and while the gentlemen will not derive 
so much benefit from the short range practice, they will 
keen up their control of the. bow, and the fingers of the 
drawing hand will not forget their cunning. To any gen¬ 
tlemen, however, who have the hardihood of the writer, 
we would advise the open field practice over the same 
ranges used during the summer. Last winter the writer 
paid little regard to the weather, shooting many a York 
Round when the snow was six inches deep upon the 
ground, crusted with an icy surface, the thermometer 
nearly down to zero, and the wind whirling the frost m 
liia face. It is true he lost many good arrows under the 
snow, but they all came to light this spring again ! Mr. 
H C Carver, the Hon. Secretary of the National Associ¬ 
ation. did likewise, and many indeed were the pleasant 
letters received from him iu which he related his experi¬ 
ences in the snow. Iu England several winter practice 
clubs were formed this year, and next spring will show 
the exeat improvement of the members. One winter prac¬ 
tice club formed last fall, shot through last winter though 
the weather was of unexampled severity. Two meetings 
were held when the snow was twenty-two inches deep ! 
Their winter practice is controlled by certain rules winch 
would certainly work well with us. They permit any one 
of the ranges 'of the York Round to be shot upon any 
day and the balance of the round to be shot at any other 
time and place, provided, however, that every arrow shot 
shall be counted upon the round. Thus one may shoot 
34 arrows at 60 yards oue day ntKohomo, Indiana, a week 
after he may shoot 31 arrows at 80 yards at Highland 
Park, Illinois. Three days later, while visiting the Brook¬ 
lyn Archers, he may shoot 34 more arrows at 80 yards. A 
fortnight later, upon his own grounds, lie may shoot 73 
arrows at 100 yards, and thus complete a single A oik 
Round. The chib offers prizes for best average during the 
winter, for best individual round, tor best score at 100 
var< is at 80 yards, at 60 yards, and for most golds. Also 
for greatest gross score for the entire winter, for greatest 
number of rounds shot, and other similar prizes. No ar¬ 
cher being allowed to take more than two prizes It seems 
that such a society upon a large scale might be 1 mined of 
the leading shots of America, and tlie results given peri¬ 
odically to the Forest and Stream. Such a society 
should be composed of not less than fifty archers, and as 
many more as should desire to shoot through the winter. 
Sueli a society would be of vast advantage to American 
ardherv as the comparisons of results, and the interest oc¬ 
casioned by the publication of the scores would create a 
healthy rivalrv, and produce by the next national meet¬ 
ing several archers capable of commanding 800 points at 
the Double York Round. Every member could shoot Ins 
rounds at home, upon his own range, and report the same 
to the Forest and Stream, and thus every other number 
would at once bo apprised of the result. Or all scores 
could be sent in to the secretary ot the society and he 
c u d report them weekly to the Forest and Stream, 
TTiere can be no doubt that every member wouldbe greatly 
benefitted by the association with other archers, and 
much friendly competition would be thus provoked. The 
result of tho four great meetings in England this year 
demonstrated the vast ail vantages possessed by those who 
had braved the snow and wind of an unusually severe 
winter, and came into their spring campaign at a point 
where their less timorous competitors could only stand 
after two or three months practice. 'Who will join t he 
Winter Practice Club? Let us try the long winter to¬ 
gether. The winds will ho cold, but the joy of the ener¬ 
getic leap of the bow, and the scurrying of tlie arrows 
will temper their bitterness. Will H. Thompson. 
The Proof of Tins Pudding.—T o the Editor of Forest 
and Stream. —I noticed in your issue of November 1.1th, 
an article by Mr. Aldred respecting the superiority of his 
yew hows. There have been quite a number of very in¬ 
teresting articles in your paper during the past season, in 
which the comparative merits of English and American 
hows have been fully discussed, and it seems as though 
nearly every argument, pro and con, had been employed, 
and probably without mailing many converts on either 
side. 
It is a familiar old adage that the best proof of the 
pudding is in its eating, which is equivalent to saying 
that the cook’s arguments in favor of his pudding are 
not as convincing as the pudding ’3 own performance. 
Now. there is no argument that a buyer can make in 
favor of his bows which will be as satisfactory as a good 
bow. 
In the various public archery entertainments given 
during the past summer, the American bows did as well 
in every respect, as the English bow of the same material. 
It is nonsense to compare an English made bow of Spanish 
yew, with an American made lance or snakewood ; the 
woods are totally different in texture, toughness and driv¬ 
ing power. Of course, those who can afford it, would 
prefer a fine Spanish yew to a lancewood or a snake bow. 
But this Beason two new kinds of bow, peculiarly 
American, have appeared in the field (I refer to Malle- 
son’s split bamboo and Sutton’s rawhide backed bow) 
which bid fair to give our English brethren no little 
trouble in maintaining themselves, even with their yews. 
Of the two, I have had greater experience with tho bam¬ 
boo, and canthereforespeak of it with tlie move confidence, 
having shot one for over nine months. This is a fifty-one 
pound bow, and it has shot upwards of 8,000 thirty inch 
arrows during the past summer, yet it still seems good for 
as many more. For smoothness, elasticity and power, I 
would like to compare it with any of Mi-. Aldred’s yews 
of the same weight, 
Now, Mr. Sutton and Mr. Malleson show their confi¬ 
dence in their bows in a manner that our English friends, 
1 1 believe, do not. They guarantee them. Will Mr. Al¬ 
dred, or any other English maker do the same? Will Mr. 
Aldred malm a yew bow, any style, between forty and fifty- 
pounds in weight, which he will guarantee to shoot 5,000 
thirty inch arrows, not to say 8,000, and agree to re-place 
the bow or return the money if it fails ? 
If not, it will he hard for him to compete with the gen¬ 
tlemen named. 
Archers in this Country will hardly care to pay $50 or 
$100 for a how which may go to pieces in a week, when 
they can got a bow substantially as good hi every respect 
for $30, which will last for years. 
Will Mr. Aldred put his pudding to the test of eating ? 
New York City, November 20th. \V. C. Beecher, 
The Spi.it Bamboo Bow.— New York, Nov. 28th —Ed¬ 
itor Forest and Stream: —In answer to Mr, Will Thomp¬ 
son's very interesting article on bows, we wish particu¬ 
larly to explain somewhat the action of his split bamboo, 
The' one Mr, Thompson mentions was one of the very 
first we made ; wo found the great difficulty was in get¬ 
ting them to bend evenly, for the split bamboo differs 
from the wooden bow insomuch it can not bealtered after 
it has been once put together. Now, we have no trouble 
1 in this respect, as experience lias taught us to gauge them 
(perfectly, Mr. Thompson's bow was faulty from this 
defect, and not from the giving out of the glue as lie sup¬ 
poses ; for the cement used in construction is tlie same 
as iu the split bamboo rods, which can be used day after 
day in the rain without injury, and soaking in water will 
not affect them, much lass standing against a damp wall. 
In regard to the bow mentioned by the gentleman in Mar¬ 
ietta, we would like to state that he ordered it backed 
with snakewood, a material we do not approve of, and 
however disastrous it may have been to the bow, it cer¬ 
tainly was not to him, as we have never been paid for it. 
Conroy , Bissett & Malleson. 
Highland Park, TIL, Nov. 27f7i,—Sever val of our ar¬ 
chers found time, after giving thanks and paying their 
respects to the turkey,'to engage in a contest for a fine 
Spalding cedar and hickory bow, offered by Mr. H, C. 
Carver. 
The shooting was done over Mr. Carver’s range, with 
a target at either end. 
The weather was not all that could be desired, it hav¬ 
ing rained hard during the morning, making the ground 
very muddy. The last 24 arrows were shot in the dark, 
it being after five o’clock and the sky overcast. 
Each archer kept his own score ; but a few were too 
modest to furnish your correspondent with theirs. Mr. 
Street did not complete his, but shot well for one com¬ 
mencing this season, and having practiced hut little. 
Score:— 
1st 21 Slid 24 3U24 Uh 24 ot/l 24 «t)i 24 Mot. 
Ml*. Gray . 1S-94 23-96 19-103 17-TO 144- 00 19-73 113-All 
Hr. Weston... 19-81 17-83 33-108 22-104 22-101 15-47 117-027 
Mr. Carver... 10-81 13-88 20- 94 21- 85 21 85 20-82 110-618 
Mr. Street.... 14-40 12-50 17- 73 IS- 85 15- <0 
Range, 00yards; number oC arrows, 144. 
Several of the Forest and Stream correspondents 
have argued that American made bows are better than 
English, because those using them have been able to 
win in some contests, notably at the Boston meeting of 
tlie Eastern Archery Association. 
By such a line of argument it is certainly easy to de¬ 
cide which maker’s bow is best. For instance, it will be 
seen by the above score that Mr. Gray won, Now, Mr. 
Gray’s bow was the poorest used in the contest. It was 
an Aldred lance, and there were several Aldred yews 
used. Therefore, a lance will not break as readily, and 
shoot stronger, in a word, is abetter bow than a yew. 
Wouldn’t it be well to give the shooter a share in the 
credit for some victories won ? 
THE GAME OF CRICKET. 
AVERAGES FOR 1870. 
OTTAWA CRICKET CLUB. 
SUMMARY of matches. 
During the season tlie Ottawa Cricket Club played eight 
matches, two of which were inter-club games'between 
sides selected from Old Countrymen and Canadian mem¬ 
bers. Out of the six against foreign teams it won three, 
lost two, and had one drawn. 
May* 3d, at Ottawa, Lords and Commons vs. Ottawa 
Cricket Club : — 
Lords and Commons, First Innings, 57: Second innings, 17. 
Ottawa Cricket, Club, First innings, ITU. 
Won by Ottawa Cricket Club iu olio innings and 98 runs. 
Messrs. Daly and Deerdney. M. P.’s lor the Lord and 
Commons, played well for 30 and 11 respectively. Tho 
Marquis of Lome scored Q and 5, and bowled, despite of an 
injury to his ankle, 5 overs, 2 maidens, 5 runs, 2 wicliets, 
besides oatching two others in the field. The Hon. C. 
Harbord, A. D. 0., played a splendid free innings of 40. 
Brophy, 38 ; Richards, 21 ; Powell) 17 ; G. Brunei, 16 ; 
Baker, 13 ; Gill, 11, were the other double figure scorers. 
May 17tli, at Ottawa— Club match — Old Countrymen 
vs. Canadians: — 
Old Countrymen, First innings, 105 ; Second innings, 49—for 2 
wickets. 
Canadians, First innings, 152. 
Drawn in favor of Canadians. 
For the Old Countrymen, Baker scored 34 and 23 not 
out; Macfarlane. 27; Russell Stepheuson, 23 not out. 
For Canadians. Nutting, 35 j May*, 26 ; Brophy. 15 : G. 
Brunei, 15 ; J, Brunei, 15 ; Jarvis, 11, were the principal 
scorers, 
May ,27th and 28th, at Montreal, Ottawa Cricket Club 
vs. Montreal Cricket Club : — 
Ottawa Ciickct Club, First Innings, 98; Second innings, 94. 
Montreal Cricket Club, First innings, 132; Second innings, 87— 
for 3 wickets. 
Won by Montreal Cricket Club by 7 wickets. 
For tlie winners, Gordon, Gough, and Galt, 85, 26, mid 
31, respectively in the first ; and Hare and Gough, 39 not 
out, and 20 not out. in the second innings, were the prin¬ 
cipal scorers ; and Brodie, 24 and 25 ; Powell, 8 and 20 ; 
Baker, 0 and 22; Brophy, 14 not out and 3; Smith, 11 
and 1, for the losers. 
June 14th and 2lst, at Ottawa, Ottawa Cricket Club vs. 
"West End Cricket Club : — 
Ottawa Cricket Club. First innings, 227. 
West End Crickot Club, First inning s, 60; Second innings, 65— 
or 7 wickets. 
Won by Ottawa Cricket Club on First innings by 467 runs. 
For the Ottawa Cricket Club, Smith, 58; Richards, 42 ; 
Brophy, 35 ; Brodie, 3*1 not out ; G. Brunei, 17, were the 
chief contributors, and for the losers Rev. T. D. Plril- 
lipps, 23 and 16 ; and S. A. Macfarlane, 12 and 15. 
July 1st and 2d, at Ottawa, Ottawa Cricket Club vs. 
Montreal Cricket Club. (Return): — 
Ottawa Cricket Club, First innings, 81; Second innings, 101. 
Montreal Cricket Club, First innings, 317; Second innings, 134. 
Won by Montreal Cricket Club by 01 runs. 
For Montreal Cricket Club, Gough scored 50 and 14 ; 
C. McLean, 16 and 55 ; J. Smith, 23 and 3; Badglev, 0 
and 24. For Ottawa Cricket Club, Brodie got 18 and’28 : 
Jarvis, 4 and 20 ; and Hiniswortli, 14 and 7. 
Aug. 3d, at Ottawa, Ottawa Cricket Club vs. West End 
Cricket Club. (Return);— 
Ot lawn Cricket Club, First innings, 138. 
Weal. End Cricket Club, First innings, 00—for 8 wickets. 
Drawn. 
For Ottawa Cricket Club, Smith, 61 not out ; Brophy-, 
18 -‘Brodie, 16 : J. Brunei, 11; and for West End Cricket 
Club, Ret*. T. D. Phillipps, not out 27; and Paine, 16, were 
the chief scorers. 
Aug. 5th, at Ottawa, Ottawa Cricket Club vs, Upper 
Canada College : — 
Aug. 7th, 8th, at Ottawa, Ottawa Cricket Club vs. Tor¬ 
onto Cricket Club 
Ottawa Cricket Club, First innings, 95; Second innings, 78. 
Toronto Cricket Club, First innings, 50; Second innings, 61). 
Won by Ottawa Cricket Club by 6, runs. 
For tlie winners G. Brunei, 51; Smith) 24 in the first; 
and Fellows, 26 ; Brodie, 12 not out; and Smith, 10, were 
the scorers. For Toronto Cricket Club, Behan, 14; Towns¬ 
end, 12, in'the first innings; and Sproule, 25 ; Adams, 13, 
in the second innings. 
Brophy’s bowling in this match was remarkable. 
First Innings. 
Overs. Bulls. Maidens. Puns. Wichete. 
21 85 11 18 5 
Second Innings. 
25 102 33 24 0 
Oct. 6th, at Ottawa—Club match—Old Countrymen vs. 
Canadians. (Return) 
Old Countrymen, First innings, 65; Second innings, 64—for 4 
wickets. 
Canadians, First innings, 110. 
Won by Canadians on First innings by 45 runs. 
The Marquis of Lome scored 7 and 1, and fielded ad¬ 
mirably. Dickie, 14 ; Balter, 12; Rev, T. D. Phillipps, 
14 and 10 not out; and Harbord, 11, were the chief con¬ 
tributors for the Ottawa Club, and for Canada, Richards. 
25 ; Brophy, 18; Himsworth, 15; Gill, 12; and Powell, 10, 
BATTING AVERAGES. 
W. B. Halter... 
C. H. Brudiu... 
G. Brunei. 
J. Brunei- 
,1. B. Bropliy. . 
R. Gill . 
C. Harbord . .. 
W. Hiuisworlh 
B, W. Powell.. 
S. O. Richards. 
D. J. Smith ... 
15.62 
18.27 
13.20 
( 1.00 
18.50 
5.90 
10.83 
6.90 
10.90 
12.59 
38.90 
* Not out. 
