106 
THE YOUNG SCIEISTTIST. 
water. To make the lesson simple, there 
are three motions of legs and arms, which 
are numbered, and must be accurately 
performed as follows : 
With the arms — Bring the hands with 
the palms close together, in front of the 
chest and directly under the chin, the 
lingers pointing straight in front. 
At " one," stretch the arms out to their 
full extent in front, the palms still close 
together, and the hands about two inches 
under the surface of the water. 
At "two," separate the hands and turn 
the wrists slightly until the hands are 
lying flat on the water; now brace the 
wrists, and, without bending the elbows, 
bring the arms slowly round, describing 
with each a quarter circle, until hands, 
arms and shoulders are in a straight line 
across. 
At "three," let- the palms face toward 
the feet, and bring the hands in a straight 
line to the position whence they started. 
While this movement is being performed, 
the fingers should be pointed partly to 
the bottom of the pond and in a slanting 
direction toward the front. 
Practice these movements until they are 
performed accurately. Now keep the hands 
in the third position, and practice the 
kick before beginning, which brings the 
feet close up to the body, toes and knees 
turned in the same direction outward. 
With the legs— At " one," kick the legs 
out to their full extent, as wide apart as 
possible. Be sure, when practicing this 
part of the kick, to have the toes turned 
to the side outward, and keep the ankles 
perfectly stiff. 
At " two." brace the knees, toes turned 
downward, and, without jerking, bring 
the legs together, joint for joint. 
At "three," bring the feet close up to 
the body, the heels touching and the 
knees again turned to the side, the toes to 
be pointed sideways immediately the feet 
tire close to the body. 
Practice these movements slowly, dis- 
tinctly, and separately, until each one is 
performed perfectly. Then begin the 
movements of arms and legs simulta- 
neously as follows : 
At "one," put the arms out in front, 
and kick the legs wide apart. 
At "two," bring the arms round, de- 
scribing the quarter circle, at the same 
time pulling the legs together until they 
touch. 
At "three," return the hands to the 
original position, and bring the heels 
close up to the body, knees and toes 
turned out. 
Work, with legs and arms in unison, 
slowly at first, and counting each move- 
ment. In a short time the motions will 
be performed quite mechanically, and, 
once they are learned, they are not easily 
forgotten. 
The following hints in reference to the 
movements will be of some service to the 
advanced swimmer as well as to the 
learner : 
While performing the first part of the 
kick, be sure the legs are as wide apart as 
possible from each other, the effort being- 
made to kick sideways and backward, not 
downward. The reasons for this are ob- 
vious. In the first place, kicking down- 
ward gives an ungainly jerk to the body, 
spoiling the appearance of the stroke, 
and is also a waste of strength, as it sends 
the body, or part of it, out of the water, 
while every effort should be made to 
propel the body forward. 
Number two of the kick is the most im- 
portant motion of any, and, strange to 
say, the one most neglected by self-taught 
swimmers. It is actually the propelling 
power in swimming ; for, when the legs 
are brought firmly together, the body is 
shot forward. Therefore, the wider the 
legs are kicked apart, and the firmer they 
are pulled together, the greater will be the 
speed attained. Every swimmer should 
have this constantly in mind. 
The motions one and two of the legs 
should be performed in as nearly one 
movement as possible. 
The instructions as to the movement of 
the ankle-joint, in number three, should 
be also borne in mind, as it is indispensa- 
ble to perfection in swimming, and is 
done that there may be as little friction or 
resistance as possible when the feet are 
being returned to renew the stroke. The 
toes are turned out again, to allow of the 
feet being kicked out with less waste of 
strength than could otherwise be the case. 
