6 
THE YOUNG SCIENTIST. 
either in the open air or in a room ; (4) 
their weight can be adapted to the age 
and strength of the user. 
With regard to the price, they can be 
obtained of any wood-turner at from 6 to 
12 cents per ib. (unpolished). We should 
certainly recommend the learner to pur- 
chase unpolished clubs, for in the course 
of practice he is sure to bruise them by 
knocking them together, and the damage 
shows more plainly upon a polished than 
an unpolished surface. But when he has 
become accustomed to the manipulation 
of the clubs, then he may obtain the more 
showy article. 
Of course, every boy will know that the 
clubs are made of wood ; elm is the best 
kind and mostly in use. Sometimes they 
are turned out of a lighter wood— such as 
pine— and are weighted to the required 
extent by molten lead being i)Oured into 
a hole at the bottom of the club ; but we 
must caution the would-be "clubbist" 
against buying such an article, for the 
weight should not be concentrated at the 
bottom, but should be contained in the 
wood itself, which allows of the club 
being properly balanced, without which 
true grace and elegance can never be ac- 
quired. 
As to the shape, that most generally in 
use, and which is decidedly the best, is 
shown in the accompanying illustrations. 
We now come to a most important con- 
sideration—viz., the weight to be used, 
which should be in proportion to the 
strength and weight of the performer. It 
is almost impossible to lay down any law 
upon the subject, but the following scale 
may be taken as a guide : 
For a boy of 10 years old, % to 3 lb. each club. 
11 " 3|to4 1b. 
12 " 4* to 5 lb. 
13 " 5^ to 6 lb. 
14 " 6* to 7 lb. 
14 and over 7^ to 8 lb. 
These figures refer only to the light clubs 
or dual exercises— that is, when a club is 
used in each hand. For the single, or 
"heavy club" exercises, of course, the 
weight can be increased, but of that we 
will treat later on. 
Many of our readers may consider these 
weights " a mere nothing," and quite un- 
worthy of their muscular powers. But it 
is a great mistake to suppose that the 
benefit to be obtained from Indian clubs 
is in proportion to their weight, and in 
the exertion required in manipulating" 
them. On the contrary, the easier the 
exercise (within reasonable limits of 
course) the better, for practice being then 
a pleasure, can be sustained for a longer 
period, and by this means the muscles 
become gradually developed, and subse- 
quent fatigue is avoided. 
We have said that the weight of the club 
should be in proportion to the weight of 
the user. We will justify this advice by an 
explanation. We will suppose that a boy 
of twelve years of age weighs 84 pounds, 
and another boy of the same age weighs 
91 pounds; the latter, (presuming both 
boys' muscular development to be about 
equal) could use a heavier pair of club& 
than the former, because he would have 
greater weight in his body to counter- 
balance the weight of the clubs. 
In order to impress our young friends- 
with the correctness of this principle we 
would point out to them that in perform- 
ing exercises upon a fixed gymnastic ap- 
paratus (such as the horizontal bar) the 
gymnast has only to use muscular exer- 
tion i:)roportionate to his bodily weight. 
If, however, he were to carry about him 
any weighty articles, or even wear a pair 
of heavy boots, he would experience a 
greater difficulty in performing the exer- 
cise, and perhaps fail altogether, and his 
exertions would soon produce fatigue. 
Therefore do not be too ambitious in 
selecting your clubs, but be contented 
with the weights we have recommended, 
which, although they appear small on 
paper, will be found quite heavy enough 
in p7^actice. The writer, who has used the 
Indian clubs constantly for the last ten 
years, never has a pair of greater weight 
than eight pounds each. 
The length of the clubs must be varied 
to the height of the performer. With the 
clubs standing on the ground and the 
hands hanging down, as in Fig. 1, there 
should be a space of about two inches be- 
tween the handles and the tips of the 
fingers, so that it becomes necessary to 
stoop slightly in order to grasp the 
clubs. When fewung round they should 
