AMERICAN AO-RICULTURIST 
195 
1880 .] 
said 1 did no worse than she did. She sold an old 
pair of pantaloons to the peddler for twenty cents— 
not a large sum for them—and learned afterwards 
that a new seventy-five cent knife was in one of the 
pockets, and went of course- with the garment. 
Out-Door Games.—Lawn Tennis. 
The desirability of excise in the open air need 
not be argued ; all sensible persons admit it at 
once, but when they come to the question of “ways 
and means,” the manner of securing this exercise, 
there will be fouud great differences of opinion. 
Some over-practical persons will say, “my girls can 
get all the exercise they need in making the beds 
v,nd sweeping the rooms,”or that “my boys get 
exercise enough behind the plow during the day.” 
Such persons fail to appreciate the difference be¬ 
tween work and beneficial exercise ; those very 
girls will be as wide awake for a turn at croquet or 
the boys for a game of ball as if they had been idle 
all day. Useful exercise, in the way of recreation, 
Is something more than a mere mechanical move¬ 
ment of the muscles. Exercise as such, undertaken 
as a recreation, only brings its best results when it 
occupies both the mind and the body, and when the 
movements of the body are directed to the accom¬ 
plishment of some end that the mind has planned. 
The best recreation is that which is directed to the 
overcoming of some obstacle, or to excelling some 
rival. Open air exercise to be most beneficial 
Fig. 2.—A RACQUETTE. 
should be social, it ought to allow both sexes to 
participate, it should be competitive, and unlike 
any form of work. Croquet acquired its popular¬ 
ity, because it met all the requirements of an out¬ 
door recreation. The same may be said of 
Archery, though it has not become equally popu¬ 
lar. But we naturally incline to variety, even in 
our amusements, and any out-door game to be 
popular must have all the essentials of croquet. It 
must be social, easily learned. There must be a 
demand for skill which calls for the exercise of 
both mind and body, it must include competition 
or rivalry, and the outfit and appliances must not 
be too expensive. Lawn Tennis is all these, and 
its popularity in England, though the game has 
been slow in crossing the Atlantic, is but the pre¬ 
lude to that which awaits it in this country. Ten¬ 
nis proper, is one of the games that have a history ; 
it became popular in Europe in the ISth century, 
and is said to closely resemble, if it be not actually 
derived from, a game of the ancient Greeks and 
Romans. In historical works and in fiction in which 
the scene dates back a few centuries, we find men¬ 
tion of the “Tennis-Court,” as the game required a 
space 112 by 40 feet, and surrounded by a wall 20 
feet high on the sides and 30 feet at the ends. It 
was originally played by striking the ball with the 
hand, which was protected by a strong glove. In 
the 15th century, the “ racket ” was introduced, 
a strong and peculiarly-shaped battledore for strik¬ 
ing the ball instead of using the hand. This caused 
a change in the name of the game, which was form¬ 
erly called paume, the ball being struck with the 
palm of the hand ; but the player with the racket 
was cautioned by the cry of: tenez (pronounced 
ten-nay) which means “ hold ” or “hold hard,” as it 
required a firm hand, and in time the word be¬ 
came adopted as the name of the game. But the 
game has been mod¬ 
ernized and im¬ 
proved ; it is now 
played upon the open 
lawn, which is not 
only vastly more 
cheerful, but brings 
the game within the 
reach of all who have 
a grass plot of mod¬ 
erate size. The space 
for the game is still 
called a court; it is 
marked out, usually 
27 by 78 feet, though 
the dimensions vary. 
Across the middle is 
a net which is stretch¬ 
ed between 2 posts; 
this is 44 feet high at 
the posts and 3 feet 
in the center. The 
space each side of 
the net is divided 
into four parts, each having their names; the balls 
are about 21 inches in diameter, of rubber, and 
variously covered. The Racquettes, or bats, are re¬ 
garded as a most important part of the outfit, and 
good players are very particular in their choice of 
them. They look something like a highly civilized, 
long-heeled and rather one-sided snow-shoe, as, like 
that, they consist of a frame-work strung with cat¬ 
gut ; some styles are of different colored woods 
and highly pblished. These are the materials re¬ 
quired for the game ; as to the game itself we do 
not propose to describe it further than to say that, 
like all such games, there is an attempt of one side 
to do something with the ball, and it is the object 
of the other side to prevent its being done. It is 
of course governed by various laws in the observ¬ 
ance and violation or neg¬ 
lect of which the gains or 
losses are made. The great 
strength the old game re¬ 
quired of the player, in 
striking the ball with the 
hand, gives place to skill 
and dexterity in the modern 
player, who finds the wield¬ 
ing of the racquette a 
healthful exercise, quite sufficient for the develop¬ 
ment of strength of body, and ease and grace of 
movement. Lawn Tennis bids fair to have a long 
career and not less popular than that of Croquet. 
Household Notes and Queries. 
The Clothes Line.— By many persons the 
clothes line is looked upon as a general necessity 
but a very common nuisance—and in many cases 
the judgment is a just one. The clothes line is 
proverbially in the way, especially if an axe is to be 
used in splitting wood in the back yard. This ought 
not to be. The line should be taken down so 60 on 
as the clothes are removed. Of the many devices 
for doing this the oldest seems to be the best: the 
simple method of winding it over the elbow and 
hand, and securing the coil with the end of the 
rope. The various patent folding clothes bows 
have the advantage of closing up into a small space 
when not in use, and some allow of the frame and 
line, to be readily removed to the house. What¬ 
Fig. 1.—A BOX OF TENNIS GOODS. 
ever the method of suspending the line, let it 
be as much out of the passage ways as possible. 
A Home Made Table. —The table which is 
shown in the accompanying engraving, is one that 
can be constructed in the farm work-shop during 
rainy days, and thus afford pleasant occupation for 
the older boys. A light table that can be easily 
moved, is one that every sitting room should pos¬ 
A HANDr SITTING-ROOM TABLE. 
sess—one that can be drawn up to the fire, ( . 
front of the window, and yet one that is not e sily 
overturned. The kind of wood used, and thj de¬ 
gree of ornamentation, will depend upon the lum¬ 
ber at hand, the skill of the person, and the time 
at his disposal. Light wood, like pine, or white 
wood, serves best for the top, with its narrow 
edging, while a stronger wood, like ash, will be 
best for the legs. The whole table may be made 
of inch stuff, excepting the edging to the top, 
which should be thinner. A table thus constructed 
and afterwards covered with a close fitting cloth 
will be a very handy addition to the sitting room. 
Shoe-Blacking Stands. — It is not expected thai 
very much of a shine is to be kept on the “ every 
day ” farm boots, but those for Sunday and other 
special occasions, should have a polish, because it 
adds so much to the neatness of the person at 
very little cost. A box of blacking and a brush, 
with a few minutes now and then, are all the neces¬ 
saries ; but the great trouble is often in finding these 
three elements: brush, blacking, and time all to¬ 
gether. Too frequently the blacking and brush are 
put up in some out-of-the-way place, and often un- 
a home-made blacking-stand. 
duly separated, so that it takes too much time to 
find them, and if found, the brush may be dusty 
and dirty and the blacking spoiled. All trouble of 
this kind may be saved by having a small Blacking 
Stand like the one shown in the engraving, in which 
the “ tools ” may be safely kept, and are then al¬ 
ways at hand. A thing is handy only when it is at 
hand, and in little matters like the one in question, 
this is the all important point. This stand serves 
a double purpose : as a place to keep the brush and 
blacking, and when the cover is turned back, a 
rest for the foot while the boot or shoe is being 
polished. This is far better than using a chair, 
both in its being more handy and saving the latter 
from being marred. The older boys, and the young 
men especially, should provide themselves with 
such stands, either by making them, or by pur¬ 
chase, as they can be obtained at the furniture 
stores in a great variety of shapes, sizes, and styles, 
some of which make very nice stools, and can 
be used as a “step” for reaching high objects. 
