The Book Of Sports

Ring Taw
This is played in the following manner:--A circle should be drawn about four feet in diameter, and an inner circle of about six inches being also marked out in its centre, into this each boy puts a marble. "Now ...

Lag Out Or Knock Out
This game is played by throwing a marble against the wall, which rebounds to a distance. Others then follow; and the boy whose marble strikes against any of the others is the winner. Some boys play the game in a ra...

Three Holes
Three Holes is not a bad game. To play it, you must make three small holes about four feet apart: then the first shot tries to shoot a marble into the first hole. If he gets in, he goes from that to the second, a...

Arches
To play arches, the players must be provided with a board of the following shape, with arches cut therein; each arch being a little more than the diameter of a marble, and each space between the arches the same....

Bonce-eye
Bonce-Eye is played by each player putting down a marble within a small ring, and dropping from the eye another marble upon them so as to drive them out, those driven out being the property of the Boncer. The law...

Sun And The Planet Taw
This is an entirely new game, and consists of the Sun in the centre, which may be represented by a bullet, because the sun is the most ponderous body of the system, and will in this game be required to move slow...

Motions Of The Planets And Their Satellites
10. When a planet is knocked out of the outer ring (the orbit of Herschel), it belongs to him who strikes it out: the loser must replace it by putting a marble down in its _original_ place. 11. When a planet is s...

Pyramid
To play Pyramid, a small circle of about two feet in diameter should be made on the ground, in the centre of which is a pyramid formed by several marbles,--nine being placed as the base, then a layer of four, and o...

Prisoners' Base
To play this, there must be a number of boys, not less than eight or ten, and as many more as can be got together. To commence it, two semicircles are drawn against a wall or hedge at the opposite sides of the play...

Stag Out
In this game, one boy personates the Stag, and with his hands closed together, starts from his bounds after the other players. When he succeeds in touching one who is called the Ass, the first who gets to him rides...

Warning
This game is something similar to another very good game called "Warning," which may be played by any number of players. One begins the game in the same manner as in "Stag Out," repeating the following words,--"War...

Mouse In The Corner
In this game, one of the players takes the part of Puss, and places himself in the centre, and the others playing take up their positions in the four corners of the playground. Each of the players calls out, "Puss,...

King Of The Castle
This is not a bad game. One player, called King of the Castle, places himself on a little rising mound; the other players endeavour to push or pull him from his elevation, and whoever succeeds in this, takes his pl...

Hippas
This game is something like the preceding, only that one boy mounts on the back of another, who is called his Horse, another boy does the same, and the two mounted boys endeavour to pull each other from the saddl...

Thread The Needle
This is a good game,--any number of boys may play it. It is begun by joining hands; and the two outside players at each end commence the game by the following dialogue:-- How many miles to Babylon? Thr...

Touch
This is a game of speed. One volunteers to be Touch, and he pursues the other players till he comes up with one of them and touches him; unless the player so touched can say, "I touch iron," or, "I touch wood," bef...

Bowls
"I will play at _Bowls_ with the sun and moon."--_Byron._ "He who plays _Bowls_ must expect rubbers."--_Bowles._ This is one of the best of games for hot or cold weather, for it is excellent exercise,...

Quoits
"_Quoit_ me down, Bardolph."--_Shakspeare._ The game of Quoits resembles Bowls. It is played with flat rings of iron of various weights. At a certain number of paces apart (to be agreed upon), two circular p...

Why And Because
This is also a new game, and one of those that combine amusement and instruction. To play it, a king must be chosen, who is called "King of the Shy," who sets up a brick on its end and puts a stone upon it, as a ...

Bombardment Of A Snow Castle
There is no game like this for promoting warmth and exercising the ingenuity. To play this, a Snow Castle, Tower, and Fort must be constructed, and a Bombardment got up. When the snow is on the ground, let a part...

Bandy Ball Or Golf
This game is played with a bat and a small ball; and the game consists in driving the ball into certain holes made in the ground. Sometimes these holes from first to last, are at the distance of half a mile or even...

Foot Ball
Foot Ball is a very simple game. A large soft ball is procured (which is now made of Gutta Percha), and the players having assembled and taken sides, a line is drawn across the playground, and the play commences. T...

Trussing
This is an excellent game. In some places it is called "Cock Fighting." To play it, two players must be matched against each other, and one is sometimes called "Black Cock," and the other "White Cock." They are sea...

Follow My Leader
Follow my Leader is a very good game; and when the Leader is a droll boy, causes much fun and laughter. The leader starts off at a moderate pace, and all the other boys, in a line, one after the other, follow hi...

Blindman's Buff
In this game, a person is blindfolded, and endeavours to catch any one of the players, who, if caught, is blindfolded and takes his place. There is another Game something resembling it, called SHADOW BUFF. A piec...

Tip-cat
For this game a piece of wood must be procured about six inches in length and two inches thick, of the following shape:-- that is, of a double curve. It will be seen by the shape of this, that it will fly up a...

Jingling
This game is common to the West of England, and is called a "Jingling Match." It is played by a number of players being blindfolded within a ring formed for the game, and one or two others, termed the "Jinglers," n...

French And English
French and English is another good game. A rope being provided, two players stand out, and after having cleeped for first choice, select the partners. After an equal number has been selected for each side, one part...

Heap The Bushel
This is a very dangerous game, if it can be called a game. Should one boy happen to fall, it is the practice of other boys to fall upon him and to "Heap the Bushel," as it is called, all the other boys leaping on t...

Drawing The Oven
This is another dangerous game. It consists of several players being seated on the ground in a line, clasped by each other round the waist: when all are thus united, two others take the foremost one, and endeavour ...

Hop-scotch
This is a silly game. It is calculated to wear out the shoes. ...

Basting The Bear
This is another silly game. A boy, who is called the "Bear," kneels down on the ground in a ring marked out, to let the other boys beat him with their twisted or knotted handkerchiefs. The master of the Bear, who h...

Buck Buck
"Buck, Buck, how many horns do I hold up?" is also a stupid game. It neither requires speed, nor agility, nor wit. The game is played by one boy resting his head against a wall and making a back, upon which the oth...

Gymanstics
All boys, and girls too, ought to train themselves to habits of agility, and nothing is more calculated to do this than Gymnastics, which may be rendered a source of health and amusement. In all playgrounds, a ...

First Course
EXERCISE 1. The pupil should hold out his hand at arm's length, until he can hold it out no longer, and repeat it until he has power in the muscles, to continue it, without fatigue, for a considerable length of tim...

Walking
These preliminary exercises having been practised, the young pupil will commence a course of more advanced exercises, such as walking, running, leaping, balancing, vaulting, and climbing. Walking is common to all, ...

Running
In running, as the swiftness of the motion steadies the body in its course, without the aid of the oscillations of the arms, they are naturally drawn up towards the sides, and, bent at the elbows, form a right angl...

Leaping
In leaping, that with the run, is the most common and the most useful. The object of the run is to impart to the nerves of the body a certain quantity of motion which may carry it onwards after the propelling power ...

Climbing
In climbing the rope, the hands are to be moved one above the other alternately; the feet should be crossed, and the rope held firmly by their pressure: sometimes the rope may be made to pass along the right thi...

The Rope Ladder
The climber must keep the body stretched out, and upright, so as to prevent the steps, which are loose, from being bent forward. The oblique rope must be climbed with the back turned towards the ground, the legs ...

The Slant Board
This should be seized with both hands, the feet being placed in the middle. The board should be considerably aslant when first attempted, and gradually brought towards the perpendicular. ...

Vaulting
This exercise may be practised on that part of the balancing bar between the posts. It may be performed with or without running: it should, however, be commenced with a short run. The height should be, to commence,...

Balancing
There are two kinds of balancing to which we shall allude; namely, the balancing of other bodies, and the balancing of our own. All feats of balancing depend upon the centre of gravity being uniformly preserved i...

Cricket
Cricket is the king of games. Every boy in England should learn it. The young prince of Wales is learning it, and will some day be the prince of cricket-players, as I trust he will some day, a long while hence,...

Single Wicket
Single wicket may be played with any number of players, and is better than double wicket for any number of players under seven. At double wicket, a small number of players would get so fatigued with running after t...

Laws Of The Game Of Double Wicket
"Law, is law," said Evergreen; "laws must be rigidly obeyed, and, therefore, I will read the articles of war for your edification. The first article of war is said to be, 'That it shall be death to stop a cannon-ba...

The Bowler
9. The bowler must deliver the ball with one foot behind the bowling-crease, and bowl four bowls before he changes wickets, which he is permitted to do, once only, in the same innings. 10. The ball must be bowled...

The Striker
Is OUT, if either of the bails be struck off by the ball, or either of the stumps struck out of the ground. He is OUT, if the ball, from a stroke of the bat or hand below the wrist, be held by his adversary befor...

The Wicket-keeper
The wicket-keeper should not take the ball for the purpose of stumping, until it have passed the wicket. He shall stand at a proper distance behind the wicket, and shall not move till the ball be out of the bowler'...

The Umpires
The umpires are the sole judges of fair and unfair play, and all disputes are determined by them, each at his own wicket. They shall not stand more than six yards from the wicket. In case of a catch, which the umpi...

Laws For Single Wicket
1. When there shall be less than four players on a side, bounds shall be placed, twenty-two yards each, in a line from the off and leg stump. 2. The ball must be hit before the bounds to entitle the striker to a ...

Bets
1. No bet is payable in any match unless it be played out or given up. 2. If the runs of one player be betted against those of another, the bet depends on the first innings, unless otherwise specified. 3. If th...

Observations
Cricket is played by twenty-two persons, eleven on each side, and two umpires, with two persons to score and count the innings. Thirteen players play at one time, viz., two strikers, one bowler, one wicket-keeper, ...

Swimming
No boy should be unable to swim, because it is essential to the preservation of life; but the attainment of the art has been held to be difficult, and the number of good swimmers is very small. The whole science...

Preliminary Exercises In Swimming
We have shown that much of the art of swimming depends upon having confidence, and that that confidence is speedily dissipated upon the swimmer coming in contact with the water. Besides this, a great deal in the ar...

Bernardi's System
_Upright swimming._--This is a new mode of swimming, introduced by Bernardi, a Neapolitan, and consists in adopting the accustomed motion of the limbs in walking. It gives great freedom to the hands and arms, affor...

Gardening
We read in the sacred records, that when man was created, he was placed in a "Garden,"--the Garden of Eden, to dress it and to keep it; and we may infer therefrom, first, that, the occupation of gardening was one p...

Laying Out The Ground
30 yds. +-----------------------------------------------------------------+ +--------------------+ ...

Manure
It is of no use whatever to think of getting things to grow without manure. This is the life and soul of all garden operations. Almost everything can be converted into manure. The grass from lawns, fallen leaves, w...

Gardening Tools
It is quite necessary that a young gardener should have proper tools. He should have a small but strong _spade_, a small but strong _rake_, a digging _fork_, a _hoe_, a _trowel_, a good _pruning-knife_, a _box_ for ...

Digging
The young gardener should practise digging, with a view to digging well. In beginning to dig a piece of ground, he should first clear it of all sticks, stalks, or stones, that might impede his labor. He should then ...

Weeding
Gardens will always produce a great deal more than is wished for, in the shape of various herbs, shrubs, and plants, called weeds; such as dandelions, couch-grass, cow-parsley, chick-weed, and many other plants, wh...

Planting And Sowing
Everything in a garden must be planted in some way or other, and there are many ways of planting and sowing. Sowing relates more particularly to seeds, and planting to the setting of plants that have been raised fr...

Hot-beds And Frames
Before we can sow many kinds of seeds in this country in the open ground, it is necessary to raise them first in a hot-bed, and for this reason,--many flowers common in our gardens are not natives of our cold an...

Open Crops
In the sowing of open crops, care should also be taken to sow at the proper time. Very early sowing is generally hazardous, but yet, if you would have your crops come in soon, a little risk must be run. When seed i...

Raking
When seeds are sown, the beds should be nicely raked. Some seeds, such as carrot and parsnip seeds, should be beaten down with the flat part of the spade, and laid very evenly and nicely. The edges of the little cr...

Hoeing
The hoe is of very great use, both to hoe up weeds and to form drills. We have spoken about its former use, and shall now say a word or two about the latter. In forming a drill for peas, beans, or other seed, one t...

Transplanting
There are a great many vegetables which require to be transplanted,--some from the hot-bed, and some from the open ground, where they have sprung from seeds, to their destination in the garden. All transplanting sh...

Watering
Boys generally fancy there is nothing like watering, and they are very pleased when they get the watering-pot in their hands. They always like to be watering,--no doubt thinking that the more the seeds and plants a...

On The Propagation Of Various Kinds Of Shrubs And Plants
Besides sowing seed and rearing plants from them by transplanting, there are many other ways of propagating plants, namely, by _off-sets_, _suckers_, _layers_, _divided-roots_, _cuttings_, and _pipings_. If tulips ...

Pruning
Little gardeners ought to know something of pruning trees. To cut or prune gooseberry and currant-trees is very simple. Gooseberry-trees should be cut differently from currant-trees. In gooseberry-trees, much of...

Grafting And Budding
Grafting is the transferring of a shoot of one tree into the stem of another, called the _stock_. Into this a slit is made; and then the scion or shoot is cut into the form of a tongue and inserted into it. The hea...

Shifting Of Crops
Crops must not be grown twice in rotation on the same ground. Peas and beans should be the crop after any of the roots, such as potatoes, carrots, and parsnips. Cabbages, and plants of that kind, may be sown and gr...

How To Manage A Little Garden All The Year Round
JANUARY. The chief wish of the little gardener this month is to take advantage of the hard frosts, and during their prevalence, to wheel upon his ground such manure as may be necessary. It should be wheeled in at...

Uses Of The Various Tools
THE SAW.--Before a saw can be used after it is purchased, it generally has to be "set," as it is termed; that is, its teeth are to be sharpened and placed a little outwards from the plane of its length. There are s...

Stuff
The young carpenter will find it very difficult to work without stuff. He ought, therefore, to purchase a deal sawed into planks or boards, consisting of one three quarters of an inch thick, another one inch thick,...

Labour
The young carpenter ought to be fond of work; and to feel a pleasure in it. Should this be the case, there is scarcely an end to his labours. He may make his hen-houses, his rabbit-hutches, his summer-houses, his b...

Keeping Poultry
Keeping poultry is an innocent amusement both for boys and girls. Domesticated animals, unlike the free inhabitants of the country, do not suffer from the loss of liberty, and when they are well housed, fed, and ...

Nature And Situation Of Fowl-house
The situation of a fowl-house should be such as to afford sun and warmth in winter and spring, and shade in summer. It should be well covered in at the top, free from damp, have good ventilation and light, with ...

The Various Breeds Of Fowls
These are very numerous, and are becoming more so every day. Among them are the following:-- ...

The Dorking Breed
So named from the town of Dorking in Surrey. It is one of the largest of our fowls. It is of an entire white colour, and has five claws upon each foot, _generally_, for some have not. They are good layers, and their...

Poland Breed
The Poland fowls are greatly esteemed, but they are seldom to be met with pure in this country. They were originally imported from Holland. Their colour is shining black, with white tufts on the head of both cock a...

Spanish Breed
The Spanish fowl, with the Hamburg and Chittagong, is a very large fowl, laying large eggs, and all seem more or less allied to the Polish family. They are well adapted for capons, and produce eggs nearly equal in ...

Bantams
This breed is small, but very beautiful. It came originally from India. They are frequently feathered to the toes; but booted legs are not exclusively peculiar to Bantams, for Bantam fanciers, with Sir John Sebrigh...

Choice Of Stock
In commencing fowl-keeping, it is important to choose young and healthy sorts. There should be a two year old cock, and pullets in their first year. In choosing them, we should note that the comb is red and healthy,...

Food And Feeding
Fowls must be well fed, but they should not have too much. Over-feeding is as bad for fowls as for men. They ought not to be fed with stale or bad corn, but of the best, and now and then with a little buck-wheat; w...

Laying
The early period of spring, and after a cessation at the end of summer, are the two periods at which fowls begin to lay. When the period of laying approaches, it is known by the redness of the comb in the hen, the ...

Preservation Of Eggs
To preserve eggs fresh for a length of time, it is only necessary to rub each egg with a small piece of butter, which need not be larger than a pea, or the tip of the finger may be dipped in a saucer of oil and pas...

Hatching Chickens
The eggs given to the hen to hatch must be perfectly fresh; they should be large in size, the produce of the most beautiful birds, well shaped, and the number put under the hen should vary according to her size, and...

Bees
Any humane person must be unwilling to keep what may be termed "pets," when, as is very often the case, they are taken from the freedom which nature has given them, to be pent up in cages, hutches, and round-abou...

How To Get A Stock Of Bees
They must be purchased, and the purchaser must take care and procure them of some one upon whom he may depend. This will save a great deal of trouble. The hive should be weighed before and after a swarm is placed i...