Max
horn meas. 11 in. note of. Of these, the well-known Pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) has become so scarce as to be now hardly accessible as a beast of chase; while the singular Rocky Mountain Goat (Haploceros montanus), an excellent quarry for those fond of the most arduous and difficult mountain shooting, Archibald Thorburn.
After Archibald Thorburn.
SABLE ANTELOPE.
ARCHERY] may be classed among the goats almost as much as among the antelopes. Perhaps the best ground at the present day for Rocky Mountain goat is amid the snow- and icecovered ranges of Alaska. H. A. BRYDEN.
ANTELOPE COURSING. -The common Indian Antelope (Antilope cervicapra) is so fleet of foot, that it is ordinarily held to be useless to slip greyhounds after it.
Even two greyhounds held in leash, the second to take up the running when the first was distressed, have been known to be successively exhausted by one antelope with apparent ease, aided though they were by two riders similarly riding alternately.
On soft ground, however, after rain, the pointed hoofs of the antelope sink, so that a single greyhound will pull down the fleetest of them. Aware of this, the antelope, if surprised among cultivation, where the fields are divided by ridges, will keep to the hard dry ridges, however rectangular, never cutting a corner across the plough, though the hound be within a stride, and therein shows its wisdom, for it often makes good its escape. But even on hard ground, a fawn well selected from the herd by a practised eye as young enough may be run down if well ridden to. When the herd see the hounds closing up to a fawn, they circle round and cut in between the fawn and the hounds, and dally with them to lead them off. Then the riders must be close up, so as to be able to call off the hounds and lay them on to the fawn again. The herd will repeat the manœuvre again and again. A fawn so young that it had milk in its stomach took a field of well-mounted men with five deerhounds ten miles at such speed that all the hounds were exhausted, and all the horses but two, which only continued the chase by being ridden and saved alternately.
ANTELOPE SNARING.-In India antelope snaring is practised in the rutting season after the following method. A tame buck antelope, his horns dressed with nooses, is led in sight of the herd. His instinct prompts him to join the does, a move resented by the black buck of the herd. A fierce combat ensues, in the course of which the horns may become so entangled, that both eventually fall exhausted, and in such plight are easily secured.
ARCHERY -The practice of Archery can be traced back to very ancient times, though authorities differ as to when the use of the bow first became common in England.
The many statutes for the encouragement and directing of the practice of archery, the provisions made by them that practically every one should be skilled in the use of the bow, are sufficient evidence of the value which our ancestors placed upon it before "villanous saltpetre" ousted it from the proud position of our national weapon.
After fire-arms had taken the place of the bow in war, the practice of archery appears in a great measure to have died out, though it still existed in the north of England, and up to about 1760 in the Finsbury fields.
The revival of archery as a pastime can be traced to 1780, when Mr. Waring, the Secretary or Manager of the Museum belonging to Sir Ashton Lever at Leicester House, took it up. Finding that it improved his health, he persuaded Sir Ashton Lever to try it. He did so, and, fascinated by it, with the assistance of his friends founded in 1781 the Royal Toxophilite Society, which, from that time to the present day, has maintained its position at the head of the sport. Patronised and practised by the Prince of Wales and other Royal Dukes, archery at once sprang into popularity, and numerous Societies were founded, which flourished till the stern reality of war gave people little time to practise the peaceable sport of the bow. On the conclusion of peace, it was again warmly taken up, old Societies were revived, new ones were started all over the country, and in 1844 the first Grand National Archery Meeting took place at York. At the present time, there are numerous Societies all over England, and the five public meetings held annually show the popularity of the sport.
Of the pleasures of archery and the facilities which it affords to both ladies and gentlemen for physical and graceful exercise there can be no doubt, and its fascination is well known to all who shoot. Unfortunately it has the drawback of being difficult, and without regular practice and a knowledge of how to do it, it is not easy to excel, this however in the eyes of its votaries being one of its principal charms.
The object of this article is to give instruction which will assist beginners to commence shooting in the correct way, a great obstacle to success being the assumption of wrong methods at first, faults being thus established which it is difficult afterwards to eradicate. Many books of instructions on the subject have been written, commencing with Ascham's Toxophilus in 1545, down to the present day, good, bad, and indifferent. It is therefore impossible to write a new essay on archery without repeating much of what has been already said by the writers who come under the first category, notably Messrs. Roberts,¹ Ford, 2 Butt, and the latest exponent of the art, the Rev. Eyre Hussey. 4 The logical course seems to be first to describe the implements of the craft, and then endeavour to teach their use.
Bows are called "Self" if made of one piece of wood, and "Backed" if made of two or more strips of wood glued together.
Self bows are generally made of yew or lance, though the term as applied to those made of the former wood is misleading, as they are almost invariably spliced at the handle. Self-yew is the dearest bow made, self-lance the cheapest. Backed bows are made of various combinations, yew-backed yew, which, as implied by the name, has both back and belly made of yew, being the best. In all other descriptions the back is made of hickory; yew, fustic, washaba, or lance supply the belly. In three-piece bows the back is generally hickory, the centre fustic, and the inside of the belly yew.
There is no question that the best bow is either a self-yew, or a yew-backed yew, there being little to choose between them; but both are expensive, require careful handling, and are easily damaged. Beginners are therefore advised to commence with a self-lance, taking to a three-piece yew, fustic, and hickory as their shooting advances, and a self or yew-backed yew, when their skill and knowledge warrant it.
A self-lance does not last long, as it soon loses its "cast" or power, but the threepiece will last a long time. The more expensive bows are certainly the most pleasant to shoot with, but it must not be thought that good scores cannot be made with the cheaper backed ones, provided they are made the right shape; indeed many good shots use nothing else.
The shape of all bows should be much the same, namely, it should be quite straight, or slightly follow the string (Fig. 1). If the bow is at all reflexed, as it is called when the back bends forward, it is apt to jar on being loosed, the only exception being when a self-yew is made this shape in consequence of the natural growth of the wood.
The length of a lady's bow should be from 5 ft. 5 in. to 5 ft. 7 in., and of a man's from 5 ft. II in. to 6 ft. I in., the longer bow being the best. If longer arrows than the respective standard lengths of 25 and 28 inches are to be used, the bow should be longer, or the increased strain may break 1 The English Bowman. 2 Archery, its Theory and Practice. 3 Butt's Ford. 4 Archery (The Badminton Library). [ARCHERY it. The weight marked on a bow is the number of pounds it will take to pull it- 25 inches if a lady's, or 28 inches if a man's.
In choosing a bow care should be taken that the grain is close, even, straight, smooth, and free from knots or pins, especially on the centre of the belly, as the rounded part is called, and towards each end. This is particularly necessary with yew, as pins in this wood are liable to develop into "crysals"-as minute cracks, at first scarcely visible, but gradually increasing in size, are termed, which eventually cause the bow to break. The grain on --A c