Archery Rules

PRICE 15 Cts.
It is scarcely needful to say anything in praise of Archery. It holds its place as the first of English sports, and is rapidly becoming popular in America. It trains the eye, imparts a good and graceful carriage, expands the chest, and gives plenty of walking exercise without fatigue; moreover, it is equally adapted for both sexes.
The Equipment of the Archer.
The first thing we have to consider is what constitutes the necessary outfit for an archer—how it should be chosen, and how taken care of. Before choosing his outfit, the archer should find a good maker, and obtain from him a list of prices; having done so, he will be able to determine what expense he is willing to go to, and then to apply the following hints in choosing his apparatus. Let us, however, entreat him not to sacrifice all his hopes of future success to a desire to get cheap things; let him rely upon it that things obtained at a fair cost from a good maker are twice as cheap as those whose only recommendation is their low price.
The following list will show about what is a fair price, and may be a guide to our readers in future selections.
Note.—Backed Bows are far superior to the Self ones as regards elasticity and durability.
The Bow.
Bows are of two kinds. The self bow consists either of one piece of wood or of two dovetailed together at the handle, in which latter case it is called a grafted bow; by far the best material for a self bow is yew, although a variety of other woods, such as lemonwood, lancewood, &c., are used. As it is but very rarely that we are able to obtain a piece of yew long enough for a bow of equal quality throughout, the grafted bow was invented, in order that the two limbs, being formed by splitting one piece of wood into two strips, may be of exactly the same nature.
Fig. 1.
The backed bow consists of two or more strips of wood glued together longitudinally and compressed so as to ensure perfect union. The strips may be of the same or of different woods—for instance, of yew backed with yew, yew with hickory, lancewood, &c.; but of all backed bows snakewood backed with hickory is far the best. It has been a great subject of controversy whether the self or the backed bow be the best for shooting purposes; we most unhesitatingly decide in favor of the backed.