In modern time, however, with the introduction of firearms, archery declined, until it came to be but a mere memory of the past. The last century revived it, and to-day it is one of the most popular sports in England. Americans, too, have taken it up with enthusiasm, and clubs are interested in it all over the land, the ladies being especially devoted to it.
In 1879 the first organization of Archery Clubs was formed at Crawfordsville, Indiana, and the first annual target meeting was held in Chicago in the same year.
Bows for archery are generally made out of tough soft wood, such as yew, with a flat outside called the back and a rounded inside called the belly; they are always strung with latter side inward. Lance wood is chiefly used in the United States on account of its resistance to heat. The bow must be easily controlled, and not too heavy. The strain of drawing a heavy bow is apt to pull the bow hand out of the line of sight. A 48-pound bow well drawn and loosed will give a lower trajectory than one of 55 pounds sluggishly handled. By the weight of a bow is not meant its avoirdupois, but the force necessary to draw the arrow to its head on the bow. It is all important to know how to string the bow. Grasp the handle firmly with the right hand, draw it near your right side, while the lower end rests against the inside of the right foot, the back of the bow being toward you. With left foot well extended in front so as to brace the body, rest the left hand on the bow below the loop of the upper end of the string, the tip of the thumb and knuckle of forefinger pressing firmly on opposite edges of the bow. Draw the bow firmly to you with the right hand, while you push down and away from you with the left. A little practice will soon give the knack. No part of the body except the face must be turned towards the target. Stand with the feet at right angles to the direction of the target and have them a few inches apart. In handling the arrow avoid touching the feathers, and in the act of drawing always keep the thumb and fourth finger away from the arrow and string. As the bow is lifted, draw it three parts of the way, catch the aim, complete the draw and instantly loose.
The arrows are an important consideration. Never use a light arrow with a heavy bow, nor, conversely, a heavy arrow with a light bow. Arrows are generally made of one piece of wood, but sometimes a harder kind is used for the part joining the tip and which is dovetailed into the shaft. The tip is formed of steel, and is cylindrical in form. The length varies. A lady's bow of 5 feet calls for a 24-inch arrow, the customary length of men's arrows is 28 inches.
The target is a flat disc about four feet in diameter made from straw and covered with an oilcloth or white sheet painted in concentric rings of gold, red, blue, black and white, each color of which, when penetrated by the arrow counts so many points in the aim. The gold is the objective point of the archer, the "bull's eye," as it is called. Three arrows are shot by each archer in turn, then three more, the six constituting an end. A certain number of ends complete a given range, while two or three ranges form a round. Here is the American round:
30 arrows at 60 yards. 30 arrows at 50 yards. 30 arrows at 40 yards.
RING TOSS
This is a very simple game. A stake is driven into the ground for a flagstaff. At a distance of, say nine feet, stakes are arranged as follows: four at equal distances, back of these, at a short distance, three; then two; then one. The setting for nine pins is the same.
Each stake is numbered from ten, beginning on the left hand side, to one hundred, which is the apex of the setting.
Iron rings are tossed from the flagstaff by each player. A score is kept. The one getting the greatest number of points is the winner.