Other articles on the subject of boating are Canoe (Vol. 5, p. 189); MacGregor, John (Vol. 17, p. 232) (for the famous “Rob Roy”); Catamaran (Vol. 5, p. 502); and Rowing (Vol. 23, p. 783), by Charles Murray Pitman, formerly stroke of the Oxford University eight, with a special treatment of rowing in the United States and a comparison of English and American “styles.” The articles Swimming (Vol. 26, p. 231) by William Henry, author of Swimming in the Badminton Library, and Drowning and Life Saving (Vol. 8, p. 592) are of practical value.
Mountaineering
The article Mountaineering (Vol. 18, p. 937) is by Sir W. Martin Conway, famous for his ascent to a height of 23,000 feet in the Kara Koram Himalayas, for the High Level route through the Alps which he originated, and for his climbs in Spitsbergen. It contains paragraphs on the dangers from falling rocks, falling ice, snow avalanches, falls from rocks, ice slopes, crevasses, and weather; and an outline of history of the sport, which has been systematically pursued only since 1854. Glacier (Vol. 12, p. 60), by E. C. Spicer is another article of great interest to those who love climbing. Among the articles on individual mountains and on the great ranges, the first place must be given to the scene of the classic exploits of the early mountaineers. The relevant part of the article Alps (Vol. 1, p. 737) is by W. A. B. Coolidge who, although an American by birth, is more at home in the Alps than any other living writer. This magnificent article, which would fill nearly 40 pages of this Guide, contains a table giving the heights of no less than 1,317 separate peaks and passes, and also a consecutive narrative of Alpine exploration. Himalaya (Vol. 13, p. 470) is by Sir Thomas H. Holdich, superintendent of Frontier Surveys in India. The best mountaineering section of the Rockies is described in a section of the article Canada (Vol. 4, p. 145). Andes (Vol. 1, p. 960) describes the peaks of the Southern Cordillera. Full articles on the mountaineering sections of our own country, such as the Appalachians, the Adirondacks, the Catskills and White Mountains will be found under the obvious titles.
Winter Sports
Skating (Vol. 25, p. 166) deals with both speed skating and figure skating, and tells of the exploits at Newburgh, N. Y., of Charles June and of the famous Donoghue family. A table of amateur records is also given. Ice hockey is treated in a section of the article Hockey (Vol. 13, p. 554). Curling (Vol. 7, p. 645) describes the “rink” and stones, as well as the game, and contains a glossary of technical terms. Ice Yachting (Vol. 14, p. 241) explains the mechanical paradox which makes it possible for a boat propelled by the wind to move faster than the wind is blowing. Ski-running and jumping, with the new development of military skiing in France and Italy, are described in Ski (Vol. 25, p. 186); and it will surprise many readers to learn that a clear jump of more than 130 feet has been made. Other articles dealing with winter sports are Snowshoes (Vol. 22, p. 296), Coasting (Vol. 6, p. 603) and Tobogganing (Vol. 26, p. 1042).
Driving, Riding and Polo
For information in regard to sports connected with the horse the reader should first study the article Horse and particularly that part which concerns the history of horse breeding (pp 717–723 of Vol. 13), written by E. D. Brickwood, an English authority on sport, and the sections on “breeds of horses” by the late William Fream, agricultural correspondent of the London Times, and Prof. Robert Wallace, of Edinburgh University, who also wrote the section on management.
Horse-Racing (Vol. 13, p. 726) contains a section on racing in the United States, including the development of trotting races and the stress put upon time records, pacing races, racing centres, the predominance of dirt-tracks as contrasted with the turf courses of England; a section on the history of English racing, including the institution of the St. Leger, the Derby, the Oaks, the Ascot races, the Goodwood, Two Thousand Guineas, etc., present conditions, including classic races, handicaps, with scale of weight for age, the £10,000 races, the two-year-old races, Newmarket, Ascot and other meetings, value of horses, trainers and jockeys, foreign horses, time, the Jockey Club and steeple-chasing, the Grand National; a section on racing in Australia; a section on racing in France, where, as in England, American owners and jockeys have for some years past been much to the front; and also a mention of the chief meetings in other European countries and in Australia. Horsemanship (Vol. 13, p. 726) is chiefly concerned with exhibition riding. Driving (Vol. 8, p. 585), by R. J. McNeill, discusses the intricacies of tandem and four-in-hand coachmanship, and contains a section on the use of the whip. The importance of acquiring a light hand, and the extent to which this depends on the proper use of the three joints in the arm, are clearly explained. Coach (Vol. 6, p. 574) tells about the amateur road coach and the four-in-hand clubs in America and elsewhere. The coaching horn or “post-horn,” as it used to be called, is treated under Horn (Vol. 13, p. 697) by Kathleen Schlesinger, the great authority on musical instruments. Carriage (Vol. 5, p. 401), by J. A. McNaught, notes that, although the buggy and rockaway are the characteristic pleasure vehicles of this country, the heavier dog-cart and ralli-cart are much used with horses of a certain type.
The article Polo (Vol. 22, p. 11), by Thomas F. Dale, steward of the Polo and Riding Pony Society, describes the twelve varieties of the game played during its existence of at least 2,000 years. The three modern forms are the Indian, the English and the American, the game in England dating from 1869 when it was introduced from India by the 10th Hussars—and more definitely from 1873 when it was adopted by the Hurlingham Club. The rules of the game are given, and its development is traced, and there is a section on the polo pony and the much discussed systems of measurement.
Gardening