The best bowstrings are made of Italian hemp, dressed with gum or Indian glue to preserve them from the wet; and the distance of the string from the centre of the bow, when strung, should not be more than five inches for a bow five feet long, and in the largest bows not more than six.
An arrow, in the language of the bow-maker, consists of three parts; the shaft or stele, the head or pile, and the feather. The best wood for the shaft of an arrow is the ash, and the next best the birch or hornbeam. The aspen and the lime are also used; but deal or willow-wood is too light, and the arrows made of these woods have an uncertain wavering flight. The length of the arrow should be regulated by that of the bow, and for bows of five feet in length arrows of two feet are generally used, their length increasing in proportion to that of the bow. When arrows are intended for a long flight, they are generally thickest directly under the feathers, and taper gradually to the pile. The nock of the arrow was formerly made of solid horn; but it is now merely inlaid. It should be as nearly as possible the size of the string, so that it may fit closely, and yet not require force to fix it. The feather is a most important part of the arrow, as without that the arrow will not fly steadily. Every arrow has three feathers, and the colour of one of them, which is sometimes termed the cock-feather, is generally different from that of the other two; and this feather must always be uppermost, when the arrow is placed on the string. Should, however, the feathers be all of the same colour, that one is considered the cock-feather which is on the horn of the nock. After the feathers are fixed on the arrow they are generally covered with gum water, not made too strong, to give them firmness and to make their flight more steady.
The bracer is a piece of stout polished leather, which is buckled round the arm which holds the bow, to prevent the string from hurting it when it is let go. Even with that precaution, the string very often bruises the arm, and ladies sometimes have the bracer wadded, or lined with India rubber to make it more elastic, and thus to diminish the force of the rebound.
The shooting-glove consists of three finger-stalls made of very strong, but yet pliable leather. It is worn over an ordinary glove, and is fastened round the wrist by a button or string.
The belt and tassel complete the equipments. The first buckles round the waist, and has a pouch for holding the arrows fixed to it on the right side, while on the left is the tassel, which is used for wiping the heads of the arrows when they have entered the ground. Ladies very often omit the belt, as they have generally some person in attendance on them to supply them with arrows, and to pick up and wipe those they have the misfortune to let enter the ground. I say misfortune, for all arrows that do not reach the target are considered of no avail.
The distance at which the archer stands from his mark depends upon circumstances; but the ordinary distance for ladies is a hundred yards. A flat stone is often let into the ground to show where the archer is to stand, and then the target is moved to the distance that may be agreed upon. The bow is held in the left hand, and the string is pulled by the right. Arrows were formerly reckoned by the sheaf, which consisted of twenty-four arrows, which were carried in a quiver or arrow-case on the back; but arrows for immediate use were always worn in the girdle. When a portion of the English soldiers were archers, every full-grown man was forbidden by statute to shoot at a butt which was nearer to him than two hundred and twenty yards; and the archers drew their bowstrings to the ear instead of to the breast, as is the custom at the present time. Newington Butts, and several other places round London, bear witness by their names to their having been formerly places for the citizens to exercise their skill in archery; but even as late as the reign of Elizabeth no person was allowed to shoot with a yew bow, under the age of seventeen, unless he was the son of a gentleman.
Sketching in the open air is a very delightful country amusement, particularly when it can be so managed as to be done with very little apparatus. To go out with a table and chair and every thing prepared is, however, enough to damp the courage of an amateur artist; and nearly all the pleasure of sketching from nature depends upon being able to gratify the inspiration of the moment, at the very moment when the desire to make a sketch is felt. There are happy moments in which the talents appear to have more brilliancy than at other times, and, as these do not depend upon the will of the poet or the artist, they must be taken advantage of when they arise, or they are lost.
As I know you have an admirable talent for sketching from nature, and as I have no doubt there are some noble specimens of trees in a park so old as yours is, I would advise you by all means to provide yourself with what is called a block-book, that is, a drawing-book in which the sheets of paper are fixed together by a little gum, or some other glutinous substance, being washed over the edges, so that they are as perfectly firm and solid as though the whole book were a block of wood with a piece of paper pasted on it. It is obvious that a book of this kind may be held in one hand, and a drawing made upon it with the other, without requiring any table; and, when the drawing is finished, it may be detached by putting the thumb-nail in the little hollow left on one side for that purpose, and separating that one sheet of paper from the rest. After which, the drawing may be put into a flap or pocket provided for that purpose in the cover of the book; while the next sheet is left ready for another drawing to be made upon it. A book of this kind is not larger than a thin octavo, and it may be easily carried by your maid in her reticule without any parade, as, if it should not be wanted, it will be of very little incumbrance; whereas, if you have a table and the apparatus for drawing carried out, and should not happen to be visited by the pictorial muse, you will find it very disagreeable to be joked on so formidable a preparation having produced no result. Even under the most favourable circumstances, it is much more agreeable to draw from nature in a block-book than in any other way, as ordinary sheets of paper are always being curled up and moved about by the wind. You will also find it advantageous to supply yourself with one of those pencils with a broad lead which are sold for sketching foliage, and you will find it save both time and trouble to take a case of pencils out with you, with pencils of different degrees of fineness cut for use.
Should you wish to give the effect of colour to your landscapes, you will do well to provide yourself with an artist's colour-box made of tin, with a place for the colours to be rubbed on inside of the lid; and provided with a small bottle for containing water. When you sketch, be particular in marking strongly the effects of light and shade, and the distances; also pay particular attention to giving the proper touch to the different trees. The foliage of the pine and fir tribe is characterised by a few small upright strokes introduced occasionally; the oak requires angular touches, and has a certain degree of squareness in the outline of its twigs; the elm has a roundness in the touch; the touch of the willow is thin and wiry; and that of alder somewhat heart-shaped. It is difficult to explain what I mean without the aid of drawings; but your best way will be to get some good sketches of trees, and then to take them out with you, and compare them with the effects you observe in nature.
A swing is a very useful adjunct to the amusements of the country, as many grown-up people are as fond of swinging as children. The most simple kind of swing is formed by tying the two ends of a strong rope to the branches of two trees which may chance to be conveniently placed for the purpose, the rope having been previously passed through two holes in a piece of flat board, which serves for the seat. A swing of this kind requires no attention but turning the seat the wrong way upwards in wet weather, and taking the rope down in autumn, as it will become rotten from exposure to the wet during winter. The seat should also have two strips of wood nailed on its under side, across the grain of the wood, in order to prevent it from splitting open, which it would otherwise be very likely to do, from being exposed to the alternations of wet and dry weather. Where there are no trees conveniently situated for a swing, two upright pieces of wood may be driven into the ground, with hooks or rings affixed to the upper part, to which other hooks are attached that have been previously fastened to the ends of a strong piece of rope. A swing of this kind is generally furnished with a chair or boat, and it is more fitted for a court or some piece of enclosed ground than for the open pleasure-ground. At the Duke of Devonshire's, at Chiswick, a hammock is hung between two trees for the purpose of a swing.