(13) Any player claiming a point or points after pitching one quoit shall not be at liberty to go back and play his second quoit.
(14) A player in any match must have been a member of the club he plays with for at least one calendar month previous to that time.
Making a Ground.—(a) Procure a large treacle or oil cask, cut the ends off (leaving them about 5 in. deep inside); take care that there are 2 iron hoops on each end; fix an iron pin (¾ in.) firmly in the centre of each, to stand about 7 in. above the edges of the tub, then fill it with stiff clay, raising it from the sides towards the top of the iron pin, leaving so much bare as shall be sufficient for a mark; have a waller’s trowel to smooth the surface when required. These can be placed in any convenient position for quoiting into, and may be removed when not required. Have a frame made of lightwood or iron, cone-shaped, and covered with waterproof canvas, to cover the tubs when not in use.
(b) If the land lies high and dry, and the soil is clay, which during hot weather becomes very hard, dig 2 pits the size required, and about 2 ft. deep. Asphalte the bottom and fill in with the clay.
Racquets.—Making a Racquet Court.—A court should be about 65 ft. by 30 ft. front wall 30 ft. high; back wall 12 ft. high; floor made of asphalte, and walls plastered very smoothly. The expense varies according to size, and cost of labour and materials. It must be lighted by skylights. The area of a double court should be 80 ft. by 40 ft.; front wall 30 ft. high, back wall 12 ft.; side walls sloping towards back wall, with a very slight decline of floor down towards the back wall.
160. Sail Skating.
Sail Skating.—When the ports of the Baltic are closed by ice during winter, the pilots and sailors of Arnager Isle, at Copenhagen, occupy their leisure hours with the exercise of skating by sail. This sport requires much skill and quite a long apprenticeship; but, after a person has become dexterous at it, it offers a very peculiar charm, and, when a swift wind causes him to glide over the surface of the ice, he feels himself lifted, as it were, and experiences a sensation analogous to that of flight. Fig. 160a shows a diagram of the apparatus, as employed by the Danish skaters. The sail, which is formed of a light but strong fabric (such as Chinese pongee silk) is stretched over a bamboo frame whose dimensions are given in the cut. The centre crosspiece, which must be placed at the level of the shoulders, is fastened to the skater’s body by bands that cross the breast and afterwards pass around the waist, so that they may be tied together in front. Large crosspieces of wood, attached to the lower corners of the system, are held in the skater’s hands, so that he may trim the sail in one direction or another. When the skater wishes to be carried along by the wind, he must stand very erect, without stiffening his body too much, and bend backward in proportion as the wind blows fresher. Confidence is acquired by practice. Fig. b gives the position of the skater going with the wind and under full sail. When the wind is too violent, the topsail may be readily lowered (Fig. c), so as to thus moderate the impulsion derived from the moving air. By inclining the sail in one direction or the other, the skater may tack to the larboard or starboard (Figs. d and f). Finally, when it is desired to move against the wind, by skating in the usual way, the body is bent forward in such a way that the sail lies horizontally, and no longer offers a purchase to the aerial current (Fig. e). The skater can thus return to his starting point, and from thence be driven forward again by the wind.
This exercise is a very agreeable one, and not very dangerous; and the falls that a person gets in beginning are not to be dreaded, because they almost always occur backward. The degree of speed that can be attained by a practised skater is considerable. When the skater has done with his apparatus, he detaches it from his shoulders, winds the sails around the bamboo sticks, which may be separated from them, and thus has an object that is no more trouble to carry than an umbrella would be. When the winters are severe, it is not unusual to meet upon the ice numerous groups of skaters by sail who are endeavouring to excel each other in speed. Young people are often seen, too, setting out on an expedition over the frozen sea between Denmark and Sweden, and traversing the entire Sound. These latter use the sail when the wind is favourable, but fold up the apparatus when the contrary is the case, and make use of their skates in the ordinary way. Danish hunters, likewise, often have recourse to skating by sail in order to rapidly reach points where wild ducks and geese have been observed.
Skating.—The art of skating is far too intricate to admit of being dealt with in a chapter, but the following notes on skates will interest all skaters.