Fig. 39 shows another type of stroke for turning the corner. In this case ball 1 must be played with a little right side, the measure of which is the quantity of ball 2 taken so as to make it travel as desired. If fuller, more right side is required; if finer, less.
Fig. 40
A person practising these strokes will be able to interpolate many variations between the screw and the follow as here exemplified, and perhaps the best way to make good use of these types is to set up the balls in normal position for cushion nurseries within a few inches of the corner pocket, and then try in one or two strokes to leave a variety of one or other of the examples. In this way the eye becomes accustomed when playing a series to gauge the distance from the pocket and to seize a favourable opportunity for passing it.
Another way of turning the corner is shown in fig. 40, whereby as will be seen use is made of the jaws of the pocket to bring ball 2 down the table into the desired position. The stroke is so simple as not to need detailed description; it may be set up by sight, and a few attempts will reveal what compensations should be applied to insure to ball 2 the required speed and to slow ball 1, so that it may be left above the other balls. This diagram was sent by Mr. W. J. Peall, who, moreover, has kindly read these remarks on ‘cushion nurseries,’ and expressed his approval of them.
It is right that advice on the subject of cannon play should be given with caution and hesitation, for the science is far from understood even by our best players, and further knowledge may put our present ideas into the background, if not show some of them to have been founded on misapprehension. Hence but little more will be added on this subject, and that must be general. Avoid excessive use of the push stroke; it is commonly employed when quite unnecessary, and is more likely to result in leaving the balls touching than when an ordinary stroke is used. Next, play freely rather than over gently, and if possible under the close supervision of a first-rate performer, and one who can and will detect every small imperfection. Replace the balls after failure, and repeat the stroke till certainty is acquired; an hour’s practice daily is about what is required to keep up the necessary touch after the various positions have been mastered, but recollect that too much practice at close cannons is apt to cramp and destroy the freedom needed for general play.
These notes on nurseries may be appropriately closed by the following remarks kindly furnished by Mr. Rimington-Wilson, who, it is permissible to observe, can play such cannons with a speed and certainty as greatly to be envied as they are difficult of attainment, and in a style professional rather than amateur.
‘Nursery cannon play in England is still in its infancy, and the writer cannot help expressing a wish that it may never see full maturity. The possibilities of this style of game were well illustrated by the visit of the American champion Ives to this country, when he played a match with Roberts under unusual conditions.
‘It is true that Ives made his gigantic break in a way that would be impossible with the ordinary sized balls and pockets—viz.: by jamming the balls, which were an intermediate size between the American and English, in the angle of a table with very tight pockets. While maintaining the position in which he made his break, the balls were not jammed in the jaws of the pocket as they may be in the English game, but rather in the angle of the corner where, owing to the large balls and small pockets, there was very little danger of losing a ball. In fact, the break was played very much as it would be on an American table with no pockets.
