Athletics and Football (extract)

TRAINING 179 wine, ^ pint; spirits of turpentine, \ pint w;hite vinegar, |- pint. Mix these with a fresh egg beaten up, and give the bottle goaod shake before usitnhge mixture.' If the straionf the muscle be. very severes,omething else besides an embrocation is required. Complete rest must be the rule, anidf there ais swellingfrom injury to a joint this should be reduced by bathing in hot water. People frequently make the mistake of putting a sprained ankle immediately under a stream of cold water c;old water is invaluable to strengthen the muscle afthere inflammation has gone down, but ahot fomentation is what is required to reduce the swelling. When the swellinhgas gone dowtnh,e co' ld tap ' and embro­ cations are useful. Upon thsaeme principlteo,o, that horses are ' fired,' the outside of the ankle is often painted with iodine. We have said before that one of the most satisfactory features about athletic sports, both to competitors and spec­ tators, is that t e winner wins on his own merits, annodt from any superiorithye may have obtained in equipment or appa­ ratus. The oarsmmanay be helped to victoryby agood boat, and the cyclisbty agood machine, but thaethlete can hardly win a race by having betstehroes or knickerbockers than his opponent, though he often does win a race with worse legs than his rival, but with a better head. The apparatus of an athlete is simple and requires little description. His shoe should be ofthin, gooldeather, which cannot possibly stretch, so that wheonnce it tfihtse fooi t may never wear loose. A shoe whicshlips otnhe fooitn the slightest degree may not only impede the runner, but will assuredly blister the foot. The athlete, therefore, should get a pair of shoes to fit him like gloves, atnhden he willhave atlhlat mechanical skill can do fohr im. As wehave said before, he will probably find it wise to weara thin chamois-leather sock over the ball ofthe foot and toes. The ordinary running-shoe has only a single thickness of leather otvher heeal,nd ocfourse no spike there. The hurdler and jumper, howewvehro, have to take everpyre- N 2