The Athletes and Athletic Sports of Scotland

no ATHLETIC SPORTS OF SCOTLAND. begin the season,new off the voyage, and unaccustomed to he climate, he proved himselfby far the best athleteof that yearin America, beating D. C. Ross, thenext best, as much asan aver­ age of 3 feet 9 inches at six different places with heavy stone. Davidson has splendid records for hammer, stone, caber, and 56 lb. weight. In additionto great performances withe dumb­ bells he was for some years a finehigh leaper, and a goodvaultcr and sprinter. Davidson's height is 6 feet inches, chest,43 inches; calf, 17^inches. KENNETH M'RAE.— The writer now comes to a point that is very difficult to settle. When did Kenneth M'Krae take the lead of Davidson, and become champion athlete in Scotland as regards the throwing feats ? For a good many years Davidson could have won all five feats at the beginning of the season; by the end of the season M'Rae first began to win withthe hammer, and to creep up at stone and caber, thento win with all three latterly. Now, ifDavidson had been asgood at the end of the season as at the beginning, it would have been clear that M'Rae at his best was the better of the two. But Davidson fell off towards the end of the season, and M'Rae steadily improved. The fact of the matter is, it is impossible to say definitely when Davidson ceased to be and M'Rae became champion. With theutmost desire tobe just to both athletes,the writerthinks that sinceM'Rae's splendid per­ formances athe Edinburgh Exhibition games in 1887, hehas been consideredchampion athlete of Scotland at stone, hammer, and caber,at least. M'Rae is a native of Inverness-shire, stands 6 feet 2|inches inheight, and is 43 inches round the chest. Like Dinnie, M'Rae was long in coming tohis best, steadily improving all round up to30, and atthe stoneuntil well over 30. He has been heavily handicappedall along at putting from the loss of the middle fingerof his right hand. His throw of 120 feet6 inches with the lighthammer at Inverness is the record there, and his hammer-throwing all over for a series of years towards the nd of the season is ahead of anything except Dinnie's and G. John­ stone's.