The Athletes and Athletic Sports of Scotland

134 ATHLETIC SPORTS OF SCOTLAND. ing and Donald M'Donald, Tullymet, are examples of first-class style atcaber-tossing only.The young athlete should therefore pay far more attentionat first to acquiring a good style, than to trying how far he can throw. If he has an awkward style to begin with, the oftenerhe exerts his full strength in an awkward manner themore difficult does it become to get rid of it. He should observe and try to imitate those who have agood style, keeping inmind that such model putters as James Fleming and George Mearns, and such model hammer-throwers as Joseph M'Hardy, Kenneth M'Rae, and George Johnston, had, or have, quite distinctstyles, yet all excellent. Notwithstanding that an athlete may be eager to learn, and may imitate the best expo­ nents ofstyle, he may be quite unable to acquire a good style at certain feats. If so, he should giveover wasting time and energy on them, forunless anathlete is a long way stronger than his rivals he can have no chance in feats he is awkward at against first-class athletes with a good style. Donald Dinnie, it is true, with a bad style atputting, and a first-classstyle atnothing except the high leap,more than held his own against the best men of his time at the throwing feats, however excellent their style, but a Donald Dinnie may appear but once in many generations. In athletics, as in other things nowadays,it is only those who devote themselves to one or a few particular feats that come to the front. If a Davidson, in addition to the five throwing feats, high leaping, and occasional sprinting, goes in for pole-vaulting and heavy dumb-bell lifting, he places himself at a disadvantage against a M'Rae who leaves outthe twolatter feats, at the other feats, and both are heavily handicapped at putting against aDuffy, who does next to nothing in athletics but put. In following out whatever feat or feats an athletic acquires a good styleat, there areone or two points that should never be left sight of. First, the athlete should never,after he hasbegan to try his best, even inprivate practice, begin by easy, careless tries, but accustom himself to do his best performance within