The Athletes and Athletic Sports of Scotland

48 ATHLETIC SPORTS OF SCOTLAND. CHAPTER III. THROWING THE HAMMER. HTHIS is one of the finest feats inthe whole round of athletics, exercising and strengthening almost every muscle ofthe body. It was, no doubt, first practised onopen ground near a smithy, the smith's forehammer supplying a ready means lor testing thestrength and skill of the young men of the district, At various gatherings, up to some twenty-five years ago, an ordinary forehammer was still used, but from its shape, unless both ends struck the ground at once, the handle was so apt to get broken that the roundball soon became universal. STYLES OF THROWING.— Therehave been severalchanges in the style of throwing thehammer. At first, at many gatherings, the throwerwas allowed to make one or more complete turns with his body. This styleis still practised by amateurs in Eng­ land, with the modification that only one turn is allowed ina 9-feet circle. In Scotland it was latterly confined to matches, John Tait being the last Scottish athlete who was really pro­ ficient at the turning style. In America, Rice, the one-handed athlete, and in Canada the brothers M'Lennan, practised it, and made some remarkable performances. The reason why this style was abandoned in Scotland and elsewhere was that, at most places where games were held, the arena was too circum­ scribed to allow of its being used with safety to the spectators, as in addition to the throws being from 20 to 30 or more feet farther thanin the standing style, the competitors were not so sure ofthrowing straight. After the turning style wasgiven up, the standing style first used was what was called the pendulum style. The thrower, standingwith his side to the stance, first raised the hammer in front above hishead towards the stance, then brought it down in front and backward till he swung it up above hishead, on the side away from the stance,and from this