The Athletes and Athletic Sports of Scotland

ATHLETIC SPORTS OF SCOTLAND. the gatherings,is the exactweight ofthe hammer known.When two hammers are thrown the heavy one is supposed to be 2 2 lbs., the light one 16 lbs. At Aboyne the light one weighs about i6| lbs., the heavyone 24! lbs. At Inverness the light hammer is under 16 lbs, the heavy oneabout 21 lbs. As in weighing a hammer thehandle isincluded, the weight is generally altered more orless with every change of handle. Not only is there this uncertainty as to weight, but evenwith different hammers of the sameweight every fraction of an inch in difference of dia­ meter of the hole for the handle, every fraction of an inch of difference oflength ofhandle above or below a certain length, every fraction of an inch in difference of circumference of handle, differences ofproportion of weight of handle toweight ofball, differences of material and shape of handle, differences of material and shape ofball—all these things may affect more or less the merit of a throw. Throwing with or against the wind may make 6 to 10 feet of difference. In short, only by the most exact measurements of all the parts, and careful weighing of balls and handles, with balls ofsame metal andhandles of same material and quality, can the merits of throws, made by same weight of hammers at different times and places, be fairly com­ pared, supposingground and weather about equallyfavourable, It isquite easyto make two throwing hammers, 16 lbs. weight each, one with large hole in ball, and short, clumsy, thick handle, the other with a small hole and first-class handle. The same athlete rying his best with each onthe same ground will throw the latterfrom 10 to 20 feet farther than the former. These facts show clearly that though one athlete's best throw with a 16 lb. hammer on level ground may have been no feet, andanother athlete's best performance with same weight on level ground may have been 105 feet, it by no means follows that the no feet throw was the best performance, unless the particulars as to all the pointsabove enumeratedwere thesame, or nearly so in each case. This applies mostly to throwsmade at public competitions, where athletes have to throw the ham-