The Young Briton: Sam Sawbones — page 12: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

172 - PHYSICAL RECREATION. TWIRL'NG FOR LARKS. HIS pastime may bo indulged in by every- ‘} body, from the artisan up to the nobleman ; from the fifteen-year old youngster to the gonty old man; it has partisans among all classes. In the British Kingdom there are, comparatively, but few who practise it; but in Germany, in Belgium, and in France, it is much resorted to when other sports fail, or when the shooters are too tired of beating the fields, to resume their ordinary avocation with the gun. Toe apparaius needed for the sport is of the very simplest description, and the rough illustra- tions accompanying this ske’ch will offer of them- gelves almost a sufficient explanation as to its construction. 4 | : The part A ii a piece of wood, on whose upper surface a number of rmall pieces of looking-glass are glued. This head A has in its base a hole, sufficiently long to admit of the iron point of B io be introduced init, and sufficiently large to allow the head to turn very freely and swiftly. The inferior portion of B is provided with an iron sp ke, sufficiently sharp to allow its being q4r* Ze, hy: . - : wl © ANY , ~ = +’ 9 ey Le y ‘4 Mee Xocsy > “ey , >, > onl ae > ~* ——— we S—, - yn. <=: — -¥ ee ral J 2 - > , Se = . FPPC ae > +2" 7-* » ange 3 ; < —-_ 72 er al at ae 3. 5 > ae P. a - ee ies a thrust into the ground without any vreat effort. When the apparatus is rigged out on the ground, a piece of string is fastened at the base of A, as shown in the sketch, and is wound round it, say a doz*n times or more, and then its end must be about ten, twelve, or fifteen yards long. Gene- rally a boy is intrusted with the pulllng of that string. When the apparatus is set up and in working order, the boy quietly takes up the end of the string, and pulls it gently towards him. Of course, instantly the part A turns round and round, with a speed proportional to the pull given to the string. When the string is nearly un- wound, the boy gives a rather sharp and sudden pull, and then he slackens his line and pays it towards the twirl, so that some part of the string may be coiled up round A, as it is turned round and round by the impetus just given to it by the ast sudden pull. ‘Then, when the twirl has wound round itself a sufficient number of coils, the boy pulls back the string again, and re-enacts the first part of the operation. There are, howeyv-r, Twirlers whose motive power isa&tpring. Toese wind up like clocks, and go on until the spring is slack again, when you must again wind it up. I have shot over both styles, and I must candidly say that the THE YOUNG BRITON, primitive instrument is not only the most enter- taining, but also the most successful one. Why, I cannot say, unless it be, perhaps, that the final pull of the string gives a sudden impetus to the twirl that is lacking altogether in the Mechanical Twirler. The latter turns on witbout trouble, it is true, but ita monotory is sometimes fatal to the sport, ina-mach as it docs not entice the birds over 80 readily, neither does it fascinate them, i! [ may use the expression, with the power and dash of the hand-worked apparatns However, whether the twirler be hand-worked or mechanical, its outward appearance, as far as .he top part cf the apparatus is concerned, is -Btirely similar. The only Cissimilarity consist+ in the fact that in the mechanical. twirler the -piked end of the hand-twirler is done away with entirely. In its stead there is a kind of hollow box or pedestal, containing the works (spring and wheel») that set the twirl in motion. You have oply to wied up the engrenage, let go the twirl, place the whole Concern on the ground, just as sou would place a clock on your mantelpiece, and there you are, ready for action, withon any farther tronble. This is no small advantage, for when it is rather coldish the band-workec twir! is not Gyer entertsining to the boy. Some C onti- ntLtel Snooters, however, do away With the boy> altogether. They pull their own twirls, and } admit that they do it very well, too, some of trem ; aud a mvst comical and entertaining sigh! they are whin seen from a distance. They do not pull the string with their hands, but fasten it to one of their ankles, and by moving the foot backwards and forwards they are enabled to set she affair a-going, and to keep it doing so. All the while, gun in hand, they are bl:zing away at the birds to their heart’s content. O.ce we came aeross just such a fellow in the North of Germany. HH» was down a valley, pop- ping away like fun, At first, we could not see his twirl, and we were wondering what the man we8 up to, standing on one leg and moving the other, first before him, then behind, and so on. [thought he was mad. One of my companioze said he thought the man was perhaps afflicted with S;. Vitus’ dance. A third fancied he had the cramp, and was trying to set his leg to rights again. To solve matters, we went towards the man, and, then, we found him twirling and shooting, quite unconcernedly, and rare fun it Was. Some object to his pastime, on the ground that itis a pity to kill the lark, whose song is certainly very pleasant. But then, if so, why shoot quails, whose quaint notes are so bewitching and so at- tractive? Tha fact is, all these men are trying to bring poetry and poetical sentiment into every- thing, even into sport, forgetting for the nonce, that the shooters do not kill the birds out of mere wantonness, but, prosily enough, for the sake of food ; and as the French proverb his it, Ventre Sept. 8, 1877. affame n'a point d’oreidles, so the shooter kills, and kills again, fills Wis bag with birds, and, then when he has taken enough of them, he goes home and gets them made into a pie. Shooting larke is just as merciful, if not more so, as cafching them in snares or nets. I have no patience with such mixtures of nonsensical absurdities and irrational arguments, As far as the singing that gladdens the heart is concerned, there are always plenty of larks left everywhere; for, even if the shooters wished it, they could not killall. At any rate, netting and snaring are incomparably more destructive to the birds, than the guns. — The only objection I have to calling twirling by the honourable name of sport is, that there 13 no great skill required, to succeed in that branch of the fun. Neither is therethe hunting for the | birds, which, to my mind, is the best part of the enjoyment of shooting; but, as practice for veginners, aDd as a pastime for invalids and for veterans, it is not to be despised, and, in fact, 16 is most enjoyable. Early morning is the best time for twirling. A cloudless sky, and a bright, freezy sun, willalways insure success. Some boys should be sent round .bout the fislds to make the larks rise, when, as «oon as they will catch sight of the bright flashes »€ the sun, as they are refi cted by the twirler in motion, they will instantly crowd all sail and ilock above the instrament, when they are easily picked ont and knocked over, An ordinary shooter does not miss one lark in fifty, as the birds remain almost motionless, merely fluttering above the twirl. Of course to a man in the full enjoyment of health the fun soon grows tame, but to boys it isa never-failing source of entertain- ment; and as for shooters advanced in years, whose sight is impaired or whose strength is fail- ing, itis-a perfect treasure-‘rove ; for there, and there alone, can they still handle the old gun, and indulge in their otherwise for ever gone, favourite pursult of shooting.— Young Fancier’s Guide. as A ROSE’’ by any other name would be *‘ got up.’ Davip, Kina or ISRAEL —Davyii was the model ‘f an Orfental prince, handsome in his person, va- Nant, mild, jast, and generous ; humble before sis God, and zealous in his honour; a lover of music and poetry, himself apoet. Successful in var, he reduced beneath his sceptre all the coun- tries from the borders of Egypt to the mountains whence the Euphrates springs. The King of Tyre vas his ally ; he had ports on the Red Sea, and the wealth of commerce flowed during his reign into Israel. He fortified and adorned Jerusalem, which he made the seat of government. Glorious prospec's of extended empire, and of the diffusion of the pure religion of Israel, and of happy times, floated before the mind of the prophet- king. | GOmicopoeo ¢ Sy alGlOUA