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CROQUET

Croquet.—The line of demarcation between the old game and “New Croquet,” as it is called, is not very difficult to draw, for croquet has had an experience quite unexampled in the history of games. The pastime eulogized by Lord Beaconsfield and illustrated by John Leech spread very rapidly. In some half dozen years after the appearance of the game, a croquet ground in a country house was deemed as important an adjunct as a conservatory. And then, almost in a night, the game disappeared. More than one reason has been assigned for this. It was pushed forward too quickly by experts and made too difficult ; and then the croquet grounds were found admirably adapted for lawn tennis which in its early development could be played by man, woman, and child. The dimensions of the croquet ground have been altered since the days when Mr Henry Jones wrote his article in the ninth edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica (vol. vi.). A ground for match play must measure 35 yards in length by 28 yards in width, and the boundary must be marked with a white line. A little flag must be placed in each corner, and a spot of white near the flag, this spot being 3 feet from each boundary. Six hoops are used in the game, and two pegs. The hoop must be made of half-inch iron, and must stand up 12 inches above the ground. The hoop now used at all tournaments is the “ Davidson,” which develops into an inverted cone some 4 or 5 inches long under the soil, the broadest part at the top being a little broader than the iron above the surface. These hoops are very rigid, and if they get loose a tap with the mallet makes them tight again. The hoop must measure 4 inches across, inner measurement, and be square at the top. The pegs are of wood. They must be inch in diameter and stand 2 feet out of the ground. One peg, the winning peg, is painted with four rings of colour, namely, blue, red, black, and yellow; the other peg is painted white. This distinction was made to indicate the top end and the bottom end of the ground, which was confusing sometimes at tournaments. Little cross bars should be on the top of the pegs to hold the clips. The balls are of boxwood, and weigh between 14^ and 15|- ozs. They are 3| inches in diameter. There must be a blue ball, a red ball, a black ball, and a yellow ball, and this sequence of the colours must be preserved. Thus if a player having the choice of balls and lead elects to play with yellow, blue must follow. Clips of the colour of the balls must be used. The clip indicates the next point in order of the player. The laws about mallets have changed since the old days of croquet when there was “no restriction as to the number, weight, size, shape, or material of the mallets.” If you have indiarubber at one striking end you must not use it. Also your mallet must have the two striking ends perfectly vertical. The accompanying plan will show why a multiple of 5 and 4 has been selected for the dimensions of the ground. Up the central line the hoops are 7 yards apart, each peg 7 yards from the nearest outer hoop, 7 yards from each side hoop, 7 yards from the boundary. This is the setting, and the game consists in driving both balls through these hoops, in the order indicated by the numbers, up to the turning peg, and then returning to the winning peg, in a similar manner. At starting each player places his ball one foot away indicates 7 yds. from hoop No. 1, placing it not slantingly, but in the exact centre. If he runs the hoop he

plays again, and his turn can be prolonged by the following incidents :—1. Making a fresh point (hoop or peg) in order. 2. Hitting a ball that he has not hit since making a point. This hit is called a roquet, and after a roquet a player is compelled to take croquet. To take croquet you must place your ball in undeniable contact with the ball you have hit, and you may in your stroke glance awTay 20 yards (or other distance) after moving it half an inch, or you may roll it along with your own ball all that distance, or you may effect what is called a stop shot, and drive the croqueted ball a considerable distance while arresting the progress of your own ball almost completely. The croquet is an important stroke, and you must get from it all the advantage you can. But it is checked by certain minute regulations 1. If the balls are not quite touching when you take croquet the adversary may have them put back and make you play the stroke over again. 2. If you fail to move both balls your turn ceases, and the adversary once more can have the balls put back. 3. If the croqueted ball reaches the boundary of the ground your turn ceases. 4. If your own ball reaches the boundary of the ground, unless intermediately it makes a roquet, your turn ceases. This, called the dead boundary law, was in existence when Mr Henry Jones wrote, but it has since been modified. The laws of croquet may here be briefly sketched. There are thirteen strokes called “foul.” No point can be scored off any of them, the turn is lost, and the adversary, if he likes, can have the ball replaced after the stroke :—1. To strike the ball twice distinctly in playing it. 2. To push a ball without an audible knock. 3. To strike another ball besides one’s own in playing, or taking aim. 4. To touch a rolling ball. 5. To allow a ball to rebound on the player’s person or mallet. 6. To press a ball round a wire. 7. To play a ball after a roquet without taking croquet. 8. To fail to move the croqueted ball in the croquet stroke. 9. To take croquet from a ball without having first roqueted it. 10. To knock a hoop out of the ground with the mallet when making a stroke. 11. To use any part of the mallet, except the striking ends of the head, to propel a ball. 12. To use an indiarubbertipped mallet. 13. To touch a ball improperly with hand, foot, or mallet. Besides these “ foul strokes ” there are six minor offences; it is a blemish in the laws that no defined penalties are attached to them, and players are advised to settle beforehand that the stroke must be played again if the adversary wishes it1. To play a stroke with a second mallet without having damaged the first. 2. To take croquet off a ball which you have sent not off but nearer than 3 feet to the boundary, without bringing it in three full feet before you play. 3. To lay down a mark to help your aim. 4. To play the first stroke at less than a foot from the first hoop, and not from a central spot. 5. To play with the wrong ball at starting. 6. To move a ball at rest accidentally. There are a few other laws. Only a rover can peg out a rover. A hoop is considered run when it cannot be touched with a straight edge from the playing side. On the other hand, a ball driven partly through a hoop from the non-playing side cannot run the hoop next stroke if it can be touched by a straight edge from the non-playing side. If the player play with a wrong ball, blue and black must be placed in one corner and red and yellow in the other corner, behind hoops 1 and 10, and the adversary may go on with either ball of his side. A considerable advance has been made in the use of the mallet since 1877. Players are now divided into two groups, those who use side-play and those who use frontplay. The distinction can be best understood if we imagine a player shooting at an object due north. The side player will face due east and strike with his mallet across the