Litchfield enquirer., 1871-02-09
SKATES AND SKATING.

takes possession of the watery domain. II |is impossible to- name the inventor of ths skate, but it is one offhose inventions fol
 which no one has right to claim priority
 Want, imperious want, called 1t into exis
 tence, and the only question that remain:
 is, who improved it? In this age of ours
 the skate is beautifully finished article
 but originally it consisted simply of the jaw bone of an animal-a horse or cow-se i fashioned as to glide easily over the ice A pair of these primitive skates are still tC
 be seen in the British Museum, and others
 are occasionally dug up at Moorfields ane
 Finsbury in England.
 Construction of Me Skate.-The wood O
 the skate should be slightly hollowed, so a,
 to adapt it to the ball of the foot; and, a.
 the heel of the boot must be thick enougl
 to admit the peg, it may be we'll to lowel
 the wood of the skate corresponding to ths heel, so as to permit the foot tn regain
 that degree of horizontal position which
 1t would otherwise lose by the height O.
 the heel; for the more of the foot that i. in contact with the skate, the more firmly
 will these be attached. As the tread o1
 the skate should correspond, as nearly a. possible, with that of the foot, the wood should be of the same length as the boot or the shoe; the irons of good steel, anG we'll secured in the wood.
 These should pass beyond the screw al the heel, nearly as far as the wood itself but the bow of the iron should not project much beyond the tread.
 If the skate project much beyond the wood, the whole foot, and more especially it's hind part, must be raised considrably from the ice when the front or bow of the skate is brought to bear upon it; and. as the skater depends upon this part for the power of his stroke, it is evident that this must be greatly diminished by the general distance of the foot from the ice. In short, if the skate be too long, the stroke will be feeble, and the back of the leg painfully cramped: if it be too short, the footing will be proportionally unsteady and tot tering.
 As the position of the person in the act of skating is never vertical, and is some times very much inclined, and as conside- rable exertion of the muscles of the leg is requisite to keep the ankle stiff, this ought to be relieved by the lowness of the skates. Seeing, then, that the closer the foot is to the ice, the less is the strain on the ankle, 1t IS clear that the foot ought to be brought as near to the ice as possible, without dan ger of bringing the sole of the shoe in contact with 1t, while traversing on the edge of the skate. The best height is about ree.quarters of an inch, and the iron about quarter of an inch thick.
 The grooved or futed skate, if ever use- full, is of service only to boys, or very light persons, whose weight is not sufficient to catch the ice in hard frost. It certainly should never be used by a person who is heavier than boy of thirteen fourteen years of age usually is, because the sharp edge too easily cuts into the ice, and pre- vents figuring. Fluted skates, indeed, are even dangerous; for the snow or ice cut tings are apt to collect and consolidate in the grooves, till the skater IS raised from the edge of his skate, and thrown.
 In the general inclination of the foot in skating. no edge can have greater power than that of rectangular shape; the ten- dency of it's action is downwards, cutting through rather than sliding on the surface ]; and greater hold than this is unnecessary. The irons of skates should be kept we'll and sharply ground. This ought to be done across the stone, so as to give the bottom of the skate so slight concavity as to be impel ceptible. which insures an edge whose angle is not greater than right. Care must be taken that one edge is not higher than the other; so that when the skate is placed upon an even surface, it may stand quite perpendicularly. The wear of the iron not being great with be- ginner, one grinding will generally last him through an ordinary winters skating on clean ice. , ae .-
 The bottom of the iron should be a little curved; for. if perfectly straight, it would be capable of describing only a straight line, whereas, the skaters progress must be circular, because, in order to bring the edge to bear, the body must be inclined, and the inclination can be preserved only in circular motion. This curve of the iron should be part of circle, whose radius is about two feet. That shape enables the skater to turn his toe or heel outvards or inwards with facility. s
 The more simple the fastsnings of the skate the better. The two straps-namely, the cross strap over the toe, and the heel be improved. ~~
 Skating.-In learning to skate the begin ner should, before venturing upon the ice, be able to fasten on his skates with precis- ion, care and firmness. In skating, con- fdence is everything, and to obtain this. in his first attempt he had better take the hand of some friend, or provide himself with short stick, to preserve his equilib. rum. He should avoid throwing his arms about, only slightly elevating them with each alternate movement of the legs. In commencing what is termed the ordinary run. the left foot should be firmly placed with the inner edge of the skate upon the ice; then throwing out the right with some little force. until it's outer edge touches the ice, keeping the right shoulder forward and the body balanced upon the right leg as long as convenient; then perform the same manoeuvre with the left leg, and thus al- ternately changing the feet, continue to advance. When desirous of stopping, the two feet should be Drought together, and the impetus allowed to snbside by degrees. If, however, circumstances render it neces- sary that the skater should halt abruptly. he should press the heels of the skates upon the ice, being careful at the same time that in so doing he does not oyerbal- ance himself and fall backwards-a trans. action much more easy than agreeable. He may likewise, if he prefer it. bring his ca- reer to close by turning sharply either to the right or left.
 The whole theory of skating is compris. ed in few words.
 It is simply to begin by walking on the ice, crossing the feet at each step, and they should practice it also who can only run forward on the inside edge, if they wish to
 become proficient. Walk any ten paces R-~