The Grenada gazette., 1889-02-28
OUTDOOR EXERCISE.
The Most Rational Way Of Preserving
Health. Endurance and vlEor.

Ths Most Rational Way Of Preserving
Health, Endurance and viEor
The English have, from time imme-
mortal, held the lead In outdoor
sports. though in gymnastics the Ger
mans and French have eaceled them.
and their ascendancy among nations Is
attributed by themselves and others, to
nothing so much as to this fact These
Is is which have largely made and
preserved English health. endurance
and vigor; and that which they have
done for the old country they may be
relied upon to effect for the new.
These it is which makes constitutions
almost disease-proof, and well nigh
render doctors superfuous. Among
preventive agents-which are 80 much
preferable to remedial ones-they
rank, perhaps, first They furnish
open air, exercise. interest and
pleasure, and beget bodily skill
and mental activity, precision and
perseverance; and whatever COM
bines these creates tissue and mastery.
OF late there has been great increase
Of interest in them in this country.
and they have never held so wide sway
as to-day. Scarcely any thing could
be more desirable.
Among the rich. horseback riding
has taken great leap ahead. English
running-races and steeple-chases have
been introduced, and the American
'fox- hunt il in one Of its essential
points parody upon the English, still
produces skillful and vigorous horse
manship, and that, after all, is the
main thing. Cricket hourishe5 within
narrow limits, and its American
cousin. base-ball-probably the most
original Of all our outdoor pastimes-
"rages, as it were, over the land, an
epidemic of health. The professional
players, who are most benefited
physically by it, arc, to be sure.
| few in number in comparison
with our sixty millions OF popula-
tion-though they constitute a small
army in themselves. Still they furnish
the occasion of the inhabitants OF our
larger cities turning out en- nlas$e as
| spectators and spending hours in
the open air; besides which, every sort
and description of amateur club is in
| duced to take the field. and even the
boot-blacks and newsboys carry a ball
in their pockets, and fill the intervals
| between business with its use. Not
| less universal and beneficial is lawn
tennis Gin spite of possible tennis
elbows ian admirable game. pos
sessing, with horsemanship, the adyan-
tage OF being equally well adapted to
either sex. Lacrosse is transmitted TO
us from the Indians, and should be
more generally played than it is An
other Canadian sport, tObogganlng, IS
rapidly growing in popularity; and so,
we trust, is snow-shoeing. Our col
| leges are the seat of boating, football,
| base ball and general athletic contests
| to an extent that has given rise to n
| standing joke on the subject. PicniCs
| and outdoor association meetings are
seldom complete without their athletic
! sports-running. leaping, wrestling,
casting the stone. etc.-the girls and
women, too, sometimes taking part.
The English paper hunt" has been
naturalized in some localities. Bicy-
cling and tricycling are fast becoming
as common here rs anywhere. Yacht
ing, canoeing, swimming, and the varl-
Gus modes OF navigation, prevail in
| summer, while in winter skating takes
their place Pedestrian tours arc
| growing popular amongst men, and
even our women are learning to realize
the pleasure and profit in them. We
have borrowed the gymnasium from
the Germans: why not adopt their OUT
door gymnasium, too9
! The whole is movement in the right
| direction. The more widely the sports
in the above enumeration. and others
| like them, flourish amongst us, the
better will it be for our country at her
most vital point. Boston Journal Of
Health.