The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1902-11-20

ceedingly difficult to project any dis
lance on account of the resistance of
the air the moment the plate rises or
falls below the plane of projection.
With the heavy metal discus but
little use is made of the wrist and fin
gers in order to give it a twist. The
slightest pressure Of the forefinger held
against a nick or fiat edge will inpart
enough motion of rotation to keep it in
the same plane from delivery to
descent.
|. For pianists and women with weak
fingers and wrists the light fiat plate
is better from hygienic point of view
than the heavy compact steel or iron
disk. It has been suggested by New
York woman's college that a hollow
steel or aluminium plate would give
the advantages of the two types and
conform to what might be termed
regulation size. Brass and copper
should never be used. No matter how
bright and FURNISHED these may be at
the beginning of a match they become
moistened from the perspiration of the
hand or from the dampness of the
grass. This in turn sets up super
fetal ordination and creates a thin finn
of oxide, which, if it enters the system
through an abrasion in the skin of the
hand, is likely to produce sores. An
enthusiastic discobolos, the founder of
the New York Disk Throwing club,
Miss Alice Johnson, in speaking of her
hobby, said:
''I took up disk throwing partly for
the sake of exercise and partly for So
ciability. Indian clubs and dumbbells
are good things, but they are not con-
ducive to conversation or a good time.
The hurting of disk is a pretty sight,
and everybody who sees it wants to do
likewise. AS the plate shoots through
the air it suggests the flight of a bird,
and besides that there is always the
element of rivalry among those present
when the throwing occurs.
Every thrower must run after her
own disk, so that half an hour devoted
to the pastime is as good for the loco
motor muscles as for those of the arm
and chest. 1 noticed, too, at the be-
ginning, that the exercise was Y benefit
not only to the muscles but also to the
lungs and waist. The long sweep of
the arm caused the chest to expand to
its utmost and communicated SYM
pathetic action to the intercostals,
which are almost always neglected in
the physical training of women.
"a month or two after this I per-
ceived that, while the diversion never
tired me, it was gradually hardening
the various muscles employed without
producing any unsightly curves or
knots. l think I can safely say that a
half hour a day devoted to the use of
the disk will increase the strength Of
the arms so per cent in a month and
of the body 10 per cent.
Where 1t is of particular benefit is
for young women whose arms are too
slender in proportion to the body. The
change 1t makes in such cases is SIM
ply wonderful The wrist hardens and
shrinks so as to be smaller and the
forearm increases rapidly in a long,
tapering curve upward, eliminating in
beautiful swell at the elbow. Both
the biceps and triceps are enlarged so
as to make a symmetrical continuation
of the forearm and an angular shoulder
is soon covered with a we'll rounded
and healthful muscular tissue. A bony
neck is improved and the hollow be-
tween the neck and the collarbone is
quickly filled up.
II can easily understand why the
Greek girls, who were such lovers Of
beauty, preferred this to all other
games. The same amount of time spent
upon any exercise would result in twice
as much improvement when discus
throwing was used than upon any other
sport. I believe in all exercises, such
as basketball, tennis golf, fencing, rid
ing and rowing, but to each there is
some serious drawback, and in nearly
all the muscular Improvements is par
tial, and often one-sided, but with dis
Gus throwing can find no drawback
whatever and the benefit is distributed
over the entire physical frame. New
York Herald.