Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-01-18
Bowling One of the oldest
of Cannes PLAYED Today

play was carried on was called the
bowling green and that is the genealogy
north of the Battery which is called
Bowling Green. Bowls were played on
the green there up to 1910.
It was about this time that the rooted
IN alley for bowling came into use At
first this alley was of clay. Later it be-
came slate. and now the alley is built
up of alternate strips of pine and maple
set on edge and fitted and finished with
all the cunning of the cabinet maker.
The Dutch origin or importation of
bowling was probably understood by
Washington Irving, who had delved Ear
into the annals of Manhattan and the
Hudson country. All will recall the lit
tie fellows who played at ninepins In The
Catskills. according to the story of Rip
Van Wrinkle" And right here is good
place TO quote the lues from Washing
ton Irving story, out of which a popu-
lar and ever-young play was made:
Passing through the ravine they came TO hol-
low, like small amphitheater. surrounded by
perpendicular pracipices, over the brinks OF which
impending trees shot their branches, that you
only caught glimpses OF the azure sly aui The
and his companion had labored in silence, FOR
though the former marveied greatly what could
wild mountain. yet there something strange
and ncomprehensible about the unknown that
inspired awe and checked familiarity.
On entering the amphitheater new objects of
wonder presented themselves. On u level spot III
the center was company Of odd-looAins per,
sonages playing at nfnepins. They were dressed
III quaint, outlandish fashion: some wore short
doublcts. other jerkins with long knives IN their
belts, and most of them had enormous breed hts
Of similar style with that Of the guiies. lh'ir
visases. TOO. were peculiar. One had large head,
broad face and small. piggish eyes: the face OF
was surmounted by white sugar loaf hat set
boards of various shapes and colors.
What seemed particularly cdd 10 Rip was that
though these folks were evidently amusing them
selves, yet they maintained the grayest faces. the
most mysterious silence and were witha. the
moss melancholy party o; pleasure he had ever
the scene but the noise of the balls, which, when
ever they We're rolled echoed along the mountains
like rumbling peals OF thunder.
The game of bowling as modified by
Americans came about the middle of the
nineteenth century to be known through
out the world as American bowls
# ::
There is a curious old book in the
Library of Congress and which was pub
iished by Henry G. Bohn, London, in
i, 1880. in which you may read description
of the American bowling saloon kept in
that year by Thomas Robson at 1913
| Strand. The author of that book gives
| the following pen picture of the place and
it should be entertaining to the bowlers
| of today:
| On one side of the room are sofas for the
! spectators and at the bowling end seats for the
can bowling saloon. 1893 Strand. where. by the
courtesy of the proprietor the present particulars
ming parallel to each other ard sometimes as
many as forty or fifty players engaged at one
| is brilliantly lighted and enlvened with music.
The chief art in playing at this somewhat ati-
letic game consists in hitting the apex or point
pin half ball the larger the hall the greater the
chance OF success). but dexterity is only to be
acquired by practice.
| The uninitiated had better not be too fierce in
his first onslaught. especially 4 he play with
heavy balls, the exercise Is likely to Try the
| muscles of the arm rather severely and may
| leave Renaissance for some days afterwarI.
! The rules that were posted up in that
| old AngIo-American bowling saloon
have been preserved and bowlers can see
how the game was played considerably
over half a century ago. These rules
We're:
L Each player to pay siApence per game
and to be allowed three balls for each
OF the ten divisions. but when spare balls
are obtained then to play on TO the ex-
tent of them
=. Any number of players not exceed
ing tenl can play together: the lowest
half division pay the game Of the highest
3 Gambling strictly prohibited.
f. IL playing all pins knocked down
considered fair whether obtained by Il
front or back lie. reverberated, ball.
s. No gentleman allowed to stand on
the platform in front of the alleys eN-
cept the players.
10 I15 nv Sin L. hall
:. The marked line of the alleys is TIE
utmost limit allowed to players in de
livering the ball.
8. Should any dispute arise between the
players the marker to be called as UNI
pire and Ills decision TO be final.
O. The sofas behind the players to be
reserved exclusively for their use.
10. Two players cannot retain an alley
exclusively to themselves when other
parties are waiting to play.
II. Pitching the balls is not permitted,
and any player doing SO latter notice.
forfeits his game from that point
AS the game was introduced into Amer
lea and as 1t was long played here the
mum Der of pins used was nine. and they
were set up in the form of diamond.
It was charged that SO much gambling
resulted from the fascinating game that
laws against playing it We're passed.
These laws were evaded by adding one
pin. calling the game tenrins and setting
the pins up in the form of a right-angled
triangle.
* *
The interest in and the number of
players of this game cannot be under
stood by persons who never have got
the habit. There are tens of thousands
CT bowling clubs in the United States
and Canada. These are under the juris-
diction of the American Bowling Con-
g-ess. which meets once year to re-
wise rules needing revision and to hold
the annual national championship
games.
The game as ninepins is played
throughout Germany and has had
considerable growth in Great Britain.
IN Germany. as "kegelspiel." it is roll- |
ed with solid balls on alleys of marble, |
slate cement or asphalt
There are number of variants OF
tenpins For example there are |