THE WORLD OF SPORT.

OUR ENGLISH LETTER. ■' * LONDON, Feb. 7. A POPULAR PASTIME. '■ The ever-growing number of crosscountry runners clearly shows how popular this branch of athletics is, and even those who do not pay particular attention to paperchasing ought j to feel pleased- at the course of events. ] Upwards of 230 competitors figure in I ■the North of the Thames race at Wembley Park, and the junior championship event at Newport attracted 22 teams. One reason cross-country : running appeals to so many youngsters is that it is can inexpensive pastime, and it is now popular with the masses. Some of the old clubs still flourish, of which special mention may be mad© of the Thames Hare and Hounds and , the Blackheath Harriers. These, with a few others which might be named, still make the social side of the club "a feature of the policy., "Old timers" constantly draw a parallel between the methods of today and those in the eai'ly 'eighties. It was then lie custom to sit down to a substantial feed after a run, and following this the evening was devoted to a smoking concert^ boxing, cards and talks over past and coming events. The ' 'old timers'' could join in this, and their advice was often of great value. Even the moderate sum V~ expended/in an evening such as that \ outlined is a consideration to many of the young lads now participating in cross-country running, and they are therefor© deprived of one of its most . enjoyable features. TOO MUCH RACING. That the pastime finds so much favour among the masses is satisfactory, as it must tend to improve the stamina and VpKysique of the nation; The writei^ however, who has been in close touch with all pastimes at Home, in the States, Canada and South -Africa during the past 35 years, is firmly convinced that there is too much racing. If clubs would do more to encourage lads to look on cross-coun-try running as a healthy, and enjoyable pastime, and not so much as a ' competitive sport, it would be all the Better for the runners. Young lads of 17 to 21 years have no spare strength to expend in competition, and, they would -be better employed in building up their constitution by moderate exercises. When fully developed it is another matter,,and yet even then one may easily overdo it. As a pastime, ; cross-country running ranks high, when propertaj .exploited. It is iniost enjoyable Jrom^'April to the end of October, andj^e^t of .all in the last - hour of 'daylight (after; eight o'clock) on a summerrs-evenine. If this were /better u|xc[ejfsto»d the members of ; swimmingVv U cy_«iing,, rowing,, tennis, cricket,^ noc^ey^, football and other clubs would'go in for it, to their own enjoyment and the betterment of their liealth and skill at other games. Racing should be, avoided, and only a slow jog-trot kept up, which, followed by a sponge down and a brisk rub with a rough towel, leaves one with a delicious feeling of vigour and lightness —once the unnecessary fat has been got rid of. ■ a -„ , % JOHN BULL, SCORES. , _•-. The thanks of the sporting community are certainly due to A. F. Bettinso'n and the others who so ably conducted the recent Alhambra wrest*- \~ ling tournament. We have had plenty of music-hall wrestling during the past lew years,; in which the honours and '' ":' much British gold have gone to Con- ►..: tinental cracks. On this account few fancied Britishers would distinguish themselves, as they have done, in,the tournament: under notice. True,-such noted performers as Hackenschmidt, Zbysco^'and Padoubury did notcompete; nevertheless some noted athletes did so, of whom Vallolton and De Riaz of Switzerland, Yamato of Japan, Joe Carroll of England, with Ne^jison and - Gotz, now resident in England, were the best known. The tournament was a big success^ and will not doubt be repeated, when the semi-finals and finals ; ~ should be decided on separate days, so that all the finalists may take the mat when fresh. The most satisfactory feature of the affair was the capital showing of Home wrestlers^ and Jack and Joe Carroll (nephew and uncle) and J.JEisson, winners of the light, middle and heavy weights respectively, are a credit to the Empire. The latter in particular may do much to stop the run of success of strangers in this country, Esson hails from Aberdeen, and is only 22 years of age, during which he has grown to '6ft 3|in. in height, and 16st lOlbs.in "weight. He has spenb two years on the Continent, where he has learnt many of the scientific points of wrestling, and if he sticks to the business may climb much higher. The tournament and its results will surely induce many more Home wrestlers to study the catch-as- .; catch-can style, and in time we may discover a Hackenschmidt of our own. There is no reason why we should not do so, as there must be plenty of men with the natural physique and temperament within this great Empire of ours. Look to it, then, ye overseas Britishers, as it is up to you to help the Motherland discover a worldbeater. : • A BOOM IN ATHLETICS. Even at this early date it is evident that the stadium at Shepherd's Bush will, be the scene of a remarkable series of sports and pastimes durm<* the next eight months. The Finehley Harriers led off w,ith an athletic meeting on May 2nd; then will follow the .Cycling Carnival- on May 16th, the Jiighgate Harriers' * Sports on May 30th, the British trials for the Olympic Games on May 30th and June 6th (swimming), the Polytechnic Sports ■'■■■■" , V/rwT'* 11 °" Wnit M?ncla.y, the ■-.-' -N-O.C. Cycling Championships on : . June 27, and probably the A.A.A. championships on July 4th. The Olympic Games will claim attention Irom July 13th to July 25th, while the auto-cycla meet is scheduled for »«, and the London Centre cycle Championships on August 29th. Various other sports will be decided inside the vast arena. Altogether the Olympic Games are goinj to give most sports a fine stimulus, and if the Empire & athletes don't score-twice as m.any points as any other- nation it r.i + I °Ugh want of enterprise and not because we have not got the BOXING. _ Interest .grows in the Burns v Palmer contest, which is scheduled for next^Monday. Both men have pleased their supporters by the manner they have gone through their train™f» an 1 d P^mer in particular will be ntter than he has been for several of his previous contests. Burns will naturally start a good favourite, but Palmer is almost certain to give him far more trouble than Gunner Moir did. He is much faster than the latter, and more. equal in cunning to Burns. The latter was in no hurry against Moir, but he will probably "slip himself" at once on Monday, so we shall most likely see some very fast jfighting. Burns, by the way, may go

to Paris shortly and take on Moreau, who recently met Gaucher for the heavy weight championship of France. The Canaaian is quite willing, .and only wait!.; for a satisfactory offer. TURF TOPICS. : A year ago there were only four non-acceptors for the Lincolnshire Handicap, but the weights have not proved so satisfactory this time, as eleven candidates have been withdrawn. Among the missing are Lischana, and some prominent French entrants have also been taken out, though the French-bred and Englishowned Eider stands his ground. If the Lincoln acceptances are somewhat ■ disappointing, those for the Kempton t Park Jubilee are just the opposite. | Only three of the original 37 ..nomin- \ ated have been withdrawn, which is j very ilattering to the committee of handieappers responsible for the weights. Galvania heads the list, |and, all being well, this race ought to be one of the most interesting handicaps of the year. The acceptors for the Grand National Steeple- ! chase only number 50 out of 71 entered. This does not compare with 19.07, when only ten were withdrawn^ from an entry of 65. Stilt, most of those left in ar9 genuine candidates, and there is no reason to anticipate a smaller field than usual. The top weight has been allowed to stay, and ! only Drumcree and; lied Lad, of the very noted brigade, are among the | non-acceptors. In another .week it will no doubt be possible to say something regarding the candidates supported for the earlier events. THE DERBY.. A chat with keen followers of racing soon shows what a wide difference of opinion prevails in respect to the next Derby: H is certainly a long time since the blue ribbon-rac6 presented such a very open appearance, and the tipster who can give the winner in once at this stage will^be a lucky man. In addition to the illness Prospector suifered from last summer,which may have left permanent weakness, he 'is believed, by some to be built on the wrong' lines for the Epsom course. "Then Lesbia is voted too small by many, while Vamose, Avhile brilliant at times*, is an uncertain animal. It is well to remember rhat after two much - fancied candidates had gone wrong in 1906, Spearmint suddenly flashed into prominence afcd won easily. Orby was another unexpected winner (if somewhat lucky) last year. This would certainly seem to be an occasion; when v a waiting policy looks to be the best, ;,and all the writer cares1 to say at this stage is that Perrier .and Mountain Apple are just the sort to ladvance greatly in favour. FOOTBALL./ The wonderful hold of Rugby foot"ballin r Wales was again made manifest on the occasion of the. Wales v. Scotland match at Swansea. • No fewer than 45,000 people watched the struggle, and the total receipts amounted to £2008, and ranks as the third highest "gate" for an International under Rugby rules. The absence of K. Macleod, and D. MaeGregor weakened greatly the Scotch three-quarter line, and the visitors tried to . win the matcn through the forwards. They certainly made a splendid attempt, and were unlucky not to prevail. Time arid again they took the ball down the field of play with splendid rushes, and yet only one try (converted) was the result. Just at the end it looked as though a ;Scot had again got over, but he was ruled to have been" held up" outside, though there was much discussion on the point. As to the Welshmen,, they did not shine quite as lniteh as usual, and some of the backs not relish haying to stop those desperate Scotch rushes. Vile, however, who partnered Bush at half, wa3 a notable' figure, and his pluck in going down on the ball in defiance of those weighty Scotch boots won him much praise. As usual, the" Welshmen started with a dash, and quickly gained a try, and though the Scots were ahead at half-time, the home players, thanks mainly to the brainy tactics of Biishj were able again to cross the visitors' line, and so prevail by the very narrow margin of 6 points to 5. It was a match in which the Welsh backs were almost entirely pitted against Scotch: forwards. Not, however; that the Welsh foVwards did little, for they beat the Scotchmen twice out of three times for , possession when it came to "scrums." In' the loose, however, the visitors were always on top; and witjaf the halves joining in the dribbling, the Welsh defenders were hard put to it. The record of the Internationals now, reads: Scotland won 13, Wales won 10, with 1 draw. ASSOCIATION. Cup ties have claimed the attention of "soccer" enthusiasts during the past few days. Perhaps it may be of' interest to give the figures as to^ Attendance and receipts at some of the matches. The Newcastle v. West Bam match attracted 47,300 people,' and the takings were £1704, while 35.000 were present at the Liverpool -v. Brighton and Aston Villa v. Hull City ties, the receipts amounting to over £1000 in each case. Even these figures were dwarfed by the Glasgow Rangers and Falkirk. In the first round of the Scottish Cup.. Ibrox Park was the I venue, and 45,000 people paid £1560 I to see the home side knock out Fal- ' kirk by 4 goals to 1. -^^ I As to the outcome of the marches ' in the second round of the F.A. Cup, : the feature of Saturday's matches was I the poor showing of First League \ teams, only* three qualifying, though | four drew and won on the replay. ! Southern teams did splendidly, six i getting through all-right, though the ; luck of the draw has again gone ! against them for the third round. I Still, Portsmouth and Southampton will be at home, and Crystal Palace may pull through 'at Grimsby. Against-these the First League teams are Asbou Villa, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City, Newcastle United, and Bolton Wanderers.. The other Southern teams left in are FulhanY, Swindon and Bristol Rovers, but they have severe tasks before them, and at the moment the prospects of the Cup* coming Soutli are not very promising. ] CRICKET. The best news cricketers have heard for a long time is that the M.C.C. favours the idea of an Imperial tournament. The next step will be to draw uo a scheme to carry out Mr Abe Bailey's idea, and this ought not to be a. very heavy task. After all, England would only have to \3lay six matches, which is not much worse . rhan five "Tests." The tournament' would entail nine matches in all, and I if played to a finish, as they should be, world probably occixpy 36 to 40 days. Naturally the County Cham-1 pionship would suffer,v but the gain ! to the Empire should be the first consideration. Difficulties and ob- ] staeles are sure to crop up, but as the ! scheme finds such general favour, it is fairly safe to say that we may hope ' to see English, Australian and South :

African elevens in opposition during 1909. ■ ':.