BOWLING.

Waikato Times, Volume 116, Issue 19462, 29 December 1934, Page 16 (Supplement)

BOWLING.

AROUND THE GREENS. ITEMS OF INTEREST. IMPROVE YOUR ‘GAME. ('By “Jack High.”) In the hope that these hints will be of some service to those desirous of improving their play, I am pleased to accede to the request to contribute something informative on the play of the respective members of a rink. Lead or No. I.—l am assuming that »he is able to take his correct stance on the mat and get his bowl aw’ay smoothly and without wobble. Laying the mat should be done by the winning lead of the previous head, care being taken to place it where the take off is good. There are plenty of shots completely spoilt by being delivered on faulty turf. His first difficulty, and one not sufficiently appreciated, is to throw the jack within some reasonable distance, say a yard or two, of where directed. I could name innumerable games and even some important finals lost because of the inability of the lead to to throw the Jack. If every lead, who aspires to get into a good rink, will take the trouble to practice with three or four jacks, he will be surprised to |fl|nd how nearly he can place them to where directed by his skip. To illustrate my point that placing the jack is so important, I take note of what length head any one of the team is playing best, and from then on, unless some turn of the game makes an alteration necessary, endeavour to get the lead to throw’ that length. With the jack being thrown any experienced skip will give his lead a fairly free hand. He has to find the green for his mates who follow. —-(To be continued).

LIGNUM VITAE BOWLS. HOW THEY ARE MADE. (Continued). Lignum Vitae is a product of the West Indies, large supplies coming from the Island of Santo Domingo, where the choicest species are grown. There is abundance obtainable, vast forests remaining as ye! untapped, and the wood is exported In this country (England', in such a condition of seasoning Ilia! it is ready at any lime to be worked up. Muon of Ibis limber may well have been felled a century ago, but notwithstanding Ibis long period of maturity Hie logs are as susceptible lo Ihe varying climatic conditions to whim they arc exposed as those felled more recently.

Makers are ever faced with Inc difficulty as lo how to preserve Lignum Vitae when, after ages of imprisonment. il is suddenly exposed to the air and other destructive atmos-

pheric influences during the sawing and cutting-up processes. If exposed without suitable protection, it Is liable to crack in all directions, and so the temperature in the storehouse ■of a bowls factory is never permitted to exceed 60 degrees Fahrenheit. , The polish on bowls is not merely “for appearance’s sake; 1 ’ It is there for the definite purpose of preserving the wood; and in-this connection, it ■should be noted that the full-bodied black polish serves as a better protection from ■ climatic influences than the thin transparent polish used on bowls finished in their natural colour. 'Have your woods repolished every three, four or five years, according to their bareness on the tread. If- this is neglected, the whole of the surface will become reticulated with' fine hair lines, which eventually develop into ugly cracks. Varnish or a polish is so essential that if it 'were not applied immediately to newly-turned bowls, fine cracks would appear in ■every bowl within an hour or two—or even less in hot weather.

OVER-WEIGHT BOWLS. Why thexAustralian Bowling Council were forced to adopt this law is ■explained by the following letter received by the N.Z.B.A. from the A.B.G. on the subject:— “With regard to the size and weight of bowls, the law governing this question was adopted by my council in February, 1'926. It was the fast growing popularity of 'the composition bowl which led to its introduction. IPrior to the introduction of this Jaw, these bowls were being manufactured to the. minimum size and maximum weight; that is a bowl of 4 7-8, weighing from 31b 6oz to. 31b 'Boz. These bowls would draw to the standard under the table test, but in actual use on any but a very fast green they would, on account of their 'excessive weight, bed themselves into the green more than a lighter bowl of the same size and shape, and thus considerably retard their draw.

“A special howl testing committee was appointed in 1924 and, after about eighteen months of collaboration with engineering and other experts, it drew up a scale of for the maximum weights of the respective sizes of bowls. It has given general satisfaction during ihe last seven years and there is no 'question of modifying or altering the scale in any way.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

Cambridge.—The weights and sizes approved by the Dominion Council are:

Size / Maximum weight Australian 4 14-16 Inches 31bs 2ozs 31bs 2ozs 4 15-16 inches 31bs 3ozs 31bs 2ozs 5 inches 31bs sozs 31bs 4ozs 5 1-16 Inches 31bs 6ozs 31bs sozs 5 1-8 inches 31bs 7ozs 31bs 7ozs 5 3-16 Inches 31bs Bozs 31bs Bozs

Beginner.—The ground has been fully covered in the Saturday’s issue of this paper, during the last six weeks. If there should be any points not quite clear to you, I will be only too pleased to answer them through this column. In Doubt. —Yes I know of some sets that have stood up to t,his climate, but they are few and far betxveen. How can one expect anything else when they are so subject' to atmospheric influences that the temperature of a factory’s storehouse is never permitted to exceed '6O degrees Fahrenheit, > ■Correspondence addressed to “JackHigh,” Waikato Times, will be answered through this column.

“He was seated on a bench beneath a shady tree, in the grounds, when I met him,” writes a visitor to one of Auckland’s homes for the homeless. “I’ve been an inmate of this place for years,” he told me, “and I often sit here thinking of old times, and old mates dead and gone. Yes, I’m lonely. but" (brightening up), “I still have my pipe!" Before we parted I gave him a tin of New Zealand tobacco I chanced to have with me. You should have seen his delight! “They serve out tobacco here once a week,” he said, “but it's not Cut Plug No. 10! Thank you a thousand times, sir I” I left him quite happy—for the timebeing—but fear he has not too nruch happiness now, poor old chap." Smokers don’t need to be reminded that Cut Plug No. 10 (Bullshead) is one of the live famous toasted brands, the others being Navy Cut No. 3 (Bulldog), Cavendish), Riverhend Gold and Desert Gold. They are as delicious as they are harmless. Toasting frees them of their nicotine. -i63