Americans, too, have taken it up with enthusiasm, and clubs
are interested in it all over the land, the ladies being especially
devoted to it.
In 1879 the first organization of Archery Clubs was formed at
Crawfordsville, Indiana, and the first annual target meeting was held
in Chicago in the same year.
Bows for archery are generally made out of tough soft wood, such as
yew, with a flat outside called the back and a rounded inside called
the belly; they are always strung with latter side inward. Lance wood
is chiefly used in the United States on account of its resistance to
heat. The bow must be easily controlled, and not too heavy. The strain
of drawing a heavy bow is apt to pull the bow hand out of the line of
sight. A 48-pound bow well drawn and loosed will give a lower trajectory
than one of 55 pounds sluggishly handled. By the weight of a bow is
not meant its avoirdupois, but the force necessary to draw the arrow
to its head on the bow. It is all important to know how to string the
bow. Grasp the handle firmly with the right hand, draw it near your
right side, while the lower end rests against the inside of the right
foot, the back of the bow being toward you.
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