Outing for May.

This is an unusually interesting number, containing articles on "Summering in the Northwestern fields of sport," by Ernest Ingersoll; "Wheel and Camera in Normandy," by J. W. Fosidick; "Yacht Racing in Great Britain," by Professor F. C. Sumichrast; "Lawn Tennis-on the present method of scoring," by Howard A. Taylor; "The English Race courses," by "Borderer;" "A Lesson in Brook Trouting," by Dr. G. M. Hyde; "The game of Lawnbowls," by James Hedley; "A new hand at the rod," by C. R. C.; "Bass Fishing on Rideau Lake," by J. W. Longley. But the article chiefly interesting to Harvard men is one by F. A. Stevenson, captain of the Yale crew in 1888, on "Yale and her Victories on the Water." The writer says much in favor of the Cook stroke, and describes its development from 1886 to 1889. Much has been said about "form" and "skill" in rowing. Mr. Stevenson thinks skill to be the essential thing for a fast crew, but the best way to bring a crew up to a degree of skill is by means of form. He thinks that for steady development a fixed standard or ideal is necessary, and a system which the experience of each year will tend to improve. "A full and complete realization of this standard constitutes skill, and is attained, or rather approached with a college crew by thorough and careful adherence to the requirements of form."

The Yale crews for the last four years have won by studying out and perfecting the motions of the "recover" in order that the boat shall stop as little as possible between the strokes. In 1886 "Harvard seemed scarcely to get a good hold on the water until the stroke was partially pulled through, while Yale 'caught' the water right at the beginning. In the recover there was also a marked difference, Yale taking it so slowly on their slides as to give the observer the impression that there was a 'hang.' Harvard, on the other hand, made a quick recover, and the arms, bodies and slides looked as if they were thrown aft in a bunch, the blade being thrown quickly down to the water at the catch." In 1887 the same difference was observable, though Harvard had a much faster crew. The Yale crew had a longer "hang" of the oars before entering the water, a slower start of the shoulders on the recover and a weaker finish, but they kept their boat moving steadily while the Harvard boat stopped between the strokes. In 1888 the Yale crew was much more finished then in either of the preceding years, while the Harvard crew suffered from a multiplicity of ideas.