MR. LEHMANN'S CRITICISM.

Mr. Lehmann yesterday gave out an official criticism of the crew, expressing on the whole much satisfaction with the way in which the men have worked during the winter and with the results obtained. He has not heretofore cared to make any definite statements in regard to the crew, because he has been with them so short a time this spring. The criticism is as follows:

"When I returned and took the crew on the 19th of March they had been on the water about a week, and during the winter they had done a certain amount of work, not so much as has been usual in former years, in the tank, under the direction of Mr. Storrow, Mr. Mumford and Captain Goodrich.

"I found them rowing in very good shape, far better, indeed, than I had expected. They showed more confidence and greater steadiness, which proved to my mind that they had been carefully thinking out for themselves what they had been learning in the fall, and had been constantly endeavoring to apply these lessons under the guidance of skilful instructors. To put it in a different way: whereas in the fall they had always to be thinking, with the recurrence of every stroke, of the various motions that they had to get through, as of something more or less strange or unaccustomed, it seemed to me when I saw them in March that these motions had become a sort of second nature to them, and that they therefore performed them with far greater facility and precision.

"The work in the barge has showed a steady and continued improvement. The stroke has lengthened out; the swing and balance have become better; the grip at the beginning is firmer; and the work of the blades in the water is on the whole clean and strong, although there is still observable a tendency here and there to feather under water.

"Physically, the men are a fine powerful lot, fully as strong and well developed as the Englishmen who form the two university crews. They have not had the same racing experience as their English cousins, but this disadvantage may be to some extent counteracted by the longer preparation which they will have to undergo for this particular race, and by racing against scratch crews in the later stages.

"It must be remembered too that in this respect the crews of other American universities have no advantage over ours.

"At present, the crew, having just taken to the shell are in one of their transition periods, but there is every reason to suppose that, when they have mastered those elements of watermanship which can be taught only in a racing ship, they will show both uniformity and pace.

"It is possible that one or two changes may have to be made, but my hope is that, accidents apart, the crew may now be taken as complete in its main features.

"Individual criticism at this early period of practice is hardly fair. I may say, however, that stroke Perkins has shown very steady improvement, his best points being his steadiness, regularity and length. He is well backed up by Goodrich, who has a very long reach and does not fear to use it. Thomson, at 6, has an easy style and generally rows fairly well with stroke, though he does not always hold his stroke out long enough in the water.

"J. H. Perkins, at 5, is a much-improved man, sits up better at the finish and uses his great strength far more to the advantage of the crew. The same may be said of 4, Sprague, who in the fall rowed in a very cramped and ungainly style, though he undoubtedly worked. He has now acquired much greater freedom of movement. His chief fault is a heaviness of the hands at full reach, which often causes him to be late in beginning.

"With regard to the rest, I must content myself with noting the very great strides made by Wrightington at bow."

Mr. Lehmann expects to devote what time he can spare from the 'Varsity to the class crews and has already given them some little attention. He is of the opinion that the various crews throughout the whole organization are rowing approximately the same stroke, approaching uniformity quite as closely as do the Oxford or Cambridge crews.