UNSATISFACTORY PROGRESS.

The continued failure of the University football team to give indications of appreciable improvement is causing a general lack of confidence among those who have been watching the work from day to day. Occasionally the monotony of practices in which fumbling, poor defense and errors of every kind are the only features, is broken by a day of good spirited playing, but these exceptions are few. This whole state of affairs, moreover, is in decided contrast with the situation last year, when at this time the fundamentals of football had been thoroughly drilled into the men and the general development of the team was progressing favorably. Besides, last year, there were strong, able candidates for the eleven who were not content merely to go through the practice in a perfunctory manner but were trying hard every minute to perfect and put into execution what the coaches told them. It was in this way that they learned the game, and when it came to the test, their learning, gained at the expense of hard work and attention to detail, stood them in good stead. The hardest games of the season are now confronting the team, and beginning with Brown on Saturday, every contest will try the capabilities of the eleven to the utmost.

The practice yesterday was somewhat better; there was a little more snap to the plays, due, perhaps to the colder weather, and the line held more strongly than has been customary. Still there was hardly any brilliant playing to distinguish it from the general run of practices during the past few weeks. Knowles made a run of 55 yards from a kick-off and added several shorter gains around the end, but the benefit of these advances was lost by frequent fumbling, especially when touchdowns were imminent. Only one touchdown was scored, and that by the first eleven on straight rushes, principally formation plays, from the centre of the field. With the exception of Stillman, all the regular first-team players were out and took part in the scrimmage. The line-ups follow: FIRST ELEVEN.  SECOND ELEVEN. Burgess, Jones, l.e.  r.e., Crocker, McDonald Wright, Shea, Whitwell, l.t.  r.t., Oveson, Bleakie Marshall, Hovey, l.g.  r.g., Burden, Force King, c.  c., Sugden Barnard, Coburn, r.g.  l.g., Wilder Knowlton, Mills, Bleakie, r.t.  l.t., Fox, Whitwell, Mason Bowditch, r.e.  l.e., Littig, Goodhue Marshall, Daly, q.b.  q.b., Noyes, Parker Kernan, Knowles, l.h.b.  r.h.b., Pruyn, Randall, Dodge Hurley, McGlensey, r.h.b.  l.h.b., Harrison Graydon, Meier, f.b.  f.b., Ives, Schoellkopf