The ball is an ordinary cricket-ball painted white. The stick has a hard-wood curved head, and a handle of cork or wrapped cane. It must not exceed 2 in. in diameter nor 28 oz. in weight. At the start of the game, which consists of two thirty or thirty-five minute periods, the two centre-forwards "bully off" the ball in the middle of the field. In "bullying off" each centre must strike the ground on his own side of the ball three times with his stick and strike his opponent's stick three times alternately; after which either may strike the ball. Each side then endeavours, by means of striking, passing and dribbling, to drive the ball into its opponents' goal. A player is "off side" if he is nearer the enemy's goal than one of his own side who strikes the ball, and he may not strike the ball himself until it has been touched by one of the opposing side. The ball may be caught (but not held) or stopped by any part of the body, but may not be picked up, carried, kicked, thrown or knocked except with the stick. An opponent's stick may be hooked, but not an opponent's person, which may not be obstructed in any way. No left-handed play is allowed. Penalties for infringing rules are of two classes; "free hits" and "penalty bullies," to be taken where the foul occurred. For flagrant fouls penalty goals may also be awarded. A "corner" occurs when the ball goes behind the goal-line, but not into goal. If it is hit by the attacking side, or unintentionally by the defenders, it must be brought out 25 yds., in a direction at right angles to the goal-line from the point where it crossed the line, and there "bullied." But if the ball is driven from within the 25-yd. line unintentionally behind the goal-line by the defenders, a member of the attacking side is given a free hit from a point within 3 yds. of a corner flag, the members of the defending side remaining behind their goal-line. If the ball is hit intentionally behind the goal-line by the attacking side, the free hit is taken from the point where the ball went over. No goal can be scored from a free hit directly. _Ice Hockey_ (or _Bandy_, to give it its original name) is far more popular than ordinary Hockey in countries where there is much ice; in fact in America "Hockey" means Ice Hockey, while the land game is called Field Hockey. Ice Hockey in its simplest form of driving a ball across a given limit with a stick or club has been played for centuries in northern Europe, attaining its greatest popularity in the Low Countries, and there are many 16th- and 17th-century paintings extant which represent games of Bandy, the players using an implement formed much like a golf club.