Modern _bows_ are of two kinds, viz. self bows and backed bows. The self bow is composed of only one kind of wood; but the backed bow is composed of two kinds of wood, both the full length of the bow, carefully joined together. Bows used formerly to be made of the yew, and foreign yew was preferred to British, as being more elastic. Now the yew is seldom used, and bows are made, either wholly or in part, of ornamental woods, such as fustick, lance-wood, or partridge-wood, backed by ash or elm. Bows are of different lengths, but those for ladies are generally about five feet long; while men, on the contrary, generally choose a bow of their own height. The strength of a bow is calculated by the weight that it requires to be suspended to the bowstring, when the bow is strung, to draw the string to the length of an arrow from the bow, and this is called the bow's weight. Fifty pounds is the standard weight of a man's bow, and it requires a very strong man to draw a bow of sixty pounds' weight; but bows for ladies and children are from two to thirty pounds' weight. The bow handle, that is, the part which is nearly in the centre of the bow, is usually covered with velvet, in order to give a firm hold without hurting the hands; and this handle is placed, not exactly in the centre, but below it, so as to shorten the lower branch, as the strain upon that part is generally considered greater than on the other, and on this account, also, the lower part of the bow is generally the thickest and the strongest. The two ends of the bow are tipped with horn, and notches are made in these tippings to receive the bowstring. The best _bowstrings_ are made of Italian hemp, dressed with gum or Indian glue to preserve them from the wet; and the distance of the string from the centre of the bow, when strung, should not be more than five inches for a bow five feet long, and in the largest bows not more than six.