Now to choose the bow. The first thing to see to is that the grain of the wood is straight, even, close, and free from knots or pins, more especially on the rounded part and within about six inches of each end. This applies to any sort of bow, but more especially to yew, as crysals are apt to develop wherever there is a pin. A crysal is a small crack in the wood, which at first is often difficult to detect, but which is a serious source of weakness and often ends in the breaking of the bow. The length of a lady's bow should be from 5 ft. 3 in. to 5 ft. 6 in. [Illustration] To string the bow, place the lower horn against your right foot, the "back" or flat part of the bow towards the body, and taking the handle of the bow in your right hand, place the ball of your left thumb four inches from the top horn. Then while drawing it to you with the right hand, press it from you with the left and slip the upper loop of the string into the nock of the horn. The method of unstringing is precisely similar, except that the loop is slipped out instead of being passed in. When the bow is strung, the distance from the inside of the handle should be five-and-a-half inches to the string, which for one inch above and five inches below the handle should be neatly whipped with waxed thread or silk to prevent its being injured, should it strike the bracer. Then exactly opposite the top of the handle of the bow, the nocking point must be made, which should be sufficiently tight to retain the arrow when hanging downwards from the string. When strung the bow should be held, string uppermost, the lower horn resting on the ground, and on looking down the string, it should appear to cut the bow in the centre. In a good bow the centre sixteen inches should be rigid, and thence the bend should be regular and even. The string should be of the best hemp whipped with silk, and a nocking point neatly made exactly in the right spot. It is better looped at each end, as in the event of its being slack it can then be twisted up in a moment, thus avoiding all flurry of undoing in the old way of knotting the end. I have already said that it is better to have a string with loops spliced at each end, it is as well, however, to say how the loop can be made in a new string. The knot is a timber hitch, to make which take a turn of the lower end round the string and twist it three times round the loop. The string is whipped in the following manner: String the bow and find the exact spot where the nocking of the arrow will come, then wax the string for an inch and a half above, and five inches below the spot, and take some silk or carpet thread, also waxed, and lay half an inch of the thread along the string beginning at the upper portion. Then wrap the thread over that part of itself which has been laid down until the waxed portion is covered. In order to fasten off, take six or seven turns of the thread over the string in the reverse way, place the end of the