No excuse need be offered to archers for presenting to them a new edition of the late Mr. Horace A. Ford's work on the Theory and Practice of Archery. It first appeared as a series of articles in the columns of the 'Field,' which were republished in book form in 1856; a second edition was published in 1859, which has been long out of print, and no book on the subject has since appeared. Except, therefore, for a few copies of this book, which from time to time may be obtained from the secondhand booksellers, no guide is obtainable by which the young archer can learn the principles of his art. On hearing that it was in contemplation to reprint the second edition of Mr. Ford's book, it seemed to me a pity that this should be done without revision, and without bringing it up to the level of the knowledge of the present day. I therefore purchased the copyright of the work from Mr. Ford's representatives, and succeeded in inducing Mr. Butt, who was for many years the secretary of the Royal Toxophilite Society, to undertake the revision.

A difficulty occurred at the outset as to the form in which this revision should be carried out. If it had been possible, there would have been advantages in printing Mr. Ford's text untouched, and in giving Mr. Butt's comments in the form of notes. This course would, however, have involved printing much matter that has become entirely obsolete, and, moreover, not only would the bulk of the book have been increased to a greater extent even than has actually been found necessary, but also Mr. Butt's portion of the work, which contains the information of the latest date, and is therefore of highest practical value to young archers, would have been relegated to a secondary and somewhat inconvenient position. Mr. Butt has therefore rewritten the book, and it would hardly perhaps be giving him too much credit to describe the present work as a Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Archery by him, based on the work of the late Horace A. Ford.

In writing his book, Mr. Ford committed to paper the principles by means of which he secured his unrivalled position as an archer. After displaying a clever trick, it is the practice of some conjurers to pretend to take the spectators into their confidence, and to show them 'how it is done.' In such cases the audience, as a rule, is not much the wiser; but a more satisfactory result has followed from Mr. Ford's instructions.

Mr. Ford was the founder of modern scientific archery. First by example, and then by precept, he changed what before was 'playing at bows and arrows' into a scientific pastime. He held the Champion's medal for eleven years in succession—from 1849 to 1859. He also won it again in 1867. After this time, although he was seen occasionally in the archery field, his powers began to wane. He died in the year 1880. His best scores, whether at public matches or in private practice, have never been surpassed. But, although no one has risen who can claim that on him has fallen the mantle of Mr. Ford, his work was not in vain. Thanks to the more scientific and rational principles laid down by this great archer, any active lad nowadays can, with a few months' practice, make scores which would have been thought fabulous when George III. was king.

The Annual Grand National Archery Meetings were started in the year 1844 at York, and at the second meeting, in 1845, held also at York, when the Double York Round was shot for the first time, Mr. Muir obtained the championship, with 135 hits, and a score of 537. Several years elapsed before the championship was won with a score of over 700. Nowadays, a man who cannot make 700 is seldom in the first ten, and, moreover, the general level both among ladies and gentlemen continues to rise. We have not yet, however, found any individual archer capable of beating in public the marvellous record of 245 hits and 1,251 score, made by Mr. Ford at Cheltenham in 1857.

One chief cause of the improvement Mr. Ford effected was due to his recognising the fallacy in the time-honoured saying that the archer should draw to the ear. When drawn to the ear, part of the arrow must necessarily lie outside the direct line of sight from the eye to the gold. Consequently, if the arrow points apparently to the gold, it must fly to the left of the target when loosed, and in order to hit the target, the archer who draws to the ear must aim at some point to the right. Mr. Ford laid down the principle that the arrow must be drawn directly beneath the aiming eye, and lie in its whole length in the same vertical plane as the line between the eye and the object aimed at.

It is true that in many representations of ancient archers the arrow is depicted as being drawn beyond the eye, and consequently outside the line of sight. No doubt for war purposes it was a matter of importance to shoot a long heavy arrow, and if an arrow of a standard yard long or anything like it was used, it would be necessary for a man to draw it beyond his eye, unless he had very long arms indeed. But in war, the force of the blow was of more importance than accuracy of aim, and Mr. Ford saw that in a pastime where accuracy of aim was the main object, this old rule no longer held good. This was only one of many improvements effected by Mr. Ford; but it is a fact that this discovery, which seems obvious enough now that it is stated, was the main cause of the marvellous improvement which has taken place in shooting.

The second chapter in Mr. Ford's book, entitled 'A Glance at the Career of the English Long-Bow,' has been omitted. It contained no original matter, being compiled chiefly from the well-known works of Roberts, Moseley, and Hansard. The scope of the present work is practical, not historical; and to deal with the history of the English long-bow in a satisfactory manner would require a bulky volume. An adequate history of the bow in all ages and in all countries has yet to be written.

In the chapters on the bow, the arrow, and the rest of the paraphernalia of archery, much that Mr. Ford wrote, partly as the result of the practice and experiments of himself and others, and partly as drawn from the works of previous writers on the subject, still holds good; but improvements have been effected since his time, and Mr. Butt has been able to add a great deal of useful information gathered from the long experience of himself and his contemporaries.

The chapters which deal with Ascham's well-known five points of archery—standing, nocking, drawing, holding, and loosing—contain the most valuable part of Mr. Ford's teaching, and Mr. Butt has endeavoured to develope further the principles laid down by Mr. Ford. The chapters on ancient and modern archery practice have been brought up to date, and Mr. Butt has given in full the best scores made by ladies or gentlemen at every public meeting which has been held since the establishment of the Grand National Archery Society down to 1886.

The chapter on Robin Hood has been omitted for the same reasons which determined the omission of the chapter on the career of the English long-bow, and the rules for the formation of archery societies, which are cumbrous and old-fashioned, have also been left out.

The portrait of Major C. H. Fisher, champion archer for the years 1871-2-3-4, is reproduced from a photograph taken by Mr. C. E. Nesham, the present holder of the champion's medal.

In conclusion, it is hoped that the publication of this book may help to increase the popularity of archery in this country. It is a pastime which can never die out. The love of the bow and arrow seems almost universally planted in the human heart. But its popularity fluctuates, and though it is now more popular than at some periods, it is by no means so universally practised as archers would desire. One of its greatest charms is that it is an exercise which is not confined to men. Ladies have attained a great and increasing amount of skill with the bow, and there is no doubt that it is more suited to the fairer sex than some of the more violent forms of athletics now popular. Archery has perhaps suffered to some extent from comparison with the rifle. The rifleman may claim for his weapon that its range is greater and that it shoots more accurately than the bow. The first position may be granted freely, the second only with reserve. Given, a well-made weapon of Spanish or Italian yew, and arrows of the best modern make, and the accuracy of the bow is measured only by the skill of the shooter. If he can loose his arrow truly, it will hit the mark; more than that can be said of no weapon. That a rifleman will shoot more accurately at ranges well within the power of the bow than an archer of similar skill is certain; but the reason is that the bow is the more difficult, and perhaps to some minds on that account the more fascinating, weapon. The reason why it is more difficult is obvious, and in stating it we see one of the many charms of archery. The rifleman has but to aim straight and to hold steady, and he will hit the bull's-eye. But the archer has also to supply the motive force which propels his arrow. As he watches the graceful flight of a well-shot shaft, he can feel a pride in its swiftness and strength which a rifleman cannot share. And few pastimes can furnish a more beautiful sight than an arrow speeding swiftly and steadily from the bow, till with a rapturous thud it strikes the gold at a hundred yards.