POPULAR ERRORS.
" Error of opinion may be tolerated, where reason is left free to combat it."—Jefferson.
There are many popular errors in connection with swimming which have become so common that their mention seems almost like household words, and on many occasions the teacher has the greatest difficulty in dispelling these ideas.
Some teachers and writers on swimming will insist on _continuing the delusion, that to attain perfection in the art, nothing can be better than to watch and imitate the movements of the frog. This is a great mistake, as the frog kicks his hind legs straight back, opening the toes so as to spread the web connecting them, that the soles of his feet may be the resisting surface with which he pushes the body forward. Thii part of the kick having been delivered, his feet are pulled up to the body in a straight line, and so on, recover ing and kicking always in straight lines.
It must therefore be plain that man, not being web-footed, and the soles of his feet being so small in proportion to the size of his body compared with the frog, that he must act on quite a different principle. It will be seen, in referring to the in structions on plain swimming, that with man the soles of the feet are not the resisting surface, and are never therefore—unless when mechanical means such as foot-plates, or flippers are employed—used as a propelling power.
Another error, often repeated, is that while diving if one goes under with his eyes open, the pressure of water between the eyelids prevents them being closed, and also, that they cannot be opened if closed before going under the surface, as the weight of water on the lids prevents that being done.
Dr. Franklin, in his essay on swimming, was the first to make this mistake, and other writers have gone on propagating the false and absurd theory.
The fact is, that both eyes and mouth can be opened and closed at will under, as well as above, the surface of the water, and that without the slight est inconvenience.
Dr. Franklin's essay on swimming, which was not written spontaneously by that great man, but at the request of a friend, was one large error, and is full of mistaken ideas.
A popular idea prevails that no one should bathe in the open air when it is raining, as then the water is cold. Now, the reverse is the case. If the swimmer has a comfortable place to undress and dress in, he will find the water warmer during a shower of rain, no matter how heavy, than at any other time, and altogether the sensation of swimming in the water, and having a shower at the same time on the head and face is very pleasant.
It is an error, when caught in weeds, to dive in the attempt to pull the plant out by the roots from the bottom of the water. We have lately seen this method advocated as a means of extricating one's self from weeds, and a more mischievous piece of instruction could not be given, or one more likely to lead to fatal results. The long grass is so slimy and slippery, that to catch hold of it when in the water is next to impossible. The unfor tunate one who attempted to rid himself of weeds in this manner would become more entangled, and in all probability never live to tell anyone else of the error.
It is an idea with a great many people that self taught swimmers are the best. It does occur 'that some who have learned to swim without a teacher become good swimmers, but as a rule it will be found they do not excel. Nearly all the best exponents of the art of the present day have been brought up under the careful eyes of old and experienced professors.
The pupil who is fortunate enough to have a good teacher will, if possessed of an average amount of intelligence, attain to an excellence far in advance of one who works away by himself, in less than half the time, and with much less practice.
We have times without number had swimmers under our care, of twenty or more years' practice, who have made. greater progress in ten or twelve lessons, than they had done with hints from friends, and with observation, since they at first were enabled to sustain the body in the water.