The Crew.

During the last month the candidates for the University crew have been in regular training, taking exercise every day either on the river or in long walks into the country. The latter feature was introduced in order to break the monotony of rowing six times a week. As usual, Col. Bancroft has found time to coach the crew, and occasionally Mr. Watson, '69, the former coach, has given the men the benefit of his long experience in a few words of advice. Foot ball exercise for crew men in fall is acknowledged to be excellent practice, but the men, with one exception, have no time for it this year. Most of the candidates are sophomores with but one year's experience in rowing; in fact but one man can be considered a veteran oarsman ; it has therefore been thought absolutely necessary to begin active and regular work on the water this fall.

Although two eights have been rowing, there are but eleven regular candidates. The other places have been filled by extra men from the several classes. As the positions have not yet been assigned, the names of the regular candidates are given below in alphabetical order :

NAME. W'T.

C. F. Ayer, '87, 163

T. P. Burgess, '87, 180

A. R. Baum, '87, 179

T. H. Cabot, '86, 163

W. H. Endicott, '87. 183

C. M. Harrington, '85, 170

G. B. Harris, '86, 164

H. W. Keyes, '87, 168

G. S. Mumford, '87, 150

J. J. Storrow, '85, 156

J. R. Yocum, '85, 175

Of these men, Baum, Burgess, Endicott, Keyes and Mumford rowed on last year's freshman crew ; Harris and Cabot in the '86 class boat for two years, and Storrow and Yocum on last year's University crew. Keith is on the eleven and will probaby not row until after Christmas. Borland, '86, of last year's crew is now at college, but unfortunately will not be able to row again. Harrington is a new man and shows a commendable spirit in learning to row in his senior year. He is a very powerful man and ought to make an effective oarsman.

A daily change in the personnel of the crew occasioned by the different extra men, makes it impossible to give a fair criticism of the rowing of the men as crews. To say nothing, therefore, of the uniformity of the crew, a few observations are no doubt allowable concerning a few faults common to several of the men. The minor faults of handling the oars in feathering, dipping, in a word, of watermanship, are very serious and only surmountable by longer experience, but the great aim of a crew eight months before its expected race should be to acquire the fundamental qualities absolutely necessary to effective rowing. These essential qualities are, ability to sit up straight, which can only be acquired by constant care and exercise, also the power to keep the shoulders back firmly when the body is forward on the full reach. If an oarsman negligently allows himself to overreach, his hold upon the water when first dipping his oar will prove to be jerky, consequently destroying that uniform steady sweep which should characterize a Harvard crew. A firm, upright body is then the first thing our men should aim at.

An attempt will be made this year to have each man attain the full bodily development of which he is capable. To this end the exercise will not as in former years, be limited to rowing and during a few months the work at the chest weights and running; but throughout the year each man will be expected to exercise that part of his body or those muscles which are weakest. If a man is not strong in the arms dumb bell work is prescribed, or if he is weak in the back, certain movements in bending every day will, it is hoped, considerably strengthen it by the end of the year.

We shall in all probability have a light crew, but not necessarily a weak or poor one. Harvard, with a regular experienced coach and early accessibility to the water, has indisputable advantages in acquiring the art of rowing and should always be able to turn out crews which shall do honor to the college. Capt. Storrow is of opinion that a light, active crew, if the men are all strong and healthy, can be made as effective as a heavy crew. In this opinion he is supported by the actual tests and measurements of Dr. Sargent. It is found that the heaviest men are by no means the strongest. This statement however, does not mean that men of 190 lbs., fully developed and able to handle their own weight would not be more desirable for the crew than lighter men, but mere weight ought not be sufficient to insure a man's position in the boat. The tendency at Harvard of late years has been to lay too much stress upon weight. The captain desires that any men from 160 lbs. upwards should consider himself a fit candidate for the crew. As may be seen the number of candidates at present is only eleven, which can scarcely be considered sufficient. More men must therefore be obtained in order to have more competition for the seats in the boat. So far but one new man has offered himself as a candidate. His example should be followed by others.