Battle Ball.

Dr. Sargent has been at work for some time devising means of developing his new game of battle ball, especially for the benefit of his gymnasium class. A court has been laid out in the rear of the Hemenway gymnasium, and a game was played yesterday. The plan of the game, as Dr. Sargent now wishes to have it played, is this:

Four courts are laid out side by side so that altogether they form one large court and the centre lines of all the courts lie consecutively in one straight line. Separate games are played simultaneously on all four courts, and all the points made by the teams on one side of the line are added to make the score of that side. Teams or single players on the same side of the centre line may be shifted from one court to another so that the greatest strength may be concentrated on the weaker or more exposed positions. The positions of the players are determined by a captain and thus an element of team play and generalship enters into the game.

A description of the game is given below as it is played on a single court. The rules in the four court game, so far as each court is concerned, are the same.

The game is played with a leather-covered ball, nine inches in diameter and weighing about two pounds. On the back line of the court, on each side, six bowling-pins are placed as goalposts, two in the middle and two a yard from each end. A line is marked in the centre of the court and a string is stretched over the back line on each side, seven feet above the ground. The game is ordinarily played with five men on a side. Points are scored as follows: Putting the ball between two pairs of the opponents' goal pins counts ten; knocking down a goal post five; forcing the ball back under the line three; a foul by stepping over the centre line, two for the opponents; a foul by throwing the ball over the string at the rear of the court, one for the opponents.