[Illustration: Fig. 6.]
A target is made of straw, bound with string into an even rope, which
is twisted upon itself until it forms a flat disc, and then covered on
one side with canvas painted in five concentric rings, viz. gold or
centre red, blue or inner white, black, and white. These rings should
be all of exactly the same width, the target itself being one to four
feet in diameter. In scoring, the following value is given to the
rings;
Gold 9
Red 7
Blue 5
Black 3
White 1
When an arrow strikes on the edge of two rings, the higher is counted,
unless it is otherwise agreed upon. It is necessary to have two
targets, one at each extremity of the distance fixed upon--as it is
not usual to shoot more than _three_ arrows at each "end," as it is
called--walking over between each three to reclaim your arrows, and
then shooting them at the back target you have just left. By this
means a different set of muscles are called into play, those used in
shooting are relaxed, and, in addition, a great deal is added to the
exercise which renders archery so healthy a pastime; for example, in
shooting the national round, the archer walks 3,920 yards, or nearly
two miles and a quarter, between the ends. The stands for the targets
are usually made of iron and wood, and somewhat resemble in shape an
artist's easel. The legs should be padded or wrapped round with straw,
otherwise arrows striking them will be apt to break. There has been,
however, invented an iron stand for targets, so constructed that the
legs present a very thin edge to the shooter, thus reducing the chance
of their being struck by an arrow to the minimum. In some places butts
are erected, instead of stands, for the targets: they are built of
sods piled together, the Target being hung to a peg in the front of
them. The target used differs from the ordinary one, and consists of a
circular piece of white pasteboard, the size differing according to
the length of range: _e.g._, at thirty yards it is four inches: sixty
yards, eight inches; ninety yards, twelve inches in diameter, and so
on, according to distance. Butts certainly abolish the trouble of
stooping, as they catch all the arrows (except the very wide or high
ones) which miss the target. The chief disadvantage of them is that
after shooting at a butt it takes some time to get used to the target
on a stand, so that it spoils an archer for matches, etc. Another
advantage of butts is this, that as the targets are merely made of
cardboard, they can be easily manufactured at home. In all cases,
whether butts or stands are employed, the centre of the gold should be
four feet from the ground.