Croquet is beyond question a great courting and flirting game for
ladies. You can play and talk at the same time. Then you have
such jolly rests between the turns for playing that ample opportunity
is afforded for just the quiet little bit of talking together which girls
love to have with their beaux on a field of a summer afternoon.
The essential difference in the method of playing croquet may be said
to be confined chiefly to the two ways of batting the ball with the
mallet. These are the side stroke, by which a girl hits the ball as it
lies on the ground at her side, and the front or straight stroke, in which
she hits the ball while it is directly in front of her. This latter is a diffi-
cult stroke for a girl to make accurately, on account of her dress. We
go in for the rule which admits of any way of hitting the ball with
the mallet which the player finds most advantageous. Next on the
list of differences in the rules is that in which one club code prohibits
the player from moving her own ball when she croquets that of her
opponent, while another club's code admits of the ball being moved
with that on which the croquet is taken ; the one being known as
" tight croquet " and the other as " loose croquet." In this respect,
too, we favor the rule leaving it optional with the player to use either
the "tight" or the "loose" form. The loose croquet admits of carom
strokes, as in billiards, either by playing a " following shot " or a
simple carom, thus affording opportunities for strategic play which
"tight croquet" does not admit of
There is one peculiarity of croquet, and that is, it can be played on
any piece of ground or turfy field on which it is possible to make a
ball roll ; but, of course, skillful play would be impossible on a rough
or uneven plot of ground. The turfy fields of the croquet clubs
which play at Brooklyn Prospect Park are like billiard tables
almost, so much care is there given to keeping the lawns well rolled
98 THE hearthstone; or, life at home,
and cut. Those who desire to see a smooth, turfy field for their
games should see that the grass is frequently cut, as then the small,
short grass will grow up, in the place of the long weedy grass of lawns
not frequently mowed. A croquet ground and a lawn tennis field can
be made on the same plot of ground, as both need about the same
space, as well as the same smooth and level surface of grassy turf.
We give a picture of an English croquet ground in a private park„
which in size and finished surface would also make an admirable
tennis lawn.
Page 57
Presented as published in 1883. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
Croquet is beyond question a great courting and flirting game for ladies. You can play and talk at the same time. Then you have such jolly rests between the turns for playing that ample opportunity is afforded for just the quiet little bit of talking together which girls love to have with their beaux on a field of a summer afternoon.
The essential difference in the method of playing croquet may be said to be confined chiefly to the two ways of batting the ball with the mallet. These are the side stroke, by which a girl hits the ball as it lies on the ground at her side, and the front or straight stroke, in which she hits the ball while it is directly in front of her. This latter is a difficult stroke for a girl to make accurately, on account of her dress. We go in for the rule which admits of any way of hitting the ball with the mallet which the player finds most advantageous. Next on the list of differences in the rules is that in which one club code prohibits the player from moving her own ball when she croquets that of her opponent, while another club's code admits of the ball being moved with that on which the croquet is taken ; the one being known as " tight croquet " and the other as " loose croquet." In this respect, too, we favor the rule leaving it optional with the player to use either the "tight" or the "loose" form. The loose croquet admits of carom strokes, as in billiards, either by playing a " following shot " or a simple carom, thus affording opportunities for strategic play which "tight croquet" does not admit of
There is one peculiarity of croquet, and that is, it can be played on any piece of ground or turfy field on which it is possible to make a ball roll ; but, of course, skillful play would be impossible on a rough or uneven plot of ground. The turfy fields of the croquet clubs which play at Brooklyn Prospect Park are like billiard tables almost, so much care is there given to keeping the lawns well rolled
98 THE hearthstone; or, life at home,
and cut. Those who desire to see a smooth, turfy field for their games should see that the grass is frequently cut, as then the small, short grass will grow up, in the place of the long weedy grass of lawns not frequently mowed. A croquet ground and a lawn tennis field can be made on the same plot of ground, as both need about the same space, as well as the same smooth and level surface of grassy turf. We give a picture of an English croquet ground in a private park„ which in size and finished surface would also make an admirable tennis lawn.