21 JANUARY 1911, Page 24

Golfing Curios and the Like. By Harry B. Wood. (Sherratt

and Hughes, Manchester. 7s. 6d. net.)—Mr. Wood tells us some- 'thing about the history of golf, and illustrates what he tells with pictures of articles connected with the game which he possesses. Plate II., for instance, gives us representations of the balls which have been used, from the feather ball down to the rubber-cored of the present day. (It is interesting to note the comparative dis- tances achieved. A century ago a drive of 167 yards was exceptionaL A first-rate player in 1813 wagered that he would accomplish it, 'but wanted ten strokes to make sure. Another hundred yards might now be added.) Clubs also are figured, and there are portraits of some eminent exponents of the game. But the most astonishing 'thing in the volume is the bibliography. It occupies forty pages, .a very large proportion belonging to the last twenty years. The literature of cricket is comparatively insignificant.