Billiards
Justification for the appearance of a volume on the game of billiards as it is played early in 1896 is ample, for no treatiseor manual exists in which modern developments are considered. Though this is so , it does not follow that the instruction in older works is unsound ; much may be learnt from some of them, specially about plain practice strokes, but the science of playing breaks has been completely changed since they were published. If, however, further warrant were needed, it is supplied in the neglect of most players, whether professional or amateur, of elementary facts concerning the motion of balls on a table; and this, though ameliorated as regards professional players by constant practice and observation, obstructs both classes more than they think in the race for distinction. The best French players, from whom we have much to learn, recognise that the closer and more intelligent the study of the game, and the more nearly the implements reach perfection, the nearer do scientific theory and actual practice conform . Hence in this book considerable space is devoted to matters which may seem elementary and self-evident, but which are really the bases of sound knowledge, and of which amateurs (for whom the volume is primarily written) are for the most part completely ignorant . When the behaviour of a ball under various influences is described endeavour is made to use the simplest language; mathematical terms not generally understood are as far as possible avoided