Curling

Abstract

THE letter on the flight of a curling stone by Messrs. Macaulay and Smith, in NATURE of Mar. 15, seems to require a little filling out. As an old curler, and one who has been much ‘in the house’ I may perhaps be pardoned for taking part in a subject the mathematics of which are above my head. First, on good ice covered with ever so little frozen mist a stone ‘borrows’ bends, or curls far less than one passing over dry, clean ice, or very clean ice just on the thaw. The amount of spin (handle) put on one stone without effecting the curl of that stone may be too great for another stone, and cause it to keep its original direction. I have seen old stones, with the polish off them, take a lot of curl, even when played on the side with next to no cup. My own view is: a stone tends to turn on its outer edge and so to roll inwards; the spin of the stone when great reduces this outward turn; the tendency of the stone to follow the line of least resistance is slight, perhaps the 1 ft. 11 in. arrived at by Messrs. Macaulay and Smith.