VOLLEYING, US. BASE LINE PLAY.

Mr. Chas. E. Farmer, in arguing the superior merits of volleying over base line play in lawn tennis, says: "I quite admit, that when you are on the backline you can hit "with all your force," and keep the ball in court, but how often in a game are you making strokes from the back-line? Perhaps not one in six. Of course, the aim of all good players is to deep their adversaries on the back-line, but how often does anyone do it in the course of a rally? I have frequently had the pleasure of witnessing Messrs. Lawford and Renshaw play, and they don't. As regards the subject of volleying at the net, in my humble opinion, perfect back-play will never beat perfect volleying, and a perfect volleyer will (though an equally good back-player) prefer to volley a perfect back-player, just as much as a perfect back-player will stand and volley a weak back-player, for the very good reason that it saves his strength, and is at the same time a winning game to play. There is not a doubt that a volleyer has an enormous advantage, and in a match, say of five sets, you will see the back-player flushed and exhausted, and the volleyer comparatively as cool as a cucumber. Ergo, which, if you can do both, is the best game? The question is not worth asking."