The Angling Cyclist 



107 



would then be speedily detected, and the buyer 

 could offer no excuse for purchasing stolen 

 property. 



" Here is a simple and effective method of 

 private identification. Turn the wheel upside 

 down, remove a portion of the enamel, say one- 

 half by one inch, from any part of the frame, 

 cleaning until the metal is entirely free of the 

 enamel. Then cover the space with candle 

 grease, and wet the point of some sharp instru- 

 ment with carbolic acid. Write your initials or 

 private mark on the tubing, and after allowing 

 the acid to leave its trace rub off the grease, 

 and with one application of enamel cover all 

 trace of your work. One has then indisputable 

 proof of ownership." 



Health and the Bicycle. 



More and more marked is the indorsement 

 given to cycling by the medical profession. 

 The journals devoted to the healing art give 

 considerable space to papers on the bicycle as 

 a curative agent for various forms of disease. 

 Aside from this, however, is the recognition 

 that bicycling has a great value not only as a 

 health renewer, but, what is of far wider sig- 

 nificance, as a health pre.server. 



There are three common causes which tend 

 to work against the general health, and they 

 are lack of fresh air, mental work without a 

 corresponding amount of physical work, and 

 routine work, which is too frequently dull and 

 more or less depressing. In the present age, 

 when outdoor sports are given so much atten- 

 tion, the beneficial effects are noticed in the 

 increased vigor and activity of our people, and 

 a gfreater freedom from some of the ailments 

 characteristic of the large number of indoor 

 workers. Exercise is a tonic, and, like that of 

 all tonics, its effect is cumulative. Benefit can 

 not be had from a single dose ; it must be taken 

 with studied regularity day after day, and in 

 quantities varying with the condition of the 

 individual. 



It is not too much to claim that cycling is an 

 ideal exercise. It must necessarily be taken in 

 the open air, there is constant change of scene 

 and thought and long rides, pleasant compan- 

 ionship and varied routes of interest, which 

 give an absolutely complete change from the 

 usual modes of occupation. It is all these 

 which make riders enthusiastic. A short time 

 on a wheel will start a sluggish circulation into 

 healthy activity, quiet a strained nervous 

 condition, refresh tired muscles and clear a 



muddled mind ; calm and invigorating sleep is 

 insured as well as a good and healthy appetite 

 and perfect digestion. 



The Outlook for Cycling. 



Bicycling and bicycles in 1895 had a banner 

 year, as must have been evident to all who 

 have kept in touch with the times. The over- 

 whelming demand for wheels during the year 

 was unprecedented. The business during 1894 

 warranted no belief that the demand for bicy- 

 cles would more than double itself, as was the 

 case. The manufacturers were unprepared for 

 the rush. They could not even begin to meet 

 it, and if it were possible to learn how many 

 there are who, wearied by the long waits for 

 wheels which for months were, according to 

 the dealer, " expected daily," cancelled their 

 orders in sheer disgust, there is little doubt 

 but that a small army would answer to their 

 names. 



If the future, more particularly the year 1896, 

 does not see a similar growth, that is, if the 

 demand of the preceding year is not doubled, 

 there will be many anxious faces and flattened 

 purses in the cycle trade. Every one connected 

 with it is, however, viewing the outlook through 

 rose-tinted glasses. They can see nothing but 

 a repetition of the success of the immediate 

 past. They have prepared for it. Factories 

 which last year turned out 10,000 bicycles have 

 increased their capacities, and will produce 

 20,000 to 30,000 during next season ; factories 

 which previously manufactured 40,000 wheels 

 have been added to, and will increase their 

 outputs 60 to 80 per cent. At least one of them 

 will be prepared to make 100,000 bicyles as 

 occasion requires. This has reference only to 

 the old manufacturers. Of the new people 

 who have been attracted to the industry in 

 shoals few will build less than 2,000 bicycles. 

 Eight thousand is perhaps a fair average. 



Every form of manufactory has been attract- 

 ed to what is believed to be a modern El 

 Dorado. Sewing-machine plants, furniture 

 factories, knitting mills, skate-making estab- 

 lishments — all these and others have been con- 

 verted in whole or in part for the manufacture 

 of bicycles. Capitalists, promoters and specu- 

 lators of every nature and of no experience 

 have almost fallen over themselves in the wild 

 rush, and it is a dull week, indeed, that does 

 not witness the inauguration of at least two 

 or more new factories. 



When and where will it end ? 



