68 



AUTOMOBILES. 



sult>. and engines are now on the market that 

 will run at speeds of 700 to 1.000 revolutions a 

 minute. With a well-designed engine arranged to 

 drive a single-seated carnage, an engine capable 

 of giving at least 4 horse-power at 500 to 000 revo- 

 lutions a minute should be employed, and if there 

 are steep hills, or it is desired to run at high 

 speed, a ti-horse-power engine should be used. 

 Trouble i- cau>ed by the gas mixture not hav- 

 1 1 ion of air and gas. The elec- 

 o ignite the gases, either from 

 eing out of order or the elec- 

 o weak. The gasoline mav be 



ing the proper prop 

 trie spark mav fail 

 the sparking plug 1 

 trie battery being U 

 of a poor quality. 



n~ too cold to vaporize. The 



may fail to supply the oil vapor fast 

 enough. The clutches may not work properly, 

 causing tlu> vehicle to start suddenly, or they may 

 relea-e slowly when it may be necessary to stop 

 quickly, causing accidents that otherwise could 

 have IHVII averted. The danger of the gasoline- 

 tank exploding is not great when it is handled 

 with care, and the engine itself is as safe as any 

 kind of engine, when properly made. 



Thi> type of vehicle requires a more experienced 

 ojerator than either steam or electrically propelled 

 vehicles, and when the parts are deranged or the 

 engine fails to work, it is more difficult to locate 

 the cause, and often more difficult to remedy than 

 with steam. \Yhen the engine is stopped, it is 

 nei'essary to get out of the vehicle and start the 

 engine again by turning a crank to compress the 

 charge of gas and get the first explosion, but as 

 the engine is usually allowed to run while the 

 vehicle is standing, this does not have to be done 

 very often. The gas automobile made by the Au- 



KIKER ELECTRIC AUTOMOBILE. 



tomobile To. of America, in a test on ordinary 

 road* of 404.2 miles, in which 80 automobiles 



irted and 13 gas-machines won first prizes, won 

 2 of the 13. going the entire distance at an average 

 speed of 12.01 miles an hour. This type of machine 

 is more expensive than steam, and "weighs consid- 

 erably more, hut a gallon of gasoline will propel 

 it a greater distance than the same quantity of 

 oil burned tinder the boiler will propel the steam- 

 maehme. The present machine will develop a 

 speed of 30 miles an hour on good roads, and one 

 supply of gasoline will propel the vehicle a full 

 days journey. The gasoline-tanks hold about 

 in gallons. 



This machine will run at speeds varying from 



G to 30 miles an hour without changing the gears, 

 and on slower speeds, for hill climbing, etc., the 

 slower gear is thrown in, and will work from 1 

 to 8 miles an hour. It runs with very little vibra- 

 tion, due to perfect balancing of the parts and 

 the fact that a 3-cylinder engine is used, which 

 allows the power to be more equally and evenly 

 applied to the axle, and this freedom from vibra- 

 tion can not be attained unless the engines are 

 carefully balanced. The engine cylinders are 

 water-cooled, and the water-tank carries sufficient 

 to keep them in proper condition for a day's run, 

 due to the efficient water-heat radiators that are 

 used, which continually cool the heated water as 

 it comes from the engine jackets. The radiators 

 are mounted on the front of the carriage, and are 

 of such design that they do not detract from the 

 general appearance of the vehicle. The water- 

 tank holds 7 gallons. The Stanhope phaeton is 

 steered by a jointed lever extending across and 

 in front of the operator, managed by his right 

 hand. Thus placed, it is less tiring to the arms 

 than a sidewise-swinging lever. The surrey is 

 steered with a wheel. A vertically-moving handle 

 at the driver's left engages the clutches of the 

 speed gears, and a pedal operates the reverse. 

 A second pedal acts on a pair of powerful brakes, 

 one on each rear hub, which will hold the carriage 

 in either direction on a hill. A tube surrounding 

 the vertical steering-post, at the driver's left, con- 

 nects with the throttle-valve which controls the 

 engine, and is operated with the left hand. One 

 vaporizer of simple construction, which requires 

 no adjustment, feeds all 3 cylinders of the engine. 

 Jump-spark ignition, Avith variable lead, is em- 

 ployed, and the current 

 that operates the ig- 

 niter is furnished by 2 

 storage cells of bat- 

 tery. A muffler is 

 used to silence the ex- 

 haust, thus making 

 the machine noiseless 

 compared with most of 

 this type. The parts 

 are all made on the in- 

 terchangeable princi- 

 ple, so any broken or 

 worn part can be dupli- 

 cated at low cost and 

 in a short time, by or- 

 dering the numbered 

 part. 



The Motor Bicycle. 

 What may be prop- 

 erly classed with the 

 gas - engine automo- 

 biles is a machine 

 known as the motor 

 cycle, which is an ordi- 

 nary bicycle, driven by 

 a small gas - engine. 



On account of the difficulties encountered in re- 

 ducing the mechanism so that it would fit within 

 the frame of the bicycle, few manufacturers have 

 been successful in producing a machine that is 

 simple and neat. The diagram drawing illus- 

 trates a machine of this type, known as the Strat- 

 ton motor cycle. This machine weighs complete 

 but 78 pounds, and is propelled by gasoline gas, 

 which is generated and used as follows: The tank 

 (11) holds sufficient gasoline to propel the wheel 

 about 75 miles at a speed varying from 3 to 35 

 miles an hour. The motor develops If horse- 

 power, and is of the four-cycle type described 

 above under the head of The Gas-Engine Automo- 

 bile. The cycle is setarted by pedaling a few 



