736 



SKATE. 



ics of Skating," in "Nature," vol. xxiii. The 

 rate of speed of the skater is deceptive. For 

 a short distance a fast runner can distance a 

 first-rate skater; but the skater can keep the 

 pace far longer, and with less effort than any 

 runner. A mile in three minutes, or one hun- 

 dred miles in twelve hours, may be taken as 

 nearly the best possible performance for an ice- 

 skater. 



had a " stop " at the after end, and braces to 

 run up at the sides of the leg, to relieve the 

 strain on the ankle. Roller-skating, however, 

 made no progress in a popular sense until 1849, 

 when the "Propheto" was performed for the 

 first time in the Paris Opera-House, and the 

 skating scene was introduced with great eclat 

 on roller-skates. These were undoubtedly of 

 the Legrand patent (French, 1849), namely, 

 four rollers fixed under a foot-plate, like some 

 of the early English and American devices. 



GIDMAN'S SKATE (1852). ENGLISH. 



In 1852 Joseph Gidman patented a four- 

 wheeled skate in England, two of the wheels 

 turning on one axle under the instep, the oth- 

 ers having each a separate axle, and the fore- 

 most one a brake to prevent backward revolu- 

 tion. The engraving shows the arrangement 

 of the wheels as seen with the skate held up- 

 side down. These wheels were about six inches 

 in diameter, an obvious advantage; but the 

 skate never attained general use. Reuben Sha- 

 ler, an American, patented a roller-skate with 

 four wheels carrying elastic tire-bands. 



In 1861 Henry Pennie, also American, took 

 out a patent for a skate with two rows of 

 wheels, and the same year Albert Anderson 



DANISH SKATE- SAIL. 



Sailing on skates may be successfully accom- 

 plished by means of small sails spread as tightly 

 as possible on light spars. These are made in a 

 variety of shapes, but the simplest is as shown 

 in the cut. It is known as the " Cape Vincent " 

 sail. Running before the wind is, of course, 

 perfectly simple ; but working to windward 

 and tacking is an operation requiring consider- 

 able skill, practice, and address. The Danish 

 skate-sail is a more complicated rig, but great 

 superiority is claimed for it by those who have 

 become skilled in its use. The sail is carried 

 " to windward " of the skater, so that he leans 

 against it when under way. A very high rate 

 of speed may be attained by a skate-sailer 

 under favorable conditions, as the same prin- 

 ciples govern his rate of motion as in the case 

 of ice-boats. 



The earliest known roller-skate was patented 

 in France, by one Pettitbled, in 1819. No de- 

 scription of this skate is extant. The next is 

 that of Mr. Robert John Tyers, of England, in 

 1823. This is fully described as a single row 

 of small wheels of slightly different sizes, so 

 placed under a foot-plate that their lower pe- 

 ripheries will touch a segment of a circle (will 

 in general effect be " rockered "). A French- 

 man, Garcin by name, was next in order (1828). 

 His invention consisted of three wheels in a sin- 

 gle row, the middle one being the largest. It 



PLIMPTON'S PRINCIPLE or ROLLEB-BKATING. 



patented a device with a large front wheel ; 

 but none of these won their way to popular 

 favor, and it was not until Mr. J. L. Plimpton's 

 invention, patented in the United States in 

 1863 and in England in 1865, that roller-skat- 

 ing established its claims to popular favor. Mr. 



