Popular Science Monthly 



883 



The hot air and gases 

 circulate in the casing 

 around the rider's foot 



Stirrup- Stoves Afford Comfort for Cold 

 Horseback Riders 



UNDOIBTED- 

 LY the tratitic 

 squad of the police 

 can testify to the 

 fact that all is not 

 gold that glitters and 

 that all is not com- 

 fort and pleasure 

 that seems so. Es- 

 pecially is this true 

 in very cold weather, 

 when the gallant 

 blue-coat seated on 

 his beautiful charger 

 is a worth>- subject 

 for the camera-fiend, 

 even though his 

 blood may be con- 

 gealing in his veins 

 and his feet rapidly 

 becoming like blocks 

 of ice. 



The general belief 

 is that the easiest 

 wav to keep the 



entire body comfortable during the cold 

 weather is to apply heat to the feet. Acting 

 on this idea, William French, Clintwood, 

 V'a., has invented a 

 heater to be attached 

 to the riding stirrups, 

 so that policemen or 

 other equestrians 

 may be kept warm, 

 however low the mer- 

 cury in the thermom- 

 eter may drop. The 

 heater comprises an 

 outer shell of metal, 

 covered with leather 

 so that it is incon- 

 spicuous, and lined 

 inside with asbestos, 

 so as to eliminate 

 danger and conserve 

 all the heat. In this 

 casing a drawer is 

 arranged to slide in 

 and out easily. In 

 this drawer the fuel is 

 placed. This may be 

 a large lump of char- 

 coal or coke. \'entila- 

 tion holes arc pro- 

 vided through which 

 the heat may be The plank i 



regulated at the the battery 



pleasure of the rider. These holes are so 

 .irranped as to provide for a circulation of 

 the heated air and 

 the gases around the 

 foot of the rider. 



.^n ash-pan is also 

 priAJded, which may 

 be made to answer 

 the additional pur- 

 pose of a storage 

 place for unused fuel 

 so that the fire may 

 be replenished at in- 

 tervals. 



An Electrically 



Heated Foot-Board 



for the Policeman 



IN Pittsburgh, Pa., 

 the humane city 

 ofticials have adopt- 

 ed a plan for pro\id- 

 ing for the comfort 

 of the policemen 

 while on duty. The 

 post where the 

 policeman is supposed to spend most of 

 his time is provided with a small board or 

 planking which is connected by wires with 

 an ordinary electric battery in the 

 call box on the corner or in any 

 er available place. The 

 urrent is regulated so that 

 the heat generated will not 

 exceed a comfortable de- 



gree. 

 Bv 



connected with 

 in the call box 



this arrangement 

 the feet are kept off 

 the cold streets dur- 

 ing the ver\- severe 

 weather, and when 

 the sidewalks are dr\- 

 a certain amount 

 of solid comfort is 

 available even for the 

 policeman. 



When he leaves his 

 post he pushes a but- 

 ton and turns off the 

 current. 



When he returns to 

 his post it requires 

 only a few mmutes 

 to make the board 

 just as comfortable 

 as it was before the 

 heat was temporarily 

 turned off. 



