NAUTICAL VELOCIPEDE. 



46* 



The NAUTICAL VELOCIPEDE, which also deserves some notice at our 

 hands, is the invention of M. Croce-Spinelli, who tried it upon the great 

 lake of Vincennes and also on the Seine, when it was the object of much 

 curiosity ; but when the Franco-German war broke out the experiments were 

 discontinued, and the inventor did not live to perfect the apparatus. He fell 

 a victim to his love for ballooning. But M. Joberts, a practical machinist, 

 has lately taken up the idea broached by Croce-Spinelli, and has brought 

 out a new water velocipede of very ingenious construction, with satisfactory 

 results. The machine is described as follows. There are two hollow tin 



Fig. 489. Double yachts. 



" floats " of cylindrical form, and tapered at the ends. These floats are 

 joined together by a platform made of very light wood, on which the seat of 

 the worker is raised, and underneath is the machinery for propelling the velo- 

 cipede. The motive power is very simple, and corresponds to that employed 

 to propel the bicycle on land, by the feet of the rider, the wheel being 

 furnished with paddles in the water velocipede. 



A rudder, which can easily be worked by cords, gives the velocipedist 

 complete control of the machine, the steering being performed by a handle 

 similar to that which the bicyclist uses to turn the machine he rides. In 



