88 ICE-SKID CH. V 



builders in this country have blindly followed the 

 English fashion of putting- the skid on the near side, 

 ignoring the fact that we drive on the off side of 

 the road. 



It being the duty of the guard on a public-coach, 

 and of the second man on a drag, to put on the 

 skid, it is more convenient to have it on the near 

 side, but it is used so rarely that this is of little im- 

 portance. 



A skid attached to a rod has been devised, that 

 can be worked by a cord or light chain and dropped 

 under the wheel, which would then run up on it and 

 thus save a man's getting down to put it on, but 

 the arrangement has not found favour in practice. 



It has been also proposed to have the chain which 

 holds the skid, so long: that the skid can drae 

 behind the wheel. By a hook and ring it may be 

 shortened to the proper length to go under the 

 wheel, and, at the bottom of the hill, the rine beino- 

 knocked off the hook, the wheel will run off the 

 skid without its being necessary to back the coach. 



The ordinary skid does 



not hold on ice, and in 



Switzerland an ice-skid, 



shown in Fig. 49, is used. 



It is a link about 28 inches 



long, with chisel-shaped 



49 teeth. The wheel rests in 



the opening, and the ring can be shifted to either 



end, so as to use one or the other set of teeth. 



