The Stable Handbook 



of fact the horse-loving and horse-using class have 

 not adopted them largely. Of course there is no 

 denying the fact that the presence of motors on the 

 roads has rendered these less enjoyable for driving 

 and riding, and so far as I am concerned personally, 

 the existence of the motor has seriously diminished 

 my pleasure in living in the country. The ugliness, 

 the dust, and the smell of the machines, are objec- 

 tionable. But perhaps the greatest protection 

 against them is the cost of their purchase and 

 their upkeep. It is almost always safe to trust 

 to the idleness of human nature, and since the 

 trouble of cleaning the bicycle and its liability to 

 get out of order when not cleaned, has certainly 

 affected its use, so the motor cars and motor 

 bicycles will be adversely affected by the trouble 

 or expense of keeping them in working order. 

 Machinery deteriorates rapidly, and stoppages 

 and breakdowns will always occur in badly cared 

 for machines, and these will be very numerous, 

 through no fault of the makers, but will none 

 the less be an object lesson to the people who 

 are wavering about their use. A motor car 

 costs in the end more to buy and keep going 

 than a pair of ponies and a smart carriage. I 

 have no doubt that sooner or later some means 

 will be discovered by which motor cars and 

 horses will both use the road. But we shall 

 both have to give up something — the driver of 

 horses some enjoyment and safety, and the motor 



48 



