478 



NATURE 



\_March 20, 1884 



Ravens in the United States 



On p. 336 of Nature for February 7, Manhattan asks a 

 question about "ravens." I do not propose to answer liis 

 question, but to state a fact. I was raised from boyliood to 

 manhood in Tioga Co., Penn., and in my boyhood days, when 

 tile primeval forests were broken only by the recent settler's 

 small patch scattered here and there along the valleys, the raven 

 w as a . common as the crow ; nor could the one ever be mis- 

 taken for the oiher. Before I had attained the years of man- 

 hood, however, the raven had become a rara avis, while the 

 crow, on the contrary, had become vastly more aljundant. The 

 bald-eagle, and the fish-hawk, too, were then very often seen, 

 now seldom or never. Other birds could be added to the list if 

 desirable. The question, tc/^j.? is not so easily disposed of as 

 it is to state the fact. Should one be dispo^td to answer by 

 saying the rifle, it would be pertinent to reply that the rifle was 

 just as active against the crow, the common hen-hawk, and the 

 crow-blackbird, as it \\as against the raven, the fish-hawk, and 

 the bald-eagle ; but these latter birds have all disappeared, while, 

 in spite of the rifle, the former have increased. We must look 

 deeper for the cause. iRA .Sayles 



Washington, D.C., March 3 



In answer to the query of your correspondent "Manhattan," 

 who writes from New York, under date of Jan. 1 1, concerning the 

 prevalence of ravens in the United States, I would like to remark 

 that ravens quite replace the crow in Nevada. I have never 

 seen them here in the erst. Mr. Ridgway who was with me in 

 1867-68 could give ycu much valuable information in regard to 

 their habits and range. W. W. Bailey 



Brown University, Providence, R.I. (U.S.A.), March i 



Thread-twisting 



In Nature, January 31 (p. 305), I read some remarks by Prof. 

 E. B. Tylor on a "rude method of making thread by lolling 

 palm or grass fibre into a twist with the palm of the hand on the 

 thigh," which Prof. Tylor regards ss a "savage art" of old 

 native tribes of Guiana, who were thigh-twisters. I have often 

 seen shoemakers when at work prepare their threads by twisting 

 them on the thigh v\ ith the palm of the hand. May this 

 practice be one which has survived from a barbarous period ? 



Truro, March 14 J. S. 



BICYCLES AND TRICYCLES IN THEORY 

 AND IN PRACTICE ^ 



WHEN I was honoured by the invitation to give this 

 discourse on bicycles and tricycles, I felt that 

 many might think the subject to be trivial, altogether un- 

 worthy of the attention of reasonable or scientific people, 

 and totally unfit to be treated seriously before so highly 

 cultured an audience as usually assembles in this Institu- 

 tion. On the other hand, I felt myself that this view was 

 entirely a mistaken one, that the subject is one of real 

 and growing importance, one of great scientific interest, 

 and, above all, one of the most delightful to deal with 

 that a lecturer could wish to have suggested to him. 



It is quite unnecessary for nie to bring forward statis- 

 tics to show how great a hold this so-called new method 

 of locomotion has taken upon people of all classes : the 

 streets of London, the roads and lanes in all parts of the 

 country, testify more forcibly than any words of mine 

 can do to what enormous numbers there are « ho now 

 make use of cycles of one sort or other for pleasure or 

 for the purposes of business. 



Not only has the newly developing trade brought pro- 

 sperity to towns whose manufactures were dying a natural 

 death, but the requirements of cyclists have given rise to 

 a series of minor industries, themselves of great import- 

 ance. Riders of bicycles and tricjcles come along so 

 silently that instruaients of warning have been devised. 

 There are bells that jingle, bells that ring, whistles, bugles, 

 and a fiendish horn which will utter anything from a 



gentle remonstrance to a wild, unearthly shriek. Lamps, 

 tyres, saddles, seats, springs, &c., are made in unending 

 variety ; these form the endless subject of animated con- 

 versation in which the cyclist so frequently indulges. 

 Cyclometers or instruments for measuring the distance 

 run are also much used. Some show the number of 

 revolutions made by the wheel, from which the distance 

 can be found by a simple calculation ; others indicate the 

 distance in miles. There is on the table a home-made 

 one of mine with a luminous face which at the end of 

 every mile gives the rider a word of encouragement ; it 

 now indicates that a mile is nearly complete ; in another 

 turn or two you will all hear it speak. 



Cyclists have a literature of their own. There are 

 about a dozen papers wholly or largely devoted to the 

 sport. They can even insure themselves and their 

 machines against injury by accident in a company of their 

 own. 



The greatest and by far the most important growth is 

 the Cyclists' Touring Club, a gigantic club to which every 

 right-minded rider in the country belongs. This club has 

 done more to make touring practically enjoyable than 

 could have been thought possible when it began its 

 labours. Railway companies have with few exceptions 

 consented to take cycles at a fi.xed and reasonable rate ; 

 in almost every town in the country an agreement has 

 been made with the leading, or at any rate a first-class, 

 hotel, in virtue of which the touring member may be sure 

 of meeting with courtesy and attention for himself and 

 with clean quarters and an intelligent groom for his horse, 

 instead of finding himself as hitherto a strange being in a 

 strange place at the mercy of some indifterent or exorbi- 

 tant landlord. In consequence of this, thousands now 

 spend their holidays riding over and admiring the 

 beauties of our own country instead of being dragged 

 with a party of tourists through the streets and buildings 

 of a foreign town. L)f the delightful nature of a cycling 

 tour I can speak from grateful experience ; last autumn 

 alone I travelled nearly 1500 miles, meeting on my way 

 with almost every variety of beauty that the scenery of this 

 country affords. Wherever I went I felt the beneficial 

 influence of the C.T.C., as the touring club is called. 

 At all the hotels — our headquarters — at vvhich I stopped, 

 I found the most sanguine wishes of the club amply 

 fulfilled, our wants understood and provided for. 



The C.T. C. have also done a great service in providing 

 us with a uniform which has been proved to be as near 

 perfection as possible. They have also designed a ladies' 

 cycling dress, which can be seen in the library. 



Though touring in the country is the perfection of our 

 art, town riding has its advantages. I, in common with 

 a fair number, ride daily to and from my work no matter 

 what the weather may be : rain, snow, wind, or hail, 

 cycling affords the pleasantest means of crossing London. 

 Instead of waiting in draughty railway stations, of 

 catching cold outside or being stewed inside omnibuses, 

 or of being smoked in the Underground Railway, we, the 

 regular cyclists, look forward to our daily ride with 

 pleasure, for the healthy e.xercise, the continuous neces- 

 sity of watching the traffic and avoiding ever approaching 

 danger, form between them a relief from mental worry or 

 business anxiety which we alone can appreciate. 



C)f the dangers of the streets I have little to say : the 

 regulation of the traffic by the police, and the considera- 

 tion of drivers, though they are not in general too fond 

 of us, make danger in the cpiarter from which it might be 

 expected very remote. Our chief difficulty is due to the 

 irregular and utterly unaccountable movements of pedes- 

 trians, whose carelessness keeps us in a continual state of 

 anxiety. 



There remains one point of the utmost importance on 

 which I would say a few words, I refer to the effect of 

 cycling on our general health. .About a year ago there 

 appeared in the Lancet an article condemning in no 



