AUTOMOBILE NOTES 



405 



enthusiasu regarding them and to precipi- 

 tate a general movement for their betterment. 

 If the average automobilist allied himself 

 with the average farmer ; the prospect for 

 good roads in this country in the next decade 

 would be pretty hopeless. If the farmer 

 thinks the dirt road is just as good as mac- 

 adam and the farmer prefers it because it 

 doesn't hurt the feet of his horses, what are 

 we going to do? It isn't likely that many 

 automobilists prefer a soft road to a hard 

 one, and in districts where macadam roads 

 have been thoroughly well tried out by the 

 farmers they never want anything else. I 

 would like to hear from some of the readers 

 of this department who are interested in the 

 good roads movement. 



car and go out in the world with it and have 

 some fun. 



A NEW COAT? 



How does the car look? Does it seem 

 dingy or out of style? Do you feel like sell- 

 ing it? 



If you have any such feeling^ get bids 

 on the cost of touching up the paint 

 and revarnishing the body, wheels, and 

 running gear, and though automobiles are 

 said to deteriorate rapidly, you will find that 

 the startling manner in which a coat of 

 varnish will improve the appearance of the 

 car is well worth the money it costs. The 

 machinery of the car may be in every way 

 as good as new, but the outside of the car 

 may look as if it had been through the New 

 York-Pittsburg endurance run. A coat of 

 varnish will make it look like new although 

 it won't make the car run a bit better. In 

 general, then, if your car is running as well 

 as it did when you put it away for the winter, 

 let the machinery alone and do not spend 

 time and money in trying to make adjust- 

 ments any better than they are. Instead, put 

 the money in a coat of varnish and take the 



A TIMELY WARNING. 



There can be no doubt that the average 

 automobilist, when he first gets a high-pow- 

 ered touring car, is apt to make a fool of 

 himself. He is not happy unless he is run- 

 ning the car at full speed all the time. Just 

 at present the purchaser of a car is sure to 

 take into consideration, when he buys a car, 

 whether or not it can climb hills well on 

 the high gear. And what does this mean? 

 Only that he wants to go fast all the time, 

 change gears as little as possible, and if the 

 car will climb hills on the high gear without 

 slacking speed, so much the better. Last 

 year this was the case with many drivers. 

 They had their first big car, and the fasci- 

 nation of letting it out caused them to 

 commit all sorts of minor barbarities and 

 discourtesies and break all the rules of the 

 road. There is altogether too much of this 

 sort of thing, and it will decrease only when 

 automobilists become used to driving power- 

 ful cars fast and get over the excitement of 

 it. It is a noticeable fact that the men who 

 have driven cars the most and who know 

 the most about them and who like to get the 

 best of them, are the men who drive at a 

 moderate rate of speed all the time, and 

 who don't mind being passed on the road 

 by a car which can not go as fast as theirs? 



I prophesy that in the coming summer 

 there will be more infractions of road rules 

 than ever before, simply because the season 

 of 1905 is probably the biggest selling year 

 that has ever been known in automobile 

 circles. Consequently we may look for some 

 decidedly unpleasant legislations a year from 

 now unless owners and chauffeurs are more 

 careful and considerate than they have been 

 heretofore. 



DELIGHTS OF ARCHERY. 



The country boy has had one great ad- 

 vantage over his city cousin. Those of us 

 who had the advantage of a rural boyhood 

 had at some time our bows and arrows. At 

 first they were made for us by an elder 

 brother, or friend. Then we began to make 

 our own, probably first from a piece ox barrel 

 hoop, then of hemlock, ash or hickory. They 

 were crude things, but gave us great pleas- 

 ure, and with our home-made arrows, helped 

 us pass many happy hours, shooting at marks 

 and at small animals and birds. Then we 

 did not know that the weapons we were 

 using were pre-historic in their origin, and 

 had been used as powerful weapons of war. 



Boys will always have bows and arrows 

 among their playthings, and boys and girls of 

 larger growth, and men and women, will 



have their bows and arrows. Ever since the 

 bow ceased being used in war and hunting, 

 it has continued to be used as a means of 

 recreation. And there is no finer. It is 

 adapted to the old and the young, and few 

 sports hold devotees more firmly. 



The National Archery Association was or- 

 ganized in 1879, and the first tournament 

 held in Chicago that year. Since then there 

 has each year been a national target meeting, 

 held in Cincinnati, Buffalo, Brooklyn, Wash- 

 ington, Niagara Falls and other cities. Last 

 year it was held at St. Louis in connection 

 with the Olympic games. This year, it will 

 be held in Chicago in August. 



Anyone interested in the sport can obtain 

 information as to the coming meeting by ad- 

 dressing the President, of the Association, 



J 



