114 
FOREST AND STREAM^ 
[Aug. 8, 1896 
a string of dogs, nineteen all told. They are preparing 
for competition in the Manitoba Field Trials Club's trials 
in September. Mr. Ohas. Barker, after an absence from 
field trial affairs for several years, is due in Manitoba in 
a few days with the dogs of the Del Monte Kennels, of 
which he is now the trainer. The old grounds of last 
year at Glen Lea, found so satisfactory for training 
purposes, will be used this year by Messrs. Rose and 
Nesbitt. 
KENNEL NOTES. 
Kennel Notes are inserted without charge ; and blanfas 
(famished free) will be sent to any address. Prepared 
Blanks sent free on application. 
BRED. 
Mr. Q. G. Williamson's Belle of PJedmont, Jr., English setter bitch, 
Joly 20, to champion Antonio. 
WHELPS. 
Mr. W. W. Mills, Jr.'s, Yawtacaw Dodo, fox terrier bitch, whelped, 
July li, seven pups, by Halifax Revival. 
SALES. 
Mr, G. W, Patterson has sold 
, St. Bernard dog, to Mr. Jaa. A. Howson, 
, St. Bernard dog, to Mr. 0. Juel. 
, St. Bernard bitch, to Mr. Howell F. Wilson, 
, Sd. Barnard bitch, to Dr. Wesley Mills. 
Comnmnications for this department are requested. Anything on 
the bicycle in its relation to the sportsman is particularly desirable. 
THE CARE OF THE CHAIN. 
Under the best conditions, as every wheelman knows, 
a large percentage of the power applied to propelling a 
bicycle is lost through the friction of the chain. Many 
devices have been invented for minimizing this friction, 
such as ball-bearing chains and sprockets, and the so- 
called chainless systems, where power is transmitted by 
means of a rod working on level gears at either end, but 
none of these devices have as yet attained any great 
vogue. The cyclist is obliged therefore, if he wants his 
wheel to run easily, to pay constant attention to his chain 
and see that that runs as freely as possible. It would be 
a good thing if the English gear guards were more com- 
mon on this side of the water, for by protecting the chain 
from mud and dust they would save a great deal of the 
dirty work of cleaning and lubricating that is now neces- 
sary. Americans, however, do not take kindly to the 
idea at present, and this is only one exam^jle where solid 
comfort is sacrificed for lightness. 
To give the best service a chain should be perfectly lim- 
ber, and when removed from the wheel every link should 
bend with the utmost freedom. If there is stiffness at 
any point the wheel is bound to run hard and the rider 
to suffer. Sometimes through faulty manufacture one or 
more links in a new chain will refuse to bend, and as this 
is generally due to imperfect pivots or the fact that the 
rivets are too tight, the chain should be returned to the 
bicycle manufacturer or sent to the repair shop. At other 
times the stiffness comes from rust or dirt, and in this 
case the chain needs a thorough cleaning. It should be 
immersed in a can of gasoline or kerosene oil and left over 
night for a thorough soaking, or if the rider is in a hurry 
he can stir it around or put a tight cover on the can and 
shake it for a few minutes, occasionally renewing the oil. 
When cleaning a chain at night he shoidd use kerosene, 
on account of the danger of explosion if the gasoline 
vapor reaches a light, but the latter is more satisfactory, 
as it is free from the corroding effects of the kerosene. 
When the chain is wiped clean and attached to the 
wheel, it sbould be oiled a,nd lubricated with graphite. 
It is a common mistake to believe that graphite alone 
will make a chain run smoothly. Graphite, unless in 
combination with some oil, only acts on the surface of 
the chain and does not help the joints at all. The oil 
should be applied to the joints separately, and after the 
wheel has been revolved several times to help it work 
into the crevices it should be wiped from all exposed por- 
tions, after which the graphite is applied. Chains may 
also be cleaned by boiling in a solution of cyanide of po- 
tassium and water, which removes dirt and rust very 
effectually and makes them look like new. Chains are 
apt to shorten under certain conditions, such as lack of 
lubrication, or riding in the rain and collecting sand and 
mud, or simply from rust. In such cases every link as it 
passes over the small sprocket forms an elbow, and all the 
slack of the chain is taken up. In severe cases the rear 
fork is sometimes bent by the tension, but danger from 
this source is very apparent and may easily be guarded 
against, 
WORK SPENT IN PRESSING PEDALS. 
In a recent communication to the Paris Academie des 
Sciences M. Bouny gives particulars of a series of exper- 
imenta made to determine the power exerted in propell- 
ing a bicycle ac different speeds. The method adopted 
was to take an autographic record of the total force ex- 
erted on the pedal throughout a complete revolution. To 
this end a disk w^ mounted on the bicycle crank con- 
centric with the pedal pin. The pedal itself was mounted 
on stiff springs, and points fixed to it traced curves on the 
disk already mentioned. If no pressure was exerted on 
the pedal, these latter curves were simple concentric 
circles; when, however, the rider began to work, the 
springs on which the jiedal was mounted yielded propor- 
tionately to the pressure applied, and the curves then 
drawn showed, by their deviation from the circular form, 
the value of the force applied at any part of a revolution. 
One of the pointers in question measured the force applied 
in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the pedal, 
while the other showed the pressure applied parallel to this 
plane. The latter is by no means an insignificant quan- 
tity, as all good riders shove their pedal forward as well as 
down. The angle the pedal made at any moment with 
the crank was also automatically recorded. 
An examination of the diagrams thus obtained showed, 
in the first place, that there was no absolute dead point, 
such as occurs with an ordinary connecting-rod and crank 
motion, and secondly that there is always some pressure 
on the pedal during the rise, the negative work due to 
which haa to be subtracted from that done during the 
down stroke to obtain the net atnount used in propulsion. 
The experiments were made at speeds ranging from lOf 
to 2li miles per hour, the machine being run on a wooden 
racing track. The results, reduced to even English meas- 
ures by means of a formula of interpolation, were as 
follows: 
Speed. Work Done per Semi-reV'olution. 
Miles per hour. Ft. Lbs. 
10 16.58 
10% 30.96 
12.5 33.98 
15.0 47.50 
17.5 56.75 
20.0 68.62 
2114 66.08 
It will be seen from the above figures that the average 
pressure of the foot required on the pedal increases rapid- 
ly with the speed, being at twenty miles an hour nearly 
three and one-half times as much as at ten miles per hour. 
Unfortunately the gear used is not noted by M. Bouny, 
and so it is impossible to deduce from the above figures 
the average tractive resistance of the machine at the dif- 
ferent speeds. Probably at the higher speeds named a 
large proportion of the total work done was expended 
in overcoming atmospheric resistance, and the run of the 
figures might be changed considerably if the trials were 
conducted on a roughish road instead of op a smooth 
track. — Engin eering , 
POSITION AND POWER. 
In the Swiss normal bicycle, illustrated in a recent 
issue, it will be remembered that by a peculiar arrange- 
ment of seat and pedals the rider is given a point of sup- 
port at his back designed to enable him to exert a much 
greater power for propulsion than when he depends upon 
his weight solely as a basis. 
This same idea is responsible for a device called a "speed 
producer," which has just appeared. The speed producer 
is intended for attachment to any ordinary bicycle, and is 
simply a light, strong, back support of steel, which when 
clamped to a tee saddle post reaches 6ln. above the seat. 
It is said to keep the rider from "slipping back in his 
saddle," and appears to be intended chiefly for racing 
wheels, where the rider bends forward and pushes back, 
in exact opposite to the position assumed on the so-called 
normal bicycle. 
While we admit that there is something to be said in 
favor of both these devices, we are inclined to doubt their 
practical utility, for two reasons, which are, first, that the 
rider is very rarely called upon to exert a power for pro- 
pulsion greater that his own weight; and secondly, that 
when so called upon he already has in his handle bars a 
point of support which will enable him to properly utilize 
the great lifting power of his legs. 
We print elsewhere a table showing the power required 
to propel a bicycle at varying rates of speed. An anal- 
ysis of this table shows that while increasing the speed 
from lOf to miles per hour the average increase in 
work per mile per hour is nearly 7 foot pounds for 
each downward thrust of the pedals. When a speed of 
twenty miles per hour is reached the average increase per 
mile is less than 3 foot pounds. Batween these extremes 
the effort required to "hit it up," as measured in foot 
pounds, decreases at a constant ratio, and accordingly we 
are justified in assuming that at speeds greater than those 
given in the table the force required to increase the speed 
for each succeeding mile per hour is less than 3 foot 
pounds. 
Assuming that it is exactly 2 foot pounds, a speed of 
thirty miles per hour, or a two-minute gait, would be 
reached at an expenditure of force of 83.63 foot pounds, 
and a mile-a-minute gait would result from a push of 
103,63 footpounds, which is considerably less than the 
weight of the average racing man. 
From these figures it will be seen that if weight were 
the important factor in a trial of speed most riders would 
be able to do a mile in a minute, point of support or no 
point of support. Such argument, however, is a waste of 
time, for every one knows that speed depends on the 
muscle and pluck of the rider, and that as the thrust 
which he exerts against the pedal is well within the limit 
of his weight, tieing him to the seat would not make him 
go the faster. 
There are occasions in hill climbing, and possibly at 
times during races, though we doubt it, that the rider ex- 
erts a force greater than his own weight, but on these oc- 
casions his handle bars serve as the required point of sup- 
port. Bracing against these, the wheelman can push to 
the full capacity of his leg muscles, and if he does not 
climb the hill it is nobody's fault but his own. He fails 
through lack of physical powers, and not because he is 
handicapped by his machine. So much for the "point of 
support" argument. 
As regards the claim advanced by the promoters of the 
bicycle that owing to the position of the rider, with his 
legs nearly horizontal, "his forces are far more effectually 
utilized and with considerable less fatigue" than those of 
the ordinary rider, we do not believe that this is borne 
out by the experience of manufacturers and wheelmen in 
general. In the old safeties the riders were forced to as- 
sume a somewhat similar position, and that they did not 
find it conducive to the effectual utilization of their 
forces is indicated by the fact that such models were long 
ago discarded. 
Moreover, the best modern practice, which is the result 
of years of experiment, is all in favor of a perpendicular 
position in riding, or one leaning slightly forward. The 
nearer one reproduces the condition of walking, the less 
will be the resultant fatigue. With one's legs held out 
at right angles to the body, the stomach and leg muscles 
must be taxed for purposes other than propulsion, and we 
fail to see how such a position can rightly be called nor- 
mal. 
Bicyclers and Bear. 
North Conway, N, H., July 31.— I am glad to see that 
you have started a wheeling department. It ought to be a 
great success, and doubtless will be. Last fall while riding 
in company with a friend I had the good luck to run within 
SOyds. of a black bear. The fellow made off at a great 
clip as soon as he saw us, and we were surprised that so 
unwieldly an animal could get along so fast. It was 
fortunate for us that he ran, for we were riding down 
hill very fast and did not see him till we rounded a curve 
almost on top of him. He saved a collision by getting 
out of the road. Three or four times I have stolen up on 
foxes that were hunting along the road, and once had the 
fun of measuring speed with one that attempted to escape 
by running down the road instead of jumping into the 
bushes. For a quarter of a mile I did not gain or lose an 
inch as far as I could see and the fox was about 30yds. 
ahead of me. Then he took to the cover, and the chase 
was over. Bradford S. Turpin. 
WHEEL NOTES. 
The bicycling trousers made with the so-called "golf 
bottoms" or "cuffs" appear not to have become popular. 
From the West we hear that they have never succeeded 
in reaching much sale among the cyclers of the large 
cities, such a? Chicago. The objection urged against this 
style of finish for the knickerbockers 'is that the cuff of 
moleskin or other heavy cloth is apt to wrinkle and lose 
its set after short wear. Moreover, some of the fastidious 
claim that to wear knickers with the golf bottom argues 
that one can afford only one pair of short clothes for golf, 
tennis and the wheel, whereas each sport is entitled to its 
own garment. At any rate, the form of garment has not 
been generally adopted for the wheel. 
More and more one sees the knickerbocker garb edging 
its way into business dress. In the Government offices at 
Washington hundreds of the clerical force go to their 
work dressed in short dress, and the "mufti" of the wheel 
is coming more in evidence in many large cities. Why not? 
No one who knows the comfort of knickerbockers ever 
willingly goes into long trousers. As to sightliness there 
is no comparison between the two. We do not pause to 
realize what slaves we are to fashion. If this be true, let 
us hope fashion shall always be as rational as in the garb 
of the wheel. 
If one ride, he should ride fitly. To ride without the 
proper dress is to lose more than half the enjoyment of 
the wheel. The beginner is placarded by his outfit. 
There are few railroads in the West which do not check 
bicycles free — and very gladly. 
In the sandiest of the sandy pine country Tof upper 
Michigan and Wisconsin the wheel is in general use, even 
in little villages about which the roads are so deep in sand 
that the rider must perforce walk many a mile in going a 
few hours' journey. 
The summer tour to a fishing place now is incomplete 
without the wheel in the outfit. 
Picnic parties, with gypsy camp attachments, are a 
popular diversion in Chicago among wheelmen. At 
that city may anglers go into the country wheelback. 
In southwestern Iowa the country is quite hilly, but the 
bicycle is used by everybody. The gear there averages 
about 68, and when one of these riders, who began to 
learn in the middle of the hills, strikes a rider who has 
never had any experience except on the flat, he has fun 
with the latter individual. 
Southern Michigan has hundreds of miles of gravel 
roade. In Wisconsin the roads average very good, in the 
lower part of the State especially. Upper Indiana is 
gravel and sand in many sections. Illinois runs more to 
black dirt. 
WIT OF THE WHEEL. 
"Uncle Bob, what is a pedestrian?" 
"Why, he is a fellow what makes a row when a bicycle 
runs over him." — Exchange, 
FALLING FROM GRACE. 
A young man in this city has named his bicycle Grace — 
not after his girl, but because he falls from it so often. — 
Utiea Herald. 
HAD NEVER SEEN PNEUMATICS. 
Little Girl — See, mamma; the poor man must have come 
an awful Ions; way! See how. swollen the wheels are. — 
FUegende Blatter, 
FASTEST ON RECORD. 
"You are charged," said the judge, "with riding your 
bicycle through the streets at a rate exceeding ten miles an 
hour." 
"Ten miles?" said the man whose new wheel had run 
away with him— "ten miles? I'll bet 1 was going 300," — ■ 
Indianapolis Journal. 
ROAD RAMMERS. 
Wheeler — This idea of taxing bicycles as vehicles is 
simply outrageous. A bicycle doesn't damage the road- 
way a bit. 
Walker— It isn't the wheels that do the damage; it is the 
fellows who fall off. — Indianapolis Journal. 
HONORS EASY, 
Papa— So, Bobby, you're the president of your bicycle 
club. That's very nice. How did they happen to choose 
you? 
Bobby — Well, you see, papa, I'm the only boy that's got 
a bicycle. — Harper's Bound Table. 
BOUGHT BY WEIGHT. 
Dealer— I'll sell you that wheel for $50, It weighs 
331b8. 
Rude Scudder (from Oearfoss Crossroads)— Why, my 
boy Ab bought one for $35 t'other day that weighed 901bs. 
You can't soak me, by gnml— Judge. 
HARD-HEADED, BUT — 
"Hear about Barrick? Fell off his wheel last night 
on to his head and was unconscious for more than three 
hours." 
"You don't say? Well, well! I never thought it would 
affect him that way. I have so often heard him spoken 
of as such a hard-headed business man. — Cincinnati En^ 
quirer. 
Only love makes life worth living. — Troy Press, 
Oh, no. There are pie and bicycles, not to mention 
other beautiful things, — New York Sun. 
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