The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1895-08-05
SCIENTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL.
Conducted by j. A. Morris)
HorscIess Roads.

Conducted by j. a Moiii'P
HorseIess Roads.
The use of the trolley and other electrical
devices for street car propulsion has had
very great and beneficial effect In leSSeH
ing the number of horses ana hiuies On
our streets The perfection of the Salety
bicycle with a speed record SUI P"s0s
that of the fastest racer, mas allhoo'
tirely eliminated the riding horse from oui
roads For several years there mas pee" ~
successful and profitable operation III INC
large European capitals electric omllpuSe9
and Goods vans. In England 1t is proposed
ia erect trollevs along the principal roaus
radiating from the cities to haul 10 the
consumers the market cart oil the tiuOh
farmers In our own country horseleSo We
hcles daily traverse the streets Vi -"
York Boston and other large American
cities So great indeed has been the az
crease in the use of the horse for .Iao'ioi
nurnoses that the price for the noble ann
NAL has fallen amazingly. and on the i"i @
ranches i'm the far west large lact"ilc'
have been built to work up the morse Alito
canned meats, glue, leather. buttons, on
etc. and we have seen IT stated thaV 'no
price for horses on the hoof was from TWO
IN three dollars per head: one sale being
ronorted of one drove of eleven hundred
for two thousand dollars. This being the
present status of the horse, what can we
reasonably expect when we consider thdI
electricity will early supplant horse power
for all farming operate When we know
that the cost of steam power at S5o per
annum will not support a horse for SIN
months and that water power can be 0iec-
tricallv conducted over any distance at
even less cost we can easily comprehend
. that the horse is doomed. These are not
| sneculations Let us see how facts sub
| stantiate these statements. Since lo'-
! horseless carriages have been popular IN
| France and have been rapidly coming mo
/ favor and use. The invention OF the pc
| troleum motor, transforming this heaFy
! oil into a vapor and applying the explosive
! force as in a gas engine. has developed
| wonderful efficiency for traction purposes.
/ The recent race from Paris to Bordeaux
| IN which carriages of two and four seats
/ competed, and in which the petroleum mo-
| tor won the victory and the prizes mas
| attracted wide attention on both continents.
I Tus petroiCuGn C5rrriag- II Uuorless, sihufe-
| less without disagreeable heat, runs for
! ward or backward at will, can be started
| i'm from two to five minutes is automatic
| I'm operation and no horse can compete with
| 1t in speed A simple lever, easier to manip-
! ulate than the handle of a bicycle, controls
| every movement of the carriage. Electric
| carriages are as yet too heavy and too
| costly to compete with this light petroleum
| vehicle, but yankee ingenuity will doubt
| less early overcome these difficulties. Elec-
tric vehicles do run and under favorable
| conditions are profitable. In Philadelphia
an electrical wagon has run several hun
dred miles without accident or repairs.
| An electrical wagon in Brooklyn on ordi-
nary good roads makes an average speed
of from fifteen to eighteen miles an hour.
| hotel bus in Lockhaven, Pa. with eight
cells is claimed to have sufficient capacity
to run fifteen days of nineteen hours each.
The bus weighs 1900 pounds. with carry
ing capacity of 5000 pounds y light and
graceful buggy weighing only 600 pounds
propelled by ~ gasoline motor has been for
months traversing the streets of SPRING
field and climbing the adjacent hill roads,
and has a record of over 1900 miles without
accident The vehicle can be stopped within
a space of four feet. and the running cost
is one-fourth of cent mile.
| Ether and hot air engines will doubtless
be early applied to carriage propulsion. as
they are now to bicycles and tricycles.
Ether Is converted into expanding gas at
90 degrees Fahrenheit, whereas water re-
quires 2l2 degrees To convert it into steam,
and the gas of ether has one-third more
power than steam. A bicycle with three
inch pneumatic tires, fitted with this ether
motor weighs only 60 pounds and speed
record of a mile minute is claimed for II.
In the west they are making hot air
engine which is Of wonderful lightness
and simplicity. weighing with balance
wheel less than fifty pounds and of four
horse power. Ordinary kerosene or gaso-
| lire is used for fuel. and is fed into the
, | cylinder and exploded by a spark from an
electric battery. 1t only uses one-tenth OF
a gallon of fuel per hour for each horse
power. These hot air engines are applied tC
bicycles, tricycles and to carriages equipped
, with four-inch pneumatic wheels. and are
thoroughly efficient in operation.
[ We thus see that for propulsion the hors
is rapidly becoming a back number. TIT
horseless motor don't shy; don't run away
= | don't spring a joint. nor cast n shoe; bu
a alvPys available, ever ready and thorough.
reliable. There may be considerable Senti
, nent about the horse, hut his use is not san
' itary, and is large expense to the city am
' the state. He wears out our roadways an