The herald., 1895-07-21
ELECTRIC LAMP
FOR BIKES NOW
WillLastthe Three.Nights-
a-Week Rider for
Six Months
COME HIGH, BUT OIL, MY
TIE Novice Gives Pointers to the Oldtr
Members of the Club, ana All Learn
Something About Bikes

The club composed of twenty women
old and young, of which the novice is
now proud member, met at an academy
on the boulevard to arrange for final de-
tails for run to Sheepshead bay. For
some utterly unknown reason the novice
denounced Sheepshead and declared that
any place, even Jersey City, was better
than that. First one member and then
another tried to crush her with fiery
glances for daring to raise IA dissenting
voice so soon after she had come into
their fold. but she was destined to be
squelched in another way, and one that
hurt her much worse.
A trim little matron in jaunty
bloomer suit came in with cheeks aglow
and sparkling eyes. She rushed up TO the
clique and said defantly to the novice,
keep your little old searchight that you
Dragged so much about the other day.
I've got bicycle lamp here that beats it
all to pieces; in fact. it is the only per-
feet bicycle lamp that has yet been in
vented, and it has been thoroughly tested
too"
Show it to u.s." cried everybody, and
as the Inatron TOOK the lamp from its box
the novice said: "Pshaw! It's an old
thing that you burn oil M
1T isn't any such thing" said the
proud owner. 1T is an electric lamp. l
don't know the name of the man who
invented it, but he had quite large
number OF them made and they were so
wonderfully successful. that joint stock
company has been organized and is hav-
ing 100. 900 made at the first clip. Some
of them arrived today and great many
more will be finished next week, so that
you Will all have chance to test them
for yourselves. You see the dimensions
and weight are nearly exactly the same
as the popular ol-Ourning cycle lamp
and it is attached to the wheel in just the
same way. The electrical part OF the
lamp is dry battery, composed in some
cases of three shells one-half inch in di-
ameter and four inches long. and in
others of six of these shells. Mine has
six, as you see. With these three or six
shells, as the case may be. a continuous
light can be furnished for 144 hours with
out recharging. A lamp equipped IN the
way would last the average rider. who
takes three evening rides week, say, for
six months.
"Tne idean' exclaimed some one indig-
nantly. The average rider is out ev-
cry evening. Its only half wheelwomen
who go cut three times u week" 1N
How is the current regulated2" asked
q little woman.
'By means Of switch. It's as simple
in your own room. Turn it one way and
it's on; turn it the other and it's off.
That's all there is about that. You don't
have to carry any battery in your pock-
ct and sbe bothered with connecting
wire dangling around for the battery is
in the lamp. The lamp can be recharsed
at cost OF % cents, by purchasing OF a
local agent more of these shells, just as
man buys cartridges for gun. The best
thing of all about the light is that it Is so
very brilliant that it can be seen nearly
a mile away, and it can't be jostled out
Every wheelwoman has had unhappy ex-
periences OF this kind with the oil lamp
"Yes; l got arrested once on account of
the no-account things" spoke up Jolly
girl, who seemed to have enjoyed it.
No oil lamp has been made" went on
the other; whose light could resist jar
and then the light is SO short lived. vi
bration does not affect this electric light
at all, and there is no smoke, no leakage,
and no odor about it. The lights are al
so being made little larger, believe,
for vehicles drawn by horses and small
er for the use OF surgeons. tell you
wheeling is turning things upside down.
IL there hadn't been demand for a per-
feet bicycle lamp this surgeons lamp
would probably not have been invented
for years to come"
"And only to think. said the novice,
sadly, that I've been such chump as to
think l had the best light on earth on my
| wheel. | thought it was great to wear
the thing perched up on my cap. but |
admit to you all, though l didn't mean
to own it, that found my cap with its
| electric ornament rather clumsy and
then, too. the storage battery is not more
| than seven or eight hours capacity Oh,
me. me, me! Won't somebody take it
off my hands? l must palm il off on
somebody, so that can get one OF these
| new ones"
Everybody examined the new lamp,
turned the light on and off, and forgot the
non-agreements as to routes in delight
over the novelty.
But how much are they going to
cost?" inquired bespectacled economi-
cal-looking enthusiast.
! They will be quite reasonable l un-
derstand, said the owner. probably less
than $40, unless a person wants one hand
somely engraved.
Mercy, $40 for bicycle lamp!" ex.
| claimed the bike economist.
| But tn nix how cheap they are in the
end. spoke up the novice. who was very
much taken with the lamp. "You
wouldn't be eternally having to buy oil,
and then it would save your nerve power