Evening star., 1896-12-26

come in for share of the loss thougl, I'm
.lls WINTER tme the receipts of all of the
public theaters in the city are about nor
mai Jewellers complain of the loss of trade
IN the various articles mostly small things
which struck the fancy of the feminine
population. The candy stores also renortsa
a diminution in business Though hotb 81
the last named have adopted articles do
signed TO catch the fancy of the cycling-
struck femininity. There are a number OF
otner businesses that have suffered n Is
sald, among the heaviest being tb. hook
sellers, who say that cycling takes nm the
time OF so many of their former customers
p u,la. tliey nave no leisure I'm which to read
ferhaps the greatest and most strange
complaint vet made. comes from the pro-
prietors and managers OF the river resorts
"hicn appear TO be so well patronized dur
ing the summer time. The managers of
these places claim that with the bicvcle a
cneap and enjoyable trip can be made of
summer evenings to places lying near the
Dnstrlct where dancing can he indulged in
ana Where there are most of the attractions
that can be found at a river resort includ-
ing cool air. In the meantime the cycle
dealers are reaping a harvest. 1t is truly
an Ill wind that blows no one good
How many riders are there who have
suddenly felt their wheels slipping from
beneath them when on spin? The wheel
may not go down entirely, but the Slipping
sensation is clearly and disagreeably felt
The sensation is exactly the same as when
turning the corner at rapid rate and the
hdtiiiit SOts from urder the rider, ONLY in
one case II is a reality, while in the other
the rider simply awaits for the worst. One
occurs only in making turn and the
other may occur when riding in perfectly
upright position. When a bicycle is I'm the
latter position il is much more apt To
make big slip when a turn is made and
on this account the rider will have to be
more careful than usual. The cause OF
both is easily explainable. In the case of
the slipping sensation, when the wheel is
upright. is due to either one of two things.
The wheel Is either out of true else the
bearings are too loose. This defect can be
easily remedied, but for the other of
slipping there is no remedy outside Of due
care and caution in making the turn. IL
the rider whirls around a street corner at
a fair rate of speed and leans to one side
too much when making the turn, as i'm the
case of making a short curve. the bicycle
is very apt TO slip before the equilibrium
can be regained, and once the slipping has
started il is almost impossible to stop the
compound forward-sideward motion until
the rider strikes the ground. IL is claimed
that there is a scientific way of falling
when in foot ball game to keep the play
ers from getting hurt. and the person who
promulgates a scientific method of falling
from bicycle, especially I'm the case OF a
bicycle side slip, will earn the everlasting
gratitude of hosts of riders, present and
TO come. Another case of side slip In turn
ing corner is due to the wetness of the
pavement and this can be avoided IL the
rider is careful.
II is a good thing that shoestrings are
cheap. Judging by the way in which some
cyclists break them. they would otherwise
be a costly item. The rule should be OBJ
served never 10 tie the strings on the in
side of the shoe; that is, tie the string of
the right shoe on the left side or of the
left shoe on the right side. Tie them on
exactly the opposite side. There are many
cases where wheelmen have found them
selves in temporary tangle that caused
more or less apprehension by the l¬
catching in the sprocket wheel. and pull
ing with sufficient force as to move the
entire leg. This is on the same principle of
a mans coat sleeve catching In a cog
wheel or betting and drawing the whole
arm and body with il. Only in the case
of the bicycle there are no such serious re-
suits, though one may be painfully injured
by the shoestring catching in the sprocket
The string generally is not strong enough
to stand the strain, and the rider can
exert his muscular strength in the leg and
break II. All the annoyance and tenn
porary fright can be done away with how
ever, by making the knot on the other
side of the shoe.
The first step in the long process Of max
ing bicycle tire is to clean the crude rub
ber, which comes from South America In
great chunks that look like hams and are
known as biscuit" These are first cut
into small pieces, steamed for two or three
hours in hot water watts, and then shoyeled
into washers, which are corrugated iron
rollers OF immense power. load of rub
Der Is caught between their two turning
surfaces, while streams of cold water play
down upon 1t from above washing out all
sand and impurities. Five minutes in these
washers is sufficient to transform half a
dozen shovelfuls of rubber in rough frag-
ments into continuous sheets ten or twelve
feet long and two or three feet wide, that
look as much like huge alligator skins as
anything else.
These sheets are now carried to the dry
ing room, where they are hung on adjust
able racks and left in a temperature OF
ninety degrees, sometimes for weeks or
months, for the longer rubber is left in the
drying room the better II is for the sub
sequent processes. 1t has long been the
policy at some cycle works to keep on hand
an immense stock of these rubber skins.
the drying room occupying the upper floor
of some of the buildings
The price of such rubber in fair quality
will aver; 9e a5 cents a pound.