The morning times., 1896-01-19
hERRYHAkERS ON STEEL
Ice Is Covered With Gay ThrOngs
of Skaters.
FUN ON RINK AND RIVER
How the Surface Is Made ana Kept.
Advice 10 beginners Given From
the Experience of Ola HuTd~-rheTe
Are Few New skates This Season.
An lee Bicycle.


An Ice Bicycle.
All Washington row goes skating.
II the immortal Ii. Washington could
enter the city he first laid oIt into town
lots. ana should See the way genius has
baffled nature and an ice skating rink row
CoqGctS with frolirkIng skaters whether
old BpTcas comes with his chilly wiz or
the gentle Zcphyrs from the Southland
bring palmetto odors almost To our gates,
he would doubtless twIlch nervousy in
his tomb and inquire what the world Is
coming -.
II ice gets tired of forming out "n the
basin back of the Monument, or ON the
Eastern Branch over by the Anarustta
Bridge. or on Chevy Chase Lake, or any
place where the elements have Cbihce
10 play it is made to form in the ice rink
This is rectangular III shape and 206
feet long hrtw the tw" rcmotcSt points.
Down beneath the coating of ice runs
sixteen miles of piping, carrying ammonia
over the floor. The surface of The ic" is
kept ahoIt three inches above the lloor.
The same ammonia * used throughout the
whole season.
Ii is pumped TO the top of the hGlldin%
over the rink. and then deSccnds through
an almost endless coil of tubing before
II starts on its SixtCcU-nilc course over
the rink.
Cod water Is kept pouring over ,hS oil
at prodigiuuS rate when new frrrZ" is
being made. and though the anna ia is
stcamiug hot when 1t enters n Ill. If
one were /" place his dampcHcd fiu-s. = On
the piping Just as il starts OUT - '.'r the
floor hc would not pull it away v-::IHut
leaving portion OF The cuticle frozen 10
the tubing.
The temperature above the ice ranges
from 40 To- 30 degrees. That of the seats
surrounding the rink Is 90 10 SO. In tho
promenade it is 20. and up i'll the gallery
behind the band it is 10.
YOUNGSTERS OWN 1T.
There are two sessions day. The ice is
scrapci aud swept after each one, and
new surface is put on. From l to
O'Clock every day the ladies have the rink
10 themselves, and on Saturday mornings
the children have fun sway. Then 1t is
that the little tots, some of them as young as
five years, chase each other ana their
seniors about with the air of Its being
courtesy only that the older ones are
allowed on the ice at the time.
DO You teach both sexes TO skate?"
asked Times reporter of Mr.. L. 7. Leon
ard, tho head Instructor at the rink.
"oh, yes. indeed" he answered, and
We have lots of pupils among each"
Which are the more apt students in the
art?''
The ladies. \ woman is more perscvcr-
ing IN every thing, and She Will stick To 1T
until she learns. The man gives up ev-
crything when he first puts on skates and
because he doesn't glide away like bird,
but falls down readily, he goes away dis
gustcd.
"A man is weak in the knees. woman
is trirlc weak in the ankle, but TO worse
than a man Th,n she is naturally 50 much
more graceful Il nd easy in her mo rvmcnts.
Skating is undoubtedly becoming the
winter fad in this city. Every afternoon
there are dozens OF carriages of society
folks before the rink, and their learning
TO skate here VIII duuhllcss cause them To
skate more in the open air as the season
permits"
How should a fady skater drcss?'
..In sLort skirts, not reaching below the
shoetop, and in IcggingS. If she can wear
She should wear rs few skirts as possible.
A long skirt, besides hindering her partner,
Is all the time dra rginC in the snow behind
her and will thus keep her feet and ankles
wet. Tie bottom OF the skirt, irlonG, should
Dc free of all ravcliGgS, too.
COMMON-SENsE SHOES.
she should wear Il Conmon-sense shoe.
So should men, for that matter, and mar
row shoe is not fit to skate in. The heel
should lee square and level and the toe an
opera or box one. Tile stiffer the ShCc
the better SO many OF the skaters, and
especially the women, that come here are
unprcpared and wear thin-soled and point
ed boots with high heels.
1T is good exercise TO walk around i'll
the room with the skates on the feet That
helps to stiffcn the ankles. 1t aCcustoms
one to the skates, too, and saves her les
sons. Strength in the ankles and self
confidence are the two keys 10 quick and
good stating
Whether it be at the rink or on natural
Ice, the amusement for the loCkers-on is
almost as great rs for the skaters. The
one advantage of the former over the la;-
ter is that tine spectators may sit down
where it is not uncomtOrtably cold and eR-
10y the entertainment, while in the open
air they are generally c0mpelcd to turn
their backs 10 the wind, and If they do not
have to alternate in standing ON Cnc foct
and the other. they have to sit on stump
or log, with nothing but the stiff breeze
for 4 backing
The oid-fashionCd skaters and many OF
the fancy skaters are stin lpath TO give
mp the natural product, aUd probably. on
the whole, faster and fanCi-r skating can
be seen down on the basin than in the rink.
There they write their names ON the ice,
cut tie figure s. "cut tan-bark." spread
the eagle" and play, with all the zeal com
mcndablc, hockey OF SHINY and black
man"
They rnce and play tag and they fan.
But they do the latter everywhere.
A STONE THROWS HIM.
The same kinds of people may ec seen on
both river and rink. When the reporter
visited the former. he saw n bright and ten
der beginner, an angular youth, who looked
as if he should have been quite done grow
Ing. but had doubtless not, skim along for
half dozen strokes quite nicely. when lie
suddenly came in contact witha small stone
set neatly in the ice.
His shoulders ami head Immediately came
In contact with the congealed water before
of his anatomy Just mentioned as he had just
before gone in his half-iOZen strokes.
The last evening the reporter visited the