Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-09-18
TIL e La p.

10 POSSESS GOOD lamp, IN Wntch confidence
is placed for Its continuous burning. he
should take the best of care OF 1t. Strange
as 1t may seem, a good many do not. The
bicycle of this class of persons Is generally
the wheel that receives the least care. and
1t would be something unusual IL the lamp
were given a special cleaning now and
then. 1t IL safe to say that the lamp like
the wheel. is cleaned only when abse!ut ,ly
necessary. and then the cleaning part is of
a slip-shod method
There is nothing more annoying than to
take an evening ride and have a lamp that
Is continually going out at every little Jolt
When such lamp is used it would take
almost a box OF matches nightly for every
ride of ten or twel e miles. The annoyance
OF the lamp going DIT, and the inca owen
fence OF dismounting and relighting il
every few yards cause more or less worry
especially If with a party of other riders,
whose lamps manage to stay lit for a lon
ger period than your own.
To begin with, there is probably no lamp
on the market that never goes out Some
go out with less provocation, that is All.
ard those which burn the longest and give
the best light are regarded as the ne plus
Cnra IN iampdom. There are lamps that
VIII go out in an exceptionally hard Jolt,
something like going down in a deep rut
OF possibly In collision, but such cases
should be overlooked. There are other
lamps that go out the moment any uneyen-
ness in the roadway is struck, the slightest
Jcstle being sufficient. Then again there
are some mat Will not burn for any length
OF time under any conditions or anv
amount of persuasion
"A good lamp is needed, especially when
she cycnst does road riding This should
t ve USED Irrespective Of any law compelling
the carrying and. burning of a lamp after
nightfalL The safety of the rider really
demands 1t. 1t is all right to RELY ON the
moon for furnishing a good enough light on
the road, but the moon is somewhat nm
reliable. At it's best, there are not moro
imam ten or twelve days during a month IN
Hhich II illumfnes the road sufficiently for
.ne eycnst to proceed at fair rate of
speeo' ana yet be able to detect all dam
gers or distractions in the road ahead
FOR the balance of a north the rider would
De Obliged to cycle ir darkness If he relied
entirely upon the moon for this nurnoso
IL lamp is used that throws a .rood
steady ana bright light, the rider can pro,
ceeo on his way without any danger tn
SPEAK hp AK Oh The roads around the city may
De SO well known that the rider cou,d 20
over them all the darkest kind of a nirht
without lamp. but he could not rrne,t
lnis performance with the same speed on a
new highway. "
"A lamp that will throw the reflection of
the nfme for distance of ten or fiftaa,
t Zee. m 'front.' OF the wheel is perhaps the
pest KIND to use, though there are some
winch throw an illumination for dis
lance OF fully thirty or more feet enahlirg
me riaer t" detect vehicle that far ahead
to avoid collision " ~
While a poor lamp is of no use on the
reads 1t is positively a bother when usea
in the city. Generally this styIa of lam, &c
SO arranged that it is almost a MATE
OF lmpossibility to detect whether II Is
burning. 1t is especially hard TO deter
mime inns when passing in front of an
electric light. where the illumination Of tte
arc lamp far outshnes that of the feeble
cycie lamp. This is a general complaint
anu sn more than one person has fallen within
r,e clutcnes OF the police on this account
fernaps the easiest solution of the probler,
IS to get lamp in which you can place
confidence. When looked at in the one
hsht 1t Is much better Investment In
spgne one or Two dollars or possibly five
oohars Tor this purpose than to pay a fine
equal 20 the latter sum in the Police Court
Tor railing to have light on your machine
your lamp may have been burning for one
al Two ncurs and be out for only a minute
curing which time the eagle eye of some
omcer detects the fact. This generally re-
SUITS In a walk to the police station II is
perhaps safe to say that fully one-third
burn. ~
The bicycle lamp of today represents the
nighest skill and ingenuity in fits construc-
ton. Not only has the price come down
wonderfully, but the improvements in the
manufacture have been still more wonder
fuL All this has occurred within the past
three or four years, and before the end
OF the present century even still better i'm
provements can be looked for The lamps
designed for the first bicycles were heavy
and cumbersome affairs resembling much
more the headlight on a steamboat than
the lamp that is now in use. The weight of
the lamps was considerably over a pound
and half. especially when filled, and the
reservoir held as much oil as a fair sized
house lamp. The old style lamps were
about seven or eight inches high by three
or four wide, and the headlight in front oc-
cupied most of the space. The refiectors
We're of cheap quality, and only sperm
Oil AMI other heavy oils. thinned some
times with kerosene, would burn. These
lamps. to give them due credit threw a
pretty light. and the weight was not 50
great. considering the fact that none of
the safeties then ridden weighed less than
fifty pounds, and frequently went above
the sixty pound mark. This was six or
seven years ago, and such a lamp de-
scribed above could not be bought for less
than Sc.
This is quite in contrast with the condi-
ton of affairs today. The size has been
weight, at the same time the brilliancy OF
the flame has not been altered, in fact,
if anything, it has been improved upon
quite largely. The fluid for burning is
not confined to lard or sperm oil, but kero-
sene, gasoline and even naphtha and ben
zine can be used. Cotton packing was I'M
known in the early days of the safety.
The Improvement has gone even still
This style will undoubtedly be the lamp
of the future. AS it is now the electric
lamps are somewhat cumbersome. and the
cost is quite high. but it will not be long
before changes will be made which will
abolish what are now regarded as objec- |
tionabie features.
A good lamp should be taken care Of 1t |
requires as much care as a house lamp /
No housekeeper would think of letting her |
kerosene lamp go for one week without |
cleaning. She trims the wicks every day |
and looks after them. The majority of |
riders seem to look upon the bicycle lamp |
as something out of the ordinary. While |
1t may be true that they are not kept |
burning as long as a house lamp. yet it |
does not signify that they should not be |
more frequently cleaned. The conditions |
under which a bicycle lamp keeps up its |
flame are far different from those of an |
ordinary lamp. 1t has a much greater /
draught. and having more open work adj /
mits Gust and dirt, to say nothing of the 4
greater liability to smoke and cover the /
top with a coating of SCOT. The writer |
has seen lamps that refused to burn solely 4
from the fact that the top part was SO COW /
cred with SCOT that it was impossible for /
niz 70 lx>.