The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1901-03-03
FEW SLEIGHS NEEDED HERE
EFFECT or MILD VIEW YORK WINTERS
on THE SEASONS SPORTS.
Every Snowfall Helps the sleigh Trade . Little
Though The New speeding sleishs -EiAb-
crate Sleds and IAttie Coastins In New
York skating More In Favor.

crate sleds and IAtte Coastins In New
York Skating More In Favor.
New Workers may think I at because New
York city can nowadays produce only a mild
variety OF winter weather. winter Ia out Of
fashion The men who sell winter sporting
goods know better
The New York street Cleaning Department
and the weather clerk MAY have combined
agains, sleighinR. but outside OF town limits
there has been a good deal II sleighing this
season For instance. In northern New York,
there have been $50 consecutive days Of good
sleighing 40 far While out-of-town GUS
toners keep the sleigh business alive. even
In the city the frat light fall Of snow alw AZ =
inspires a few over-oonfdent souls to buy
slelghs
II We get a snow fail Ia Nov or Dec
ember. we are certain To sell a lot Of sleiRhs. -
said the manager OF one Of the few New York
houses that still handle sleigh. People
believe that the winter is going to he hard
and .onH and they get ready for 1t But
when snow holds Of until this time Of the
year. our sleighs are a drug on the market.
"Of course a blizzard may come along and
ave our lives. but that il a 100 to / shot In
II the blizzard caught us with a big stock
Of sleighs guess We had about all that
were for sale In town Before o'clock tho
next morning We were sold out The Fire
Department bought most Of them. except
the very expensive sieighs They had 10 have
them I'm afraid. though, that there Will
be no blizzard this year
We did have four days Of sleishing and
they brought us a few sales It's a queer
thing. but a man never buys a sleigh until
snow 4. on tho ground Sin -tsnths Of the
New Yorkers. even the wealthy ones. who
own horses. do not have stables ~ their own
They keep their horses and traps at boarding
stables and they hate having a useless sleigh
cluttcrins up the stables while they pay
storage on it
Atone time or another Vehsve sold sleirhs
to almost every wealthy family IN the city,
but the slelglS are seldom used now They
hav" been sent to the country home, II the
family has "A country home. or else they are
collecting dust and moths and veling the
souls of the stable men in dark corners Of
city stables
Even when there 4. a snowfall In tho
citv men are waiting TO catch the snow in
baskets. and there is never slel Ching In the
streets for more than a day People who
want t. 60 slel CHING in the Park, have to
send a groom up there with the sleigh. and
40 up on the cars or In a c~srrisgc themselves
It's too much trouble for n little Fun
q course there's the Speedway. but one
light snowfall will not make slei ghing on
the Speedway The wind ~ eeps down aloug
that drive and piles tn. snow In drifts, 50 that
there's no driving over 1t, unless there have
been tire" or fu'y consecutive suowstormS
and the snow i too well packed TO be swept
OF hv the wind in places
still We sell more -leighs FOR Speedway
us". than for any other city purpose The
speeding sleigh Is \ modern institution. and
he best type weighs only about sixty pounds
II /, hung very hiah on a spider frame of
hand forged stool Yon 80" i has 90 he high
50 that the driver can control his fa.t trotter
or uRvcr The structure Of the shafts Is
~Ich that the horse can he hltch-d well back,
aS In a sIlkv, and there l. q Wild front bean
aud bent knee, giving the hors. ample room
In which (, travel The cross bar or while
tire" i back ~ ~" dashboard and is sod as
u foot rest. which gives the driver additional
control over the horse
OF c9lr-e such slGlshs are easily, upset
sp"rd'nT s'e,sd th.rt, E"GndS hGaviGTr
a driver out. without half irving STILL
during the few DAYS Of sleighinT this season.
sleigh. and the going vas. mighty lively
Most az our larger sleiehs are sold 10 out
@t-,oHn customer: who. a. g ruiz won, com
superb sl.lehiUg III rrOuts to country places
on Long Island The hie slciehs are built
pose n" CREEKS never saw a sleigh and the
{, rrsk -lrIghs merely have q reok ornamentn-
ton lh. Russian sleigh - really the most
Ri-.iau Srolka her. In this city. with horNes
hitched In Russian fashion. hut freak sleigh
ins Us gone" with IT." heavy SHOWS.
-l"lsh. built for two, that is r1'h"r froakish
II j. hlgh and hunt r good dsal on the stiT
h1r. 81 q d"s Cari with a rumble behind for
shut NJ and fltted into the back OF the sleigh
80 that II j. quit" concealed
sleigh, have grown brighter in. color a.
fIgN IuNy diminished in numbers sutrns.
there are 80 few ~ them now that they have
TO talk loud IA order t" to heard AT all The
Of the swell sleigh now. arc the very brightest
81 caflct-. and tho body of tho sleigh is
usually , rich dark green, while the Innings
The robes are \ tsat NJ a sleiRh's elegance
The kind used depends upon the price the
%wnSr !, ~',linS to PAX 6T, ths ,wslicst
OK The robes mr.. worth about $500 apiece
and morning. looks better and wears better
nov Won know instead Of being on single
runners That j. a big improvement and
mak"s up~et- Tower,
Bat III" sleigh business doesn't really
pay now "" run II merely 10 accommodate
our carriage customers II n man does want
a sleigh, h" wants II badly and we don't like
The Sled business feels the erect II n. mild
winters. too. but a sled isn't so costly an IN
So much Dom lh"r"iore every. boy thinks
he ought 10 keep on" on hand There aren't
very many good Cpastiug places for the CITY
boy. tut there are streets with an incline
which aren't 80 bad. II the coaster can only
c-cHp. the vigilHnC" Of the law
There \ iRNorlte "onsting spot on Thirty
seventh street and on lupth street there's
q popular lid" that furnishes fair sport and
an excellent opportunity To bring up under
the Third avenue. cable cars There are stIll
vacant lots m Harlem where the boys run into
nothing bat goats and the goats can stand
IL II the boys can
The downtown urchins have @ harder time
finding n coasting ground The sight Of
tW ruiy tive small boys sliding down the 10
foot ~lop. OF "A dirt pile in a vacant lot, and
then going back ~ begin over again, open
one : eyes To II" poverty of the city child
a. few other things do No boy brought up
in n town knows what solid chunks. % fun
may he heW"d ont Of a winter season
tie really up-to-dRte sled Is d fereni from
tho dcspis.d sleigh sled that. in old DAYS.
Wa ~corufully r.lesated to girls II l. built
with skeleton steel runners, not wooden,
steel bound runuers, but solid runners Of
forged 7 steel The largest si1e, 8 feet
long. weighs seventeen pol nd=, and the
ordinary sled weighs six pounds These sled
stronger than the old clumsy Kind. aud
much faster on" type l. called n fe' lhla
e er, because the steel -unner- are flexible
enough 10 bend and the sled Is guided 10y
pulling ~" ropes and bending the runners
IN tho desired direction
OF cuurs" this IL all very delightful The
CoR.t"r sit~ VI straight, with his feet on a
~foutr.>t and his clothes and shoe leather
Last longer. than they did under the old sys-
TEN " neither he has "a. much fun a. lac