A NEW USE FOR BICYCLES.

Waikato Times, Volume XXIV, Issue 2026, 2 July 1885, Page 4

A NEW USE FOR BICYCLES.

Tlicio U a farmer in Vermont who hns invented .1 new motor that n designed to accomplish p milts at h.ist ns \ant as tliouc accomplished by the steam engine. The new invention is a combination of the small hoy and the bicycle, and l>y its aid an immense amount of work which has hitherto been done l>y hand enn henceforth be done n tan onormoiiH saving of time and expense. Last yuai Deacon Smedley, the farmer in question, entertained among his Hummer boiideis ft young man with ft bicycle. The joung man won: grey knickcrbockeis nnd icil atockingH, and as he generally fell off his machine twoortlnco times a day in the village sheet, lie naturally uttiiu ted a good deal of attention. It ih needless to »ay that Deacon Smedlcy's Hinnll boy— aged fourteen — took a great deal of interest in the bicycle, and felt that could lie possess bhcli n wonderful machine life would have nothing mote to offer him. The general verdict of the village, however, in regard to bicycles was that they weie ridiculous affairs, wholly unworthy of the attention of an intelligent countryman • and several iocnl citizens of much influence in the commu nity went bo far as to fay that bicjcles ought to be put down by the .Selectmen. Curiously cnongh, Deacon Hincdley approved of the bicycle, and openly said that he wished he could alTord to ghe one to his small boy. This was the more remarkable since the (lei con had never been known as a liberal man, and had never given his smnll boy anything except hia board and lodging Not content with wishing to gise his small boy a bicycle, the deacon actually opened negotuitions with the bicyclist with a view to buying his machine, and one dny when the young mnn wns under the doctor, s care in consequence of a severe contusion of the skull the deacon extoitcd from the bicyclist an agiccment to sell his bicycle at half puce. The ne\t step taken by this ndmiiablc father was to advise his sou to hue out to a neighbouring tanner and so to eirn money enough to buy the bicycle. Dctieon Smedley ngreed to advance the purchase, money, buy the machine, and hold it in ti ust until his iin.xll noy could repay him. Arrangements were soon made by which the small boy was to "do chores" for Squire Bartlett, and was to receive in the course of the winter the aggregate sum of 3."j dollais. This ho was to pay to his father, who had agreed to purchase the bicycle for HO dollars, thus giving the deacon a profit of only.j dollars on the transaction. Spring came nnd Deacon Sinedlcy's small boy paid his father .'(.") dollars on Ist May, and the twopioceedcd to the burn, wheie possession ot the bicycle was to be formally given to the small boy. The l.ittT was somew hat surprised w hen he caw the bicycle. It was suspended from the rafter* of the barn, at a height of about 3 ynidH fiom the floor. The tubber tyre of the driving wheel had been removed, and a leather band had been placed around the wheel and connected with the crank of a feed chopping machine With the assistance of hia affectionate parent, the small boy climbed to the saddle and began to woik tho pedals. The revolution of the big (hiving wheel ■ot the feed chopping machine in motion, and the deacon immediately proceed. id to to chop feed enough to last his live stock for a week. The excellent old man found that he could chop twice as much feed in a given time by bicycle power as ho could in the usual way, and that instead of turning a ciank all he had to do was to feed the macnine. Once or twice the machine abruptly stopped in consequence of the alleged weariness in the boy's legs, lut the Deacon instantly stirred up hia offspring 'with a pitchfoick, and pointed out to him the folly of growing tired of a bicycle within the first houi 01 two of iU possession. .Since that day the bicycle has been in constant use, and the ingenious Deacon has managed to utilise its power so as to churn milk and pump water with it. The small boy does not seem to retain his original enthusiasm for the bicycle, and it is suspected that lie would prefer to ride it through the strceU rather than put it to a really bencficient use in the. future. Foitunately, the deacon, though he wan so indulgent as to buy his ■mall boy a bicycle, will not permit him to abuse the gift. "No, my son," ho ii said to have remarked, "We wont have no such nomence as fulling off bicycles in the street. You just enjoy your machine in the barn, where you can't get hurt, and can do some good; and I expect you to enjoy it three or four hour* a d.iy, or elsu you'll hear from me." The small boy evidently obeys his parent, and though he is growing rather thin, there is no immediate danger that he will injure his health by excessive indulgence in athletic sports. The discovery that the bicycle can bo used as a motor for (hiving machinery opens a grand future to oui bicyclists. The thousands of melancholy young men who- are now uimlcsMy falling off bicycles in the streets, and earning nothing except bruises, can hiio themselves out to farmers and make an easy and comfortable living. It may be loss exciting to ride a bicycle suspended permanently from tl'e raftcrH of a bain than it would bo to ride the same machine over a smooth pavement;, bub it is much •liter and far more profitable. We may expect soon to see the day when n< arly all domestic machinery, including sewing machines and orchestrions, will be driven by bicycle power, and young bicyclists, instead of squandering their money on suigcons and arnica, will lead liven of pioductive industry, and thus become useful and even happy men. —New York Time*.