DRAUGHTS ITEMS,

Otago Daily Times, Issue 11191, 13 August 1898, Page 7

DRAUGHTS ITEMS,

CYCLING

(By Demon, in thb Otago Witness).

K. Martins.—We (July Draughts <vorld) learn with deepest regret that R. Martins, the ex-champion draughts player, is lying seriously ill at his home in Douglas, Lanarkshire. The veteran has long since-passed the allotted span of three score years and ten, and we are sure that in all draughts circles over the known globe the utmost sympathy is being felt' for him and his family .in.-their distress.

The Draughts World and S.D.Q.—Messrs Brysoh's publications, the Draughts World ancl the Scottish Draughts Quarterly come to hand with the regularity of the sun. Of both these magazines we cannot speak in terms oi too gre.\t praise. -The, World for July is as full as it can hold of good things. The very covers have to be pressed iiito'the service for items of interest instead of being filled with standing advertisements.: 'It'would be waste' of time to refer .to its. contents-in detail—it should be suf.fidient that the World is quoted and praised by overy'draughts column in existence. Even the American?, are for- once unanimous—something good does conic out of Scotland. The Quarterly Review, No. 7, vol. 11, in addition to the many excellent games' ancl problems, contains some; dozen page 3of notes and play on the .'Bristol" (unclassified: 11 16,21 17). With the magazine is presented a separate sheet of toiled paper containing .weii-executed photos of three deceased gentlemen—John Love, David Gour-lay,-ai}d Robert M'Call.. The Review is publishedat..6d and the "World at 3d by, Messrs Bryson and,,C0,.92 Trongate, Glasgow. . rMatc'heS at Home—The game hab.bden lively at Home recently in the way of match play. .The-principal event; of June, however, was. tbe contest in Glasgow between the much-lauded Harry Freedman, champion ol Scotland, and Alex. Battersby (challenger)- for a stake of £40. Battersby, it may bs remembered, created a sensation in tbe 1855 tournament, by playing against the famous Bryden for five days without settling their round, the score standing 3 wins each and 14 draws, when the ballot was resorted to and Battersby was thrown out. We have no-room this week for details of the match with Freedman, but the result was a win for Freedman with the score: Freedman 5, Battersby 3, drawn 21. Another match of importance played during the same month was a contest between Messrs M'lvelvie and Holmes for the championship of Stirlingshire and £40, 28 games to bo played. When the twenty-sixth game was finished the two competitors were equal—s wins each acd 16 drawn. Mr Crookstori, tlie stakeholder, at, this juncture tnadethe suggestion-that they allow the remaining opening in the^bag—the ;Ediriburgh—to stay where it was ahd call the match a draw. This was finally agreed to;: the opinion being that the stake was too large to risk on the result of sucb a weak opening as tha "Edinburgh." , '

TO CORESPONDENTS.

J.-Beecot.—Please forward your new address.

ANSWER TO CORRESPONDENT. Traveller.—Mr W. Melville, of George street, has : uumder of the "ordinary", make of bicycle, aud can let you have a good one for £2. You had better place yourself in communication with Mr Melville, Jwho might be able to suit your requirements.

-— The chief topio of interest in cycling circles is the annual meetings of the Otago and Dunedin Clubs. The Otago Club last weekelected their office bearers for the ensuing season, and the Dunedin Club will this.montb hold their annual meeting. The report of,the meeting-of the Otago Club-discloses a very satisfactory state of affairs indeed.

The members of the Dunedin Cycling Club will regret to hear that A. Aitchison, the present deputy-captain of the cliib, is under orders to proceed to Christchurch. As deputy-captain of the club he has, proved himself to, be an efficient officer, and as .a cyclist purs and simple he. has-been to me,' and to, othera who' know him well, a jolly good, felloivi ' One always regrets.'.th 6 de-! 'parture of a friend, buti. in the present in-;' stance the regret is,isoftened by thei knowledge that Mr Aiitcheson's removal means promotion, and an opportunity of securing an extended, knowledge oi' the jwibrkingsof. thefliini with which he is now employed.

: A-—. I must .congratulate the Otago Cycling 'Clnb on" their'election pf secretary.,'. Mr D. Duncan, the choice, of.the'elub,, has an "in'ti-i : mate knowledge of athletics . generally, .arid" 'though his connection with cycling has not been so close as with othfer branches of sport, his enthusiasm generally leads me to believe that ho will prove to be a capable officer. Those of tis who followed cycle racing in the. early days when the tall ordinary was the racing machine of the time, will be pleased to hear of the success of Mr T. 0.. Fisher, who how occupies.an important position;in the Austral Cycle Agsncy. Mr Fisher's spurt was a thing to be reckoned on in the early days, and from a short conversation with him last week ho appears to have retained that Bpurt till.lately. His visit to Dunedin is on business, and he made inquiries after the,op pon'entß of his day. speaking, with pleasure of the contests of nearly 14 years ago. ——In' the annual road race of the New. South Wales League of Wheelmen, won by J. Elliott (Bmin 55sec), there was a competitor of 52 years of age. This rider, Mr C.'-W. Prowse, covered the distance^ 21£ miles, in lhr 50sec—a good performance. ' '—- At llushworth the cycle agent is, Says the Melbourne- Sportsman, the local carpenter, who aho includes undertaking in his repertoire. His premises are accordingly adorned with the ambiguous sign, " Agents for all the best makes ot bicycles and accessories. Funerals furnished on moderate terms."

English magistrates are slowly awakening to the fact that in cycling accidents the wheelman is riot always at fault. An interesting* decision was recently given in a London court in the case of John Blofield," who had been • summoiicd for riding a bicycle to the Common danger: For the prbsecutibri, Wil ' liam 'Thomas Storre, letter sorter, said he' was walking-in the carriage way in Noble street.' when lie heard a' cycle bell. Before he eoiiid. get out of the Way': he ; was knocked down by defendant on a bicycle He was close'to •-be path, but dirt not get on to it when he hoard tho bell, but walked across the road.' Tho defendant said he was proceeding at a Blow pace, when ho saw the pedestrian in front. lie knew he conld get by, but to comply with tte law soiinrisd his bell. He thought the pedestrian would naturally step on lo the path, but he turned the other way into lhe bicycle, knocking it over. The magistrate held there could be no conviction. There was no undue pace suggested, and had the complainant kept to his proper side the acci ■dent would not have happened. It was an accident, and he dismissed the summons. This case r.ho shows that bells sometimes intensify, and not minimise, the risk of accidents.

Bicycle race? ?.t St. Louis were postponed for a queer cause. On May 14 a National Circuit race meeting was .to have beon run at night. The track was made of wood, ancl to preserve it it had been painted. This was a fatal mistake, as when the stars phone dew was raised cm the surface, so that the other stars, such as Gardiner, Butler, Mertens, and others, when they tried to ride, simply slipped off, and. fearing broken limbs, they refused to race. Five thousand people were present, and it was a difficult matter to pacify them when ths racing was declared off. A now idea in saddle construction haß been introduced, whicb presents, besides novelty only, a feature of considerable value. It is that tbe tension of the top, or leather, shall bo adjusted by three screws at the back of the'framework on which it is stretched, instead of-, as usual, by one single screw at the saddle peak. r The value of this method -lies in the fact that leather usually settles down at the side 3, and not centrally, where little or no pressure occurs, and therefore a tensioning, arrangement that only pulls centrally is a poor attempt to give adequate adjustment.

— An eccentric suggestion has been made by a correspondent of a iranslantic journal, who expresses his belief in tho efficacy of solder as a substitute for brass for jointing j cycle frames. " With proper designing," he I says, "allowing sufficient surfaces, there can . be no question ox to the strength ; experience has already proved this. The heat required does not injure the tubes, and leaves tbem with the original stiffness ahd thickness, aud requiring no filing or polishing to remove file marks. The tubes are not annealed or softened at these ends, and require no reinforcing tc compensate for the weakness caused by brazing ancl finishing. It would be possible to ute a lightei gauge tube with equal strength if desired. In case of accident, the soldered frame would iepair much easior, wl ile tho economy of the method appeals lo the maker strongly, now that the cost of production bas become such an important factor in future success. At least one maker has produced a succtiFfful machine upon this plan and put it upon the market, aiid I predict that others will iollow. Two machines built with common soft soldered joints have been running hr over a year under my daily observation, having had the rather unusual experiencol of being used by all the hands about the shop, aud up to dale they have been entirely satisfactory. Th<3 only objection 1 sec to the process lies in the prejudice which seems lo exist in the minds of buyers against the idea of soldered joints, but this, nd doubt, will disappeai in time, and both maker and rider will be the better for it." Of one thing we may rest assured, and that is that high finish in' enamel would be' impossible,' 'as the frames ccukl not be stoved at a temperature of mora than 200deg, Which is about the heat to which hollow rims ani usually treated when enamelled.

The Chester police have invented a now way of liming cyclists. Tbey measured off 110 yds on Backford Hil], and a constable stood with a stop watch at llie top, and a sergeant,, who stood at the limit mark, liftod his leg as a signal wben a cyclist passed bifti. By this method tbey contrived lo provo lhat eight Liverpool cyclists rode at 23 miles nn hour; One of the defendants was so amused lo hear of liis prowess that he suggested thpt the road to glory was now open io hirfi as professional rider. No evidence was adduced, by the way, ol any dangei beir.g caused to pedestrians, nor s-,s to the machines being be-, yond control; nor \Vero the qualification* of th» police as timekeepers regarded by the magistrates us questionable in nny way.

Edwards bas up to the present more than accomplished his task of riding 100 miles every day during the year 1898. The man, who is an Englishman by birth, is a thin flab of a fellow, but he is evidently all muscle, for he shows no signs of distressi

Miss Olgrt Nethersole, on being questioned by nn American interviewer on the subject of cycling, made the following reply: " 1 wear a long coat, whirb is simply a covert coat, when 1 am in my bicycle costume but not riding. I never ride in.cities, only, inthe country, and tljen ] always wear, bloomers, 'which I find far more convenient than a! skirt; In-'additibo'-lhey'minimise, the dahger which is very prdncuvced when a skirt is" worn. .1 invariably; ive.hr .'U' "ehii-t waist with my bloomers, and. my cap is a. little fad of my own, and is the exact reproduction of the forage cap worn by officera. of the 42nd infantry of the British Army. I have not made any sort of i study as to the benefits or evils of bicycling to women, and it seems to me that such a question should be more properly put lo a physician. However, my personal experience, of now about, two years, tells me that bicycling affords me a distinct, gain in health and happiness. The exercise' is productive of the development both of a woman's hoalth. and nelve, the latter necessarily be-, corning strengthened. Tn moderation l strongly-recommend bicycling to women a#*a panacea for nerve troubles : and though it took' ma some time before I could induce myself to do what appeared an ungraceful act, I am very glad now that I became a bicycle rider; Of.course the exercise can be abused. Overriding is as bad as the excessive use of any-, thing, and I do-not believe that women should indulge in.', coasting, -but, rationally undertaken, I am' satisfied that cycling for women is one of, the greatest boons that have been vouchsafed to them in many years. It promotes d spirit of independence arid hardihood ;which can: : do nothing but good for women and helps.them materially in their struggle for life. T have some little nieces in, England, .acd when they are old enough to ride, my ;first presents to them will be a bicycle edch;"