Cycling & Motor Notes

Otago Witness, Issue 3352, 12 June 1918, Page 42

Cycling & Motor Notes

BY DEMON.

An English officer imprisoned in Germany recently constructed a small car almost perfect in every detail, although he had had no mechanical training, and had only occasionally driven a car. It is original in design, and was constructed _ from 1700 scraps ot various metals, including a brass hinge, dug up from the camp garden, the' contact stripe of dry, batteries from flash lamps, and pieces of biscuit tins. The tyres are made of cork with a canvas covering, and non-skid bands cut from a tennis racquet grin. The United States may look to Persia after the war for increased supply of gasolene to operate 'the thousands of cars, trucks, airplanes and so on that are expected to be in post-war service in America (says a Washington writer). JFor tho Anglo-Persian Oil Co. already is producing 150,000 tons of gasolene a year, and it is estimated that this will amount to 600,000 or 700,000 tons annually after the extensions are completed. The oil fields that are being developed and tested are_ said to be among the most extensive and richest in the world. Were refineries available to deal with the oil, the field from which crude now is being produced would give about 4,000,000 tons a year. Most of the wells as it is have to be kept shut down for want of facilities to with the crude. Crude obtained in Persia contains a very large percentage of gasolene and kerosene of high quality, as well as excellent lubricating oiis, fuel oils of high thermal utility, and a good percentage of firstgrado paraffin. The cost of production is lower than in some other countries, as the crude is obtained from the wells in great volume, requiring less field expenditure.

the progress which has taken place in Egypt during the last few years (writes a correspondent to an English paper). Every modern improvement may he seen, mixed up in some quarters with Eastern customs and costumes. One sees flowing-robed Arabs running down a street for an electric tram, or one watches natives making and moulding the old mud and straw bricks en Scriptural days by the aid of powerful electric arc lamps, t saw a little Singer recently, owned by a civilian. It was painted a pure white, and outlitied in black, looking very smart with its Egyptian chauffeur in his fez. All kinds of cars are to be seeno on the streets owned by both military and civilian; and, judging by outward apthere seems to bo no shortage of petrol; hence gas bags are not seen on the streets. The roads to the suburbs are quite good, bcinjr very wide and having an oven surface. There is no shortage of food here. One is enabled to obtain cream, strawberries, white bread, eggs, and butter very cheaply. — —-The work of the _ Paris municipal lorries is 'is arduous aq it is var'ed. One of the lorries, a Fiat 3-5-'(onner, commenced its day's work at 6 a.m. collecting w<.-od for a factory in case _ of a shortage of coal; later in the day it was transporting broken stones for road-repairing. Another lorry, this time of an American make, was occupied in transporting potatoes, 4A tons at the time, fro— one of the principal stations. Yet another was earrving coals for the railway station to the various muni-

cipal depots. A number of lorries are employed carrying cereals for horses. During the heavy snow in Paris some little wuilc asro over COOO tons oi salt and more than 3000 tons of sand were scattered in the streets. Recently, again, an enormous number of live fish was transported by these vehicles from the aquarium of the Trocadero in" Paris to Champigny, in order to restock the Marne.

—— Fan baits, like other forms of power transmission, need adjustment from time to time, and have received tho necessary attention through various adjuncts, more or less efficient. A recent adaptation from motor-cycle practice is the use of _an adjustable pulley, one flango of which can be moved laterally to or from the opposite and fixed flange thus altering the diameter as the belt m'nv fall or rise. flying machine to-day is tho outcome of the high-soeed petrol-engine, which was made nossible only through the motor car. Had there been no motor cars there would have been no flying corps in time for participation in this war; neither would there have been a.ny' mechanical transport services or tanks. In other words, the hundred and ono uses to which petrol is put in the war to-day would not have existed; and there is a grim satisfaction in the reflection that the development of the modem war machine, as exemplified by the staff car, the motor ambulance, tho motor lorry, motor boat, the despatch-rider's motor bicycle, the areoplane, and the tank, in which tho little prime mover of tho motor car is utilised, has resulted in demands for liquid fuel and calls upon tho automobile manufacturers which, in combination, have brought about in England a condition of affairs that is little less than a cessation of private motoring for the term of the war. Temporarily, therefore, it may be said that motorists have founded a movement of such gigantic proportions that its very success has, in the larsre majority of cases, so far as they personally' are concerned, rendered it impossible for them to use their cars in England. But the most remarkable feature was, last year, 'the tremendous development of motors for aerial work. — —Docs it not seem rather remarkable that, whereas in the United States and Canada, many millions of square yards of unprotected concrete roads have been constructed during the last 10 years, very few attempts have been made in this country to follow this example? It is hard to believe that such a shrewd business people as the Americans would have invested millions of dollars in such roads unless they felt confident of their success. Perhaps our engineers are more cautious than the Americans, but this is not a sufficient reason for him to show timidity where progress can and should be made, or otherwise no advances for the benefit of mankind would be forthcoming. It is not suggested that the use of concrete as a road material should take tho place of other materials, but that this description of roadconstruction might bo included in the practise of road-building, and should be given a better chance in the future than it has received in the past to prove or disprove its merits. ties that the majority of automobile accidents are the result of side slips due to defective braking. It must not be inferred, however, that the brakes themselves are in all defective, but rather that their proper adjustment has not been main-

tained, and that they wore not used wjth judgment. The operation of a brake necessarily involves wear, so this cannot be charged as a defect against the manufacturer; and it follows that systematic and periodical attention should be given to the b"».V«t3 to keen them adjusted so that they will operate "effectively. Too many carowners, however, have neither the ability nor the inclination to take care of their brakes.

A distinctly novel method of assessing a motor car for taxation purposes is • that adopted by the authorities in Alberta, Canada. Hitherto in that province car license fees have been based on horse-power rating-, more or less as they are in this country, the charge being 50 cents per horse-power. In future, however, the rating is to be fixed by the length of wheelbase. The scale of annual payments is as follows:—"Wheel-base not exceeding Bft 4in, £3, with an additional 10s for every extra sin up to £5 10s; not exceeding 10ft lOin, £6 10s; and not exceeding lift 3in, £7. Although at first # sight taxation by wheelbase seems a trifle bewildering, on consideration it is very much on the lines_ of taxation by weight, for. generally speaking, the longer the chassis the, heavier the complete car will be. ALTERNATIVE FUELS. In Great Britain (says an exchange) renewed interest- is being manifested in tho alcohol motor. The old idea, so well fostered, that alcolfol was unsuitable for internal-combustion engines, is being .dissipated, and many interesting developments may be expected. We cannot have too many varieties of fuel, and as alcohol can be freely produced within the Empire it lias special claims on our attention. It is highly, probable that the new movement towards alternative fuels will encourage new designs in engines. . The present-day power unit has been specially designed for us© with petrol, and more than once it has been pointed out that a number of modifications are desirable in it when alcohol or other fuels are to be employed to the best advantage. Perhaps wo eventually may arrive at a composite type of engine which will \give good all-round results with a variety of fuels, minor adjustments only being necessary to the carburettor in the way of either altering the jet or the air supply, or both. HISTORY OF RUBBER. The younger generation will hardly recognise in "gum elastic" the familiar substance with which their motor cars are shod. In the memory, however, of middleaged people the word "rubber" was rarely used. Commercially it was known as. " caoutchouc " : popularly wo made use of "gum elastic" in small quantities. Then, as° now, the term " indiaruhber" was genrrallv confined to the small pieces of stuff used for erasing pencil marks. Up to about 1820, indeed, rubber was used for no other purpose. It was not until the discovers of the process of vulcanisation, about the year 1843, th.*t the value of this wonderful natural product began to be recocrPtsed. Two rhf mists working independently —nn Englishman named Hand- * cock, and Charles Goodvear, an American — discovered that bv mixing the raw material with sulphur and heating to about 300 deg its elasticity was, greatly increased, and it was rendered immune to the effects of heat and cold. Natural rubber is hardened and loses it= elasticity in cold and becomes soft and viscid in heat. For a long time

the imports into England were small—in 1852 only 763 tons. In 1862 it rose ty 2985 tons, and in 1872 to 7855 tons. It was all natural-grown rubber, coming principally from Brazilian and other South American forests, .and in smaller quantities from West Africa, Mauritius, and India. Plantation rubber was unknown, and is, indeed, a very modern development. The world's production of rubber in 1906 was 66.210 tons, of which _>nly 510 tons was plantation rubber. In 1917 the total production was 257,000 tons, of which the plantations provided no less than 204,000 tons. But for the necessarv restriction of our output due to war conditions, tho yield of plantation rubber would undoubtedly have been very much more. It was in 1888 that Irish Surgeon J. B. Dunlop invented the tyre that made cvcling and motoring possible, and laid the foundation for the present tremendous demand for rubber throughout the world. THE MOTHER OF INVENTION. Tho drastic curtailment of their normal activities lias only served to whet the appetite of the motoring fraternity in England (says tho Motor News). The past throe years, during which motoring as a pastime has gradually diminished to vanishing point, have undoubtedly made for progress in tho technical side of the motor car. Necessities of war have stimulated the brains of inventive genius. Private motorists hear whispers of wonderful developments, of super-efficient engines, of improvements in the direction of lightness, strength, simplicity, and mechanical efficiency. Motoring journals are full of prophetic articles forecasting now enterprises, both general and particular. Manufacturers, m the intervals of producing munitions of war. are steadily perfecting their post-war programmes. Economists are clamouring for standard cars which are to solve the question of price, and thereby strengthen our hands against the menacn of foreign competition. Individual owners, too, JJTP thinking out their peace-time plans. The four-seated, 15 h.p. tourinsr car, now standing cold and inert in the garage, will, peace comes, be replaced by a nice little two-seater, light on tyres and petrol, comprising all the latest improvements at a moderate price. It is a heatlhv snrn. There is littl" pessimism in a community so active in thHr preparations for the clay when peace comes.