BICYCLING.
C. A. Perley and Alvah S. Hubbard.—Your questions are answered by the advertisements on the last page of the cover.
Guy H. Wood.—A Horsman bicycle, No. 15, diameter of front wheel thirty-six inches, and costing $25, will probably suit you.
Frank Riggs.—A good bicycle for a boy of your size can not be bought for the sum you name. A bicycle to fit you should have a front wheel of forty-two inches in diameter. Read the advertisements on the cover of Young People, send to the addresses given for circulars and for addresses of Chicago agents, from whom you can gain all desired information.
Willie Chapman.—Go to 791 Fifth Avenue, New York city, and there you will probably find the "excellent bicycle" for which you inquire.
Frances Dunham.—I do not know of a good tricycle for young girls. The only one made in this country that would suit a girl of nine years is advertised in Young People No. 87, and I fear that with this machine it would be impossible to ride any distance over country roads, as it is only intended for pavements or smooth walks. Very light and beautiful tricycles are made in England for girls of fifteen years of age and upward; but none are manufactured in this country.
Most of the inquiries received thus far have been for cheap bicycles, and where to obtain them. To these the answer is, there are no cheap bicycles. All good bicycles are expensive, and a poor bicycle is dear at any price. Small bicycles, with wooden spokes and rims, are just as good to learn to ride on as the best that are made, and on a smooth level surface they can be made to work very nicely. As the rider grows older, and gains experience, he naturally desires a better machine, and then he finds that instead of from $10 to $20, the cost of a machine such as he wants is from $50 to $100. This he regards as an imposition, and at once begins a search for cheaper bicycles. But he will not find them at present, nor for some time to come. For this there are several reasons. One is that all existing bicycle patents in this country have been acquired by one firm, which therefore enjoys a monopoly. Another reason is that the bicycle is still something new, and the sale for it is comparatively small, so that the manufacturer must make large profits to balance small sales. Then, too, the machinery for making bicycles is very expensive, the material used in making them must be the best, and the workmanship upon them the most skilled. All these things combine to make the bicycle an expensive luxury, and such it will always remain, though in course of time prices will be much less than they are now.
"The Captain."
Correct answers to puzzles have been received from A. E. Cressingham, "School-Boy," Bennie Stockwell, Emilie Douglass, Willie D. Grier, Day Z., Robert N. Fuller, and Jemima Beeston.
PUZZLES FROM YOUNG CONTRIBUTORS.
No. 1.
DIAMONDS.
1. 1. A letter. 2. A household implement. 3. A heavenly body. 4. A favorite. 5. A letter.
2. 1. A letter. 2. Not young. 3. A vessel. 4. An animal. 5. A letter.
H. E. D.