INVENTION AND DISCOVERY.
Portable Refrigerating Case.—It must be some one who loves to go on picnics or excursions who has thought out this delightful contrivance, a portable refrigerator. It comprises an inner case which holds bottles and ice, and an outer case with a partition into which the water from the ice can run, and with means for drawing it off.
A fair supply of ice would insure bottles of cold water, milk, ginger-ale, etc, throughout a long day's trip.
Leak-Stopper for Pneumatic Tires.—This seems to be a very clever and practical invention.
The bicycle-tape, and the mastic, and the dozen other devices for mending punctured tires are all very well in their way, but they are not absolutely reliable.
A punctured tire is a wounded tire, and needs the aid of a bicycle doctor. All attempts at doing one's own surgery are likely to fail for the simple reason that we are not experts in the business, and do not always understand the extent of the damage.
The leak-stopper is merely a bandage to be applied to the wound till help can be found. It consists of a strap of flexible material, provided at one end with a buckle and at the other with a pair of tongues.
On the inside of the strap is some flexible air-tight material partly fastened to the strap, and so arranged that it will entirely cover the lips of the wound.
The edges are covered with adhesive material, and are firmly pressed on either lip of the wound, drawing it together and covering it with air-tight material, so that no air can escape.
The strap is then buckled round the tire, holding the ligature in place, and the air can be pumped in and the rider proceed without fear of any further difficulty.
Bicycle Propulsion.—So much has been invented for and said about bicycles, that it seems strange that anything is left to say or to do, yet here is a very novel idea. It is not so very long since wind and water were the only motor powers, but those days are so clearly superseded that it is quite a surprising suggestion that a wind-wheel be attached to bicycles. Machinery connects it with the driving-wheel by means of a rotary shaft, and the wind-wheel becomes an additional help. This may prove a very useful contrivance for long-distance riders.
Embroidery Hoop.—There are surely among our readers some girls who embroider and who have experienced difficulty with their embroidery hoops. The inner hoop is sure to fit so tightly within the outer one that if the material to be embroidered is at all thick, neither persuasion nor force will make it slip into place. A new hoop is now being made which can be adjusted for goods of any thickness. This is done by means of a split binding-hoop, the two ends of which connect by a screw-threaded bolt, and can be loosened or tightened at will, a nut on the threaded end of the bolt holding the ends firmly in place.